M
Maudlin
Guest
I have been teaching English for three years. Back in 2012 I took the CELTA course. So far, so good. Eventually I’ve decided that I want to become a Cambridge ESOL examiner and then an assessor.
Today I had a phone interview with a guy from the British council. Basically he asked me why I wanted to become an examiner. I was also required to share with him some examples of difficult situations I had in the past in my classes. I intentionally didn’t want to memorize prepared answers seen on the Internet. Instead, I preferred to answer naturally.
Anyway, he said that I did not meet the requirements since I only had CELTA and did not have a relevant English language education. That sounded like an excuse to me by someone who did not want to tell you the truth. Then he said that in fact if I had more experience he would have considered my application more seriously. I asked him if I had CAE or CPE would be helpful and he answered: “No, not at all.” His point and statements were full of contradictions. He does not appreciate Cambridge certificates but he appreciates diploma awarded by a state University which has zero recognition worldwide. Something is very wrong here. I think he just did not like either me or my answers.
The whole process looks very shady to me. How could you determine in twenty minutes (on the phone) candidate’s skills? Looks quite subjective. He did not specify what exactly I did wrong, what my mistakes were – did I give vague answers, was I reluctant to talk, did I make grammar mistakes or something else? In addition, he did not recommend any additional training or course. He just acted like: “I do not give a d*** about you, try again in three years, thank you for your time, bye.” I am not saying that I was great or there weren’t flaws in my performance. I am simply very disappointed with his attitude and indifference.
If someone has ever gone through the process of becoming an examiner I would appreciate thoughts and ideas shared here.
Thank you.
Today I had a phone interview with a guy from the British council. Basically he asked me why I wanted to become an examiner. I was also required to share with him some examples of difficult situations I had in the past in my classes. I intentionally didn’t want to memorize prepared answers seen on the Internet. Instead, I preferred to answer naturally.
Anyway, he said that I did not meet the requirements since I only had CELTA and did not have a relevant English language education. That sounded like an excuse to me by someone who did not want to tell you the truth. Then he said that in fact if I had more experience he would have considered my application more seriously. I asked him if I had CAE or CPE would be helpful and he answered: “No, not at all.” His point and statements were full of contradictions. He does not appreciate Cambridge certificates but he appreciates diploma awarded by a state University which has zero recognition worldwide. Something is very wrong here. I think he just did not like either me or my answers.
The whole process looks very shady to me. How could you determine in twenty minutes (on the phone) candidate’s skills? Looks quite subjective. He did not specify what exactly I did wrong, what my mistakes were – did I give vague answers, was I reluctant to talk, did I make grammar mistakes or something else? In addition, he did not recommend any additional training or course. He just acted like: “I do not give a d*** about you, try again in three years, thank you for your time, bye.” I am not saying that I was great or there weren’t flaws in my performance. I am simply very disappointed with his attitude and indifference.
If someone has ever gone through the process of becoming an examiner I would appreciate thoughts and ideas shared here.
Thank you.
