Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA)

Course code:

N/A

Fees:

£1,550

Qualification:

CPD/Short courses

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Faculty:

College of the Arts and Society

Get in touch


enquiriesCELTA@coventry.ac.uk

Overview

Coventry University currently offers part-time CELTA courses; either a 22-week course from September to the end of March or an 11-week semi-intensive course in the period May to July/August. Please be aware these courses may not run if there are insufficient candidates.

Applications are now being accepted for the part-time course starting in September 2024.

Download the CELTA application form and pre-interview tasks.

The 22-week course requires attendance at the University 1 evening a week on a Thursday, 5.45 - 9.15pm, for the Teaching Practice sessions, while the 11-week course requires attendance 2 evenings a week, on a Tuesday and a Thursday. The ‘input’ part of the course – the learning ‘about’ teaching English and how to do it effectively – is completed online through a Cambridge VLE (virtual learning environment).

Course detail

There are over 1 billion people around the world currently learning English, and demand seems set to continue rising. With so many people learning English, there are jobs literally everywhere. From teaching air-traffic controllers in Madrid, to teaching advertising executives in Rio de Janeiro, a career in TEFL can take you into a wide array of very different contexts. There are opportunities for working with charities and NGOs in the developing parts of the world, and there are also opportunities in the UK, as more and more people come from around the world to study, work and live here. CELTA is the benchmark qualification in the TEFL profession and is the first requirement stipulated by employers worldwide.

Through the online Input sessions you will receive training in the following areas:

  • language teaching methodology
  • classroom management
  • language awareness and analysis (understanding and being able to explain aspects of grammar, lexis and phonology)
  • lesson planning
  • teaching materials

This is covered through 30 online units incorporating interactive tasks and videos, as well as participation in discussion forums and sessions in an online virtual classroom. Each unit takes around 2 hours to complete.

The Input sessions prepare you for the 20 x 180-minute Teaching Practice sessions – on the 22-week course it’s 1 evening per week, 5.45 – 9.15pm, and on the 11-week course it’ll be 2 evenings per week.

  • learners of English come in to the University to attend free classes taught by CELTA trainees
  • trainees divided into groups and teaching on a rota during the first 2 hours of the session, typically 3 trainees each teaching a 40-minute lesson
  • the 3rd hour of the TP session is for constructive feedback on trainees’ lessons plus planning the next day’s lessons
  • each trainee accumulates 6 hours of assessed teaching
  • switch to another group of learners at a different level of proficiency halfway through the course
  • trainees also observe 6 hours of lessons taught by experienced teachers, either live or recorded.

4 x written assignments, 1,000 words (approx.) each

  • Focus on the learner – analysis of one individual learner’s strengths and weaknesses and overall language learning
  • Language-related task – analysis of target language items, how they may be taught, what problems learners may have with them
  • Designing a lesson – trainees select a short text to use for teaching and design classroom activities to go with it
  • Lessons from the classroom – towards the end of the course, a reflection on the ‘CELTA experience’

 Assessment

  • the lesson plans and the taught lessons themselves
  • the 4 written assignments
  • portfolios evaluated by Cambridge English assessor
  • successful candidates awarded CELTA at Pass, Pass B or Pass A grade

Cambridge English Language Assessment Authorised Centre

How will this course be taught

The course is divided into ‘Input sessions’, in which you learn 'how to teach', and ‘Teaching Practice sessions’ in which you teach learners of English attending free classes set up specially for your training. This creates a mutually beneficial ‘win-win’ situation – teaching practice for you, extra language practice for your learners – and gives you the opportunity to try out the various techniques you’ve learned through the Input sessions.

Entry requirements

Applicants must:

  • be at least 18 years of age.
  • have an awareness of language and a competence in both written and spoken English that will enable them to undertake the course and prepare for teaching learners of English at a range of levels.
  • have the potential to develop the necessary skills to become effective teachers, and to successfully complete the written assignments and the assessed teaching practice.

Candidates whose first language is not English must have a level of competence at least equivalent to the Council of Europe level high C1 / C2 or IELTS 8.0 and above. Documentary proof of English level will be required. All applicants will need to complete the application form and pre-interview tasks and attend an interview before being offered a place on the course.