It was 8 months ago it suddenly dawned on me that I should
take the Celta course.Before giving details, I would like to give more
information about the Celta.
“Employers around the world ask for CELTA. It’s
the practical English language teaching qualification that gives you the
essential knowledge, hands-on teaching experience and classroom confidence to
qualify as a teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL). The CELTA course
gives you the essential skills and knowledge you need to teach English to
adults and older teenagers.You get hands-on teaching practice and observation
of experienced teachers, applying your learning in the classroom with English
language learners.
CELTA courses are run by approved centres, based on
specifications produced by Cambridge English Language Assessment. All courses
have a minimum of 120 contact hours.
CELTA is great for recent graduates, people who are changing
career, or teachers who want to gain a formal qualification and may want to
progress to qualifications such as Delta. “
For more info , please visit http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/about-the-celta-course/.
I heard about it several times and never searched it in detail. Then, I wanted to push my luck
and learnt that it is the most reputable course I’ve ever heard about. I wanted
to give it a go. I am such an enthusiastic teacher. Editions published by
Cambridge and Oxford University, Macmillan and Longman played a preponderant role in improving my
knowledge of English, forming my accent and most importantly, improving my
teaching skills as my natural ability. I have always tried to put into practise
Live English programmes in which students mostly take part in activities. I deliver roleplays
so that they could perform. However , some have no education in their countries
of origin and be unable to read or write in their first language, others have
multiple college degrees and speak several languages.Some are young adults who
have never worked; others have professional positions .These students also have
diverse goals and at the same time they all need to learn English. To achieve
their goals , as a teacher , I was of the opinion that the Celta programme will
help me develop and deliver my lessons effectively and relevant to the
students’ needs. I would be able to
determine the appropriateness of materials for
my adult students. Besides, I would be able to provide opportunities for
my students to produce the target grammar in speaking and writing tasks that
they might encounter outside the classroom. However, the hardest situation was
to choose the appropriate course as I read about the misfortunes about some
teachers. One of my colleagues had an education at International House London
and he strongly suggested me taking the course there. The more I read about the
Celta ,the more I noticed it was very
challenging so I decided to read many
books related to teaching English to adults, and some English books such as
English Collocations in Use, Advanced Grammar in Use . It was in April I felt
myself ready to apply the course.First, I applied to International House London
and luckily I was accepted. I was so proud to be accepted by such a reputable
course. The process was hard as I was asked to fill Celta application form and
language awareness task. For the writing part , I had to think about it for a
while.However , as I read many articles related to the methodology , I was able
to write it.
Here I am kindly sharing the website for you : http://www.cambridge.org/tr/cambridgeenglish/professional-development/resources?usage%5B%5D=Professional+Development&formatTag%5B%5D=PDF&sortOrder=alphaTitleSort%5Basc%5D&openOptions[]=facet_webSubjects&openOptions[]=facet_webSubjects&openOptions[]=facet_webSubjects&openOptions[]=facet_webSubjects&openOptions[]=facet_webSubjects
“
Please have a look at the site, you will find lots of pdf files for your
career.
They checked my form and sent another form called as pre-interview task
which consists the teacher , dealing with language , using language, and why I am
interested in doing the CELTA course. We
arranged a skype interview and I was asked about the usage of grammar in the
language awareness task, why we use that structure,etc. The interviewer was
persuaded that I am a qualified teacher to do the course. To be honest, I was
planning to take the course with a friend of mine, but he was not accepted the
course and then I looked for another course and compared the course and
accommodation fee in both places. It is true London is a great place however my
personal conviction is that when it
comes to education , it is not my cup of tea. I prefer Oxford and Cambridge.
Once I had an in-service training at Lake School of English , in Oxford , which
was a Refresher Course in Practical and Creative Methodology for Overseas
English Language Teachers Course ( Creative Teaching in Adult Classroom )
.Needless to say , I fell in love with the education athmosphere. I just didn’t
fancy hustle and bustle of city life in London. I asked for help from my
previous language school the Lake School of English. The headmistress told me
to have a look at British Study Centres. After that, the same process started
but British Study Centres sent an extra document .It was non-native speaker
test. First, I took it , then dealt with Celta application form . Once again, I
was accepted to the course. I was elated to be chosen as the Celta is like gold
dust.
I will write about my Celta Experience later on but I would like to share with you very important
books for those who are willing to take the Celta. Here they are in your
service, free of charge J
Aitken, R - Teaching Tenses (Nelson)
Bolitho, R & Tomlinson, B –
Discover English – 2nd edition (Macmillan)
Leech, Cruickshank & Ivanič – An
A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (Longman)
Murphy, R – English
Grammar in Use (CUP)
Parrott, M – Grammar
for English Teachers (CUP)
Swan, M – Practical
English Usage (OUP)
Swan, M & Walter, C –
How English Works (OUP)
Thornbury, S – How to
Teach Grammar (Longman)
Gower, Walters & Philips –
Teaching Practice Handbook – 2nd
edition (Macmillan)
Harmer, J. – How to
Teach English – 3rd edition (Longman)
Kenworthy, J – Teaching
English Pronunciation (Longman)
Lewis, M & Hill, J –
Practical Techniques for Language Teaching (LTP)
Riddell, D - Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language
(Teach Yourself) (Hodder Arnold H&S)
Scrivener J – Learning
Teaching (Macmillan)
Watkins P – Learning
to Teach English (DELTA)
My holy books were Scrivener
, Jim “Learning Teaching” and Harmer,
Jeremy “The Practice of English Language Teaching”.
Enjoy your self-improvement and be ready for your best
nightmare – The Celta.
Sinem Şen
English Teacher
Eskişehir / Turkey
