ILSC CELTA Blog – Teacher Training

Life after CELTA: Academic

Stay in School!

What’s a newly CELTA-certified teacher to do after completing the course? Stay in school of course. Language school networks, like ILSC and others, are a great option for recent graduates who want to teach ESL full or part-time.

Academic ESL Opportunities ILSC — *Ana Torres is the Academic Director for English at ILSC-Montréal*

These schools offer new teachers access to students, resources, and further opportunities. Ana Torres is the Academic Director for English at ILSC-Montréal and believes dedicated language schools are a good fit for students and teachers alike.

What Students Want

Teaching at an established school means the hard work of surfacing potential students is already handled. “The majority of ESL students join ILSC courses at the Beginner 4 and Intermediate 1 levels*,” says Torres, which means new teachers will know what to expect.

Knowing what to expect doesn’t mean teaching has to be stale, though. Full-service education networks like ILSC offer classes ranging from absolute beginner-level to advanced academic and exam preparation — not to mention student favourites like English through Songs & Lyrics or even Yoga!

Torres describes ILSC students as “focused and motivated to learn and improve their ESL skills,” which makes for an enjoyable classroom experience.

* (equivalent to A2 and B1 levels from the Common European Framework)

Tools of the Trade

In addition to highly motivated students, good language schools equip teachers to teach the best lessons possible. Torres says teachers at ILSC “love the number of resources available for them to use,” which range from printing and paper supplies to course books and online planning subscriptions. Classrooms are also equipped with audio-visual

Most schools also keep a library of resources teachers can consult. In ILSC’s case, the resource library also includes engaging games and authentic materials. Regular workshops are also held to train teachers in new techniques and how to use new resources.

Making Moves

Established institutions also offer new ESL teachers space to learn and options for advancement. “ESL instructors at ILSC can look forward to growing and moving horizontally in our organization,” says Torres. Academic settings allow teachers to gain administrative experience and have supporting departments teachers can seek opportunities in.

Those who don’t want to give up the classroom entirely may look to the growing exam track instead. Larger language schools often administer official tests (IELTS, TOEFL, etc.) and teachers who teach preparation courses can easily pursue positions as exam staff or even work as official examiners.

Teachers, these are some good reasons to stay in school!

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program, and a flexible online format.

Teaching with CELTA

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Maybe you’re thinking of taking the CELTA or perhaps you’re a newly minted graduate, either way, you’ll need to think about teaching. Not just where you’ll teach English but what kind of English teaching you’ll do—because not every CELTA graduate ends up teaching in a traditional classroom.

The options for new ESL teachers are as varied as they are different, but with CELTA you’ll be ready for them all.

Corporate Lessons

If the classroom isn’t for you, there’s always the boardroom. When companies can’t send their staff to language classes, they often bring instructors into the office. Corporate language instructors will help students master business-specific English and improve in-house communication for international companies.

Business students tend to have higher expectations for their lessons than the average ESL student, so it’s important to be professional and well-prepared. Corporate clients aren’t learning English for pleasure, they’re acquiring an important skill to give them an edge at work. Of course, higher expectations mean higher compensation for enterprising teachers.

Private Instruction

Private lessons give English teachers more freedom and flexibility than most other forms of teaching. The format, length, and location of lessons are only limited by the imaginations of the teacher and client, and you get to be your own boss.

This freedom comes with an added cost, however: finding clients. But for entrepreneurial teachers, the opportunity to build a personal brand and charge attractive rates of $40+ per hour far outweigh the work of finding students.

Online Classrooms

Speaking of freedom and flexibility. The latest trend in ESL is for teachers to teach overseas without ever leaving home. There are a wide variety of schools and programs offering online ESL courses, so it’s important to do your homework to find a reputable provider.

Teaching online also requires a working knowledge of not only Skype (or other video chat software) but the various digital teaching tools available. Lessons over Skype are fine for conversation practice, but more specialized tools are often necessary for a more classroom-like experience.

The British Council has some helpful tips for those who want to learn about online teaching.

English for Specific Purposes

Teaching English for Specific Purposes, or ESP has grown out of the increasing demand for Business English. Teaching ESP focuses on equipping students with English skills for a narrowly defined purpose, such as English for Aviation and English for Medicine.

Teachers needn’t be former pilots or doctors to teach industry-specific English courses but experience in relevant industries, when highly technical, is an asset. Actually, teachers who want to teach ESP don’t need to target technical professions at all; there are opportunities to combine teaching skills with passions like cooking, cinema, or even yoga! But teaching ESP can also be as simple as giving crash courses in English for Tourism or English test preparation.

IELTS and Test Preparation

Good English test scores can be the deciding factor in a job or immigration application, so it’s no surprise test preparation courses are big business. By familiarizing themselves with the major standardized tests, new teachers can take advantage of opportunities to teach to the specific needs of test-takers.

Many language schools offer test prep as part of their course offerings and major tests like IELTS and TOEFL offer lots of resources to help teachers prepare students for their tests.

What’s Next?

CELTA-certified teachers have a lot of options after wrapping up the course but there’s no reason to be intimidated. In fact, teachers who prize flexibility don’t need to choose just one option. Pursuing different types of teaching (private lessons, contracts, etc.) adds variety and enables teachers to increase their income, all while holding down secure classroom work at a school.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program, and a flexible online format.

Life After CELTA: Where are they now? – Part 2

CELTA opens doors across the world, but what exactly does that look like? Where do newly-minted teachers really end up? Our regular series “Where are they now?” offers a window into the real lives of CELTA graduates.

We hope this peek into the post-CELTA life gives prospective candidates a better idea of what’s in store for the future.

Stefan

After a lot of research and some interviews, I started pursuing a teaching position in Shenzhen, China. I left mid-October 2016 and have been having an amazing time teaching, learning, exploring, and skateboarding! I chose the area because it’s a great place to skateboard and pretty much doesn’t have a winter … although I do find myself missing the cold a bit. That’s part of the reason why I just spent Chinese New Year in Japan!

CELTA was a great course. I find myself using the techniques and skills I learned all the time. I teach kids from 4 to 14 years old of all levels. Living and teaching abroad is such a rewarding and challenging experience, especially learning Mandarin!

I’m very happy and extremely grateful for the opportunities CELTA has offered me.

Georgiana

After CELTA, I got the chance to teach English in Turkey in the beautiful city of Izmir. Thanks to my CELTA qualification, language schools were confident in my ability and knowledge to teach English as a foreign language.

Christopher

After finishing my CELTA I flew straight down to sunny Mexico and started working at the Anglo Mexican Foundation. The experience of landing in a new country and being in charge of whole groups was surreal, to say the least, but the preparation from the CELTA could not have put me in a better position to deal with the challenge. Even now, after two and a half years at the school, I still think back to my course with Chris and Najma and ask myself what they would do when I’m lacking teaching inspiration.

Since arriving in Mexico, I’ve taken the In-service Certificate in English Language Teaching and started a film club at my school, as well as travelling a little around the country. I’m about to move to a different school, where I hope to take my DELTA. I would definitely recommend Mexico for teaching English, as the country and people are incredible! Teaching is not an easy job but, if you love it, it can take you to incredible places.

Where will they go next?

Stay tuned for the next edition of “Where are they now?” and until then, consider where CELTA can take you.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program, and a flexible online format.

Understanding CELTA: Assessment Criteria

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Are you considering the CELTA program or recently been accepted into one of ILSC’s diverse CELTA courses? If you are, then the world of English language teaching will soon be open to you. That’s great news! But before the adventure can really start, the CELTA course itself needs to be conquered.

Here’s what new and prospective CELTA candidates need to know about the expectations and assessment criteria for the Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Cambridge.

What Candidates Learn: Topic Descriptions

During the course, candidates will learn and implement teaching skills across five topics. The topics are assessed through teaching practice and weekly written assignments.

Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context
- Cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds of learners.
- Motivations for learning English as an adult.
- Learning and teaching preferences.
- Contexts for learning and teaching English.
- Varieties of English
- Multilingualism and the role of first languages.
Language analysis and awareness
- Basic concepts and terminology used in ELT.
- Grammatical frameworks.
- Lexis.
- Phonology & Features of connected speech.
- The significance of similarities and differences between languages.
- Overview of reference material for language awareness.
- Strategies and approaches for developing learners’ language knowledge.
Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
- Basic concepts, purposes of, decoding of, and potential barriers to Reading and Listening.
- Basic concepts, features, functions, paralinguistic features, and phonemic systems of Speaking.
- Basic concepts, sub-skills, teaching stages, adult literacy issues, spelling and punctuation patterns in Writing.
- Teaching strategies and approaches to receptive and productive skills.
Planning and resources for different teaching contexts
- Principles of planning for effective teaching.
- Lesson planning and effective teaching.
- Self-evaluation of lesson planning.
- Selection, adaptation and evaluation of materials and resources.
- Knowledge of commercial resources, non-published materials and classroom resources.
Developing teaching skills and professionalism
- Effective organization of the classroom.
- Classroom presence and control.
- Teacher and learner language.
- Using teaching materials and resources.
- Practical skills for teaching different levels.
- Monitoring and evaluating learning.
- Evaluation of the teaching/learning process.
- Professional development: Responsibilities and Support Systems.

Two Types of Assessment

In order to successfully complete the CELTA program, candidates are required to meet three assessment requirements: Complete six hours of teaching practice, observe six hours of teaching by experienced teachers and submit a portfolio of all coursework (including written assignments and lesson plans).

The assessment is divided into two types and is continuous and integrated, meaning it’s carried out throughout the course and both components contribute to the final grade. The assessment components are divided broadly between Practice and Theory:

Planning and Teaching

Plan and teach classes of students at the appropriate level and classroom size for a total of six hours.

Written Assignments

The needs of adult learners and learning contexts
Analyzing a feature of the English language for the purpose of teaching.
Teaching specific language skills.
A personal reflection on classroom teaching.

Certificate Grades

Success in a CELTA program is determined on a Pass/Fail basis but certificates are awarded on a graded scale. The grades of Pass, Pass B and Pass A represent a candidate’s performance as satisfactory, good or excellent.

If written work is not completed, completed dishonestly, or if a candidate’s performance does not match all the Pass criteria, they may not receive a certificate.

While it is possible to fail, course tutors work closely with candidates to ensure they satisfactorily achieve the requirements of the CELTA course. After all, the course tutors want to see candidates succeed and the world of ESL teaching is accessible to anyone willing to take a chance and work hard.

The Cambridge CELTA invites you to challenge yourself and explore the world — what are you waiting for?

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

Life After CELTA: Where Are They Now?

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We hope this peek into the post-CELTA life gives prospective candidates a better idea of what’s in store for the future.

Thiago

Greetings from Brazil. I am very happy to report that taking the CELTA at ILSC-Montreal was a watershed event in my life, as being CELTA qualified led to my being hired at Cultura Inglesa SP, one of the best schools in Latin America, according to BRAZ-TESOL.

In São Paulo alone, they have more than 85,000 students and many more throughout Brazil. The selection process was very intensive and the one-month training was very similar to CELTA in many aspects, including TPs, LP, MFP, receptive skills, PPP, TTT etc.

They told me that I was only selected because I had taken the CELTA course, which they really value at the school. They also confirmed what you had already told me: that one of my strengths is a great rapport with students. Lol.

In a nutshell, I am extremely happy and grateful for all the feedback and training I had from you, and also, because I will be working in a company that really invests in the qualifications of their staff, with plenty of room for professional and career development opportunities. Once again thank you very much.

Melanie

Since obtaining my CELTA in September 2013 I have been working for the Australian Centre of Education in Phnom Penh. After years of working in Korea prior to getting my qualifications, I decided I needed a whole new change – and Cambodia certainly gave it to me! I have found my niche in teaching university-aged students and am lucky to work at the only school that pays well there (thanks to having the prerequisite CELTA?).

I have had to opportunity to visit Angkor Wat, the beaches of Sihanoukville and can easily travel to a variety of destinations in Asia like the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. I can now wrangle prices in Khmer, whirl around the city in a tuk-tuk and slip away on a bus at a moment’s notice to all corners of the country all while learning not only about their horrific persecution under Pol Pot but also the proud traditions and culture in this fascinating corner of the earth!

Where will they go next?

Stay tuned for the next edition of “Where are they now?” and until then, consider where CELTA can take you.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

CELTA at ILSC: Meet the Trainers (Part 3)

Quality training begins with quality trainers, and the CELTA program at ILSC offers a crack team to guide trainees through the rigours — and surprising delights — of CELTA.

Breana Sproul is an assistant CELTA tutor at ILSC and teaches and evaluates trainees during the intensive 4-week course as well as the online and part-time CELTA programs.

Get to know… Breana Sproul

This is Breana

Q: How/Why did you get into ESL teaching?

A friend of mine wanted to take a TESL course so I joined her; best decision I ever made!

I started teaching young learners in Taiwan, where I stayed for two years. I then moved to Prague, gaining experience in teaching adults at mostly intermediate levels. I did some private tutoring in London for a few years before moving to Amman, where I had the opportunity to teach both young learners and adults at levels ranging from elementary to intermediate. After Jordan, I went on to teach in Istanbul, where I got a vast amount of experience teaching all ages and levels. It was also there that I began to branch out into teacher training, first as the Senior Teacher at my school and then for OUP.

That CELTA Life

Q: How did you break into the rockstar world of CELTA?

I was very fortunate to work for a school in Istanbul that had a CELTA department so after completing my DELTA, I trained up to be a tutor. They paid for me to do the DELTA and then trained me up to be a CELTA tutor.

Q: What does an average day in the CELTA department look like for you?

I am an assistant course tutor, which means I give input sessions, observe teaching practice and provide feedback to CELTA trainees.

Q: What’s the skill most CELTA trainees need to work on?

I would have to say that trainees tend to struggle most with language analysis.

Personal Colour

Q: What is the one grammar mistake that makes your blood boil?

Grammar mistakes are just teaching/learning moments!

Q: What is your favourite English word? (Bonus points if it’s rutabaga)

While I do love a good Rutabaga, I would have to say ‘shenanigans’

Q: What is one grammar mistake you can’t stop making?

There’s many mistakes I make in grammar…

Q: What is your favourite thing about teaching CELTA?

Guiding my trainees to reach their highest potential!

Next Up

Get to know the rest of the CELTA team at ILSC-Montreal in interviews with Christopher Cooke and James Meanwell.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

CELTA: A format that fits

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The only thing better than a highly-regarded language training certificate with industry-wide recognition is the flexibility to get it your way. That’s why ILSC’s CELTA program is offered in a variety of formats, allowing you to get certified quickly, flexible, or even (mostly) in the comfort of your home.

One CELTA certificate, Three Formats

People seeking CELTA certification do so for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s a career change and other times it’s a passport to the world, but with a variety of reasons there comes a variety of circumstances. Whatever the circumstances, there’s likely a CELTA program to get you up and running in the TESOL world.

ILSC offers the CELTA teaching certificate in three formats:

Full-time intensive on-campus (in Montreal)
Part-time on-campus (in Toronto)
Online (flexible schedule) (from home, with an onsite practicum in Montreal, San Francisco, or New Delhi)

Each is a little different and tailored to your needs. Here are the details:

CELTA full-time

The full-time intensive format of the CELTA course available in Montreal provides everything you need to start teaching English in only four weeks. The 140-hour course is practical and complete – time is split between input sessions with trainers, classroom observations, and teaching practicum.

Because of the intensive nature of the full-time format, the Full-time program is a good fit if you’re able to take time off work and give dedicated focus to the program. In addition to in-class work, you will also have assignments to complete over weekends and will want to devote time to planning lessons during evenings.

While the full-time intensive CELTA course may be daunting, the short time commitment means you can get into the job market quickly once you graduate. You will also receive information about the best practices for finding work locally and abroad in your final week.

Part-Time CELTA

If you want to study in Toronto, and have other obligations, and it’s not urgent to complete the course right away, you’ll appreciate the more relaxed pace of the 11-week part-time CELTA course. The part-time course offers you the same one to six trainer-trainee ratios, teaching practicum, and employment assistance as the intensive program but with added flexibility.

The part-time CELTA course holds classes in the evening twice a week and Saturdays during the day, allowing you the freedom to work while you earn your certification.

CELTA Online

If you want maximum freedom and flexibility getting your English teaching certification, the online CELTA course is the one for you! The online CELTA course runs over 22-weeks, with ongoing deadlines for assignments and collaborative activities that allow you to connect with other trainees. The course format allows trainees to work when it’s most convenient for you and provides a guiding structure to track progress.

One of the CELTA program’s strengths is how it gets you in front of real, multi-lingual students for teaching practice, and the online course includes this component. All assignments and units are completed online but you will are also be required to attend on-campus teaching practice in Montreal or San Francisco to complete your certification.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

CELTA at ILSC: Meet the Trainers (Part 2)

Quality training begins with quality trainers, and the CELTA program at ILSC offers a crack team to guide trainees through the rigours — and surprising delights — of CELTA.

James Meanwell is a CELTA tutor at ILSC and teaches and evaluates trainees during the intensive 4-week course as well as the online and part-time CELTA programs.

Get to know… James Meanwell

James Meanwell of ILSC-Montréal’s CELTA team.

Q: How/Why did you get into ESL teaching?

Accidentally, kind of. I had a friend teaching in Korea who recommended it and I’ve been doing it since!

I started off teaching in South Korea for two and a half years teaching young learners. Since coming back to Canada I’ve been teaching adults in general English, exam preparation, and doing a lot of CELTA training.

That CELTA Life

Q: How did you break into the rockstar world of CELTA?

LOL at rockstar! Right place, right time for me. There was an opening at my previous workplace in Toronto and they paid for me to do the DELTA and then trained me up to be a CELTA tutor.

Q: What does an average day in the CELTA department look like for you?

On course, the days are quite similar: input sessions, lesson planning, marking assignments, and observing teaching practice. Working with such great people makes it easy to come in.

Q: What’s the skill most CELTA trainees need to work on?

Language analysis and clarification FOR SURE. When I first started teaching my technical knowledge of the language was verb = action word, noun = person, place, or thing. Ironically, most of the progress for many will come AFTER the course when grads get hired and have to teach a range of grammatical points at different levels.

Personal Colour

Q: What is the one grammar mistake that makes your blood boil?

I’m learning to let go! Language evolves and I enjoy the idiosyncrasies of individual language use. Intelligibility is the ultimate goal.

Q: What is your favourite English word? (Bonus points if it’s rutabaga)

How could you choose just one? Conceptually, probably ‘neuroplasticity’.

Q: What is one grammar mistake you can’t stop making?

Does mumbling count?

Q: What is your favourite thing about teaching CELTA?

Selfishly, probably the small moments of levity on each course. I love stories of triumph and seeing people take risks in order to push their boundaries. The laughs—I can still remember moments with groups from years ago having too much fun.

Next Up

Get to know the rest of the CELTA team at ILSC-Montreal in interviews with Christopher Cooke and Breana Sproul.

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

Keep going with CELTA

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It’s never too late to put experience to work. Whether you’re just coming out of a fruitful career or years into an equally fruitful retirement, there are always new experiences on the horizon. After years of work, though, who doesn’t want to do something new and valuable? With CELTA, you can continue to do meaningful work and experience the world in a whole new way.

A quality certification

CELTA is the University of Cambridge’s highly respected Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults and is the most recognized certificate of teaching English as a second language worldwide.

CELTA is offered in a variety of formats and covers five essential language teaching and learning topics. Theory-based input sessions with experienced teacher trainers are combined with practical teaching practice—with real students—to ensure you know what you’re doing and how to do it. There’s no preparation for teaching quite like teaching under the watchful eye of practiced instructors.

The program is offered in a variety of formats to fit your schedule. Get started quickly with the 4-week intensive course or take the more flexible approach of the new online CELTA course.

Whichever variety of CELTA, new teachers leave with the confidence to teach students from diverse backgrounds in a variety of settings. Not everyone ends up teaching daily to classrooms full of students; many get involved in community organizations or simply offer private instruction.

Make a difference, or just do something different

Everyone’s motivation is different, and if you want to help refugees and new immigrants feel at home, CELTA offers the tools to complete that mission. If you want to travel and experience and learn from a different culture, that’s also available to you.

With a widely recognized qualification like CELTA, it’s as easy to travel the world as it is to welcome it to your neighbourhood. In many cases, it’s not even necessary to become a full-time teacher at a school or training centre.

Put years of experience to work

Retirement doesn’t have to mean leaving behind a lifetime of knowledge, in fact, a former career can bring a lot of value to teaching ESL. There is an increasing demand for teachers who can tailor lessons to students who require instruction in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). This means new teachers with experience in domains like business, tourism, medicine, science and technology can put their experience to work for students.

Whether you’re planning to teach abroad or at home, students looking for careers in these industries may require this kind of ESP instruction and teachers with relevant experience are more attractive than those without it.

Next steps?

All that’s left is to decide where and when to take life’s next adventure!

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

Online Resources for New Teachers

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Whether you’re preparing for CELTA teaching practice or teaching your first class, students need lessons—and someone has to prepare them! These resources will help new teachers teach engaging lessons and can give experienced teachers some new ideas.

General Activities

These websites are a great place to start whether the goal is to plan out a whole course or to just add one last activity to a lesson. Each website offers a broad range of resources across a variety of levels.

Busy Teacher (Various levels)
British Council (Various levels)
One Stop English (Various levels)
English Club (Various levels)

Listening & Reading

Authentic listening and reading lessons can be a lot of work if teachers have to create all the material to accompany the input. These websites pair authentic receptive materials with both printable and online activities.

English Listening Lesson Library Online (Various levels)
Breaking News English (Various levels)
Six Minute English (Various levels)

Grammar

Sometimes students need to spend extra time on a difficult grammar point—teachers too!

English Grammar (For lesson preparation)
English Page (Advanced)

Methodology

These career-level resources will help teachers stay up to date with the latest trends and practices from the wider TESL world.

General Advice

Always teach to the students’ level. This means taking a close look at resources to be certain that an activity or worksheet isn’t using language unfamiliar to the students. An exercised tagged “Intermediate” isn’t necessarily appropriate for a low-intermediate class, so be sure to double check.

Once the resources are reviewed, teachers can always choose to pre-teach specific language to prepare students for an activity. Get to know the students and the level of challenge they’re willing to take on!

Does teaching English to adult learners sound like an adventure you can see yourself taking? ILSC offers the Cambridge CELTA as an intensive 4-week program and a flexible online format.

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