We tailor our classes and lessons based on the needs of our students. Teachers regularly meet with students to discuss their needs and objectives, and plan their lessons accordingly.
Because of this we use class sets of coursebooks as a framework only. Students work from authentic materials and customized worksheets in addition to coursebook materials. These materials are supplied as part of the course fees.

Because our teachers are highly experienced and often make their own materials students should not expect to work directly out of a coursebook throughout a course, nor will they receive a dedicated coursebook to keep. Often students come to IH having taken a course somewhere else. Students can be sure they will not work throughout a course from a book they may have already used elsewhere.

Students meet for individual time with their teachers, usually on Fridays. These tutorials are designed to review the student's progress during the previous week and to set learning goals for the following week.

In General English there is a maximum of 12 students per class during he academic year which goes to 16 students in July and August. The average class size is 9. The maximum number of students in the Let's Talk program is 16.

All other classes range in maximum size from 6 to 12 students.

IH is different from many traditional language schools in that we have always been innovative in our teaching and believe that students learn best in highly interactive, student-centered classrooms. We use a variety of approaches, for example: task-based learning, communicative, skill-building, and full-immersion.

We also use a range of techniques to bring a high level of interest into the classroom: radio, TV, video, realia, Internet, bookwork, role-play, dialogues, songs, photos, etc. In an IH classroom there is, as they say, 'never a dull moment'.