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tomseslcafe
Joined: 25 Feb 2015 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:41 pm Post subject: a question about the DELTA |
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After getting a TEFL and teaching in China for two years I decided to go to International House in Bangkok to get a CELTA. Ultimately I want to take the DELTA because I would like to be either a manager, a teacher trainer or an examiner. I understand that I can take the DELTA one year after taking the CELTA so I am planning on taking this in a two month class at IH Bangkok. Does this seem like a reasonable plan? Does anyone have any suggestions? I am aware of how difficult the program is but I am someone who is hardworking and ambitious. |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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It depends. Where do you plan to teach once you've completed the CELTA? |
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Brunouno
Joined: 18 Apr 2013 Posts: 129
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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What kind of TEFL certificate do you have? You don't need a CELTA in order to do the DELTA. |
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mmcmorrow
Joined: 30 Sep 2007 Posts: 143 Location: New Zealand
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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You've probably seen the Delta handbook, which includes guidance for the three different modules of Delta. As others have pointed out, a CELTA as such is not a pre-requisite - Delta candidates may have different initial qualifications. As you mention, one year's experience following an initial qualification is the minimum - however, most people doing Delta come in with several years' experience. A teacher with only a year's experience would have to be pretty good - and to have racked up some high quality experience at a range of different levels. Anyway, it's up to individual centres to assess the qualifications and general readiness of candidates (typically they ask people to complete some tasks, including writing and language awareness, and have an interview).
There are various ways you can take the Delta. Full time in one go; full time one module at a time; part time face to face; part time by distance learning (though you still need to take a two week, face to face orientation course); part-time by 'blended learning' (i.e. modules 1 & 3 by distance and module 2 full-time face to face). The distance and blended options are available through the distance delta from IH. Your choice is going to depend on your circumstances and preferences.
It's well-recognised as a stepping stone to working as a senior teacher in a good school, or as a director of studies or teacher trainer, particularly in the private English language school sector. I often bump into teachers who I've worked with or assessed on Delta programmes who are now working in those roles here in NZ (and previously when I was in the UK). But if you are really thinking of management, rather than an academic role, you might be better off taking a business-oriented qualification (e.g. in small business management; international marketing etc) instead.
I've posted a few times on Delta related issues - you can see them if you search under my name here. In relation to module 2, I suggest that in the time leading up to Delta you:
read up on the British Council teachingenglish site and the various 'How to ...' books by Scott Thornbury etc (and books of that ilk)
tighten up on the basics of classroom management and language clarification work (e.g. instructions, board / screen work, concept questions, feedback)
practise writing out lesson plans for one hour lessons (with language or skills aims / sub aims and procedure)
get used to being observed (e.g. by another teacher or your DOS - or even just get a friend or partner to sit in and observe your lesson). Alternatively, film bits of your teaching and see how they went.
I did this myself a while back (either by sticking a video camera in the corner or by asking someone who was observing me to film at the same time) when I was working in London. I uploaded the results here. You're welcome to take a look!
Martin McMorrow, Massey University, New Zealand
Last edited by mmcmorrow on Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:14 am; edited 2 times in total |
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tomseslcafe
Joined: 25 Feb 2015 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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I have a 120 hour TEFL from the Boston Language Institute. I would like to work somewhere in Southeast Asia such as Thailand or Malaysia. I am taking the CELTA because I would like to work for the British Council. I see working for a large organization like this as an opportunity to start as a teacher and gradually work my way up to a higher position. |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:36 am Post subject: |
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tomseslcafe wrote: |
I have a 120 hour TEFL from the Boston Language Institute. I would like to work somewhere in Southeast Asia such as Thailand or Malaysia. I am taking the CELTA because I would like to work for the British Council. I see working for a large organization like this as an opportunity to start as a teacher and gradually work my way up to a higher position. |
If your TEFL cert had the 6 hours of assessed teaching practice with real students and qualified instructors, you may already have a CELTA equivalent, in which case I think it would largely be a waste of your $2000 or so to get essentially the same thing. With your two years post-cert experience you may be ready to do the DELTA now (or with a few to several months of the extra prep work suggested by mmcmorrow).
British Council isn't necessarily the best employer out there, so I wouldn't pin all my hopes on them and definitely would not go get a CELTA with the exclusive goal of working for the BC. In any event, BC tends to prefer to hire DELTA qualified teachers these days, so you might look at just upgrading your quals to a DELTA sooner rather than later - that is if you paid attention in your TEFL cert class and have focused on professional development since. |
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tomseslcafe
Joined: 25 Feb 2015 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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Is there another school the size of the British Council that you would recommend? What are the disadvantages of working for the BC? I like the idea of working for a large school like this with numerous locations because it would be easy to go from one country to the other and the schools are managed by Westerners. It is also possible to move up in a place like the BC as opposed to the school in China that I worked in where there was no opportunity at all to advance your career.
It is encouraging to know that I may be ready soon to take the DELTA, I am in the process of reading up on it so I have a better idea what I am in for. |
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esl_prof

Joined: 30 Nov 2013 Posts: 2006 Location: peyi kote solèy frèt
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:06 pm Post subject: |
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tomseslcafe wrote: |
It is encouraging to know that I may be ready soon to take the DELTA, I am in the process of reading up on it so I have a better idea what I am in for. |
Yes, very encouraging indeed. Please keep us posted on your progress as you continue moving in that direction. It will be exciting to hear where you end up. |
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spanglish
Joined: 21 May 2009 Posts: 742 Location: working on that
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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tomseslcafe wrote: |
Is there another school the size of the British Council that you would recommend? What are the disadvantages of working for the BC? I like the idea of working for a large school like this with numerous locations because it would be easy to go from one country to the other and the schools are managed by Westerners. It is also possible to move up in a place like the BC as opposed to the school in China that I worked in where there was no opportunity at all to advance your career.
It is encouraging to know that I may be ready soon to take the DELTA, I am in the process of reading up on it so I have a better idea what I am in for. |
The 'best' jobs tend to be specific to each country, but each place usually has an informal pecking order. If teaching young adults is your thing, then look into universities. In some countries, western joint-operated universities are known as tops picks - as examples of these I seem to remember seeing Nottingham Ningbo, Duke, XJTLU, and possibly NYU Shanghai being discussed as higher paying options in China and RMIT as one of the more reputable places in Vietnam. You can do a search for all of these.
British Council is definitely not a bad option to really tighten up your teaching method, learn lots of endurance (they tend to work you quite hard, maybe not such a positive), and learn how to please for hours and hours every day fairly demanding students who are paying top dollar and know it. It's a decently structured environment and great exposure to industry best practices and there also tend to be opportunities to get the DELTA paid for and to train up as an IELTS examiner. On the downside, there's the heavy schedule and demanding students already mentioned, the frustration of dealing with a very bureaucratic environment with a fair bit of daily busy/paperwork (many people move abroad to get away from such red tape procedures), and always knowing that as a teacher you are very, very much at the bottom of the foreign staff ladder. You certainly can pursue a long-term multi-country career with the BC, but keep in mind that this tends to be a shrinking market (and certainly is not isolated to the BC or the TEFL market) - benefits and pay are decreasing and they are doing their best to phase out relatively expensive expat packages (that include flights, settling in allowance, and health insurance) in favor of part time, in-country hires without benefits. In this scenario a CELTA/DELTA-qualified spouse of a well-off multinational or oil company executive would be an ideal hire. To move up with BC you definitely will need the DELTA plus MA TESOL eventually, and to get beyond entry level - in many or most cases even to get in - you should be British. All in all, for decreasing pay packages, a heavy work load, and relatively little respect, I just don't find it worth it, but many seem to. |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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tomseslcafe wrote: |
It is also possible to move up in a place like the BC as opposed to the school in China that I worked in where there was no opportunity at all to advance your career. |
Frankly, the best way to find out if it's possible to move up within the BC or any other educational organization is to look at their actual job ads for lead/senior positions and use the required qualifications/experience indicated as a general guide for what you should strive for. For example, from a current job ad for an EFL Teacher Trainer at a college in the Middle East:A Master's Degree in ELT/Education
Only Cambridge ESOL approved CELTA/DELTA tutors will be considered
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
A minimum of 3 years of ELT Teacher Training experience.
A proven track record of delivering Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards
Must be able to provide instruction at various levels within the program areas
Experience in developing course curriculum as per accreditation standards
Effective presentation skills, both theoretical and practical
Excellent verbal and written communication skills and a demonstrated competency to interact with people at all levels of the organization
A high degree of computer literacy and demonstrated ability to integrate technology into the learning environment and teaching methodology
Current knowledge of industry practices, trends and issues, particularly with regards to ELT teaching practices and integration of educational technology ELT
Evidence of a personal professional development plan with membership to an internationally recognized professional association being preferred
The ability to function as a team player within a multi-cultural work environment
Overseas teaching/training experience to non-native English speakers is desirable
You might also take a look at "Transitioning from EFL teacher to teacher trainer" (http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=108596) since teacher training is a step towards career advancement. |
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tomseslcafe
Joined: 25 Feb 2015 Posts: 17 Location: Bangkok, Thailand
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Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 9:55 am Post subject: |
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I appreciate everyone's feedback. I am going to look for a job in South Korea, they seem to have pretty good jobs there, the language should be a little easier to learn than Chinese and my Chinese wife will be able to get a job teaching Mandarin there. It looks like a winner. |
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