The CELTA Blog

Find out how CELTA sharpens your teaching skills from these entries written by our past CELTA candidates!

Dear Future Candidates - 2

Qiu, Audrey, Hazel, Yan & Venise from the September - Novemeber 2023 Course

Welcome to CELTA, my friend! It's nice to have you here, HEHE…


You know what? The course fee is settled, there’s no refund. Here comes at least one reason that you should make it till the end. Read on to see what to expect!


Positive Points:

This is a fruitful journey which will sail your way in teaching and there is a lot of support from the tutors, anything that you might not understand they are always ready to help you.


The course is rewarding and enriching because you will get a brand-new perspective on English language. The course is quite inclusive in terms of lesson aims, students' age groups and levels. You will learn a lot,  A LOT,

PS English is not as simple as you think :) Function!!!!


Challenges:

The course can be very stressful and intense mostly because of our busy schedules, working a full time job and also studying. We are never fully aware of how intense it is until you're like four or five weeks in. You might get overwhelmed to a point that you will question what are you going to do, why are you here and,  But hey you've already gone so far, so keep going. 


Also, YOU WILL FALL ILL AND YOU WILL CRY, probably toward the end of the course, but you'll survive.


Advice:

Preparation for teaching practice often ranges from one to three hours. Reading for each assignment will take half a day or a day. Don't just refer to the timetable in the course folder because there is a lot of hidden work that's not written there. Keep a separate calendar of your own that include the time you need for TP preparation, reading for assignment, and composing assignment along with your normal chores. 



While things can be overwhelming at times, let me share a little secret with you – within that intensity lies a wealth of learning opportunities. So, take a deep breath, calm those initial nerves, and repeat after me: "I can make it." Trust me, you've got this. In moments of doubt (maybe from TP5), remind yourself of the incredible journey you've chosen to undertake. The road may be tough, but the destination is worth every effort. You are not alone in this; your fellow candidates, tutors, and a wealth of resources are there in the Library to support you.


Never give up, hang in there!!  If you ever feel like giving up, remember that you paid $$$.


Wishing you a fruitful and successful journey. Good luck (and don't die)!


Best, 

Audrey, Hazel, Yan & Venise

CELTA and the Wonders of Abandoning Ego

Victor Tan

A few months ago, I thought to take up the CELTA on a whim. It wasn't really something that I strongly needed. Considering that I already was running a business that catered to a few hundred students and was doing perfectly fine without the CELTA. 


Did I really need a CELTA qualification? Was it important, and would it change anything?


Yet, amid a pensive evening, I began to reflect about where I stood in this world, and something within me told me this was far from the end of my journey. It was this thought process that led me to the CELTA, was refined by fire during the CELTA, and guides me to write this blog post today.


I will admit that it wasn’t easy to abandon my ego. I had scored an 8.5 out of 9 for the IELTS, a perfect score for the SAT, an A* in the IGCSE, First Language English exams, and was already teaching numerous students, many of whom had obtained A*s for their exams and gone on to gain admissions to top universities. 


As a result, I thought that it would just be a piece of cake, and that taking up everything I had learned would be simple. That was far from true, though. 


The CELTA was a gridiron. 


I should have known this from the moment that my tutor Rob told me I had to sign an undertaking that I would do no work if I participated in a full-time CELTA course, which I declined in lieu of participating in the part time course from September to November of 2023... But I still thought of it as easy. 


“It's just teaching English after all, isn't it? How hard could it be?”, I thought.


Well, I guess I was wrong. The CELTA allowed none of my complacency - instead it challenged me, pushed me, brought me to the brink; it taught me time management the hard way, reminding me that everything was time sensitive - it taught me that whatever knowledge I had developed, I could fail - it taught me that even if I gave my best efforts, I wouldn’t always succeed if I didn’t pay attention to myself well enough.


Through input sessions, trainings, and assignments, it developed my knowledge. 


Through assignments, it forced me to read both in breadth and in depth. 


Through teaching practicums, feedback, and self-evaluation, it taught me to teach, to learn to teach, and to discover how to communicate knowledge in ways to students across different levels even as I discovered both what I knew I did not know and did not know what I did not know.


While it's not something that I'd like to repeat in the present, it offers me a fascinating data point to reflect upon as I pursue my journey. 


There were moments that were genuinely painful during this process, such as experiencing not-to-standard lessons, assignment resubmissions, and recognising that there were things I had to improve on but not knowing how to do so - just a few of the millions of little things that helped me abandon any image of myself as a ‘perfect’ teacher and recognize that the world of improvements was wide in scope. 


Recognizing that pain makes me remember what I went through and understand that it was necessary for the growth that would come. After all, whatever had happened in the past, I had overcome this, and that was a deep and enduring achievement that little in this world would possibly be able to take away. 


I have no regrets for taking up the CELTA. It has made me a better teacher, a more aware teacher, and a person more sensitive to the needs of those under my care, and I would count it as one of the core formative experiences of my entire life. Many thanks to my tutors, Rob, Ophelia, and Thomas, as well as my classmates, students, friends, and many other individuals who crossed my path along the way and provided moral support and guidance throughout this fascinating but challenging journey. 


Abandoning my ego through the CELTA and its struggles was one of the best gifts that I could have given myself in 2023. 


Once again, it is not a journey that I would repeat, but definitely one that I grew a lot from and highly recommend for anyone who is starting out on this journey or even those who, like myself, have some experience walking on it. 


Victor Tan. (@victortanws) 

Founder, 

FirstLanguageEnglish.com

Ascendant Academy

What general advice would you give to someone starting this course?

Adrian Chan

Dear future candidate,


If you’re here, you’ve probably made many big decisions in your life, and you’re standing at the door of the CELTA qualification. Make no mistake, the learning curve is steep and time is extremely short. You will struggle, you will cry and you will spend nights questioning your life decisions. However, should you make it past this course, the catharsis that you will experience is truly, truly satisfying, and the certificate that you obtain from it is worth multiple times its weight in gold. I myself experienced multiple ups and downs during this course, as I’m sure you will too. The highs were extremely euphoric, and the lows brought me to tears. I’ve made friends, seen people come and go, and found amazing mentors in the process.


So, how do you make it out of this trial by fire in one piece? The first thing I would advise you to do is take your ego, and cast it as faaaaar away from you as possible. It’s absolutely worthless here and will only impede your progress. Your tutors will be your greatest critics and they are adept at pointing out both your strengths and weaknesses. Everything that they say is constructive, even if you might not like to hear it at first. So, if you’re a person who cannot take being bruised, turn away now and don’t waste anyone’s time.


The bulk of your time during the course will be spent mulling over your TPs and assignments, and this will be the source of all the ‘wonderful’ sleepless nights that you’re going to have. But fret not, you’re surrounded by so much support in the form of extensive resources, dedicated tutors and (hopefully) cooperative coursemates. Take full advantage of them and work together towards everyone clearing the course! CELTA isn’t a place where you want to stand alone at the peak, but rather one where you all hold hands and walk through the door together.


Temper your expectations of yourself, and don’t be too let down if they aren’t met; it’s an avenue for progress and things to look forward to in the learning journey. You might fail your TPs and assignments, but use those failures as nutrients for your continued growth. Every single mistake you make is a step forward (provided you’re willing to swallow the bitter pill and learn from them), so find the courage within you to experiment as much as possible within the confines of your lesson plans. The TPs are your playground and the students that you’re going to teach make the best playmates. Fall, scrape your knees and get back up again, and don’t forget to have fun in the process!


I’ll close this letter with a short poem:


The road before you is paved with fears,

A steep and winding one that threatens tears,

It’s a long way off from success’ peak,

And from the base things may look bleak.


But harden your gut and brave the storm,

You’ve got so many comrades to keep you warm,

So many tools and a trusty map,

Keep walking forward step by step.


All your time to this you’ll funnel,

But you’ll find the light at the end of the tunnel,

For this period you’ll have almost no rest,

But I’m sure you come out on top; all the best!



Adrian

Class of 2023


Dear Future Candidates - 1

Corinna Choi 

Dear future CELTA candidates:


I am writing to you as someone who has completed the CELTA program and wishes to share some insights, advice, and encouragement as you embark on this transformative journey. 


First and foremost, let me extend my heartfelt congratulations on your decision to pursue CELTA, which is an intensive but useful course. You will learn a lot of teaching methods and get many opportunities to hone your teaching skills throughout the course. You will make many friends from all over the world, it gives you an opportunity to learn about other people’s cultures and share your own cultures, which is quite fun. You will get the access to the best English teaching resources in the world, which gives you a new insight of language teaching. You will receive feedback from your tutors, which is very constructive and help you with your future lessons a lot.


However, this journey is not easy to go through because you will encounter some problems as well. You won’t have time for your personal activities  since you need to focus on your assignments and teaching plan even on weekends. You won’t sleep late in the morning for you need to start your course on early mornings. You won’t have the opportunities to take a nap after lunch, after which you will immediately focus on your teaching practices.  It is a course in which you will be both mentally and physically tired.


I will give you some advice that might help you navigate the challenges and make the most of this experience:


Last, hope you enjoy this journey!


Corinna

July 2023 Full-Time F2F Course

What general advice would you give to someone starting this course?

April - June 2023 CELTA Graduates

What general advice would you give to someone starting this course?

Wondering whether to take the CELTA course? Unsure of how to prepare yourself before the course starts? Here are some practical suggestions from our April 2023 graduates – 3 of them were awarded a Pass B!

 

Trainee A:

I would really recommend this course to my friends who want to join. I will advise them to go through all the handouts the tutors give you and follow the tutors’ feedback in order to achieve success. I will also advise them to practice teaching online beforehand to handle zoom technology smoothly during the course, which is an important factor to run a lesson smoothly. Also take notes for each observation whether it is filmed, taught by the tutors or your colleagues’ lesson observations so that you can learn some new teaching techniques to include in your lessons.


Trainee B:

Definitely, if you work 8-10 hours like myself, demand a (temporary) part-time position for the length of the course, or change employer or, if you can afford it, stay off work for the CELTA period. It is demanding regarding time and both physical and mental efforts. I spent many nights sleepless, having to go to work the day after and suffering from accumulated sleep deprivation and the side effects of high consumption of caffeine and energy drinks. It would have been totally different if I weren’t working full-time, as my colleagues, although finding it challenging too, definitely had an easier way through the end, as coming out from our friendly discussions. Also, supervisors are very available for clarification. Do ask if you have to, especially regarding the written assignments. I don’t know to what extent this may affect your grade, but it’d definitely make your CELTA learning easier, especially if you are tight on time as I was. At least if tutors are like mine, which I take the chance to thank: Rob, Ophel and Thomas. Thanks again.


Trainee C:


Trainee D:

Think twice regarding the workload and prepare to learn a lot about delivery teaching, planning, teaching theory as well as lingusitic knowledge of the English language. Therefore, it is very intense. Maybe ask about the class size too! I think about 6 is a good size.


Trainee E:

This course is very intense so you need to be mentally and physically prepared. But what you take from it is a confidence boost in your teaching and your understanding of learners’ needs. This course has definitely opened my eyes and am sure will open many doors for me. At first, you may struggle but your fellow coursemates and tutors are very supportive and would give you the appropriate guidance and feedback.


Trainee F:

Being organised is crucial for this course.  It is extremely helpful to have all the coursework deadlines written down in order to avoid missing any important deadlines.  In addition, it is essential to strike a balance between managing study time, completing assignments, and planning for TPs while juggling other commitments such as work and family.  If you encounter any difficulties, don’t hesitate to ask for assistance from the course tutors, who are always willing to help.  Remember, with the right attitude and approach, you can overcome any challenges and succeed in this course.


To conclude:


‘Do you understand?’ - One of the habits you need to get rid of in CELTA.

Sue Ching

The biggest, most meaningful lesson I’ve learned from CELTA is to never ask students if they understand what we’re teaching. Some may say yes, but how sure are we that they really understand? Are there other ways to make sure of that? With CELTA, there is the usage of CCQs (Concept Checking Questions) and ICQs (Instruction Checking Questions). By using CCQs and ICQs, teachers are able to check the students’ understanding of language concepts and check students’ understanding of instructions before doing a task.

(You can read more about ICQs and CCQs here: https://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/english-teachers-are-you-asking-right-questions ,or, simple sign up for the course :p )

How have CCQs and ICQs helped me throughout the course? A lot would be an understatement. I have to admit it was really tough at the beginning as I had to unlearn what I learned before CELTA and adapt to new techniques from CELTA. If it wasn’t for the feedback, guidance and tremendous support by my two awesome tutors Rob and Ophel, I would not be writing this blog now.

CCQs and ICQs does make teaching easier compared to asking students if they understand because it lessens the amount of errors and confusion. With lesser errors, students would benefit more from the lesson because teachers can proceed to the next task or topic. It also encourages student participation as CCQs and ICQs are questions directed to the students. And, if students do not answer them correctly, the teacher could address any discrepancies on the spot before moving on to the tasks. Lessons run smoothly as well.

As a CELTA candidate, we are given super helpful input sessions accompanied by practice sessions. We were given opportunities to put CCQs and ICQs to the test. We got to play the role of both student and teacher. Putting myself in the position of a student, I actually saw how effective CCQs and ICQs are because these questions are clear, concise and chunked. It also keeps the students engaged in the lesson and holds attention. So in conclusion, CCQs and ICQs are a good teaching and learning technique for both teacher and student.

CELTA Lesson 1 - Be ready to be ditch your teaching habits

Stephanie Young

Having grown up in an exam-oriented learning environment, there was a time when I was one of those students who defined “perfection” with what is written on the model answer , not allowing myself any time or space to think, and always expecting teachers to tell us the “correct” way of doing things. Honestly, wouldn’t you feel great when someone delivered the golden ticket to passing your exams to you on a silver platter, without you having to make an effort in getting what you want?

Only when I started to reflect on my beliefs in education did I became aware of the importance of “thinking critically”. However, I always thought that giving students the complete freedom of the classroom was easier than preparing a lengthy set of notes for them to recite. When I did my CELTA course, I was still pretty confident that it was an easy job to get students to talk with one another and discuss topics that will get them to think independently…

…but there was only dead silence in the discussion room. (A teacher’s worst nightmare.)

I was dumbfounded. I thought asking open-ended questions was sufficient enough to stimulate learner engagement, but my instructor helped me realized that I needed to give students more support and guidance before letting them engage in freer practice of the target language.

It was easier said than done. Throughout the whole course I spent hours designing and applying concept-checking questions that would help students understand the language better. My tutors told me how I kept talking when I felt nervous and this heavily impeded students from having the space and time to think about the language, especially when I kept giving them the answer when there was silence. I ended up sticking a huge post-it note on my computer to remind myself that I have to stop echoing students’ answers!

As the course comes to an end, I’ve definitely became a lot more aware of my shortcomings as a teacher. It’s easy to just talk about theory-practice integration, but it’s not an easy breeze applying theories into practice in a real-time classroom. It’s always a dichotomy between “spoon-feeding” and “independent learning”, but at least I think I’ve now gotten a hang of the balance between the two, I hope!

After you’ve started your CELTA course, be ready to accept the fact that there really isn’t a definition of a “perfect” teacher. There’s no need to strive for perfection, but be ready to pour your heart and soul in your planning, so that you can become a better teacher after each lesson!

Let your students do the talking - lesson from CELTA TPs

Jason Ma

Traditionally, teachers have been expected to be knowledge transmitters. Back then, my teachers taught grammar rules, vocabulary and other language knowledge and skills mainly by their talking. But is this the only way of teaching?

One of the things that amazed me during the CELTA course was how little a teacher can talk during a lesson. Since a few decades ago, student-centeredness has been emphasized and a lesson full of teacher’s talk is no longer enough for effective learning. Therefore, during the teaching practice (TP), we were trained to reduce the amount of teacher talking time (TTT) so that students could have more opportunities to participate in activities and practice English. (And it can be very exhausting for us to keep talking especially in large classes!)

So, how do we reduce TTT? Do we not teach grammar or complicated language so that we don’t need to explain too much? Here are a few techniques I learnt 😊

1.      Give clear instructions. Very often, we are too polite when giving instructions and we keep repeating ourselves - ‘Can you please turn to p.6 of your handout? Ok? Go to p.6 of your handout. P.6.’ Don’t underestimate the time we waste on doing these. Instead, simply say ‘Turn to p.6 of your handout,’ write it on the board and show the same page to the students.

2.      Another thing we can do to avoid repeating our instructions is to ask instruction checking questions (ICQs), especially when setting up complex activities like group or pair work so that we don’t need to stop everyone and explain again. For example, instead of asking ‘Do you know what to do?’, ask ‘Are you working in groups or individually? How much time do you have? How many ideas do you need to come up with?’. Otherwise, students very often just nod even when they don’t know what’s going on.

3.      Open the floor to students during feedback. After a task, instead of us giving the answers, invite students to tell us the answers. Don’t echo their answers or respond to them right away, but ask a few other students ‘Do you agree?’ or ‘Do you have the same answer?’. You can also ask them to explain when they have different answers. Remember, the answers and explanations don’t have to come from us!

These were just the very few things I learnt during my first two observed lessons, and there are many more ways to increase students’ participation in class, such as using the guided discovery approach or a test-teach-test lesson. Just keep your mind open and be ready to receive feedback not only from the tutors, but also from your fellow coursemates 😊