How hard is the CELTA course really?

Hello, I am just hoping to get some feedback about how hard and intensive a 4 week CELTA course really is. I am male, 35 English, decently educated but i have not studied about 15 years really.
I am looking at doing the CELTA programme at International House - Budapest. Will having not studied for a long time make this particularly difficult for me? Also i dont really have any teaching experience.
Is there anything i could be doing for 2 - 3 months prior to the course to make the course a bit easier to handle when i get there?
Thanks
Jack

I have started my 4weeks CELTA a week ago, if I hadn't had to pay 940 pound upfront I would have left that course from the second day.
I had to teach for 20 minutes on the second day! I was petrified. The amount of paper work is horrendous! It could be that I have other priorities to deal with though.

There is a book all about the celta course, it's called:
success on your certificate course in English language teaching.

Do note that the course is very good, and teaching ESOL learners is by far my best ever experience. So I say if you are up for a challenge and have no priorities whilst doing your CELTA, then go for it :)

It's a training course for people starting out, though people with experience also do it, but there will be others with no experience on your course. I would get as much reading as possible done before the course- get familiar with the terminology, start thinking about what will be required of you. Taking a course after not studying for a long time can be something of a shock, but it's all achievable, but reading around the subject first will make things easier. Also, have a look at what learners are asking here and what sort of answers they get- see what is a good clear answer, etc.

When was a trainer, I did have trainees who had not studied for far longer than you.

Most of them certainly did not find the course easy - far from it - but they survived. After it was all over, they were generally among the people who said they had found the whole experience of the greatest personal benefit., thoughI have to admit that they did not say that during the first two weeks of the course!

Like you I am nervous! Everything I've read about the CELTA course states how difficult/intensive it is. I just hope I can make it through the course, I'm sure it will be worth it.

Although not a teacher, I find reading these forums useful. I look at the 'Ask a teacher' section and see what questions are commonly asked, see if I can help or not.

My main concern is grammar (tenses and aspects), so I'm trying to brush up on these before CELTA.

Have you been sent the pre-course task yet? I got mine sent about 2 months before the course start date (now ominously close!).

Browse through this: How to Teach English Jeremy Harmer

Do NOT try to remember everything. It's just to give you an idea of some of the things you may be looking at on the course.

Do not get depressed if there are a lot of things there that appear to be new and/or difficult. It's the job of your trainers to help you understand.

Hello
I am a qualified teacher but my first language is German. I am now thinking of doing the CELTA course. I just got my pre-interview task through and am not really sure on how to answer the questions in it. I have always been complemented on my use of English but realise I do have to brush up on all the grammar and terminology and it will not be an easy ride.
Can anybody give me pointers on what they are looking for here:

Correcting a student's mistake:
a) Underline the mistake
b) write the corrected version in the space provided
c) write in simple terms, as if speaking to a learner of English, how you would make the correction clear

"Can I help you?"
"Yes, I've left my luggages on the train"

I think:
a mistake is luggages
b should be singular luggage
c uncountable nouns only have a singular form


2nd one:
"Have you got a ticket?"
"Yes, I've bought one last week"

Not sure what is wrong here.. the tense?



3rd one:
"Has Sarah been ill? She's lost a lot of weight."
"Yes, she's really slender now, isn't she?"

Again, is it the tense, instead of she's lost, should it say she lost?


4th one:
"Why didn't you phone me last night?"
"Because I did my homework."

no clue


Thanks for any pointers!
:-)

Can I help you ? - Do I have the ability to help you ?
May I help you? - Do I have permission to help you ?

So what would you say if you have more than one luggage ? I have two luggage which I have left on the train ? It doesn't quite sound right to me.


Because you did your homework, you couldn't phone me last night ? So what stopped you from phoning me, after all, you had already done your homework ?
Maybe consider saying, because I was doing my homework.

al-anwaar, is there any point in responding to questions posted nearly two years ago?

If you do see a point in doing this, please try to ensure that your answers are correct.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by al-anwaar

Can I help you ? - Do I have the ability to help you ?
May I help you? - Do I have permission to help you ?

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Not really. These are simply different versions of a polite offer to help.

Quote:

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So what would you say if you have more than one luggage ? I have two luggage which I have left on the train ? It doesn't quite sound right to me.

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I have two items of luggage.