Abbie in full teacher trainee mode!
My name is Abbie and I recently completed the CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) as a summer intensive.
Just to let you know a bit about me, before CELTA: I graduated from my undergraduate BA (Hons) English Language and TESOL (with a year abroad) course in 2024. I hadn’t done the embedded CELTA* during my studies as I felt I wanted to concentrate my studies elsewhere at that time and lacked confidence. However, following graduation, I took a gap year from university, focusing on my teaching assistant (TA) work in primary schools to help build my experience in the classroom. As a result, I had a pretty good understanding of the theory of teaching, but not much practical experience, which is why I wanted, finally, to do the CELTA (as this gives you at least 9 hours of hands-on teaching experience as well as theory). Also, I’ve always wanted to teach English to adults from different countries, and undertaking a CELTA was the key for me in understanding if this was the best course of action for my future career.
To get into CELTA, there was an extremely rigorous and detailed interview process, which (if you’re interested in doing this) you will need to prepare for in advance; and bring a pen, because I forgot mine….
Following the interview, I was extremely nervous about starting the course, as I doubted whether I would be able to keep up with the amount of work required. The first day was very difficult due to cognitive overload; the sheer amount of information shared was initially overwhelming, so it was a bit difficult to find my feet at first. However, the support from the tutors throughout was astounding, and they never ever made us feel like we were fighting an uphill battle.
I also had the pleasure of meeting my amazing CELTA course mates and two groups of learners (pre-intermediate and upper-intermediate learners). I had the best time with my fellow CELTA trainees, and we all built a strong connection by the end of the 5 weeks. My colleagues helped me with the workload and stress, gave advice on my lessons, and I never felt alone through the process. The CELTA experience also allowed me to meet so many learners from many different countries (e.g., Vietnam, China, Ukraine and more!). It was a pleasure teaching these learners, and hearing their life experiences through the lessons was amazing! They taught me as many things in the 5 weeks as I taught them.
The CELTA course in the summer is certainly tough, as it is a 4-month course compressed into 5 weeks, and oftentimes, I did feel stressed by the amount of paperwork and materials I had to complete. But the support network that came with the course really helped me. The tutors were amazingly supportive and gave us feedback every step of the way. They were always available for a talk about work and your feelings.
Now that I have a CELTA qualification, I feel motivated and ready for my future, and my career aspirations are solely focused on teaching adults abroad, which I gained a deeper understanding of through this course. I will be doing my MA in TESOL at Swansea this September, and I am excited as to where my CELTA and MA qualifications will take me in life!
To anyone thinking about taking the CELTA course (either embedded or summer course), I say go for it! It’s such a valuable and unforgettable experience, and it is the best course to prepare you for your future!
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*The embedded CELTA takes a slightly different form – it’s an option that you can apply to do as part of your degree and is over 11 weeks (typically in the 2nd year of your studies). Find out more about the module on the above link to the English language and TESOL degree at Swansea!