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CELTA certification and everything after | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Immersion, Schools & Certificates |  | |
 meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5977 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 23 23 May 2013 at 6:50pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm sorry if this has been asked before - I really should check - but my question is mostly specific to two CELTA locations.
Has anyone achieved CELTA certification from Teaching House In New York City? Or in Philadelphia? If so, what was your experience like? Would you recommend these centers? I'm thinking of going ahead and taking the chances I have to take to do it. Life is short and there's only so much time to "follow dreams," as people say. I never seriously believed this; unfortunately I've always leaned toward pessimism, sadly, a personality trait that has caused some damage in my life. Even when very young, it just seemed like a loopy New Age lie. But now as I get older I realize so much more that, yes: at least try. And languages make me fee optimistic! I hope I'd be a good candidate. I have a university English degree, love languages, and am kind of obsessed with finding a way to see the world while I can, which I can't afford to as a tourist - but I can work to earn it. I have friends I'd be sad to leave but really very few serious commitments - no spouse, no family to support, and normally only temporary work assignments. So I'm not well settled anywhere, already, am used to having had to move around too much, and now, after Hurricane Sandy, I've lost most of my stuff, too! My one serious concern about doing this is making sure that I'm physically healthy enough to complete the training. I know that it is extremely intensive. For me New York and Philadelphia are the best locations. I'd prefer New York. Also, if you have done this, through any teaching center, what was your experience finding employment post-training? Did it take a long time, and were the assignments good? (in your opinion) 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| eggcluck Senior Member China Joined 4711 days ago 168 posts - 278 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, Japanese | Message 2 of 23 24 May 2013 at 2:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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I did not do a CELTA but did a cheaper one in Prague simply because it was cheaper. I was unable to find a job in Japan but was able to get a Job in China very easily.
However the ESL industry is a dodgy one, full of crooks especially in Asia. Do your research on every potential employer. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5019 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 3 of 23 24 May 2013 at 4:58pm | IP Logged | ||
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I consider doing the CELTA in September. And of course in Prague, since it is very practical to stay in my
home city. Did you find it worth the money? Was it good? Did it fulfill your expectations? What did you use it for? Job in a lanugage school home or abroad or to get individual students? Was the content trully relevant to the job or is it more pay-for-the-paper thing? Was it difficult to pass? Sorry about such a flood of questions but I am trully curious. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Talib Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6671 days ago 171 posts - 205 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (classical) Studies: Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 4 of 23 24 May 2013 at 10:17pm | IP Logged | ||
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It sounds like you would be the perfect person to teach English. CELTA is definitely the certificate to get. The minimum qualification to get started is a BA in any subject plus a CELTA certificate or at least a CELTA equivalent (120 hours of teacher training plus supervised teaching practice). A master's degree in TESOL or Applied Linguistics is helpful or even necessary for some countries, but it is not necessary at all in many others. It depends where you want to teach. Dave's ESL Cafe would be a better forum to ask about this. Edited by Talib on 24 May 2013 at 10:19pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5977 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 5 of 23 25 May 2013 at 12:37am | IP Logged | ||
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Thanks Talib! I have taught English before as a private tutor.
Of course I will be putting a lot of time, thought and research into this - I don't plan to begin until next year, if I do. I'm back in touch with the foreign language department at the university I graduated from, so they can give me some advice and maybe connect me with some people who have done this. If I do it and all goes well, a master's degree would be fantastic! But that's getting ahead of myself . . . There may not be another time in life when I have so little to lose by packing up and living abroad for a while. I will see if it can be done. It's going to take a while and plenty of investigation. I'd love to hear more about the ESL experiences of others! EDIT: thanks for Dave's ESL site; lots of links and lots of information. Edited by meramarina on 25 May 2013 at 12:51am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| eggcluck Senior Member China Joined 4711 days ago 168 posts - 278 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, Japanese | Message 6 of 23 23 June 2013 at 7:37am | IP Logged | ||
Sorry about the stupidly late reply but I missed this :( It was worth the Money The place I used was near the Malastranska metro stop. I have fond memories of that place and Prague in General. It did fulfil my expectations and I got much more than the content from it. This is why I would never recommend an only certification, plus a lot of places have stopped accepting on-line certifications. I used it for a job abroad and the content was relevant but it is a case of buyer beware here, as some places are simply give them some money mess around for a few weeks and then get your certificate! This guys were more serious than that. The instructor works in TEFL himself and can hook people up with jobs in Prague. This brings me onto my next thought, do the course where you actually want to teach as they will have local contacts that will make the job hunting easier. The exception to this is China, absolutely refuse to do your course at any centre that offers job placement, you will probably not like where you end up, well maybe you would it depends on what you are seeking. It was not so difficult for me to pass, I had already done some pre study and studied all the materials I was given. All you needed to do was have a working IPA knowledge of the ones relevant to English, some teaching theory knowledge and of course good English grammar. My final grade also came from review from the students I had the practice classes with, the teachers at the public school that watched my classes and the students themselves. I hear from the CELTA guys theirs is a different story they have a lot more work to do at home of the essay variety, I had some too but no where near the amount of the CELTA but my course was a lot more practical and hands on and had double the teaching practice and feedback you get from a CELTA it was also more varied from children to adults unlike CELTA, the final grade was also more heavily weighted on in class performance rather than homework assignments and an exam. But CELTA is basically a brand name and I hope you know what people are like with brand names, not fair I know but it is just the way things are. If you do try it and feel TEFL is for you, under no circumstances be satisfied with just a CELTA/equivalent. So many have them including backpackers. You will need to set yourself apart, the next step up is something children specific, MA in education, or a linguistics degree is also acceptable if it has a teaching component. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5019 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 7 of 23 23 June 2013 at 2:33pm | IP Logged | ||
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The trouble is I need a certificate that is without the degree, eggcluck. I am studying medicine, that means no BA, the only title I'll get is MUDr (=MD) if I manage to go through the whole thing. If I end without success earlier, I'll be nothing (or even less than nothing, just a worthless idiot with high school education only who cannot do any manual job because of health issues) and it will be far too late to start a BA. Therefore I want CELTA to help me get a better part time job during my studies and to be a kind of a safety net should I fail.
For this, getting it in Prague is the most logical choice the more if it really helps to get into the local language schools. I dislike language schools but I think that after getting CELTA it would be a logical choice to get a few years there before individually teaching. That's why I am asking about the Prague CELTA in particular. Would you recommend me some reading to get prepared? Do they expect a lot of teaching theory knowledge? How much extra time did you have to put in daily? Did you have a related degree or only CELTA? Did you have any trouble finding a job? Sorry about that many questions(and derailing Meramarina's thread, my apologies) . It's because of my personal crisis and a lot of thoughs about leaving medicine. I am considering CELTA as a door to a different life with less stress, earlier results and more money. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| meramarina Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5977 days ago 1341 posts - 2303 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Italian, French Personal Language Map | Message 8 of 23 23 June 2013 at 4:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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Don't worry about derailing the thread - I want to hear about the experiences of others and this can help readers who are not participating, too.
I know that CELTA training is very intensive, so I want to be sure that my health is good enough before attempting it. If I do, I'd like to study at one of The Teaching Houses, New York of maybe Philadelphia. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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