International House Milan

Your language school in Milan City Centre and San Donato

International House Milan was founded as Centro Lingue Tradint in 1982 by Sieglinde Wolkan and Claudio Tedesco in San Donato Milanese, Milan.

In 1997 a second school was opened in Milan city centre, just a stone’s throw from the Duomo Cathedral and the school became affiliated to the International House World Organisation, the international organisation set up in 1953, renowned throughout the world for it’s high standards of quality and professionalism it expects from its affiliated language schools.

History of International House

International House World Organisation was founded by John and Brita Haycraft. John and Brita (of English and Swedish origin respectively) met in Oxford and after marrying moved to Spain where in 1953 they set up the first International House School in Cordoba in Andalusia. After six years in Andalusia, John and Brita returned to England and in 1959 they set up International House London.

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.

2003 saw the founding of International House World Organisation, set up to manage the network of affiliated schools, a list of which you can find here. As independent entities, IH schools are more closely aligned to local realities, yet at the same time they benefit from the experience, services and benefits of the international network. They also subscribe to a professional code of conduct and adhere to a strict inspection system that ensures the control of quality standards. International House Milan – San Donato is one of more than 150 International House language schools around the world.

The best international teachers at your service

All International House schools promote the continuous development and enrichment of their teaching staff. The continuous exchange of teachers among the more than 150 schools in 50 different countries that make up the global network of IH ensures a process of mutual growth through the constant contribution of new skills and experiences.

Our teachers and language consultants are all native or bilingual speakers holding CELTA and/or DELTA certificates or a similar qualification to teach languages to foreigners.

The organisation’s 20 Teacher Training Institutes train and recruit teachers who make up the teaching staff of International House’s language schools. Our school organises regular refresher courses for its teachers on teaching methods and technical approaches to language learning, with the aim of continuously improving the quality of teaching.

The Directors of Studies decide the course content, coordinate and support the teaching staff, observe lessons and suggest refresher courses. They manage the level tests, interviews and the needs analysis, as well as plan the course of study and evaluate the final result and are always available to help students and clients.