The Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is a pre-service teaching qualification for those who want to teach English as a foreign language. CELTA is recognised and required by a lot of employers around the world when you are looking to step into the industry.
I completed my CELTA in June 2015 and have written a few blog entries on my experiences:
My 3 Takeaways from Doing the Cambridge CELTA
The course is great for those who are complete beginners, like I was, when it comes to teaching. The course provides you with the knowledge, skills and practice you will need to be a successful and confident English language teacher. Experienced teachers who are looking to provide evidence to prospective employers that they meet the required standard for teaching or those who are looking to improve their skills also take the course.
You can complete the course full-time in as little as 4 weeks or part-time with varying lengths depending on the centre you are interested in. You can search for your nearest school or institution that houses CELTA courses here.
CELTA can be taken in three ways:
- Face-to face
- Online
- Mix of face-to-face and online
It is a good idea to consider which way of taking the course best suits your current situation. If you wish to take the course full-time, as I did, you will not have a lot of time to do much else, so do weigh up your options.
The course comprises over 120 hours of study time. You will learn practical teaching skills and the theory behind why teachers teach in this way through input sessions run by your tutors. You will have the opportunity to practice what you have learnt with real language students as part of your assessment. Later, you will receive detailed feedback and pointers from your tutors on what you did well and areas needed for improvement. Along with your teaching practice being assessed, you will need to complete written assignments in order to pass the course.
This was just a quick overview of the course. For further information, visit the main Cambridge website.
P.J. Ryan 