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What was your professional or academic background before starting the course?
I am an undergraduate student at UCL currently in my third year of my bachelor’s in Experimental Linguistics. I decided to do the CELTA as I became interested in Applied Linguistics and second language acquisition through my studies, and I wanted to have the opportunity to teach after completing my degree, particularly in more competitive countries, like the UK and much of Europe.
How did you hear about the CELTA, and why did you choose it over other teaching qualifications?
I discovered the CELTA through my own research on various English Teaching certificates. I was initially planning on completing an online course, but I was drawn to the CELTA as I liked that it could be completed in much less time (four weeks, compared to around 12) and was administered in person, on campus at UCL. I knew that the level of teaching would be highly regulated and engaging as it is run through the IOE, and I also liked that it provided the opportunity to conduct 6 hours of observed teaching, which is unique to the CELTA. Most online courses do not require that participants teach in person, and I had read that that caused many people with TEFL certificates to feel unprepared going into industry, which is usually not the case for CELTA graduates.
Can you describe your overall experience during the CELTA course?
My overall experience on the CELTA is very positive. I am most grateful for all the people I met throughout the courses, from my tutors, my peers, and the volunteer students, all of whom made the experience very enjoyable and worthwhile. Academically, I also think I got a lot out of the course, as I was able to practice teaching myself, and observe lessons at schools around London.
How did the course structure (e.g. input sessions, teaching practice, feedback) contribute to your learning?
In the mornings, we would have input sessions or observed lessons, which gave us a good idea about types of activities to teach for a wide range of skills and systems for different levels. They also gave us an opportunity to imagine ourselves in our students' shoes—for example, one of our tutors gave us a Gujarati lesson in which no English was used to show us a way in which to teach beginnings who do not share the same language as you. In that way, I feel that the CELTA provided good teaching on cultural awareness and relevant teaching methods. In the afternoons, we would do teaching practice, where each of us would rotate teaching for 40 or 60 minutes, and then we would do group feedback all together. The group feedback gave us the opportunity to learn from each other’s mistakes and successes throughout teaching practice and reflect on our own teaching in a critical way.
How has the CELTA course changed your perspective on teaching English?
My CELTA taught me that although teaching can be very difficult and at times draining, it is also an extremely rewarding experience, as you’re able to see the real difference that you’re making in people’s lives. Many of the volunteer students on the CELTA were refugees who had recently been relocated to the UK. The English lessons we ran for them over the course of the month gave them an opportunity to practice their English as they make the difficult transition to a new country. Especially as a new teacher, I often felt like my lessons were not very helpful or well organised, but many of the students expressed their gratitude for our work that that was relieving to hear.
Can you give an example of a teaching practice session that was particularly memorable for you?
One of my last lessons was very difficult to manage for me, since the content I had chosen to focus on was simply too difficult for most of the students. Throughout the lesson, I had to rework a lot of what I had planned, cutting lots of activities out and guiding the students a lot more than anticipated. Since this was one of my last lessons, I felt very defeated, and I felt like I should have been able to grade the lesson better to their abilities, since I had known them all for a few weeks. However, during the group feedback session at the end, my peers and tutor praised me on being able to think in the moment and adapt to the needs of my learners, which was really gratifying. It is particularly memorable to me since there were a lot of times on the course when my peers and I felt that our lessons were quite disastrous and hard to follow, when from the outside, the skills we implemented were very impressive and the lesson followed very naturally to others.
How do you apply the skills and knowledge from the CELTA in your current teaching practice?
Although I am still completing my bachelor’s degree and have not yet done any additional teaching since the course ended, I utilise the skills learned on the CELTA in my daily life. It particularly helps a lot with public speaking and leadership skills, since you must be able to give a lesson and manage a classroom for hours at a time. I also learned how to speak much more concisely, particularly when giving instructions, which is quite helpful when explaining something to a friend or writing essays.
Would you recommend the CELTA to others, and if so, why?
Yes, I would recommend the CELTA to others; it is a great opportunity to learn a lot about teaching within a very short amount of time. Of course, it would be impossible to learn everything about teaching and education in the duration of the course, but it is a good foundation that will allow you to obtain future positions in teaching and gain more experience later on. Additionally, the only way to really learn how to teach is to practice teaching, which the CELTA provides.
What advice would you give to future CELTA students?
I would advise future students to maintain a work-life balance throughout the course and to not stress out too much over observed teaching practice. Since the course is quite short, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by coursework and not make room for leisure and normal healthy habits, but managing a balance between everything will make the course a lot easier and more enjoyable. I would also suggest that students remember that everyone around them, including their students, are there to support them, and although it can feel very draining at times, everyone is very appreciative of the efforts you put in.