Job Discussion Forums

[toto321]

Hello,

I've been accepted for CELTA.

It starts in two weeks.

I want this out of my way so I can hibernate .

Share with me your wisdom and experience please.

[nickpellatt]

Hello, I wrote a really long reply to this thread yesterday, and it didnt post unfortunately...I couldnt stomach writing it again straight away, so thought I would write something now rather than go and do the 101 other things I should really be doing on a nice tuesday afternoon!

I took a Trinity course just under a year ago, hopefully my experiences are still fresh enough to be relevant! I really really enjoyed my course, and hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Here are a few pointers and advice, disregard anything as you see fit ... but these things did work for me.

Im sure during the interview, or during your research process, you would have heard someone say 'Its the most intense, stress filled 4 weeks of your life!'. I was advised of this during my interview, and I often hear people say it on the forums. Well, Im not someone that does stress very well, so I was quite nervous about this pre-course. As a result I made sure all my family and friends knew about this heavy workload, and I postponed plans, or changed them to make sure I had every chance of success.

As a result ... I didnt find the course stressy at all! It was actually really good fun, I learnt a lot, and met some great people. This wasnt true for all my peers, and I did witness tears and tantrums during the course ... I have to say though, I dont feel the other trainees planned as well or managed their time so well.

So thats my first key piece of advice - MANAGE YOUR TIME EFFECTIVELY! If you course tutors stagger the assignments as mine did, it makes sense to begin them when they are given to you, rather than leave them late into the 3rd or even 4th week to complete them. I tackled all my tasks immediately, and as a result ... I actually had a lot of free time in the last week, and really enjoyed it whilst everyone else was going mad. I wasnt smarter, or more knowledgeable than my peers ... but I had my first assignment 80% completed in the first weekend ... my peers left it until week 3, and at this point they also had other assignments to complete.

This also applies to things like lesson planning. Again, I would recommend tackling lesson plans ASAP, and not leaving them until after dinner, a beer, a long bath etcetc. Again, some of my peers would be up until 2am making lesson plans, and would arrive tired the next day making the situation worse. By tackling the work immediately, and managing time well ... I was able to down tools by 8pm each night at the latest, and enjoy a quiet evening and a good nights sleep. I cant stress enough how important I feel time management is ... and it can be the difference between a great course experience and a good pass.

The next advice is with regard to the teaching practice itself ... (there is a thread in the newbie section about someone failing a course on this part). yes, it can be daunting to be observed, but no one is expecting you to be the finished article, so you can leave your ego at the classroom door and not worry about making mistakes. We learn by making mistakes, and hopefully some constructive feedback during the course will help. On this note here is my next real piece of advice - LISTEN TO AND ACT UPON FEEDBACK. As I said ... tutors wont expect you to be the perfect teacher, but if they tell you to speak slower, or spend more time giving instructions. DO IT. Showing you can act upon feedback and follow advice is one of the key things in the teaching practice I think. Students who nod their head and write lesson plans based on feedback, but then go back to class an make exactly the same mistakes again are the ones who have a hard time!

Also for lessons, use your tutors, listen to their advice and ideas. They have been teaching longer than you, and if they suggest something ... 9/10 it will work. Dont try to re-invent the wheel, dont spend hours trying to come up with the newest or most innovative lesson ideas and material .. why spend 4 hours planning something untested, when a course book or ready made lesson plan is there waiting for you? Sure, adapt or add to material, but you will be making a lot of hard work for yourself and making life harder by trying to do too much. That ties in with time management again ... no need to stay up until 2am making lesson plans and cutting out materials, when the grammar point you want to teach is perfectly illustrated on page 15 of the course book the tutor has given you.

A final suggestion is about grammar. Are you worried about it? I was! As a result ... I spent a lot of time trying to learn everything, and ended up knowing nothing. It is often accepted that real classroom relevant grammar knowledge comes from teaching it ... and that takes experience and lots of class hours. The course wont teach you grammar per se, but they should hopefully give you some of the tools you need to understand how it works in the class, how to research it, and make it relevant to the students.

I would then suggest that the best thing to do pre-course...is just learn one or two of the more common grammar and language awareness issues. Again, thinking of my course ... if someone had walked into my class of 12 trainees, with a basic working knowledge of the English tense system, some familiarity with the IPA, and a simple understanding of conditionals ... they would have been streets ahead of all the other trainees. So dont try to do too much and end up learning nothing ... just try to grasp some basic foundations of the points I have mentioned ...that would be a good start IMO!

Finally, ENJOY IT! I really really liked my course and wish I had done it years earlier, its made a massive difference to my approach in class...and although Im still far from the finished article...I am getting there!

Good luck ... if I can think of anything else to add ... Ill pop back later!

[Jolie_V]

I earned my Celta back in 2007 and I agree with the advice given to you. Let me add one tip which will give you the "edge" as well as the general picture of the program. If you can manage to get a reviewer for the TKT ( teaching knowledge test) get one and read the book. You won't regret it.

[khmerhit]

OBEY THE TUTORS to the LETTER

DO the ASSIGNMENTS on TIME

DONT FALL BEHIND

GOOD LUCK

[The Ever-changing Cleric]