How CELTA changed my life disappointments and accomplishments

In the modern world many teachers stared to taking CELTA as they want to be qualified to teach the english language to others. There are numerous views and studies about this and they can be presented in various ways. Some experts says that the transition into the teaching profession is often a difficult and challenging experience for newly graduated teachers (Flores and Day 2006; Huberman 1989). This is no less so for newly qualified CELTA teachers who often take up employment in schools outside their country of origin and in contexts far removed from the one in which they received training. Farrell (2008) has attributed the initial difficulties that newly qualified teachers face in their sites of employment to inadequate pre-service preparation. In some programs, pre-service teachers are not adequately instructed about the different teaching contexts in which they may find themselves at the start of their careers.

Other researchers (Letven 1992; Tickle 2000) have suggested that a lack of personal and institutional support and inadequate professional development during the induction stage – when the teacher is socialised into the teaching system – make the transition process more difficult for newly qualified teachers. This study complements the growing body of teacher transition studies (Fessler and Christensen 1992; Huberman 1989; Lortie 1975; Loughran, Brown and Doecke 2001) by contributing to an understanding of how CELTA graduates with limited pedagogical knowledge initially perceive their roles as English Language Teachers.

You may be asking yourself: Is CELTA right for me? Some people live in english speaking countries and work for several years in different departments, schools, collages and universities as well and they notice that they should take formal training courses. In this case CELTA can be available, here another persons views why she took the course. ”Being authorized by Cambridge University is one of the conspicuously attractive reasons that encouraged me to take the CELTA course. Practically speaking, whenever I read the requirements of teaching job vacancies in prestigious institutes and universities in the Middle East or schools in the Far East, the CELTA certificate pops up as the unquestionable requirement regardless of the teacher’s professional experience or creative faculties.CELTA was my entry pathway into the profession of teaching English to speakers of other languages. Knowing that it is now a renowned initial English language teaching qualification accredited in over 50 countries, I haven’t thought twice about it. The certification 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 (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)”.

She also mentioned the good and bad points she faced during the course.

The good CELTA focuses on transforming theory into practice. The program has an incredible hands-on approach where everything you learn is then applied to actual students. You get to experiment with new teaching techniques and lesson frameworks. The variety of frameworks provided by CELTA is another blessing. Like a Swiss-army knife, you will learn specific frameworks geared toward achieving particular lesson aims and objectives. The frameworks are designed with purposeful staging and you will experience their effectiveness during your teaching practices.

Personalization and responsive student feedback are both major focuses of CELTA. Keeping in line with ongoing research in pedagogy, CELTA teaches you to make every opportunity of learning as personalized, relevant and authentic to the learner as possible. In practice, this means designing tasks and lessons that address student needs (such as a desire to communicate via social media) in a way which keeps students continually engaged throughout the lesson (pair-work, equal feedback, purposeful tests etc.).

The bad.

The reviews aren’t kidding, it’s a tough program. You have to prepare yourself for the workload. Clear your calendar. You need to stay organized and be ready to study hard the entire month. There will be a seemingly never-ending onslaught of teaching practices and assignments to complete.

Have no fear. Know that many people have done it and you will get through it too. Make sure to eat well, stay hydrated and get some exercise. You’ll be surprised by how beneficial healthy habits can be! Also, please try and have some fun if you have the chance. Go for walks or have dinner with your fellow CELTA trainees. You'll learn a lot from the experiences and motivations of your classmates. The downtime will help you study better, recharge your batteries and prevent burnout. Learning how to deal with the stress of a heavy workload will prove invaluable again and again. Be kind to yourself. You will constantly be tested by your own ego. You may crave perfection. You may feel you already know it all because you’ve been teaching for the last four thousand years. You may not agree with all the feedback on your teaching practices.

Here is some statistics about its good and bad points of CELTA:

Pros

• •    For starters, the CELTA is a well-known qualification and widely accepted internationally. That means that many employers will recognize your certification.

• •    Furthermore, the course includes mandatory teaching practice, which will help you become more comfortable with teaching real students in the future.

• •    Lastly, the CELTA provides a comprehensive certification in the foundations of teaching English so that you can easily go on to pursue more

advanced qualifications, such as the DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), later on.

Cons

• •    One of the biggest negatives is perhaps how expensive the CELTA generally is, even if you take one of the blended online courses.

• •    The other major con is that it’s not 100% online, so it requires travel to certain locations to complete part of the online course in-person.

• •    Furthermore, you may not live anywhere near a CELTA center, making it incredibly difficult for you to enroll in this certification program.

Many people choose CELTA because it is the most prestigious and well-known qualification for people starting out in the language teaching profession. It is aimed at people who have little or no experience teaching English as a Foreign Language. The course is moderated by the University of Cambridge (English Language Assessment) and therefore, the quality of the course is excellent and it provides every student in the class an opportunity to practice teaching students.

CELTA, unlike other courses, is affordable. Its short duration is perfect for working individuals who must take time off from their regular jobs to take the course. The most important thing about the course is that it provides the teacher with the practical experience and knowledge needed to develop his/her own skills, new techniques to improve the general knowledge of English grammar and plan creative and engaging lesson plans.