Job Discussion Forums

[magpie]

Usually the precourse interview will weed out most potential failures. However, at the start of the course you really just need to put other ideas out of your head and "get with the program", do all the work and listen to what you are told in your tutorials. The tutors are there to guide you and their goal is to get you to pass, of course. Yes, there is a lot of material to digest and a lot of preparation for teaching assignments.

Don't worry about it, but be prepared to work hard for even the lowest level "pass". Go with an open mind and a desire to learn and you will do well.

[cphaslanger]

The consensus seems to be that although it's beautiful in Playa, there is no time to enjoy it? Four weeks of 10-15 hour days? Is that a reality or a slight exaggeration? For the folks who invested that much time studying, did you have teaching experience before, or was all you were learning new to you? I ask because I'm an experienced teacher, but not of English (although I teach to Spanish speakers in California). I wonder if I'll need to spend so much time working... because selfishly I want to work a "normal" amount when taking a TEFL class, and be able to enjoy whatever city I'm in at the same time.... What do you who have done this program thing about the intensity... a lot in a good way, or just too much???

[magpie]

The CELTA, and other "intensive" programs are just that--INTENSE. They are 120 hours (usually, though some are a bit longer or shorter) of material crammed into 20 school days. This includes practice teaching with real students, not just among your peers. The weekdays are definitely long and intense.

The Playa CELTA class began at 10AM and we were done by 8PM--with breaks and about a 2 hour lunch. The time outside of class was spent preparing your teaching lessons. Depending on how much effort you needed to put into it this could be 2-6 hours. I say this as I came into the class having taught English, French and public speaking to teens and adults for many years and I still had to put in a good amount of time in preparation. In fact, my biggest difficulty was UNlearning some practices that are used when teaching students in your own native language. Old habits are hard to break, but you do get plenty of practice!

All that said, there ARE weekends. My classmates and I had plenty of "down time" to relax, party, sunbathe, and sightsee. No one complained about the structure of the class being too intense, BUT we knew going into it that our weekdays were pretty much filled until late in the evening.

I'm not sure exactly what you consider "normal" with regard to an intense class. You are getting about the equivalent of 1 college quarter of information and practice in 20 school days--so it IS a lot of material in a short time. If you come with the ability to manage your time well, you should have time to relax on the weekends--but truthfully, do not plan on making this a "holiday" in Mexico. Plan for that type of relaxation prior to or after the class.