here are centres offering CELTA all over the world.

Centre Authorisation and Moderation by Cambridge ESOL

To run CELTA courses, a centre must go through a very rigorous induction and approval process. The same is true of all tutors/teacher trainers teaching on CELTA courses. Each and every course is also moderated by a Cambridge approved external assessor. The assessor's role is not to just to assess the candidates but to evaluate the course as a whole and to make sure that the centre has provided a quality programme to its trainees. You may have heard of the term 'quality assurance". Well, this is exactly what Cambridge is determined to do to ensure that wherever you decide to take your CELTA course, your centre will have made every effort to abide by the syllabus and administrative guidelines so that your course is of high quality and every effort has been made to guide you through to a successful outcome.

Where to find Authorised Cambridge Teaching Award Centres

A good place to start looking for a CELTA course located near you or in any country of your choice, is the Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards Centres search page where you can search by country and find the website link of all the centres offering courses. Each centre will have its own policy regarding applications and payment of tuition so your decision will probably be made on the basis of where you want to be during your course, whether the centre offers you job support and what resources are available at each centre. A good place to find out feedback about various CELTA centres around the world are Teachers' Chat Rooms and Discussion forums for teachers. However, you should be warned that many centres are registered members in these forums and, therefore, it is very difficult to be quite certain that the praises to heaven of a particular post are genuine ones! Facebook is a very good place to find information by searching for CELTA groups and contacting ex-trainees by sending them a personal message. Although every centre has to start somewhere, it is a good idea to choose a well established teacher education centre, dedicated to running courses throughout the year and not just one or

two summer courses with guest tutors, particularly tutors who have not got a lot of training and teaching experience. Newly trained up course tutors or tutors with little teaching and training experience will

have less experience at supporting adults have a more limitied range of suggestions/ideas/solutions to help you with your planning. have limited experience of using a wide range of materials tend to be less open to different ways and approaches of teaching probably have little experience of offering constructive feedback and may focus only on weaknesses

What you can (and should) expect from your chosen centre
Most centres should be able to offer you

Free photocopying for your teaching practice lesson plans and lesson materials Printing facilities which you would usually have to pay something for Free use of PC's and a fast internet connection Free Wi-Fi in case you are carrying your own laptop A room or space where you take your breaks, have a snack or a drink An Overhead Projector Television or wide screen TV A data projector for powerpoint presentations or to show a DVD or video clip from the web or hard drive A well stocked library with all the necessary language and methodology titles you will need for your background reading during the course A range of Teacher Magazines and Journals on Teaching that the centre subscribes to A range of recently published coursebooks used in the classroom, grammar books, and other supplementary materials for vocabulary, pronunciation, reading, listening, writing, speaking, exam preparation classes Audio visual materials needed to use the above published materials

Most centres will also offer some job support; in fact many centres have specilal sessions during the last week of their courses where you will be adivsed where to look for jobs, how to conduct yourself during a job interview, how to write your CV (resume) and will probably put you in touch with schools in their own network. 3. How to prepare for the Pre-Interview Task
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So you have been thinking of following a CELTA course. This is a great decision. The CELTA course will give you not only the accreditation you need in order to find a job as an English teacher, but it will also provide you with the kind of practical knowledge and understanding of what it is to be a good TEFL teacher. But you are feeling a little apprehensive. You have been asked to do do a pre-interview task and you are not sure what to study in order to prepare for it. Have no fear. A "pre-interview task", which is the name used by Cambridge ESOL, is really a test of your knowledge of the English Language. Most centres will want to know if you have....

a knowlegde of the Grammar of English ability to analyse language ability to identify errors made by students ability to explain simply and clearly ability to express yourself in writing accurately without errors or grammar, vocabulary, punctuation ability to express yourself in writing in an organised, logical and economical way a high enough level of English which would allow you to teach upper level classes

Whether you are a native speaker of English or a non-native speaker, these are abilities and knowledge which will help you to complete the course successfully! So how can you prepare for this test?

Some Suggested Grammars & links to help you prepare

Grammar for English Language Learners If you have not studied grammar before, and many native speakers find themselves in this position, you may start with a good grammar reference book for learners of English. This will help introduce you to some of the terminology that you need to learn and which will be used by your tutors during your CELTA course. Leech, Cruickshank & Ivani An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage (Longman)

Murphy, R English Grammar in Use (CUP) Swan, M Practical English Usage (OUP) Swan, M & Walter, C How English Works (OUP) Grammar Resource books for teachers of English These are grammars that are recommended if you have a good working knowledge of the grammar of English and are used to studying grammar reference books. If you are planning to buy any grammar books or resource books for teaching grammar, here are some titles recommended highly - which you will also find very useful later in your own teaching. Aitken, R - Teaching Tenses - Ideas for Presenting and Practising Tenses in English (Nelson) Cown, R - The Teacher's Grammar of English (CUP) Parrott, M Grammar for English Teachers (CUP) Preston, T - A Concise Grammar for English Language Teachers (ELT) Thornbury, S. - How to Teach Grammar (Longman)

Some online resources for grammar and related terminology

Free online Cambridge Grammar for Teachers - Language Awareness you must register to follow this free course - highly recommended English Grammar on Wikipedia A Guide to Grammar and Writing - contains an extensive list of grammar terms explained The BBC Skillwise Grammar Section - will help you revise some basic concepts and has a lot of interactive games and activities which will make your revision less tedious EnglishClub.com English Grammar - has some terminology explained and some quizzes to test your knowledge. Englishplus.com Grammar Slammer - has a long glossary og grammar terms with examples and explanations The Grammar Aquarium contains notes and exercises (online or in print) for all the major grammar areas. Verb Tenses & Modals Mindmap summarises all the forms in one giant diagram very neatly; contains examples. English Page - Verb Tenses - useful timelines

Terminology for the Course A Glossary of terms can be downloaded from the Cambridge ESOL website. Click here to download the TKT Glossary

Important Note

Each CELTA centre will usually have their own pre-interview task although they all try to assess very similar things. Our own pre-interview task format at CELT Athens includes the following:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Correction and explanation of errors to an intermediate adult learner Analysis of a number of utterances re their form and their function Explanation of pairs of easily confusable words to a learner Identifying the stressed syllables in words and stressed words in a conversation Writing two short essays (one 150 words and one longer piece)

How to prepare for the Interview Edit 0 7 still in draft status

After receiving your completed pre-interview task answers, you will be required to attend a faceto-face interview with one of the course tutors. If unable to attend a face-to-face, a telephone interview is also accepted (although you may be asked to cover the cost of the call yourself). MESSENGERS & SKYPE It is sometimes much more convenient (and economical for the candidate) to be interviewed via MSN messenger or Skype using voice and a webcam. Telephone conversations are fine but being able to have face contact with your interviewer may alleviate a lot of anxiety. This is a much better solution because it is always more confortable and useful, for both interviewer and interviewee, to be able to see each other. QUESTIONS YOU WILL BE ASKED Different centres follow different scenarios in their interviews but what they need to find out about you during the interview is not just what you have written in your application form or CV. Your interviewer may wish to doublecheck all or some of the following - whether you are a native or non-native speaker of English:

that your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is in place that your spoken English is at a high enough level that you have good personal communication skills that you have an awareness of the demands of the course

that you are not going through a difficult time in your life which might prevent you from being successful on the course that you are open to learning and amenable to criticism as the course is high on critique of one's teaching that you are well-organised and disciplined that you do not have any biases which might prevent you from offering equal opportunities to your learners

Your interviewer - who will usually be a CELTA tutor - will also give you a lot of information about the course, the number of assignments, teaching practices, about the workload and the resources available. Feel free to ask any questions which will help you understand how to organise your study time so that you can maximise your chances of success. At some point during the interview, you will also be asked to do a quick writing task, something related to language or teaching which should take no longer than 10-15 minutes. This is done in order to see if you can express yourself clearly, correctly and fluently when you have to write under pressure as some centres will not time you while doing the pre-interview task. Above all, the interviewer will want to see if you

are aware that teaching is a demanding profession, have very high or very low expectations of yourself, have the kind of personality that will allow you work well with others in your group (trainees collaborate in Teaching Practice groups) have an understanding of what it takes to be a teacher.

So, all in all, being accepted on a CELTA course can be a great thing but if you are not accepted, this will usually be done because the interviewer believes that at this particular stage, your chances of being a successful candidate are not very high - which not a bad thing, as following a CELTA course involves a great commitment of time, money and personal work during course hours and after hours too! Having an idea of what it is that centres look for may help you prepare better and be accepted next time round. Here is a short video about the interview
How to prepare for your course Edit 0 5 Once you have registered with an Authorised Teaching Awards Centre, you will be asked to undertake some preparation. Your centre will send you a pack of materials which includes a little bit of reading and some questions

for reflection.

Self Study Pack It is a Cambridge regulation that you should complete all the tasks in this material in writing and take it to your chosen centre on the first day of your course. Your tutor only needs to check that you have done it and will give you an Answer Key to check whether your responses were acceptable. You will not be graded for your answers but the preparation will help you a lot during your course, especially if you are following an intensive one with little time for extensive reading.

Books Free reading online

Success on your Certificate Course in English Language Teaching This a book which you view almost in its entirety on Google Books and covers a lot of areas, not just the course. Worth a read. Grammar for Teachers You can read this book freely on Google books. This is not a grammar for learners but it is addressed to people who are teaching or will be teaching the English Language.

Books you can buy

Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener - all you need to know about teaching during your CELTA and excellent pre-course reading Jeremy Harmer's The Practice of English Language Teaching or How to Teach English Either book as an alternative to the one above Teaching Tenses by Rosemary Aitken - great for lesson preparation

Related Articles Preparing for the CELTA - 15 Practical Suggestions, by Alex Case of TEFL.net

Is a CELTA course as intensive as people say? Watch this short video

Preparing for the CELTA etc

15 practical suggestions on what you should do prior to taking any CELTA or similar TEFL certificate course
Written by Alex Case for TEFL.net

1. Learn a language This can help you put yourself in the shoes of your future students and get some ideas on what ways you like learning and therefore are most likely to choose when teaching. If possible, try studying in a monolingual class (one where English isnt used), learn to use phonetic symbols in a dictionary (languages where the spelling is irregular like French are good for this), and learn as much grammar terminology as you can. Learning another script like Thai or Russian can also be good experience. Keeping a language learning diary and experimenting with as many self-study methods as you can (e.g. different ways of learning vocabulary) will also be useful. If you cant find or cant afford classes, a conversation exchange or self-study materials are nearly as useful. 2. Buy and use an Advanced learners dictionary This can be a difficult habit to get into, as native speakers naturally use skills of guessing new words from context (skills that you will be trying to teach your students) rather than reaching for a dictionary all the time. Still, try to keep a good Advanced level learners dictionary around and keep it in mind when reading something pretentious or playing Scrabble, because even if you dont use it before the course to improve your own vocabulary or pronunciation, you will certainly need it during the course to help you explain the meaning or pron of words and expressions to your students. 3. Learn some grammar Learning a foreign language can be an interesting way of doing this. Otherwise, people tend to find that analysing sentences for parts of speech, tenses etc. is the most interesting thing to do on your own, especially if you are a mathematical/ analytical kind of person. Recording and transcribing one of your own conversations and then analysing the grammar (and lack of grammar) in it can also be more motivating than most grammatical study. Other interesting topics include regional differences and differences between spoken and written grammar, e.g. looking at a corpus based grammar like the Cambridge Grammar of English and seeing how much you agree with its findings. 4. Mix with foreign people This should help you work on speaking slower and with simpler language. Ways of finding people to speak to include conversation exchanges and volunteering to help foreign people, e.g. as a tour guide, host family or in a local tourist information office. If there arent any people from other countries to practice on, time spent with a hard of hearing relative or small children might be a good second best. 5. Get yourself interested in the language Having a detailed knowledge of the history of English is in no way useful in the classroom, and can in fact cause all kinds of confusion if you try to introduce your students to it. Prompting your

own interest in such things can, however, improve your enthusiasm for your subject, which is perhaps the most important quality for any kind of teacher. Many famous writers have written books about the English language, but Bill Brysons Mother Tongue is almost certainly the most entertaining. Writers from the world of linguistics who are also very readable include David Crystal and Stephen Pinker. 6. Polish up your own English Although factors like speaking speed and not having a good lesson plan or not sticking it have a lot more impact on passing a TEFL certificate than your ability not to make spelling and grammar mistakes, having a mistake pointed out by a student is one of the most embarrassing things that can happen in class. Ways of working on this include keeping lists of mistakes you make that a spellchecker picks up and reading books on common mistakes. Reading a book on common mistakes designed for non-native speakers can also help you become aware of which mistakes to look out for when your students are speaking and writing. Alternatively, a book written for native speakers, especially one written in a lively style such as Troublesome Words by Bill Bryson, is more likely to focus on the things you have problems with. Just as for your students in their grammar studies, you are probably better off using such books in small chunks with lots of breaks. 7. Learn the phonemic script Like certain types of grammar, learning the secret code of the phonemic script is something that mathematical/ analytical types get into straight away. For others, it is reassuring to know that you are not expected to be able to write whole sentences out in phonemics without a dictionary even at the end of the course. Interesting ways of getting into and practicing this include learning foreign languages with the help of a dictionary, looking up words you have never known how to pronounce (e.g. foreign words in English), and looking at phonetics more generally and using it to try and pronounce sounds that dont exist in your language. 8. Learn the jargon You should quickly pick this up when you are on the course, but it can be daunting until you do. Easy ways into it include reading forums and blogs by people who are already teaching English, where they will often use expressions such as TTT and Find Someone Who without any further explanation. You can then look these things up in an English teaching book or elsewhere on the internet, or just leave a comment asking them to explain. 9. Teach something else Although teaching languages is very different from teaching maths, the same patience, ability to explain in simple terms etc. are necessary for both. If you cant get a paid or voluntary teaching or assistant teacher position, just helping out at a summer camp or with someones homework are useful too. 10. Study something else This will help you prepare for the more academic parts of the course, make sure you have all the stationery etc you will need when you start writing essays, and help you give your students tips on self-study skills such as finding time to do homework.

11. Write This can be a way of making up for not having anything to study if you want to get yourself into the habit of sitting down to do something everyday, or as a way of realising what your own problems with English are. The simplest things to get into writing are a diary or a blog. If you are lost for things to write about, your struggles to prepare for the CELTA might be a good topic. 12. Pre-reading Your course provider will probably give you a list of books to buy, but please be aware that this might not be the same as a pre-reading list. For example, Michael Swans book is hardly meant to be read from cover to cover and The Practice of English Teaching makes little sense until you have actually been in the classroom and so can start to make your own mind up about the many options it gives you. If the place where you will be doing your cert doesnt provide a specific pre-reading list, you might be able to find one elsewhere on the internet or can make your own by looking for books that are simpler (How to Teach English rather than or before the other Harmer mentioned above) or more systematic (a grammar book that is arranged logically by sections rather than A to Z). 13. Get organised One of the greatest challenges of the CELTA is just lack of time- time to do your coursework, time to relax and time to do anything else that comes up in your life. You can make more time for all of these things by doing the things mentioned in the other points above before the course starts, but also by buying all the books and stationery that you could possibly need, clearing your email inbox, paying all your bills etc before the first day of the cert. You may also want to put some time and effort into improving your time management skills by reading a book on it, filing things that are often difficult to find, starting a to do list, buying a new diary etc. 14. Learn timing Planning how long things are going to take and then checking how long they really took is not only another good time management method that can help you deal with the pressures of the course, but is also a useful skill to have when writing a lesson plan and checking your progress through it in class without having to look at your watch every ten seconds. You can practice this with literally any daily task. 15. Relax The thing you will have most problems finding time for during the course is relaxation, so when you are reading up for the course do so in a reclining chair with a freshly squeezed orange juice just before you go to the pool, so that you start the course healthy in body and mind rather than already frazzled. Useful Reading for the CELTA Edit 0 9 **Success on Your Certificate Course in English Language Teaching a Guide to Becoming a Teacher in ELT/TESOL** by Caroline Brandt. A free PDF download of a very useful book which takes you through all the stages in deciding which course is suitable for you, whether you are suited to teaching and, once you have decided, how to help yourself during any course you have decided to follow.

Road to Teaching - A guide to Teacher training, Student teaching and finding a job a useful book available only for online reading from Scribd. All the books suggested on the previous page will be of great assistance during your course as well Some more useful books - you don't have to buy them all - one good methodology book and a couple of grammars - Aitken definitely useful