CELTA in questions and answers
In October 2020 The authorised centre RU053 and RU054 launched a series of free monthly webinars “Cambridge in questions and answers”. The first webinar was devoted to the most popular course for teachers, CELTA. The participants’ questions were answered by two CELTA tutors, Yuliana Chernikova and Victoria Taranova.
Yuliana Chernikova, PhD, a Director of Studies authorised centre RU053 and RU054, is an experienced CELTA and Delta tutor, who has worked for about ten years on CELTA courses in Russia and abroad. She did her CELTA and Delta in England.
Victoria Taranova, an Assistant Director of Studies authorised centre RU053 and RU054, has three years of CELTA tutor experience. She did her CELTA and Delta in Russia.
During the webinar, the speakers answered the following questions about the course:
What is better: CELTA and TEFL?
– TEFL is an acronym which means “Teaching English as a Foreign Language”. There is one more acronym, TESOL, which means “Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages”. Although the meaning is slightly different, TEFL and TESOL are often used interchangeably to refer to teacher training programmes. Many organizations can run courses for teachers and give TEFL/TESOL certificates. CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) is a TESOL qualification given by Cambridge, a highly respected university, and it is considered to be the most widely recognized English teaching qualification in the world. This qualification is the most frequently requested by employers because of the practical component which makes the course enormously effective.
What do I need to enrol in the course?
– As the Cambridge website and the CELTA Handbook state, the minimum entry requirements are English proficiency at C1 level, age 18+ and education to the standard required for entry into higher education. Some webinar participants asked to clarify if the university education is required to enrol in the course. The answer is that this requirement is not stated explicitly, but if we refer to the Handbook, we will find the following: “It is the centre’s responsibility to assess candidates and make judgements about accepting them onto the course… If formal qualifications are not available, centres may, at their discretion, accept applicants who are considered to be at this level if screening indicates that they would be likely to complete the course successfully…. Candidates being interviewed for intensive courses should be made aware of the demands of the course and the need to be able to commit time and energy to it». (Handbook, 2017, pages 9, 10). The truth is that the intensity of the course, the course practice tasks and the skills required to process the course information might be too challenging for candidates without higher education and a centre is allowed to refuse to accept such candidates. All candidates have to submit several written pre-course tasks, take a language test (if they don’t have any international certificates) and attend an interview with a tutor. After all these procedures a centre makes a decision on accepting a candidate.
I am an experienced teacher. Why do I need CELTA?
– According to the feedback from the teachers who have already completed the course, it helps to structure and systematise the theoretical knowledge experienced teachers have. The course content covers all areas of teaching and learning: learner needs, teaching language systems and skills, planning, exploiting material, assessment and CPD. Many teachers say that the course is more practical and provides more information than some years of university education. After CELTA teachers have clear vision of the structure of every lesson, can plan effectively and spend less time for it, teach more effectively and help their students achieve their learning goals.
Is full-time online CELTA different form full-time offline CELTA?
– This year authorised centre RU053 and RU054 has run seven CELTA courses, five of them were online. The course content, schedule, the number of input sessions, the number of observed lessons, observations of experienced teachers and the written assignments were the same. We used the same resources and the same assessment criteria for both types of courses. What was different is teaching environment. We were using Zoom meeting rooms as classrooms. However, in these online classrooms the teachers had to teach logically planned lessons, use whiteboards effectively, give clear instructions, distribute handouts, vary interaction patterns, monitor their students and give feedback. The online CELTA courses have proved that the planning and teaching principles are the same for offline and online teaching.
Is it better to do CELTA abroad?
– The answer to this question is simple: CELTA is the same all over the world. All CELTA centres follow the same syllabus, strict course regulations and use the same assessment criteria. CELTA tutors travel from country to country to work in different centres. The same assessors assess courses in different countries. What is important here is the contexts in which every candidate works. If a teacher works only with Russian students and doesn’t plan to start working with international groups, the course in Russia will be more beneficial because during the course this teacher will learn to work with Russian learners. If a teacher wants to work abroad or with some multinational groups, then there are some benefits in doing CELTA at a centre which can provide some practice in such groups.
Who assesses CELTA candidates?
– CELTA candidates are assessed by two course tutors. The assessment for CELTA certification is externally moderated by an assessor who is approved by the University of Cambridge. The assessor visits the centre during the second half of the course and looks at candidates’ portfolios and observes teaching practice. All final results are approved by assessors.
How can I get ready for the course?
– Candidates are recommended to read some books on methodology, for example, Jim Scrivener “Learning teaching” or Jeremy Harmer “How to teach English”. We also recommend getting acquainted with some grammar reference books such as Michael Swan “Practical English Usage” or Martin Parrot “Grammar for English language teachers”.
If you want to get more information about the course, you can follow this link:
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/
How should I choose a CELTA centre?
– To choose an approved CELTA centre, candidates should use the centre search on the Cambridge website: //www.cambridgeenglish.org/find-a-centre/find-a-teaching-centre/. After this we would recommend looking for some feedback from the teachers who have done the courses at the chosen centre.
Our centre is always ready to answer your questions. Just send us your message using our website www.celtadelta.ru!
