If you want the whole low-down, it is available on the Cambridge English website, but here is the basic layout:
The course is INTENSIVE and it lasts a month. It is meant to be a crash-course in becoming an English as a Second Language teacher. It goes Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm, but I have been there until at least 8:00 pm every night preparing. (And some nights I have worked until midnight in my hotel) There are twelve total people in the class, but we are split into two groups of 6 for "Teaching Practice."
Teaching Practice is every morning between 9 am and 11:15 and consists of three 45 minute lessons that we are to give to adult learners. (The learners pay a deposit to take the class, and if they attend 80% of our classes, they get their deposit back. They are aware that we are learning to be teachers.) 3 out of the 6 of my group will teach one day, and the other 3 teach the next. Each lesson is observed carefully by the non-participating students as well as two "tutors" (the CELTA teachers). We take a 15 minute break from 11:15 to 11:30, and then we all critique each other. The rest of the day, both groups of 6 are in one room together and we learn how and how not to teach. Anything we learn about in this afternoon session becomes part of our grade for subsequent Teaching Practice sessions. On top of that, we also have 4 big assignments. 3 other CELTA students and I spent all of Saturday in a coffee shop working on the first one. I still have not finished.
So far, I am really thankful for the course. I have never been so uncomfortable and challenged in my life. The class incorporates all the things that scare me the most: being in charge, public speaking, explaining things, and being judged. Thankfully, it seems to be challenging for everyone else in my class, even those who have been teaching for years. It creates a very supportive environment, like we are all struggling together.
I am struggling more than others. It is a humbling experience. I am passing, though, so I am trying not to worry about it. It also helps that the learners are very kind and supportive. They are all Vietnamese adults, and many of them are local teachers. They noticed I was really nervous during my first lesson. (I was. I couldn't look up from my notes or figure out what to do with my hands.) One woman said she was terrified in her first class, and that it would get easier. She was right.
This course is my life for the next 3 weeks. It feels good to be back in school again and to be so absorbed in studying that I don't have time to feel homesick.
Teaching Practice is every morning between 9 am and 11:15 and consists of three 45 minute lessons that we are to give to adult learners. (The learners pay a deposit to take the class, and if they attend 80% of our classes, they get their deposit back. They are aware that we are learning to be teachers.) 3 out of the 6 of my group will teach one day, and the other 3 teach the next. Each lesson is observed carefully by the non-participating students as well as two "tutors" (the CELTA teachers). We take a 15 minute break from 11:15 to 11:30, and then we all critique each other. The rest of the day, both groups of 6 are in one room together and we learn how and how not to teach. Anything we learn about in this afternoon session becomes part of our grade for subsequent Teaching Practice sessions. On top of that, we also have 4 big assignments. 3 other CELTA students and I spent all of Saturday in a coffee shop working on the first one. I still have not finished.
So far, I am really thankful for the course. I have never been so uncomfortable and challenged in my life. The class incorporates all the things that scare me the most: being in charge, public speaking, explaining things, and being judged. Thankfully, it seems to be challenging for everyone else in my class, even those who have been teaching for years. It creates a very supportive environment, like we are all struggling together.
I am struggling more than others. It is a humbling experience. I am passing, though, so I am trying not to worry about it. It also helps that the learners are very kind and supportive. They are all Vietnamese adults, and many of them are local teachers. They noticed I was really nervous during my first lesson. (I was. I couldn't look up from my notes or figure out what to do with my hands.) One woman said she was terrified in her first class, and that it would get easier. She was right.
This course is my life for the next 3 weeks. It feels good to be back in school again and to be so absorbed in studying that I don't have time to feel homesick.
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