Video transcript - Why You're Teaching Things Before You've Been Taught Them (And Why That's OK)One of the most common concerns I hear from people doing CELTA goes something like this:
Jo... I have to teach something in TP this week and we haven’t covered it in input! Why are they expecting me to do something before they've taught me how to do it?If that's how you're feeling, I completely understand. At first, it can seem back to front. You'd expect to learn the theory first and then go away and practise it, you would think. But CELTA isn't designed that way and there's a good reason for it.
One of the strengths of the course is that the practical side and the theoretical side develop together.
Think about learning to drive. You don't spend three weeks sitting in a classroom learning every detail about mirrors, the gearbox and the Highway Code before anyone lets you behind the wheel.
You drive. With someone beside you to help you. On quiet roads at first. But you drive and you make mistakes.
Then what you're taught makes sense because you've experienced the problem yourself in an authentic situation. CELTA works in much the same way.
Let's say you've taught a lesson and your learners didn't really understand the meaning of the language you were teaching. Perhaps you thought your explanation was clear and you’re not sure how you could have done it differently. At this point, your tutor suggests using concept checking questions and gives you an insight into what they are. Then later, when you have a more detailed input session on concept checking, you're not hearing about it in the abstract. You're thinking: Ah... that's what would have helped in my lesson yesterday.
Because you've experienced the problem first, the solution sticks much more effectively.
The same thing happens with classroom management. Or error correction. Or teaching pronunciation. Or checking instructions.
You've already had a chance to wrestle with these issues in a real classroom- and see your peers have to deal with them too- before your tutor helps you make sense of them. In my experience it’s a very powerful way to learn.
Having said that, CELTA certainly doesn't throw you in completely unprepared. You’ll have guided lesson planning with your tutor before lessons and the really fundamental input tends to come early in the course. Things like classroom management, lesson planning, setting up activities, receptive skills lessons.
Those are the building blocks that you'll need from the very beginning, so naturally they appear early on.
As the course progresses, the input broadens out into other important areas such as pronunciation, teaching productive skills, correction techniques and so on.
So yes, there will be moments where you find yourself thinking, Hang on... I haven't had the input on this yet! That's really normal.
The other thing to keep in mind is that you're not expected to be an expert from day one. Your tutors know exactly where you are in the learning process and they're assessing your teaching in the context of where you are on the course. They don’t expect perfection.
Think of every TP as another opportunity to learn so if you come out of a lesson thinking, Well... that didn't go as I'd hoped, it’s frustrating but those are often the lessons you learn the most from.
So if you're about to start CELTA or you've just started and you're wondering why everything feels slightly out of sync, don't panic. It's meant to. The course has been designed that way very deliberately and for most people it’s a very effective way to learn a practical skill like teaching.
Having said all of that, if you'd like a little extra support alongside your course, have a look at my free CELTA Toolkit.
It’s got videos like this covering all of the major CELTA input topics, so if you're about to have an input session or you've just finished one and you'd like another explanation or you want some insight into what’s coming, you've got somewhere you can go to reinforce what you've learned at your own pace.
You'll find the link above. I hope it helps, and I'll see you in the next video.
