CELTA FAQs

Frequently asked questions about ELT

1. How does CELTA differ from TEFL?

As an experienced CELTA tutor I'm often asked what the difference is between CELTA and TEFL.

The first thing to know is that these are both INITIAL teacher training qualifications. They are designed for people who have never taught before, although actually, a lot of people take them when they DO have some experience. Neither of them will make you a fully qualified teacher, ready for anything – they’re the first step on your teaching road…

If you want to know more about the ins and outs of CELTA versus TEFL, what the acronyms stand for, what the main differences are, how much work is involved, advantages, disadvantages and so on, check out my blog post (with video) below.

2. CELTA online or face to face? What's the difference?

So you want to do CELTA, but CoVid has put paid to a lot of face to face courses worldwide…. But you STILL want to do CELTA. You’ve heard it’s online now, but you’re not sure what that means… Want more information?

The new delivery of CELTA in a fully online version because of CoVid has many people asking: what is different? what's the same? how does it work? what are the advantages? disadvantages? And perhaps the biggest concern: won’t it be difficult to transition to face to face teaching?

The blog post (with video) below provides a few thoughts from an experienced CELTA trainer.

3. Is CELTA for 'non-native' English speakers?

A common question from CELTA applicants: if 'English is not my first language- can I take CELTA?'

The short answer to this is YES of course you can. About half of the people who take CELTA around the world every year are not first language speakers of English. You DO need to have to have a high level of language proficiency, but how important is it that this is not your first language?

The blog post below (with video) provides a bit more information about the relative merits of being a 'native' or 'non-native' English speaker when you are training to be an English teacher.

4. All these ELT acronyms... what do they mean?

English language teaching as a profession seems to love acronyms – TEFL, ESOL, EAP, EAL…. you’d be forgiven for being confused. In the blog post below I’ll try and explain the meanings of at least a few of these.

5. EFL vs ESOL - What's the difference?

Find out what the differences between these two groups really are and whether the distinction matters. Also a few things to be aware of about your learners' needs. After all, regardless of the context, EFL or ESOL, what you are trying to do is to help people to learn a language.

6. What is the role of a CELTA Assessor?

What are CELTA Assessors? What do they do? Can they affect my grade? I read a fair bit of misinformation on social media about the role of a CELTA assessor, so, I thought that this short video might be helpful…

7. Should I do an MA TESOL or Delta?

If you're looking for a qualification to take your ELT career further, you might think about an MA TESOL or the Cambridge Delta. But which one? Here are some thoughts and useful links.

8. Can you fail CELTA on assignments?

CELTA is assessed on teaching practice and four assignments. For each assignment there are three possible grades: Pass (first submission), Pass on resubmission, and Fail. It actually doesn’t matter whether you pass the first or second submission - its still a pass. But what happens if you fail both submissions?  Want more information and support on CELTA assignments?
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