Why I Took CELTA

 

Walking down my memory lane - CELTA outcome

In October 2020 I had a chance to share my 2009 CELTA course experience at a regular English teacher's meet-up hosted by my friend and colleague - Irina Lutsenko:

CELTA is a four-week intensive course both for novice and experienced teachers. Now CELTA means Certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
Why I took CELTA:

1) There was a big chance my husband and I might have immigrated. I wanted to work there and do what I like most. As Russian formal qualification would not suit I had to gain a globally recognized formal qualification. And employers around the world ask for CELTA.

2) At that time I had already been teaching general English for 6 years and business English for 3 years. And I was literally burnt down and slightly bored with the same text books. So I longed for some inspiration and encouragement in my professional development.

3) I wanted to study abroad and was carefully choosing the authorized center. But as soon as there appeared to be a chance for me to stay in Moscow for free, the question was settled, as I had to pay only for my tuition fee, food and tickets.

CELTA course details

*The course lasts four intensive weeks.

*You start at noon and finish at 8 p.m.

*You have two tutors. They teach their own material. There are 12 students at the course. The general input is taught to all of them. But then you split up in two groups during preparation sessions.

*You teach mostly every day. First two weeks you teach Elementary students. Second two weeks you teach Upper-Intermediate students. First two weeks you have one tutor, for the second two weeks they switch.

*You start at noon and finish at 8 p.m.

*You have two tutors. They teach their own material. There are 12 students at the course. The general input is taught to all of them. But then you split up in two groups during preparation sessions.

*You teach mostly every day. First two weeks you teach Elementary students. Second two weeks you teach Upper-Intermediate students. First two weeks you have one tutor, for the second two weeks they switch.

*The assessment is continuous. All your lessons are assessed. You will have to submit your lesson plans, your self- evaluation page, all the materials you prepared for your lesson.  All your participation in the discussions during learning how to teach is evaluated. All your lessons will be observed by your tutor and your peers.

*Peer observation – you have to do it during the lesson and give your feedback orally next day during the session as well as provide reflection on your own teaching/ If you manage to notice your strong and weak points correctly – it is a big plus and it will be included in your tutor’s report.

*You will have to attend several lessons provided by experienced teachers and later write your observation reports.

*During the course you will have to write four papers – about how to teach certain things to different levels. You have to submit them on time. These papers have to be well written and be based on a number of books you have to read. You will be able to borrow these books from the center’s library and / or make copies of the needed pages. These written assignments will be assessed.

*All your works will be collected and put into the folder. After you finish the course, your tutors will collect all the reports they have completed and will send them to Cambridge. In certain cases, your portfolios will be sent there too. You can either pass the course or not pass. To get the CELTA certificate, you must meet the criteria for both the teaching practice and written assignments. You can pass with three different grades: Pass ‘A’, Pass ‘B’ and Pass.

TO BE CONTINUED