Page 23 - ELG2009 Sep Issue 472

UK RANKINGS 2020-21 . UK LANGUAGE CENTRES

The future IH LONDON

belongs to

under-16s

Alex Cann shares with
Melanie Butler his plans
to grow and diversify
what IH London Young

Learners can offer

As the new Director of Young Learners
at International House (IH) London, why
is this age group so important to you?
n many ways, I’m returning to my ELT
roots. I have a wealth of academic and At IH London Young Learners online is year-round groups at IH London and our
management experience with this age here to stay, as a sustainable, standalone Edinburgh residential centre.
Igroup, and recently pioneered a ground- product. We have just launched an autumn One key development will be the
breaking coding course. online programme with three separate start integration of native-speaker students into
When I was School Director at a large dates to capture students on half term across our programmes. We will be partnering with
school in Edinburgh, I introduced year-round our key markets. At the request of a Turkish local schools for group exchange programmes
young learner groups and a range of partner, we have also created a bespoke ‘bite- and offering specialist courses to native
innovative junior summer courses which size’ online course, where students can attend speakers. Integration will add value for
transformed it into a popular, and profitable, 40-minute ‘masterclasses’ over the weekend. everyone; fostering international friendships
study destination. In fact, we received the with the associated social, cultural and
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce High linguistic benefits.
Growth Business of the Year Award in 2018. Online is here to From a commercial perspective, having a
As educators who design programmes for stay as a sustainable, range of courses that are also appealing to
young learners, we have a responsibility to native speakers massively minimises risk,
provide life-changing experiences that set our standalone product. particularly when international travel may be
students up for success. This is exactly what restricted.
IH London Young Learners has been doing. We have been asked to develop a hybrid We are also developing some very exciting
We aim to create a community of truly global course where one of our teachers will deliver projects, collaborations and partnerships
citizens by breaking down social barriers and an online lesson to a group of students and a relating to our premium specialist courses,
fostering international friendships. teaching assistant in their classroom. I including a range of new, fully-immersive
Despite the devastating impact of Covid- believe this model has huge potential: it sports education academies for 2022.
19, I strongly believe that there is a bright makes our courses more accessible and It is important to us as a team that
future for Young Learners. By combining enables schools from around the world to equality, diversity and inclusion are
brand recognition with standout student connect through online collaborations. embedded across our curriculum, activities
experiences and academic credibility, my and staffing, so that students from around the
long-term strategy aims to set the business up IH London Young Learners has been world feel represented and safe at our Young
for future growth. mostly about residential summer Learner centres.
schools. How can you build on this? We are also proud to be one of the first UK
You recently ran a hugely successful We already deliver high-quality, in-country schools to offset carbon emissions for all
online summer school. How do you programmes, particularly in China, and this is flights to our summer courses, supporting the
see the future for online. something that we intend to grow. Even UN's sustainable development goals.
I have to begin by thanking Fenella Dale, our before the pandemic, I was confident that in-
Academic Manager, and her team of teachers market delivery was going to be a growth Alex Cann is IH
for the seamless transition from face-to-face to area. It is important to us that our courses are ALEX CANN London Director of
online delivery. It’s thanks to them our virtual inclusive and accessible to as many learners Young Learner
summer programme was such a success. as possible, so we have committed to Courses. Prior to
We saw how easily classroom practices and providing in-country courses in markets this, he was Director
principles can translate to online learning. whose students (and teachers) are unable to of Customer
Lessons have been just as fun and travel. Experience at British
interactive, and the team fully embraced using Here in the UK, we will be running a range Study Centres. Alex
online tools for collaborative project work. of winter and spring courses including our also pioneered a
They had to be flexible and adapt quickly, popular Future Leaders Entrepreneurship ground-breaking coding course for young
particularly in terms of online safeguarding. course in London in January, and our new learners and has a wealth of young learner
For example, we found some students who STEM course at Frensham Heights over academic and operational management
lost connection returned to find their online Easter. For students wishing to study with us experience.
classroom ‘locked’. outside of summer, we are able to welcome

22 September 2020 editorial@elgazette.com 23