First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Discussion about courses, qualifications etc

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stevem
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Joined: 08 Nov 2012, 09:40
Status: Prospective Teacher

First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Unread post by stevem »

Hello all

I’m just looking for a little advice for a first-timer who is considering doing a TEFL course.

I have no TEFL or teaching experience, but am seriously considering booking myself on a CELTA course as teaching abroad is something I would love to do.

The main reason I am thinking about doing the CELTA course is that my girlfriend has just completed the CELTA course herself and was very complimentary about it.

I would be doing the course part-time as I work during the week, so it would mean there would be a couple of days a week where I would leave for work about 7.45am and not get back from London from the course until about 11pm. Long days! But I am prepared for that.

For a little background information, I am 33 and haved worked in PR and Marketing for the past ten years. A great deal of my job involves writing so I would hope my grammatical skills, etc aren’t too bad, although I know they can definitely be improved. No doubt there are a lot of rules of basic English that I have forgotten!

I guess my main questions are…

1) Is a CELTA course a good course to do? I am aware there are a number of different TEFL courses, and am getting confused as to which one to go with.
2) Will I be pushing it working full-time and doing the part-time course? I am fully prepared for some hard graft!

Thanks!

Steve
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Joe
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Re: First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Unread post by Joe »

stevem wrote:1) Is a CELTA course a good course to do? I am aware there are a number of different TEFL courses, and am getting confused as to which one to go with.
Yes, CELTA is a good course to do. Many people consider it to be the best TEFL course at certificate level. It is certainly the one that employers specify most frequently by name as a requirement in job advertisements (eg "CELTA or equivalent required").

See also TEFL Certification Courses FAQ
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samhudson
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Re: First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Unread post by samhudson »

CELTA qualifications are regarded as much more comprehensive than a standard TEFL. You can find plenty of work with a TEFL qualification but you would open much more doors with the CELTA (just be prepared to work much harder for it)
pokedmund
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Re: First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Unread post by pokedmund »

I did the same thing 2-3 years back. But I lived in London and the centre (SKOLA in soho) wasnt that far from my work place.

I used about 2-3 days annual leave during my studies (over three months) so its definately do-able.
Former Native English Teacher in Hong Kong for 3 years.
British Born Chinese.
stevem
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Posts: 4
Joined: 08 Nov 2012, 09:40
Status: Prospective Teacher

Re: First-timer contemplating doing a CELTA

Unread post by stevem »

Thank you everyone for your advice, I’ve just revisited the forum for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Anyway I thought I’d give you a quick update on what I have decided to do. The college in the town I live in offers the CELTA course on a part-time basis - one day a week for 20 weeks - so I have decided that I will do the course there. It means I will have to bite the bullet a bit and tell my work what I want to do and take some leave from work to do it but I think it will be much more manageable. They operate the course twice a year – one starting in February and one in September, so I am going for the September course. It gives me a little more time to save some money and also I will be able to do some preparatory reading etc in the months beforehand. It also gives me a few more months to try and arrange something with my work around getting the time off.

Thanks to everyone who has replied – I am now quite excited about starting the CELTA course and possibly, around this time next year, being qualified and ready to start teaching abroad!
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