CELTA interview

[anuszka1]

Hi everyone,

I've got an interview at St Giles for CELTA course in a week's time and I was wondering if anyone had one and if they have any advice. It's just I'm really nervous and just don't know what to expect.

Any advice is most welcome and thanks in advance

[5jj]

First, try to relax.

The course providers do not want to catch you out during the interview. They are simply trying to assess whether they think you will be able to complete the course successfully. Most reputable establishments are reluctant to fail people, because this might be seen as a sign of their fauiure to train properly, so they try to accept only people who, they feel, have a good chance of succeeding.

Also, some people just do not possess the personality or academic ability to complete the course succssfully, even with the best trainers in the world. Reputable establishments will not accept such people on the courses .

So, they will just be trying to find out something about you. They will almost certainly want to know why you want to become a teacher of English, what ideas, if any, you have on what you think the role of a teacher is, and whether you have had any experence of teaching in any form.They may well be interested in why you chose their training establishment.They may also ask you some questions about your knowledge of English.

Try to give honest answers. If you don't know the answer to a question, say so. Don't forget that if you knew all the answers, you probably wouldn't need the course anyway.

Good luck.

[anuszka1]

Thank you so much, that is a really helpful advice

[w.garabrant]

+1 to everything fivefedjon wrote and I'll add that you may want to bone up on your grammar to prepare for the exam. It's not easy. You'll not only have to answer the questions correctly, you'll be expected to explain your answers. I think I did pretty well on the answers per se but completely winged it on the explanations (I just babbled in some places, srsly).

When I went for my interview, I was asked what I thought about their little (yuk yuk) test. I said I felt it showed me for what I am: a native speaker with a firm intuitive understanding of the language but lacking in formal, academic training in grammar.

My interviewer answered, in wonderfully understated British, "Well, it wasn't a disaster, no".

However, my interview went very well. I was asked a few simple questions - what's the difference between a door and a gate? (I'm not revealing anything here; they'll ask you different questions); How would I structure a lesson plan invloving a visit to the shoe store? Things like that - and a week later I got my invitation to visit the course

Did I mention that this is a current theme with me as well? No? Well, I'll be in Munich going through the process for the entire month of August, 2011. Wish me luck, please!

And ditto on the luck thing

[anuszka1]

The best all luck I shall keep all my fingers crossed for you lol but I'm sure you would do great! Funnily enough, if I pass the interview my course will start in August as well..........a whole month of hard studying

Thank you both for your very helpful advice, I have been preparing for the interview very hard so hopefully I will do well ..........wish me luck

[w.garabrant]

Well then, let's stay in touch! Definitely. It'll be fun to have a pen-pal going through the same process at the same time. Too bad you're not doing it in Poland, we'd almost be neighbors

[anuszka1]

Absolutely! It will definately be fun to have a pen-pal

Lol I left Poland long time ago, but thinking about it.....I should have really tried to apply for the course there, I'm sure it would have been a lot easier