Pre CELTA preparation and application

Status
Not open for further replies.

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
Hello Everyone!:-D

I am a new member here as I have recently applied for a CELTA course in the new year. I am currently waiting to hear when I will have my phone interview and am wondering if I can get some tips from experienced CELTA applicants on preparation for the phone interview. I am very nervous as I really want to get on the course. What am I to expect? I have an A'level English (a long time ago) and no experience teaching the language. Any advice would be highly appreciated! Many thanks and look forward to some replies! :)
 

I'm With Stupid

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Vietnam
Most of mine was fairly straightforward, so I wouldn't worry too much. There were no grammar questions, but there were a few "how would you teach this?" questions. Again, fairly easy - show a picture, use a timeline, etc. Most of the interview was her outlining the course, tbh.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Don't bluff; don't be giggly and pathetic. Be honest. If you don't know something, say so The interviewer will not expect you to know a great deal - if you did, you wouldn't need to take the course!

The fact that you are making this enquiry suggests that you genuinely want to work to be accepted and to gain the qualification. That is what will interest most interviewers more than if you happen to be able to reel off glibly four different ways in which the past perfect is used.
 

Tullia

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I did a Skype interview for my CELTA (just finished week #2) and as IWS said, it really wasn't as stressful as I had expected it to be. The course, however, is a different matter!

For the interview, make sure you have read as much information about the course and school as you can - they might well ask why you have chosen *their* school. Think about "why CELTA" too (as opposed to an online course, for example) as they might ask this to see how interested you really are in ELT and if youv'e done the research on courses or just applied for the first thing you saw.

CELTA courses are getting more popular, probably at least in part relating to the ongoing financial situation globally, and so the interview does matter, but remember that *you* are offering to pay *them* to train you, and they need bums on seats so it's in the interviewer's best interests to get the best interview out of you they can, so they will probably be very helpful and friendly for you.
 

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
Thanks for all your replies. I'm feeling a little more relaxed now! :up:

In-between jobs I am trying to revise and get clued up before the course in order to ease the stress as I know it is going to be a very intense 4 weeks.
I am brushing up on grammar and also reading 'Teach EFL' by Dave Riddell.

Does anyone know of any other useful articles/literature that they found helpful whilst studying?
I know that the teacher can not know everything - but, like most training teachers I'm sure, I fear the time when a student asks a question that I do not know the answer to! Are there typical questions students ask?

Tullia - I would love to know more about your course (if you have time) how you are getting on etc..? Are you studying in the UK?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I know that the teacher can not know everything - but, like most training teachers I'm sure, I fear the time when a student asks a question that I do not know the answer to!

That will happen all the time in your early days, I'm afraid.

Obviously, prepare as thoroughly as you can to try to avoid being caught out by a question that half of the students in your elementary class could answer.

The important thing here is: do not make up an answer on the spot just to get out of an embarrassing situation. If you do that, you will be doing your students a disservice, and risking embarrassing yourself even more when you are shown to be wrong.

So long as you don't do it too often, admit to your students that you don't know the answer, and promise to tell them next time - and then make sure that you do! (If you have to do this too often, your students will lose their respect for you; rightly, because you are clearly not preparing thoroughly enough).

A crude, but useful, tip if you are covering a grammar topic from a coursebook, is to read the grammar summary in the coursebook and teacher's book at the next level up. If you are acquiring knowledge yourself from materials at the same level as the students, you are running the risk of being unable to answer even simple follow-up questions.

Read through carefully all materials that you are going to use with the students. Make sure all the constructions used are suitable for the usages you are demonstrating. Make sure that you can in some way explain/demonstrate the meaning/use of all the words in any texts, in case a student asks you.

Keep your lesson plans and materials after the lesson, even if it went badly. Write notes on them to help you put things right for next time.

And when (not if) you are caught out, remember that it happens to all teachers in the early days. So long as you prepare conscientiously, you will gain the knowledge and confidence in time.
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
As alternatives to saying you don't know, there are ways of deflecting questions; you could say that you have something good on that very point and will bring it into class to look at next time, etc.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5jj

Tullia

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Tullia - I would love to know more about your course (if you have time) how you are getting on etc..? Are you studying in the UK?
Hi Mairi :)

I'm studying in Milan, and it's been intense so I haven't been online very much. I am enjoying it, although it's a challenge. I was taught all my languages in a very traditional grammatical way so the CELTA "method" feels strange, but I can see the logic, and the tutors really do try and teach us in the same way they are telling us to teach our pupils, so it's a total immersion into it.

I'm happy to chat via private message if you have more questions.
 

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
That would be great. Can people PM on here?
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Yes, but to restrict spammers using it, it isn't available at first; it will become available when you have posted ten times.
 
Last edited:

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
Oh ok. Well I had better get posting! Do i need to start a new thread 10 times or will posts like this one activate the PM system?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Oh ok. Well I had better get posting! Do i need to start a new thread 10 times or will posts like this one activate the PM system?
That one should have done it. You can check with the number shown in the top righthand corner of your posted message. Just posting this has put my total up by one.

ps. Tdol typo -- he meant to write it isn't available at first.
 

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
ok thanks. Please could you send me a PM so i can see how it works?:)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
ok thanks. Please could you send me a PM so i can see how it works?:)
Not till you've reached the magic number I'm afraid. I can send you an email (don't worry, I won't know your email address. The EU system sends it), but that's not what you want.

Only 5 posts to go!
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
ok thanks. Please could you send me a PM so i can see how it works?:)

When you have reached 10 posts, if you left-click on someone's username in a post they have made, the menu that drops down will include a link to send them a Private Message. If the option doesn't appear, it means that they have chosen not to allow people to send them messages. Then it'll open the message box


I have attached a screenshot.
 

Attachments

  • Private Message.jpg
    Private Message.jpg
    50.3 KB · Views: 4

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
brilliant, thanks Tdol! I will eventually get the hang of this! :)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic

Tullia

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I await Mairi's PM with interest :)

For those others following my progress: TP is over, my last assignment is in, and I think I'm looking at a B grade maybe... it's hard to tell though.

Tomorrow is the final day of input and general "tidying-up" of the CELTA blue book, making sure everything is in my folder, and then I'm coming home on Saturday. Despite being a five week course, it has FLOWN, and despite being the cause of a lot of sleepless nights, I'm sad it's over. I'd recommend both the course and the specific school, although I can't say I fell in love with Milan. The CELTA isn't perfect; I think there are some serious gaps that I know will cause me problems when I hit the classroom, but I'm also not sure how they could fill those gaps without making the course longer still which just isn't practical. Overall I think it's done what it said it would, and given me an introduction to TEFL, but there's still going to be a lot to learn once I'm out there.

Now.... job-hunting!
 

Mairi

Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Netherlands
I'm not far off now Tullia! :)

Congraulations on completing your CELTA! I hope you get the grade you want and I also hope that I sound as positive as you when I have completed the course!

I have lots more questions for you, but I will save them till I can PM!
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I think I'm looking at a B grade maybe.
Good luck

The CELTA isn't perfect; I think there are some serious gaps that I know will cause me problems when I hit the classroom
As long as you are prepared for that, you are halfway to solving them already.

I'm also not sure how they could fill those gaps without making the course longer Overall I think it's done what it said it would, and given me an introduction to TEFL,
That's all CELTA and the Trinity Cert ever really claim.

but there's still going to be a lot to learn once I'm out there
It is one of the course objectives that you realise that!

Now.... job-hunting! There are plenty of sites out there offering loads of jobs. Some of them (both sites and jobs) are good, but some are dubious. You may well not find exactly what you are looking for in your first job, but try not to go for anything and everything just because you might feel inadequate as a beginning teacher. Look for establishments that offer some sort of support for teachers like you, and some kind of Teacher Development programme. Remember that some of the places operating under big names may just be framchised; they may not come up to the standards you expect of the parent school.
5
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top