Job Discussion Forums

[eslman]

Hi,
I am wondering where most of you ex Celta takers stayed during the 4 weeks of the course? I am thinking of the share choice, but nolt really sure how that would work out and if a good choice. I was thinking of hotel but maybe a bit costly. If you have some experience to share, let me know..

I will be staying in Wroclaw, Poland

[Gordon]

I stayed home, about a 7 minute drive to the college. I know that doesn't help you much.

[eslman]

You were lucky !

[Gordon]

[Jetgirly]

The school arranged a room rental in a shared apartment for the duration of the course. It wasn't exactly a home-stay because we weren't expected to socialize or eat with our hosts, but they did have to provide fresh linens and towels.

My situation was quite strange because I was told I would be staying with a non-smoking woman with no pets, who turned out to be a smoker who was a dog-sitter! I am allergic to dogs AND seriously afraid of them, so this presented a huge problem. The school worked out an excellent solution though: my landlord went to her country house to dog-sit, meaning I had the apartment to myself when she was gone. I made good use of her living room sofa with one of the guys who was taking the CELTA with me!

[Fishy]

Hello, I stayed in accomodation provided by the school and shared with two other people who were taking the course. This was great as we were able to bounce ideas off each other and generally support each other. Through all of that, I made two brilliant friends.

[claudek]

Nice replies..I thought it would be a nice way to help one another and make the course maybe easier. Maybe not best to stay alone all the time.

[saint57]

Why not punk it and pitch a tent? My grandpa did this every summer while studying for his degree. Pitching a tent will test your "TESL manhood". Some tough times are ahead of you in this business. I see no point in staying in the decadent accommodations offered by the schools.

[stillnosheep]

[movinaround]

I did mine in Canada during one of my breaks, so I just looked in the ads for a monthly rentable room somewhere. Met some cool people in the apartment (all students studying in the summer).

[Jetgirly]

The school didn't lie to me about the arrangements- the woman lied to the school on her paperwork to increase the chances of getting a paying homestay student. When I went to the program office to complain, they pulled her form out of the file and showed it to me. She had checked the boxes for "non-smoking" and "no pets". For a lot of people, homestay students are a source of income. As a paying customer, I deserved the living arrangements promised in the initial agreement. FURTHERMORE, I told the program co-ordinator that I would be perfectly happy moving to a different apartment for the duration of the program, as long as I didn't have to pay anything extra. I imagine that when my "host" heard her options (no dog-sitting or lose the paying tenant) she chose to visit her country house.

As for posting my "credentials", I feel they put my comments (in all threads) into context. When I talk about my experiences, people will know that they're reading about a newly qualified teacher, from Canada, with EU citizenship, who taught some EFL overseas and then decided to go back to school. It would be one thing to list my numerous athletic awards and film appearances, because they don't relate to ESL. But (in my opinion), the contents of my signature relate to the theme of these boards.

[stillnosheep]

OK, but where were you working in Italy?

[Will.]

I had really good luck.

A colleague lived near the school and went on holiday while I was doing my Ctefla and I was able to house sit for the month.

[movinaround]

[TheLongWayHome]

I was lucky too. I took my CELTA in Brighton, England and stayed in a homestay with a funky woman from Boston who taught EFL to refugees. She also had a guy from Bulgaria there which was quite handy when doing the learner profile part. Lucked out all in all.