The British Training Institute

The British Training Institute was established in September 2000 to extend the opportunity for education and training throughout the Sultanate.

Facilities
The British Training Institute is CfBT’s premiere language centre in the Middle East and is:

• Conveniently located in the Al-Khuwair district of Muscat

• Capable of comfortably accommodating 200 students

• Fully equipped with state of the art learning resources including video, audio and 20 networked computers with internet access

The computer lab provides for individual student use of CfBT‘s multimedia Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) programmes to complement classroom instruction. Students have the opportunity to do computer based-activities as part of their language learning, allowing them to do self-study in the following areas:

• Grammar

• Reading comprehension

• English on the internet

• Listening

• Writing techniques

Classes are kept to a maximum size of 16 students to ensure that students have adequate opportunity to participate in class activities. All students are given a placement test at entry to ensure they are then placed in homogeneous groups.

The British Training Institute is a registered centre for the Pitman/City & Guilds English Language examination.

Staff
The BTI is staffed by the General Manager of CfBT Oman (Mrs Elena McCretton), the Director of Studies (Mr Norman Galvin) and six full-time instructors. All CfBT instructors are:

• Native English language speakers

• Professionally qualified at Post-graduate level

• Experienced classroom practitioners

• Experienced in General English and English for Specific Purposes (ESP), particularly Business English

The majority of BTI instructors are also experienced in English for Academic Purposes (i.e. providing training in Study Skills). The BTI instructors are supported by a dedicated team of administrative staff, including a Marketing Manager who coordinates our links with the public and private sector.

Key services and clients

The BTI provides training to students from the public and private sector from Elementary to Advanced level in:

• General English - for those wishing to improve their general ability in the language

• English for Specific Purposes (ESP) - for students needing English for specific needs relating to work etc, including bespoke courses designed for particular business clients

• English for Academic Purposes (EAP) – for students attending or wishing to attend English-medium education, who need assistance with Study Skills

• IELTS preparation - for those wishing to study at overseas / English-medium universities, who typically require a minimum IELTS score of 5.5 or 6.00

• English Language teacher training workshops, including training for the Cambridge University Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA), an internationally recognized qualification in teaching English to adults.

Services provided by the BTI include:

• General English Language Courses and English Language Courses for International certification like IELTS.

• Customised English Language Programmes (ESP and EAP), such as English for Business / Banking / Engineering / Tourism / Airlines / Management / Engineering etc

• Training Needs Analyses for Omanisation

• In-service Professional Development

• Curriculum and Materials Development

• Multimedia Computer Assisted Language Learning programmes (CALL)

• Computer Courses