Anthony and Valentina Bamber have run their English language school in Middlesmoor, North Yorkshire, since 1979. They have been involved in teacher training and development since the mid 1990s, were asked to give a number of successful week-long courses in schools by the Istituto Pedagogico di Bolzano from 2002-2011; Valentina has lectured at the Free University of Bozen – Bolzano since 2005. They are authors of Grammar Acts (Eurelle Edizioni 1997), Make Grammar Talk (2002) and Speaking Grammar (2007), both published by Editore Bulgarini, Florence. They also published their handbook of language teaching resources The Teacher’s Kaleidoscope in 1991.
Anthony has a degree in English literature (Cambridge University) and Valentina holds an MA in Teaching English to Young Learners from the University of York, as well as diplomas in singing and baroque recorders.

Setting
Middlesmoor is a small village (thirty inhabitants) in Upper Nidderdale, a lovely and remote valley set in an Area of Outstanding National Beauty, and itself entirely surrounded by the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Villages and towns nearby include Pateley Bridge (8 miles), the spa town of Harrogate (25 miles), York (45 miles) and Leeds (40 miles). The ruins of famous Cistercian abbeys such as Fountains Abbey, Bolton Abbey and Jervaux Abbey are not more than thirty minutes’ drive from Middlesmoor and are well worth a visit.

Courses duration
The teacher development courses last between ten and fifteen days, and are organised according to the participants’ requirements.

Transport
Jet2.com and RyanAir direct flights to Leeds-Bradford airport depart from Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Participants will be met by Anthony and/or Valentina at Leeds-Bradford airport and driven to Middlesmoor (50 minutes’ drive approximately).
Alternatively, it is possible to fly RyanAir from many airports in Europe to London Stansted Airport, and travel by train from Stansted to Harrogate (change at Peterborough and York).
Do contact us for further information; we will be happy to help you organise your journey.
Websites:
www.Jet2.com
www.ryanair.com
www.nationalrail.co.uk

COURSES OUTLINE
Morning activities
These include lectures, material design workshops and language lessons, and will be arranged according to the participants’ needs

Afternoon activities
These include language lessons, guided study periods, trips and excursions, walks, pottery / painting sessions, drama / music workshops, going to concerts / theatre performances. Other activities are also possible. All of the afternoon activities are planned according to the participants’ wishes and requirements.

Daily activities
The course participants will be encouraged to take part in all daily activities in the house; this will include preparing and having meals together, talking ENGLISH ONLY: this is because the shared daily life activities provide participants with wonderful opportunities to activate their English in “authentic” contexts and situations, during which the close meaning-form links which exist in English become clear, and correct language use becomes automatic. Thus sharing in the daily family activities is itself an important language acquisition and consolidation strategy, as hearing the contextualized language expressions and forms in daily use will foster their emergence in the participants’ English language.

What is included in the course fee
The course fee includes: English language lessons participation and observation; teaching material; materials design workshops; drama / music workshops, lesson / programme planning sessions; all afternoon activities (see above); accommodation in shared bedrooms with bunkbeds; shared bathrooms (the participants are expected to keep their bedrooms / bathrooms clean and tidy); breakfast, lunch (or packed lunch during excursions), afternoon snack / tea and supper; transport (group minibus) from / to Leeds-Bradford airport or Harrogate station, and during excursions whilst in North Yorkshire.
The fee does not include: flights from/to the course participants’ countries; admission tickets to museums / cinemas / theatres / castles; personal insurance / travel insurance / public liability insurance.

Language teaching resources and materials can be found in the website:
www.languageteachingideas.com