So what was life like on the CELTA course

PRACTICE VS THEORY

So, one thing you should know is that the CELTA course is very practical.  The day-to-day life of a trainee is very similar to what you should expect when actually teaching afterwards. As in we get you straight in the classroom from day one with the students and from day two you`ll be teaching! The course is very hands-on and as Shelly from Canada said, “you finish the course feeling ready for any class”.

WORKING IN GROUPS

The course is organised in small groups of trainees so there are plenty of opportunities to bounce ideas off one another and there is a big focus on working in a team and sharing ideas in a group; as Laura from the UK stated, “you spend your day in small groups with other trainees who help provide support throughout the course” and    “you get to work closely with a great group of learners”.

THE TUTORS

As mentioned above you all work in small groups when planning and preparing your classes and each group gets assigned a tutor. You work very closely with your tutor when organising classes and each person gets individual attention to help them plan and prepare their classes. The tutors have a range of experience teaching different levels, age groups, nationalities, and as Andrew from the USA said, “you learn useful teaching methods from the best teachers Spain has to offer”.

TYPICAL DAY ON THE COURSE

As you know the CELTA course is full on! There`s never a dull moment on this course. It’s jam-packed with teaching and methodology sessions. We start every morning with classes with our students and then the rest of the day is lesson planning and methodology. The methodology sessions mirror what we expect to see in the trainees lessons; e.g they are student-centred, lively and we expect full cooperation between trainees. So, there’s not much sitting around listening, it’s much more dynamic and practical where student-centred discussion is paramount.