Why should you do the CELTA course?

I have been to a ‘one-day event Braz-Tesol SIG’ talk at Cultura Inglesa Butantã – SP, that entailed the very up-to-date and important topic – How professionalised is/should our area be? Not only did it inspire me but it also marked a very important “era” in my career development.  I remember very well that, after that talk, I had to stand up and share how motivated I was right there and then. Of course, the speaker was the brilliant and outstanding Vinicius Nobre. On that day, he mentioned that if we were there, it was because we would like a change, we would like to improve and boost our language/knowledge, and consequently, we would like to become better professionals. That is exactly why I have decided to write about the “Why should we do the CELTA?”.

The other day, I was thrilled to hear that more and more teachers have been willing to develop their professional skills and have been searching for one-day events, or even long-term courses to participate in. Not until I became a coordinator did I realise I could (or should) share my experiences with new teachers. Thus, I am here, in your shoes, to tell you why you should do the CELTA course.

The CELTA course is significant for our profession because it provides us with a formal qualification and open future doors towards other developmental courses, such as the DELTA. It gives you: a. the essential tools and knowledge to teach adults and young adults, b. hands-on teaching experience where you can apply what you have acquired with English language learners, c. observation of experienced teachers and d. more confidence to work as an ESL teacher (ESL = English as a second language). It has a minimum of 120 contact hours. Furthermore, it is trusted by employers, language schools and governments around the world. Therefore, you will be able to teach abroad after having this certificate. What’s more, it can be done here in Brazil by approved centres, such as Cultura Inglesa Sao Paulo, based on specifications produced by Cambridge English Language Assessment. I took the full-time course, in January 2008, with Bjarne Vonsild and Elaine Sutcliffe (I also met Vinicius Nobre for the first time). I was on “holidays” and I decided to make it count. However, you can also take the part-time course (up to 6 months) if you would like to have more time to consolidate learning/teaching throughout the course.

If you are oftentimes reflecting critically upon your own teaching skills, observing other colleagues as well as actively supporting their development, also if you are highly committed to your professional development, you should definitely take this course.

I am now concluding my Delta Module III stage and I have drawn up my professional plan very clearly so I am not sidetracked or demotivated over the years. I believe everybody should do the same.

References: https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/