Ahoy there mateys!
Today I’m going to give a brief (yeah right!) description of what to expect when you complete a CELTA course, plus some of my own little tidbits of advice for getting through it. If you’ve randomly stumbled across this blog and would like some more detail on CELTA, just scroll back through my older posts for a weekly breakdown of happenings.
Everyone sitting comfortably? Okey dokes, here goes:
What is CELTA?
CELTA stands for Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (It was recently changed from Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. I guess they kept the initials to avoid confusion) and it is a ESL qualification awarded by Cambridge Language Assessment at The University of Cambridge. It is recognised internationally and its pretty much the qualification that you need in order to secure a decent teaching job in many parts of the world (apart from DELTA of course, but that’s another blog post!).
There are loads of institutions that offer CELTA courses, which can be viewed here.
How long does it take to do?
There are two options:
Full time CELTA- Five days a week for 4 weeks
Part time CELTA-Two days a week for 10 weeks (this is the one I did)
How much does it cost?
This depends on your centre, but most will cost at least €1500 which you should earn back once you’re teaching.
What is the application process like?
Well, first you need to choose which centre you want to do your course at. Then you should pick up an application form either on the centre’s website or in person, fill it in and send it back. If the centre likes the look of your application you will be invited to attend a written test (to assess your knowledge of language and grammar) followed by an interview. After that they will hopefully accept you 🙂
Do I have to do anything before I start the course?
You will be sent what they call a ‘Pre-Course Task’. It’s pretty much an extension of the pre-interview task, but it’s really long so you might not want to leave it until the last-minute. I believe that it is optional in a lot of centres but it helps to at least attempt it.
What will I do/learn during the course?
CELTA is extremely practical and hands on. You’ll be teaching on your third day!
You will teach real life students (ideally at least two proficiency levels) for a total of six hours. Now, in my centre, those hours were broken down like so:
Lesson 1: 20 minutes
Lessons 2-8: 40 minutes
Lesson 9: 60 mins
This may vary according to your centre, but you will have to teach at least 6 hours in order to pass the course. You will also observe the lessons of your classmates. After all the lessons are finished for the day, you will be given feedback on your class and you will be expected to give feedback to your classmates (i.e. don’t daydream during their lessons!).In addition to all those hours, you must observe at least six hours of classes outside of your course.
In the afternoons (or mornings I suppose, depending on your centre) you will have what they call ‘input sessions’ on all sorts of teaching basics like classroom management, using the board, grammar, skills, pronunciation, etc.
Finally, you also have to complete four written assignments, of which you must pass three in order to pass the course.
Is there a final exam?
Nope! You are awarded a result based on your performance throughout the course.
So that’s CELTA in a nutshell. Now here are some tips from me that might help you if you do decide to get CELTA qualified:
- The very first teaching practice is designed to help you find your feet more than anything else. So just try to relax and get used to standing on front of a class. It gets easier as you go along, I promise!
- Some of the assignments take AGES to do, so get going on them as soon as possible.
- Make sure to send your lesson plans in to your tutor a few days in advance so that s/he can give you some help if necessary.
- Try to do your observations of experienced teachers as soon as you can, so that you can pick up some teaching techniques.
- Consider investing in a grammar book. I’d recommend Practical English Usage by Michael Swan.
- Use a stopwatch during your lessons to keep yourself on time. I used to just use the timer on my phone and I found it very handy.
- On days when you are teaching, make sure you get to your centre nice and early so you can organise yourself.
- Remember that your tutors are there to help you! So make sure to take all their advice on board and don’t be afraid to ask for their help with anything.
I hope this helps make CELTA a bit clearer for you all. If anybody has any questions about it then please don’t hesitate to ask in the comment section below!
Louise
TEFL and Louise 