Our aim was to improve the quality of the English skills of our teaching staff in order for them to be confident in teaching and communicating in English. Our aim was also to be able to offer high quality tuition in English in the majority of our school subjects. We wanted to improve the pool of teachers who are able to teach competently in English in order to make the organisation of the teaching hours easier and to enable the sharing of teaching materials within the different teaching groups. Teaching materials should be developed and implemented in the lessons. As we have several non-teaching stafff who have much contact with students we wanted to facilitate better communication in English between them. This communication is either on a day-to-basis or in spoken and written form or with potential students and other stakeholders outside the school. The projects should also be a motivational impulse for teachers to further develop their skills.
Klessheim is an internationally oriented school specialising in tourism and hospitality. We offer a 5-year programme which is partly taught in English in addition the tuition language in our college course is English. The number of teaching staff at our school is approx 60 and non-teaching staff 15. We have approx. 400 students and many of them have an international background. That means that all written communication for them must be done in English. Also instructions given and information provided directly at the school is also done in English. Being a vocational tourism school we educate and train our students to be employed or to start their own businesses all over the world. Therefore languages are of very high importance. Also in a European context we work closely with other schools, with whom we mostly communicate in English.