Cambridge University Certificate in English Language Teaching (CELTA) (Part-time) for Adults

The recommended minimum age of entry on the CELTA is 20, and you should be a graduate (although younger applicants may be considered if you have university entrance qualifications).

Non-native speakers need a command of English that will stand up to the pressures of the programme: we suggest Cambridge Proficiency Level or IELTS 7 because this is an academic and challenging course.
You do not need to have any previous teaching experience or be able to speak another language, although either of these would be useful.

We will give you an interview - in person or on Skype - and you’ll need to complete a pre-programme assignment to assess your knowledge of language before being admitted to the programme. You should have an awareness of language and a level of English, both written and spoken, that enables you to follow the programme – this is necessary whether your first language is English or not. This means we expect you to be able to write coherently, with a good standard of punctuation, spelling and grammar.

You’ll also need to be very organised with good time management skills to cope with the course. It is a full time commitment, and you’ll need to dedicate your evenings and weekends to assignments and lesson planning. You’ll find it’s worth it – it’s a challenging course, but worthwhile and enjoyable.

Full attendance is expected because you can’t afford to miss any sessions. If you do have to miss a session because of illness, for example, you’ll be expected to catch up.

Start: Tuesday 3 October 2023
End: Thursday 7 March 2024

A variety of teaching approaches is used: lectures, seminars, workshops, discussion, pair/group work, video and computer sessions. Also included on the programme are six hours of classroom observation of experienced teachers.

There is continuous assessment on your six hours of teaching, your lesson plans and four written assignments (there is no final exam). In addition to the time at College, at least 50 hours of self-study is expected for reading, assignments and lesson planning.

School Leavers under the age of 19 do not have to pay fees on any full time courses, though may have to pay for their second year if turning 19 during their studies. If you’re aged 19 or over you might qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan. It’s easy to apply for and you won’t have to pay anything back until you’re earning over £25,000. If you are studying a part-time course and you receive one of the following benefits, or you depend financially on someone who does, you may be entitled to have your tuition fees waived: Job Seekers Allowance, Income Support. You will, however, have to pay any awarding body/assessment fees (unless you are on a first full level 2 course). * If you are in receipt of Working Tax Credit or receive other allowances, you may be eligible to claim concessionary rates. If you are entitled to a fee concession you will be asked to provide proof of your entitlement. It is essential that you inform us if your entitlement changes at any time during your course.

A CELTA can be used to teach in language schools in the UK and abroad. You can progress on to the ESOL DTLLS or a DELTA once you have two years work experience.