Job Discussion Forums

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Hi ,

Does anyone have experience of the CELTA course in Edinburgh? I was looking at Basil Patterson and Randolph. The one at Basil Patterson is 160 pounds more!

Thanks in advance!

[microbabe]

Hi,

I am looking at doing the CELTA in Edinburgh and had an interview with Randolph. They seem nice and professional. I am planning to do it next summer since I am teaching in Sudan at the moment. I think they have a good reputation and cheaper too.

Who did you go with in the end ?

Good luck with it.

[Lemon_Drizzle]

Hi There,

I actually haven't decided yet. I wanted to do it in January but that might be pushing it a bit now so i might apply for the February courses. I liked the look of Randolph house but I was put off by some reviews I found online. They claimed people were picked on and failed on the basis of the teacher disliking them. however that could just be bitter people venting on the web! I suppose I just need to decide on a date and apply and see which one either accepts me or feels right to me. You obviously had a positive experience when you talked to them?

[microbabe]

Hi,

I've been trying to find the reviews ,but can't can find any. Could you post the links.

Yes, I did have a positive feeling , not too sure now.


Thanks

[Christian St.Bacon]

Want to remain anonymous - still nightmares and fears from over a decade ago - I actually did my CELTA many years ago at Basil Paterson school when it was in Abercromby Place - very tough going, new to teaching/but the place had/has a good reputation.....NOW for the strange part - the instructor was and I imagine still is a very tough lady who i felt was picking on one or two (two actually, including me...) determined to fail someone - soon after she left her instructors post there and started her own business, opening up her own school - guess the name....? RANDOLPH school...yes.......!!!!....Basil Paterson still has a good name/no doubt good instructors - and the owner of Randolph too, was/is very good - just hope she doesnt have a 'thing' for you - I got a C-pass/wonder if that other guy passed/i'm guessing not...

do the work/pass the course - and both places will seem tough but good
my answer/advice is
either/or....

[Mikalina]

I did my CELTA at Randolph.

I was already a qualified teacher so I had already developed a trust and tried methodology.

Unfortunately (fortunately) you get a a prescribed CELTA training - no leeway. If you do EXACTLY what you are told and even excel at WHAT YOU ARE TOLD, you will come out with a CELTA pass. I was actually told this after I failed an assignment (my honours degree is in Eng lang/lit). It is very A, B, C and pedantic as are the trainers (or owners).

Everyone says the CELTA is quite tough wherever you go, because it is full on but it does give you a methodology which works on the whole and gives you a base from which you can develop your own.

Only real criticism - and it's probably the same everywhere, someone was accepted on the course who was NEVER going to be able to do it but their �1000 was too tempting.

Be honest with yourself about your ability, and then, like previous poster says, either/or.

[Lemon_Drizzle]

http://www.teflwatch.org/failing-the-celta-200618.html - comments 20-21.

Sorry I can't find the reviews I originally saw which is really annoying. Cannot find any reviews for Basil Patterson apart from the one kindly posted by Christian St.Bacon.

The ones I found just said that it was very unprofessional. Passing the course depending on being liked rather than being liked because you were a good teacher. Another review also said they had a dislike for already qualified teachers or people with language backgrounds. It just put me off. I would like to learn from the CELTA not just pass it. I would also like to be judged on teaching not on chemistry between myself and the pedantic teacher. It's annoying I was so excited by the idea of doing the CELTA now I am really put off!

[GriffinParka]

I too did the Celta after having taught for a couple of years (and done a PGCE), although this was at IH back in the 1990s, not in Edinburgh.

I suppose I might have had a 'know-it-all' attitude too, had it not been for the guy who interviewed me before the course. He made it very clear that their business was to train you in Method XYZ (or rather, PPP), and they wanted to see you use that method - and nothing else.

Of course, it makes some kind of sense, as it's TEACHER TRAINING, and not TEACHER EDUCATION, which are two very different things. In other words, if you pay somebody to teach your dog to jump through hoops, you expect your dog to learn how to jump through hoops - and not juggle with bananas.

So do the course and jump through the right hoops. If you do well, you'll get a pass, and if you do very well, you'll get a B. Just don't think that the Celta is the be-all-and-end-all of teaching, though - in fact, it's just a beginning.

That's why a lot of Celta trainers are w*nkers - they never got past the beginnings of teaching, and they are TRAINERS (like the dog-trainers above). Real teachers get an education too!

[microbabe]

Hi,
How are things ? When do you start your course and who did you go with in the end ?

When you finish if you can I'd be intererested to hear how it went.

Good luck.

[godmachine12]

I did my CELTA at Basil in May 2009 and it was a great experience. We had a young trainer and a fairly old one who really nailed us but it was fun and nobody failed the course either. The owner/director (not really sure) was a young, super nice guy who had a seemingly endless amount of events going on for the students. We were out every Friday for pub night and a small group of us were always milling about with the students in our spare time. Couple that with a lovely city like Edinburgh and you've got a winner.