Korean Job Discussion Forums

[johnyv40]

So I have been here for a little while, but I really love Korea so far.

And I am thinking about going for a CELTA, and I was hoping to hear from some people who have taken the course.

Also different ways to take it. Because is it true u can take in a month or take it over several months part time??
Because I would like to know more about it as something to take part time, because I am working full time right now.

Any and all advice would be appreciated.

I only have a BA

[Troglodyte]

I think that all you need is a BA to take the course. (Maybe not even that.)

I took it. I don't know if you can take it part time. If so, I would imagine that they'd grade you differently. I've only ever heard of taking it full time (1 month intensive). Part of the difficulty of taking it and performing well on it is that you have a large course load and lots of work to prepare each day. I don't know if that's to simulate how a lot of ELT jobs are or not, but it definitely effects the quality of what materials and lesson plans you produce. The course is relatively hard, BUT if you can get on the course, then you'll probably pass. Schools that offer the CELTA course tend to be selective about who they let in. They don't want a large fail rate because it will hurt their reputation, so they screen applicants.

If you do find a place that does the course part time, I'd be reluctant to take it because I can easily imagine a lot of CELTA/DELTA grads snubbing their noses at you because they passed the intensive course and you only passed a part time course and had days at a time to produce nice lesson plans and auxiliary materials. It's not a distance education course though and I've never heard of a CELTA course being offered in Korea, so if you can't get away from your job for the 1 month, then you can't take it. You can take it in Vietnam though (unless that's changed recently). If your school is serious about the quality of their teachers, they'll let you take the time off to upgrade your skills with an internationally recognized certificate course.

If you want to stay in Korea though, the CELTA isn't going to help you much. It WILL help you teach adults better. It WILL help you get a job in other countries. In Korea though, I'm sorry to say, you are a dancing monkey. Schools do not WANT input from their foreign teachers on educational matters (or in fact any other matter). I have rarely ever met a Korean educator or administrator who even knew what the CELTA is. If you have an MA in TESOL from a fly-by-night distance education university that prints up diplomas by the box load at the local Kinkos, you'd have a better chance of getting a better job here. Here, the piece of paper is more important that what you actually know. It's unfortunate that things are that way, but if you want to make a career of ELT outside of your home country, you have to accept the differing opinions about education in different countries.

If you ever plan on teaching outside of Korea, the CELTA is certainly worth taking. Even if you are just taking it to look good on your resume (which is probably why most people take it) then it's still worth taking. In most of Europe you will have a hard time getting a job without the CELTA or something similar from a recognized institute. In South America it will also get you a lot of jobs. If you are new to teaching (and don't count your time in Korea as being typical ELT work) then it will help you a lot by giving you a good introduction to most of the methods that you'll need to teach ELT to adults (a lot of which are also applicable to teaching kids). If you want to go on to become the director of education or a head teacher or a teacher trainer at a language school (other than in Korea where it's rare to begin with) then you'll need not only the CELTA but probably also the DELTA (or years of relevant experience).

There are some schools who will subsidize the cost of the course for you, if you are on a teaching contract with them. Other schools will offer to reimburse the cost of the course if you work for them for a year. But those places aren't in Korea.

Korea is a good place to make money. It's a good place for job security. It's a good place for getting most of the things from back home that you're familiar with. It's NOT a good place to advance your career in ELT. It's not a good place to get much practical experience as an educator. Many people would probably also add that it's not a good place to hold onto your sanity.

[edwardcatflap]

Good advice. Apart from this bit

[Whistleblower]

I done the CELTA at the British Council in Seoul and it was the best decision I have ever made. The course was brilliant the teacher trainers were excellent.

Having been on various post-grad courses, the CELTA was probably one of the best I have ever been on. Some people will disuade you to do the CELTA but if you have the time and cash to commit to such a course, do it.

Four years down the line and I am doing examining work for Cambridge ESOL, assisted with the BULATS in Korea and also developed professionally. If you can get four weeks unpaid/paid vacation off from work, pursue the CELTA. Perhaps you could negotiate with your boss.

[ttompatz]

Take a month off between contracts (or extend your winter vacation a bit) and head for Thailand and do the CELTA.

You can also do it at the British council in Korea.

[Fat_Elvis]

I think there's a part-time CELTA offered out of the International Graduate School of English in Seoul.

[edwardcatflap]

[johnyv40]

Ok thanks for the information

I will be doing some more research

[azzwell]

Did mine in Prague in a few years ago, half the price of Seoul, cooler city, great times, but a lot, and I mean a lot, of work. A friend did it part time in Seoul while working and said it just about killed him. Even though I am now out of ELT and into an international school (not in Korea thank God) it still was a great experience and the things I learned there about teaching carry over into my new job. Go for it, but don't do it in Korea, it is offered in many many places. Tom was right, take it in Thailand or somewhere nice although you wont get a lot of time to enjoy life.
Oh, and totally worth it, you learn a lot. If you are really going to do it I highly suggest getting a few good grammar books and brushing up on things. The people who did the best, I only got a pass B, where the non-native speakers of English, it is hard core grammar, the stuff a native speaker does not really think about.

[oldfatfarang]

I did my CELTA in International House (Bangkok).

It's a lot of work, but I thought better planning from the instructors - and more computers for the students, would have reduced the work load. Students who brought their own laptops didn't have to wait around for hours trying to do lesson planning etc on the school's always-busy or not-available-during-these-hours computers.

Know this: the CELTA is a very rigid format. It's designed to mass produce teachers to a certain standard, and to teach the CELTA way. The students who did well in my course had never taught before. On the other hand, experienced teachers found it difficult to adjust to the rigid CELTA formula. Only the drunks and lazy failed. The instructors tried everything to get people who cared to pass the course.

The CELTA is a lot of work, but it taught me to lesson plan, and a bit about adult classroom management. I struggled (most did as we didn't know grammar), and there was way too much work crammed into one month.

A CELTA ooks good on your CV, but it's a complete waste of time if you only plan teaching in Korea. If you only want to teach in Korea, you'll get the same salary increase with an on-line TEFL/TESL certificate .

Good luck.

[bde2]

I've enrolled in a CELTA course that runs from June - July, as I've had a bloody gut's full of edu-taining (babysitting, really, in the case of my school). I'm hoping to get back to something that approximates real teaching, and I need to take a break from Korea.

My question is in regard to the grammar portion of the course: Can anyone give recommendations on specific grammar concepts to brush-up on beforehand? Would it be worthwhile to spend a lot of time learning to diagram sentences before the course starts? Any tips or suggestions, whether specific or vague, would be welcome.

I know this is slightly off-topic for this thread, but I'm sure the OP, and anyone else planning to do a CELTA, could benefit from some guidance on this issue.

[shocking]

[edwardcatflap]

There's a little bit of FCE testing in Korea but not enough to make any real money out of it. There's a lot of IELTS testing, some of it in Busan, and a fair amount of BULATS around, though I think for the latter they favour people with F2 visas. Contact the British Council, Seoul, where they have examiner training sessions once or twice a year.

[nstick13]

Did a CELTA at BC Cairo and really enjoyed it. Great teachers, good facility.

A poster above mentioned getting a Pass B, and that a few others did better? In my class, only one person got above a Pass. It is rare that someone gets above a Pass, and oveall I'm not really sure it matters.

Agreed, though, on the point that non-native speakers do better. It really challenges you to think about language in a different way, particularly if you've never taught before.

Teaching in Korea though, having a CELTA has frustrated me a tad, particularly with my co-teacher. Just know that what you will learn and practice is vastly different than what is done here in Korea, for the most part. I say for the most part because I do have a younger co-teacher who I've seen make materials that included principles learned in the CELTA. Slowly but surely it seems are coming around, but it never seems to be in the front of their mind.

[oldfatfarang]

(1) You have to pass a grammar test when to be accepted to the course. Why not email the CELTA provider and ask for them to send you the application test now.

(2) You'll be asked questions about tenses in your application interview.

(3) You'll need to diagram sentences during the course.

Good luck.