CELTA

Why the Cambridge CELTA?

The Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELTA) is the most widely recognised pre-service ELT qualification in Australia and throughout the world. If you would like to teach in a university language centre or private language school the requirements are usually a CELTA, plus an undergraduate degree. The CELTA is the most well known and recognised TESOL certificate. It is externally validated and overseen by Cambridge University.

If you wish to gain further qualifications and develop a career in ESL, the CELTA is a pathway to the Masters in TESOL at the University of Melbourne or the Cambridge DELTA course.

It’s possible to do the course intensively in four weeks or part-time over 10 weeks. We also run a blended/ online CELTA, where teaching practice takes place over two separate intensive weeks at the centre and the rest of the course is conducted online. Watch a video demonstration of the online course here.

Aims of the Course

The CELTA provides training to people with little or no previous experience in teaching English to adults and is therefore very practical in content. The course aims to increase candidates’ language awareness and develop competence in communicative language teaching as well as an understanding of current teaching methodologies.

Candidates must:

• Be at least 20 years of age (applicants over 18 may be interviewed in exceptional cases).
• Have a good educational background (preferably of university entrance standard).
• Have an excellent command of written and spoken English.

Duration of the Course

The full-time course is 4 weeks long and consists of approximately 120 hours.
Due to its intensive nature, the course requires a high level of commitment.
To help ensure success, candidates should be free of any other work or study commitments for its duration.  Our 4 week courses run every month apart from April.

Contact us to know more about the next part-time face-to-face course that runs for 10 weeks. Teaching practice is on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Input sessions will be on Saturday mornings (over nine Saturdays).

The tutors will run training sessions online and there is plenty of support available from tutors even though you are not in the classroom. The blended CELTA (incorporating face-to-face and online training) is popular with trainees who are unable to attend all the sessions at our centre, but who wish to complete the CELTA within a relatively short time-frame. The face-to-face teaching practice element of the blended course will take place over two weeks.

Course Content

See a sample timetable to get an idea of a typical day on a CELTA course.

The course is divided into:
Language Analysis
These sessions:

• Develop an ability to analyse language in terms of meaning, form, sound and usage
• Mainly focus on grammar and pronunciation.

Methodology
These sessions cover:

• Different approaches to language teaching;
• Techniques for presentation and practice of new language;
• Classroom management;
• Lesson-planning;
• Use of commercially produced and authentic materials;
• Developing listening, reading and writing skills.

Teaching Practice

• Each trainee is required to complete a minimum of 6 hours observed teaching practice with classes of adult learners.

Observation of Experienced Teachers

• This involves observing Language Centre teachers for a total of 8 hours during the course.

Course Requirements & Course Assessment

Assessment is continuous and is based on:

• Performance in Teaching Practice;
• An ability to evaluate one’s own lessons;
• The quality/punctuality of written assignments;
• Lesson plans;
• Participation in all aspects of the course attendance, which is expected to be 100%.

It is possible to pass the course at three levels:

• PassA
• PassB
• PassC

The final grades are awarded by the tutors and ratified by the visiting assessor after the course.

Certification

Certificates are awarded by UCLES. In addition, each candidate receives a final report from Melbourne Training Associates.

Application Procedure

1. Complete the application task (which includes a Language Awareness Task and conditions of enrolment) and return it to the address below.

Observers

If an applicant fails to meet the entry requirements, it may be possible to complete the course as an ‘observer’. Observers participate in most components of the course but are not formally assessed. At the end of the course, they receive a full report from Melbourne Training Associates outlining the course content and their progress.

The Online CELTA

The part-time blended CELTA course runs for 12 weeks. Teaching practice will take place two intensive weeks at the end of the course. The rest of the course will be taught online. The tutors will run training sessions online and there is plenty of support available from tutors even though you are not in the classroom. The blended CELTA (incorporating face-to-face and online training) is popular with trainees who are unable to attend all the sessions at our centre, but who wish to complete the CELTA within a relatively short time-frame. It also appeals to trainees living outside of Melbourne by reducing the number of days at the centre: the teaching practice element can be completed intensively in two weeks.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) about the Cambridge CELTA Online.

Feedback on the online CELTA:

• from tutors and trainees on an online/ blended CELTA course
• from two teaching practice tutors’ perspective
• from two trainees on the first online course

Further information:

Melbourne Training Associates

Level 1
245 Cardigan Street (just south of Grattan St)
Carlton, AUSTRALIA 3053
Phone (03) 9041 5341
Email: celta@melbtraining.com.au