Job Discussion Forums

[spiral78]

Many of us have taken a CELTA or equivalent entry-level course (ONSITE, including supervised teaching practice with real students - NOT ONLINE).

If you took one, was it worth it overall?





For myself, I've moved past my original cert with further quals, but it did provide a reasonable starting point.
I've been involved in both entry-level and ongoing teacher training for some years now, and I think it's useful.

[fluffyhamster]

In terms of earnings (a rough "employability"), yes it was worth it. It (and/or rather the experience that as luck would have it was offered and immediately followed at the school attached to the training center) probably helped me get a leg up on the competition, especially in China and Japan, and the cost wasn't too hard to recoup within a year or two (but that was then, can the same be said nowadays?).

In terms of content-value, I'm not so sure. Could I find my way around a classroom afterwards and make it look lively and communicative enough? Yes. Was there actually that much learning taking place, aided by top-notch input? Debatable, even with happy observers. And it's really easy to putter along in a middling gear if enough of the students you're driving know a fair number of the highways and byways already.

[Sashadroogie]

Mine was not bad at all. Learnt a lot, had some previous notions confirmed, had many more challenged, and had totally new avenues opened up. It was an excellent spring board to further teacher training.

However, it was marred by the attitude of certain other trainees, who constantly bit backs, gnawed the furniture, and molted their fur all over the classroom and the group. Some of them didn't get on well with the trainees, achieved open enmity with the saintly patient trainers, but failed utterly to develop any sort of rapport with the language learners, who were bored to death by biblical scale grammar lectures. Some failed outright, others scraped a pass, and then shipped off back to the Pacific areas were they had previous experience.Not sure what value they got out of it all really. Perhaps as much as they put in...

[fluffyhamster]

Ho ho ho Sash, if only I'd been an at all pugnacious fluffyhamster back then! Might've helped liven up the rather po-faced, at times almost grim, proceedings, that's for sure. Discord, enmity, lack of rapport, grammar lectures? Only from the trainers ROFL (some of whom had clearly been doing it a bit too long...or not long enough!). Another inaccuracy seems to be that 'shipped back' (I was shipped over, in a luxury EF shipping container as it happens). Anyway, back to Spiral's thread.

[Sashadroogie]

Many of my colleagues' courses were disrupted by Communist insurgents, so I suppose we all share some misfortunes...

[fat_chris]

[Sashadroogie]

Dear respected Fat_Chris

Not only did they receive re-education, for free, but they learnt to love the Great Vozhd. Sadly, some recalcitrants didn't manage to make that great mental leap forward, and had to be dealt with severely. Some others, however, managed to escape, only surviving the harshness of the elements by trapping and skinning many small furry animals on the tundra. Since then there have been many sightings and reports of lost wanderers wrapped in mangy hides and scruffy sables roaming the snowswept wilderness in search of a place to teach. A few appear to have migrated to the south and south east...

After the camp guards were shot for negligence, all these events became useful bedtime stories for scaring children and future trainees about the horrors that await those who dare to disobey the wise directives of the Great and Enlightened Vozhd, and his Celta trainer team.


With Communist greetings

Sasha

[Shroob]

Certainly worth it, but for the opposite reason to Fluffy. My CELTA was not why I was offered work in China (I remember having a meeting with my boss when renegotiating a contract and they said, 'but you don't have a TEFL certificate'). Rather, it gave me confidence in myself and my ability to teach a decent lesson (in my opinion at least!).

[fluffyhamster]

Hi Shroob. I doubt if the cert alone is ever the sole or even primary reason we're offered jobs (unless we're the only applicant with one, which seems unlikely). I mean, silky fur and big incisors go a long way in some cages I mean places!

Your point about developing confidence (or belief or whatever) could make for an interesting discussion, but perhaps on a new thread.

[D-M]

For me, it was worth it.

Although I may sound like a CELTA-drone ... Im still not convinced there is 'another way' ... if there is another way, I dont know what it is. The way I observed on my course seems logical, efficient and useful ... the only way that makes sense. The path I found on my own was neither logical, efficient or useful most of the time.

Im yet to see or read about another way TBH. And the conversations I have with colleagues here in China kinda lack substance for me ... 'Well, if the students dont want pair work and want you to explain 30 news words per lesson, just do it man!', doesnt cut it for me.

Teacher training for me = setting aims that could be achieved. Rely on student TT rather than teachers. Giving students a greater role in the structure and administration of the lesson. Understanding language and how it relates to students. The elimination of simple yet common teacher mistakes.

I dont see what one cant like about CELTA type courses TBH.

Interestingly, I dont think any of my other trainees are still involved in TEFL in any way. I took my course in 2008, and of the 12 trainees, 4 didnt graduate at all, and as far as Im aware ... only 3 of us were still working in TEFL one year later.

A very interesting CELTA question for me would be to find out how many people are still involved in EFL 3 years after taking the course. Many of us in EFL have taken a CELTA, but I think many people who have taken the CELTA, are not longer in EFL.

[spiral78]

[LongShiKong]

[Sashadroogie]

That's understandable!

[fluffyhamster]

Er, the keyword was 'equivalent', and CTEFLA is more equivalent to CELTA than e.g. TESOL (I know because I counted how many letters are the same versus different. That's also how I developed breathtaking kindy-level reading skills. My TEFL/ELT trainer wrote this post for me).

[Shroob]