Video transcript - Worried About Failing CELTA? Watch This!
Let’s talk about one of the most searched CELTA questions out there: What happens if you fail?
Now, the reason this gets searched so much is obvious really. Before CELTA starts, a lot of candidates are nervous. Very nervous. Perhaps that’s you now? Maybe you’re wondering things like:
What if I can’t keep up?
What if my teaching practice goes badly?
What if everyone else seems to know what they’re doing and I’m the one quietly falling apart in the corner?
And yes: Can I actually fail?
So in this video, I want to give you a clear and honest answer from the perspective of someone who’s been involved in CELTA for over a quarter of a century. Because there is quite a lot of vague information online about this and some of it is just plain wrong.
So let’s clear it up.
First of all: yes, it’s possible to fail CELTA
Let’s start there, because I don’t think false reassurance helps anybody. But that does not mean CELTA is designed to catch people out or eliminate people and in fact the pass rate is very high- about 95%. This isn’t because it’s easy, it’s not, but there’s a rigorous application procedure and centres aren’t allowed to take on anyone unless they’re reasonably sure they could pass.
So that’s the first thing- the vast majority of candidates who stay on the course and engage with it, pass.
Secondly: if someone is struggling, tutors usually know quite early and you’ll have lots of support.
You’re not going to get to the end of the course, think that you’ve been doing fine and then receive a certificate that says ‘fail’ on it.
You’ll have written and oral feedback after every teaching practice and there are also regular tutorials to make sure you’re clear about your progress- what’s going well and what you need to work on. It’ll all be really clear and if at any point you’re not sure, you can just ask your tutor and they’ll tell you.
Now, that doesn’t mean everybody improves enough in the time available. It IS an intense ride and it doesn’t work for everyone. But people don’t just suddenly “fail out of nowhere.
Thirdly: the results are not just pass or fail
The other thing that people often don’t fully understand is that there are different possible outcomes on CELTA.
You can get:
Pass
Pass B
Pass A
or Fail
And the most common result, for about 70% of people, is simply Pass.
Pass B and Pass A are for stronger performances overall, but a Pass is a perfectly good and valid result. It means you’ve met the criteria and successfully completed the course.
I often hear people saying that they want a Pass A and it’s great to aim high, but don’t feel that “just a Pass” is disappointing. It really isn’t. It’s a great achievement on a tough course and it’s the start of you continuing to develop into the best teacher you can be.
So what might lead to a Fail?
Usually, if someone fails CELTA, it’s because by the end of the course they have not convincingly met the required criteria in teaching practice.
You can fail the course on assignments. Iif you fail two of the four assignments you can’t pass the course but this is INCREDIBLY rare.
The usual reasons are difficulty with planning, classroom management, language analysis, responding to feedback, or professional responsibilities.
Sometimes personal circumstances can affect things too. People may be ill, overwhelmed, under huge pressure, or simply not in the right place in life to cope with such an intensive course.
Finally, if you’re worried about failing, here’s what I’d say
Number one: don’t treat every difficult lesson as a sign of disaster. Everybody has lessons on CELTA that feel messy, uncomfortable, or not what they’d hoped. That is normal and one fail lesson does not mean you fail the whole course usually.
Number two: listen carefully to feedback. Not defensively. Not as proof that you’re terrible. But as information.
The candidates who grow fastest are often not the ones who start strongest. They’re the ones who can hear feedback, act on it and keep going.
Number three: ask for help early. If you’re confused, anxious, falling behind or not understanding what’s expected, say so. Tutors cannot help with problems they don’t know about.
And number four: remember what CELTA is for. It is not there to prove you’re already a brilliant teacher. It is there to help you become one.
So if you’re about to start CELTA and this is something you’ve been worrying about, I hope this has reassured you a bit and if you’re preparing for CELTA and you’d like more help with what to expect, planning lessons, learning about grammar and getting through the course with a bit more confidence, have a look at my CELTA preparation materials.
Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next video.
