CELTA CAMBRIDGE
I thought this would be an appropriate post for this week seeing as I was invited by my ex Celta tutor Chris Cattaneo to talk about technology for teachers in one of her CELTA sessions for trainess at International House, Milan we discussed with trainees informative websites for both teachers and students, how they can be used and if they were useful or not. I told the trainees about online teaching, how to get started, what is involved and how to sell yourself amongst the many online platforms, or using a free online virtual classroom. To some trainees this proved an interesting option for the future. We also spoke about Twitter how to use it seeing as most of the trainees had heard about it, but apart from one no one seemed to know how it worked.
I also received an e-mail from someone just about to embark on a CELTA course asking me for any advice and know-how before the course starts.
So what is Cambridge CELTA?
The Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults is an international TEFL training and certification program. Originally known as the RSA Certificate, the program became the RSA/Cambridge CTEFLA in 1985. The name changed to RSA/Cambridge CELTA in 1996 and to Cambridge CELTA in 2001.
CELTA - Cambridge ESOL’s Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults is one of the world’s foremost initial qualifications for people who wish to become professional teachers of English language. It is accepted throughout the world by organisations which employ English language teachers.
Cambridge ESOL works with international ELT organisations to ensure the acceptance of Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) globally. According to Cambridge ESOL more than 10,000 candidates complete a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) course each year.
The Certificate in English language teaching to adults will be your passport into TEFL.
The CELTA is a common requirement for those entering the field of English language teaching. Because it is recognised internationally, it is a particularly popular credential among people who wish to travel and teach English around the world (see TEFL for an extended discussion of travel-teaching). However, it is also held by people who intend to teach only in the country where they trained, and do not intend to travel.
The full-time CELTA course runs for four weeks; it can also be taken part-time over several months. CELTA courses are run by many different institutions, whereas the courses are validated and certificates are issued by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), a part of the University of Cambridge.
The CELTA is awarded upon passing the course, which includes six hours of assessed teaching practice to real English language students, at two different levels. The course grade is determined primarily by the performance of the teacher in this teaching practice; there are also a number of written assignments due throughout the course, which are graded on a pass/fail basis only. The grades awarded are pass, B and A. As of 2000, worldwide five percent of trainees withdrew before completing the course, three percent failed, 63% received a pass, 25% received a grade of B, and four percent received a grade of A.
The full-time four-week course is very intensive, and students taking it must be prepared to dedicate all their waking hours to it for the duration. Even the part-time version of the course can take up more time than a full-time job for many students, especially those with no teaching background.
Each year around 900 CELTA courses are run by around 280 centres, primarily language schools, in 54 countries, producing over 10,000 graduates.
How to get the most out of an intensive CELTA course
Personally from my own experience the CELTA is a very demanding course indeed, you need to be 110% dedicated, I remember eating, sleeping and doing everything CELTA when I was on it, I would wake up in the early hours of the morning with an idea for my next (TP=teaching practice lesson) and you do go through the emotions as you are constantly being monitored, criticized (constructive criticism) and wondering, what am I doing here lol but onto a positive note before people run off, it is fun, you meet new people, and if you get lucky like me you get to talk to would be trainees years later 
So are there any would -be trainees around or are you a teacher who took the CELTA Cambridge course, what was it like for you?
Source www.english-international.com International House Wikipedia
That’s quite something. I don’t think I can give my 110% hehehe. It’s even hard to go with just 90%.
Satellite TV for PC
Do you have any tips for people who are on the course and want to prepare themselves as much as they can beforehand. It’s a question I often see on forums and I somewhat struggle to answer
Hi! I was one of that students who atrtended the lesson…it was great! I learned so much..thank you Aniya! And you are perfectly right about the Celta intensive course, one need to be 110% dedicated, it is tough but it was one of the best expereince in my life! ..and I met interesting people I will surely keep in touch with
Very informative post – thank you!
Given the predominance of CELTA as a prerequisite qualification these days, I think this sort of information is really needed and appreciated.
Best,
~ Jason
Hi Alex, the tips I would give before starting the CELTA would be to get plenty of sleep, put your life on hold, and brush up on your grammar, the rest take in your stride while you are there. By the way, it’s me who tweets your posts via Twitter
@Clara, thanks for dropping by, so you’re fresh from the course would you add anything else for would-be CELTA trainees? @Jason thanks for you comments, yes we don’t blog about CELTA much, I know I would have liked more info before starting the course, there is also a fun post on CELTA too, but I need to try and remember where I saw it…Watch this space 
Hi there Aniya!
Thanks! You’ve written a great post about the CELTA – it was great to see you again and hear you bring to life the fascinating world of technology for teaching.
Even if we only really touched the tip of the iceberg in that session, you definitely got trainees interested in using technology and possibly teaching online. I’m sure most, like Clara, will manage to keep their interest in technological teaching world through this brilliant info-packed blog!
The CELTA course is, as you said, very demanding but i think really worth it in the end – nowadays many serious language schools shortlist applications for teaching posts based on whether applicants have the CELTA qualification. Of course teaching experience counts for a lot too and the qualification by no means overshadows that. I see the two working together hand-in-hand.
Once the course is over, general feedback from trainees comes in along the lines of “learnt a lot not just about teaching but also about myself”. It’s a real eye-opener, believe me!
For those who are keen on deepening their insight into teaching and learning, teachers might consider taking the CambridgeEso DELTA qualification. It’s even tougher and more demanding!
For trainees on a CELTA http://celta.edublogs.org might be useful.
For CELTA-qualified teachers, my blog http://teachinglife.edublogs.org aims to keep selective development going…. !
Thanks again for your guest appearance on the CELTA! I’ll Tungle you for the next appointment!
Chris