Job Discussion Forums

[leeroy]

(Or should it be, "Modular")

Note: Although many are unhappy with the "do a 4-week course and you're ready to teach" scenario, it is here to stay - and is more a symptom of economics than the fault of teachers specifically. I'm trying to avoid the "Is a CELTA enough?" side of the argument here...

Personally, I like the CELTA - or at the very least, the idea of it. As I understand it, the CELTA will not (and does not pretend to) turn you into a teacher in one month. Rather, it teaches the the very basics of lesson planning and execution. A platform (of sorts) that future teaching experience can be built on. That's certainly how it worked for me, anyway. If nothing else, if someone has forked out the money to do a CELTA, it shows that they have at least a moderate interest in teaching, and have made an investment of some sort.

But, as a global industry, ELT is a vast and diverse one indeed. Teaching half-asleep Japanese teenagers is not the same as a class of 6 Ecuadorian businessmen - as is teaching refugees in London compared to preparing German university graduates for a Cambridge exam class.

Yet the CELTA is very much a "one-size-fits-all" course - no matter where it is done, the content and strategy varies little. (CELTYL aside, of course..)

Perhaps it's obvious what I'm leading to here, but why not tailor CELTAs a little more specifically to certain "sub-groups" of ELT? From the sounds of what it is like in China, a "CELTAC" (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adolescents in China) doesn't sound like a bad idea...

A few others...

CELTKYL - /seltkil/ (... Korean Young Learners)
CELTANSE - /seltanz/ (... Adults in a Native Speaking Environment)
CELTRAS - /seltras/ (... to Refugees and Asylum Seekers)
CELEP - /selep/ ( ... English Language Exam Preparation)
CELTB - /setleb/ (... Teaching for Business)

All would contain a "core element" of lesson planning & execution, but with additional content specifically relevant to whichever "sub-group" of the CELTA they were for.

But this all seems like a jolly good idea, which makes me think that

a) It's been thought of already, and for reasons unkown here is simply impractical.

b) Things like this already exist, but are not internationally recognised

c) I'm a genius

d) It's in the pipe-line.

Anyone?

[dmb]

the number of "sub groups"is indefinite. So stick with the CELTA and continue your education in the classroom.

[caesar]

I believe CELTA would have a good case for copyright / trademark infringement, no?

Can you just change one letter in a name and decieve people into thinking you produce a product approved by that group?

Dangerous legal ground and I wouldn't fork over my own money to finance such a program.

Unfortyunately the CELTA people aren't interested in shuch programs because they're ased in Cambridge and when when you start talking about training teachers in England to teach children and such all kinds of problems arise.

[struelle]

[denise]

Sometimes language schools have students/"clients" that include all/many of the scenarios posted by leeroy. When I was teaching in Prague, I had some company classes, some individual intensive courses (sometimes test-prep courses), teenagers, etc. No refugees, I admit. I'm sure that many teachers in private language schools had similar schedules. Had there been a more specific certificate available, e.g., CELTYCSAMSSE (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Young Czech Students Avoiding Military Service by Studying English), and had I taken it, I would have been qualified to teach that group alone, and not the business students, adults, etc.

TEFL courses, at least the one-month gigs, do what they can to cover the basics--beyond that, the teachers have to modify their lessons accordingly. The general philosophies and principals are usually fairly easily adapted.

d