Job Discussion Forums

[nstick13]

Is it worth it to pursue a CELTYL? Does it increase the likelihood of obtaining a job to have a certification for young learners? Is it a practical choice to obtain a CELTYL instead of a CELTA, or will I be losing out, essentially?

Thanks!

[naturegirl321]

I think it's less known than the CELTA. But depends on whether you want to teach YL or adults. Go with the CELTA and you can take the extension course.

[Madame J]

I doubt you'll even need the extension course to teach children. Most adverts that I've seen for jobs with kids have simply asked for CELTA. Many of the skills learnt on the course are perfectly transferable. I want to teach children myself, but I took the CELTA purely from an employability perspective, even though I probably would have enjoyed the CELTYL more.

[kaw]

I'd been teaching kids for years before I did the YL extension.......it was ok.........gave me some new ideas but nothing life changing.
I'd go with naturegirl's suggestion - do the CELTA and then........if you like kids, do the extension course.

[anospi]

Teaching kids is a totally different ballgame to teaching adults. I did the CELTA and struggled when I first had a class of 7 years olds. Really struggled. Two years later I did the IHCYL (essentially the same as the CELTYL), and thought it was definitely worth the time and effort. Before I was scared at the thought of teaching kids. After the course I enjoyed it, and was confident I could do it well.

In a nutshell, do the CELTA, then if you want to teach kids, do the CELTYL. I don't think you can do the CELTYL alone can you?

[Madame J]

You can do the CELTYL alone, though it's harder to find schools that offer it as a stand alone course. CELTYL is different from CELTA+YL.

[hollysuel]

It really depends on you and what you plan on doing with it! Professional development is always good. Think you should have given us a third option on the poll: 'depends'