The CELTA is the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. This is a practical teaching qualification including 6 hours of observed teaching practice.
English Language or TESOL students who are accepted on to the CELTA can either take this qualification as a module in the second year (10 weeks) or full time over 4 weeks in July.
There is limited availability on these modules and students must go through an interview process in line with Cambridge requirements as it is a professional qualification. This is very similar to a PGCE interview. It is therefore important to note that students are not automatically guaranteed a place on the CELTA as part of their BA degree.
Typical cost of a CELTA £1450 but our students only pay the exam fee, currently £140.
CELTA trainees January-March 2015
All things CELTA: A Student’s view by Ian Moore (2011-2015)
The thought of completing CELTA during my semester period was at first daunting as I was unsure how I would be able to manage the workload. However the CELTA tutors were always reassuring and understanding that you were completing a degree at the same time. Looking back I can honestly say the CELTA was the best thing that I could have done at university. It has opened so many new doors for me and has also allowed me to improve in and develop numerous skills needed for both university and working life.
Upon completing my CELTA, I applied to become a Summer School teacher at Swansea University and I was fortunate enough to be offered the position. This allowed me to use the skills that I had learnt in CELTA almost immediately after the course and during the job I encountered many more learning opportunities. You begin thinking like a teacher and not like a student, organising, managing and completing your planning and marking work to a set deadline. Since completing this job, I have worked in a secondary school in Germany and due to having passed CELTA; I was able to take classes alone, something which would not be possible if I did not have such a qualification. I have also worked as a teacher on the Introduction to Academic Skills course and will now work on this years Pre-Sessional during the summer. This just shows how much trust and belief ELTS have in their CELTA graduates.
During CELTA you develop skills which are essential during your academic studies. You gain so much confidence in yourself and in your own ability. Giving presentations no longer become scary after teaching a class full of students! Time management and organisation also vastly improve, as you have to take self-responsibility for your own actions. If you are not planned for a lesson then you only have yourself to blame.
I would recommend the CELTA to anyone even if your primary life goal is not to become a teacher. The course opens your eyes to new possibilities in life and allows you to develop the skills needed in any job. CELTA is your key to exploring the world, so don’t waste this opportunity!
Ian Moore
Ian with his current pre-sessional class – August 2015
As a follow-up to Ian’s story he recently graduated with a first class BA degree in BA German and TEFL. Following another summer working hard on the Pre-sessional at Swansea University he starts an MSc in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at Oxford University in September 2015
You can view an interview with 3 of our initial CELTA trainees here. We’ve changed the programme now so that it is better spread out but it’s still fairly intense!
