IH in the world

The International House World Organisation (IHWO) is one of the largest and oldest groups of language schools in the world. Founded in 1953 by John and Brita Haycraft, IHWO are a global network of over 150 affiliated private language schools in 52 countries, spanning every continent.

Only schools that meet exceptional quality standards are allowed to use the International House brand. As independent entities, IH schools are more closely aligned to local realities, at the same time benefitting from belonging to the international network. They also adhere to a strict inspection system that ensures the control of quality standards.

International House pioneered Teacher Training programmes for English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The Haycrafts believed that quality language teaching stemmed from quality teacher training and in 1962 the couple launched the International House Certificate – the first training course in how to teach languages interactively – which rapidly set the standard for teacher qualification in English Language Teaching (ELT), with thousands of teachers worldwide becoming IH-trained. In 1988 Cambridge University took over responsibility for the administration of the certificate and it was renamed CTEFLA (Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults), to be renamed once more in 1996 as CELTA.

International House teachers write course books and publish professional articles and do research in the field. Many of the course books used today by ELT teachers are written by teaching experts trained by International House. These include Headway, Cutting Edge, Language To Go, Natural Grammar and Fountain.