Job Discussion Forums

[Englishish]

DELTA? MA? DELTA followed by MA? I know it all depends on what each person is planning to do but here's a simplified poll. Which would you choose to do?

Anyone else wondering which way to go next? I've seen a lot of discussion on the various forums about career advancement, the DELTA, MA etc but I'm still not sure what exactly the advantages/disadvantages are. I previously heard that the MA is more widely recognised/valued in the US and the DELTA in the UK. I've got the CELTA and a few years experience teaching and this is going to be my work for life. I only want to teach adults. It seems that the DELTA and/or MA is for career advancement but while I'd like to 'advance' in terms of getting more money and fewer hours(!) as well as gaining more experience and training, I want to remain a teacher, NOT become a DOS or Teacher Trainer or go into that type of admin. So my questions are...

1) Is the DELTA/MA any use to someone who doesn't want to go into admin/become a DOS?

2) Which one would be better? (I plan to continue working abroad and I wouldn't bother doing the UK certification unless/until I was planning to settle down in the UK which won't be in the near future).

3) Would it be worth doing the DELTA followed by the MA or is it better just to get on and do the MA? I think I'd like to do the DELTA next, especially since I can get a discount with my current employer. I know some universities will give you credits towards the MA if you've already done the DELTA but in practice but it looks like they'll only give about 30 credits (out of a total of 180 needed for the MA) so it's not very much considering how long it takes to do the DELTA.

For anyone interested, see DELTA exemptions in the UK:
http://www.cambridgeesol.org/exams/teaching-awards/delta-exemptions.html

The British system doesn't work the same as the American system so I'd particularly like to hear from any Brits because I guess I'll end up teaching there again eventually. (I previously worked in a college in the UK and would be happy to do that again at some stage in the future. They had just brought in a mandatory 1 year qualification for teaching in colleges when I was teaching there in 2004 but I didn't do it as it was the wrong time of year). While I'm happy to do more studies, it's starting to seem like a never-ending quest to get qualified and I'm not quite sure what the benefits are! However, I'm not planning to teach in the UK for a while so I'd be interested to hear everyone's thoughts, whether British or not.

A few more questions:
4) Will the DELTA bring more money for doing the same job as before or would I be putting myself at a disadvantage when it comes to getting jobs?

5) Is the DELTA enough to be able to work at universities? Actually, what I'm really asking is which countries require an MA to work at universities and which would be enough with a DELTA so everyone's varied collective opinions, knowledge and experience would be interesting to hear here!

Cheers!

[Kofola]

I have basically spent the last year trying to make up my mind whether to do the DELTA or MA. I have finally decided to do the MA.

Initially, I wanted to do one or the other because I felt that the market was becoming more competitive and in the future I might find myself caught between lower end jobs and upper end jobs and getting neither. (I have 9 years experience teaching.) However, I am now more interested in further study in terms of my own professional development.

After doing a lot of research I decided the DELTA was not for me because:

a. the amount of theory you could study on a two month intensive course would be limited and there seems to be an imbalance between this and the amount of time spent writing lesson plans.

b. the course is highly prescriptive with a focus, so it seems to me, on young adults learning general English. I teach in the corporate sector and there are major differences in the needs and abilities of young adult learners and those who are older. Teaching these groups requires different techniques and approaches.

So, I have decided on a distance MA because it seems better to focus more on the theory and then to implement it in my own classes with the kinds of students I am likely to continue teaching.

Btw, as regards teaching in the UK, the MA is generally asked for in ads for university posts, so I think that and solid teaching experience would be more useful, esp if you're not interested in teacher training. Plus EAP is really taking off and having an MA shows that you are familiar with the requirements for writing a thesis etc. It's probably harder to predict what would be more useful in further education down the line as they like to shift the goal posts so much...

Anyway, perhaps my decision process will help you with yours!

[naturegirl321]

You should also put MA then DELTA:

I did an MA in TEFL, and will be starting an MA in App. Linguistics next summer. For me, I can't do a DELTA at the moment, since you have to go to orientation for a couple of weeks. I can't afford to take the time off work, but maybe in the future.

) yes, of course. They could be trainers, or work at unis.

2) Neither. They're different. The MA is theory and the DELTA is practise.

3) Do the DELTA, then the MA, seems the best in your base.

4) More money, I don't know. Depends on lots of things,

5) I think an MA is better for uni

[sisyphus]

Im in a similar boat to the op. I was considering going just straight to an MA. I dont have Tefl certs but over 10 years experience.Although not sure if its possible to get on an MA without a Celta etc, also perhaps it would look a bit odd on the CV if you went straight to an MA?

[Chancellor]

[Englishish]

To Naturegirl
MA then DELTA? The thought never crossed my mind! Would there be any point? By the way, I saw your post on another thread. I understand you did an MA from a Spanish university and found that employers wanted an MA from an English-speaking university only (even though the course was all in English!) I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning that because it stopped me from potentially making the same mistake!

I'm not sure it's as simple as MA = theory and DELTA = practice because there are some MA courses which include the practice side. If I did one of these, would there be any point in doing a DELTA at all? The DELTA might be a 2 month intensive course but it's a 1 year part-time course! That's quite a significant chunk of time when you could go straight onto the MA. I suspect I'll do the DELTA first anyhow but it's interesting to hear people's viewpoints/experiences.

Yes, an MA seems like a good idea for universities which is what I'd be interested in. I too have been thinking about EAP in the future, especially for working in England in the future. I also hear that it's possible to do the MA without doing the dissertation. Does it make any difference to employers?

[naturegirl321]

[Chris_Crossley]

During my time in China, I have gained both an M.Ed. degree in Applied Linguistics and an MA in Education by distance learning from the Open University (UK).

However, there is at least one university in England that absolutely insists on people possessing the DELTA (or its fellow UK equivalent, the Trinity Diploma in TESOL) even for part-time, hourly-paid jobs in teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) - as I found out to my cost when I travelled there all the way from China, only to find that the idiots who conducted the interview had not even bothered to check the information that I had supplied to them properly and had merely assumed that I possessed this qualification.

Needless to say, I was extremely annoyed at what I considered to be sheer incompetence as well as a total lack of professionalism. They must obviously have forgotten what the real world of TEFL is really like, considering that they must all have been in their mid- to late fifties and been sitting on their seats in England for so long!

Given that they had wasted my time and money, I sought redress and eventually accepted a compensation payment of a few hundred pounds.

I have never even studied for a DELTA, yet I would have thought that many years of TESOL teaching experience would have counted for something - but oh no, not with those three sitting on the other side of the table! It seemed to me that it would not have remotely mattered if I had accumulated between 20 and 30 years of experience - without that "must-have" rag, nobody has any chance of teaching ESOL or EAP at that university, in my opinion!

[Englishish]

Well, I'm pretty much set to do the DELTA so it's nice to hear that there IS a point in doing the DELTA and not just going straight on to do the MA! Especially since I'm from England and was thinking that if I need/want to return to the UK in the future for a quick money injection/to visit family etc, that a pre-sessional EAP course would be better to do that a summer course for teenagers!

[mmcmorrow]

I'm a Delta trainer and assessor, based in New Zealand. Just want to make a couple of comments on the points made above:

Delta really isn't targeted at the teaching of younger learners (though specific colleges may want to focus on particular contexts, depending on their own expertise and the demand in their area).

The syllabus and assessment criteria can be seen here. As you can see, there are three independent modules. You can do these as separate courses or as one single integrated course at various centres around the world, as well as by distance mode (though this involves an orientation course for module 2)

The first focuses on methodology and language awareness for the classroom and is assessed through an exam

The second focuses on classroom teaching and includes four assessed lessons, (each with a background assignment, plan etc) and a professional development assignment (which is essentially an action-research project on personal reflection and change).

The third is a specialist option, with a focus on course planning and assessment. Here teachers can opt for a relevant area within ELT - for instance, English for Academic Purposes, Exam Courses, English for Professional Purposes, English for Younger Learners etc.

In the course I've been working on this year, all of the teachers were teaching adults - either within private language schools or polytechnics - and the module 3 preparation course focused on English for Academic Purposes.

Whether someone ought to go straight into an MA or should do a Delta (and possibly an MA later) is a personal decision which depends on that person's plans and the context in which they see themselves working. I think all of us can only speak about our particular context in relation to any questions about qualifications. The saying about 'horses for courses' is particularly true of qualifications. I'd advise anyone thinking of undertaking professional development qualifications to ask around and contact potential future employers directly to ask what's necessary.

I did the Delta (stricly speaking, its precursor) because I was working in a private language school in London. It was instrumental in me getting a job in one of the better schools and in moving into teacher training. The school only gave contracts to teachers with Delta or the Trinity diploma. Later on, my MA was instrumental in me getting a job as a university learning advisor in New Zealand (a Delta will, however, allow you to apply for a job as an English language tutor in many university language centres, in the UK and NZ). However, to get a job as a university lecturer in these places, an MA isn't enough anyway - you need a PhD. But that's moving away from teaching English language in any case.

The Delta is intended for classroom teachers and course directors. I think its distinguishing features are:

Focus on selection and analysis of English language for classroom teaching
Focus on critical evaluation of teaching materials and methods
Focus on effective use of these materials and methods in the classroom
Focus on lesson planning
Focus on classroom management
Focus on self-evaluation and development
Focus on course planning and assessment

It's not that these are unique. But the course has been developed over several decades as a challenging opportunity for experienced classroom practitioners to develop their practice through reflection and external assessment. What is unique about Delta - certainly in comparison with MA courses - is that it includes observed and assessed teaching practice. This assessment is partly by your own tutors, partly by external assessors like me (who, in this part of the world anyway, are likely to be jetting in from overseas or interstate) and partly by moderators at Cambridge. Its credibility is based on the standards of assessment - and they are tough. I am not aware of any MA programmes that include observed and assessed teaching practice as a core component of the course. Mine didn't - even though it was entitled an MA in English Language Teaching. Even where MA programmes do include teaching practice, generally this is assessed entirely or primarily through self-reflective journals etc. Universities may argue that self-reflection is valid etc etc - what they rarely mention is that it's a hell of a lot cheaper than getting their professors out of their chairs, onto a train or plane and into the back of a classroom!

I probably won't be visiting this forum for quite a while. Feel free to email me at: [email protected] if you have queries

Martin McMorrow, Massey University, New Zealand
Delta tutor in 2009 at Christchurch College of English
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