Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL and EFL).

It is also taken by candidates with some teaching experience who have received little practical teacher training or who wish to gain internationally recognised qualification.

The strong practical element demonstrates to employers that successful candidates have the skills to succeed in the classroom.

[6] Courses can be taken full-time or part-time through one of three modes of delivery: fully face-to-face, in a blended format that combines on-line self-study with practical teaching experience, or fully online, with teaching practice and input all being delivered online through a video conferencing platform such as Zoom.

[7] Candidates who successfully complete the course can start working in a variety of English language teaching contexts around the world.

[9] A certificate course for the teaching of English as a foreign language (TEFL) originated in International House London in 1962[10] and was run from the 1970s until 1988 by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA).

The qualification was amended in response to perceived needs, leading to the launch in September 1988 of the CTEFLA (the Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults).

If the written task demonstrates an appropriate level of English and the potential to develop the skills needed to pass the course, the applicant will be invited to an interview.

[17] The CELTA syllabus consists of five topic areas, which are each assessed through a combination of teaching practice and written assignments.

The following section outlines the main content points covered in each topic – the full Learning Outcomes are available in the course syllabus.

Part-time courses, conducted face-to-face in an authorised teaching qualification centre, last anything from a few months up to a year.

[18] CELTA Online is provided by Cambridge English Language Assessment in partnership with International House, London.

It provides a flexible manner of obtaining CELTA by combining online self-study with face-to-face teaching practice.

The online materials can be accessed at any time allowing students to plan their course work around other professional / personal commitments.

Candidates work independently or collaboratively on these tasks with support, evaluation and comment from an online tutor.

Instead, Cambridge English recommends taking the "TKT: Young Learners" module as an alternative to the YL extension.

[17] The application and interview process is intentionally rigorous to ensure candidates have the potential to pass the course and the failure rate is therefore not high.