Any CELTA Certified Teachers Here?

Hey.
Have you tried downloading them from a torrent site?

Is it a 9-5 course for a whole month? If so, it's a lot of work, but not difficult. It's just....a lot. But it's a great experience too. No experience with ILA in particular ( did my CELTA with International House) but it's totally worth it.

Welcome to Saigon!

kjwyatt wrote:

Also, where in Saigon can I buy (or download) the recommended grammar books?

If you ask, your teacher or course administrator will probably be able to arrange a copy at a very reasonable price.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I've read that the CELTA course is very demanding but relatively short-lived (120 classroom hours in 4 weeks). If anyone else wants to share his/her experience, I'd welcome the information.

I love grammer! No not really, with luck you will be teaching children through conversation and play.  Best of luck.

You won't have time to read grammar or teaching books while you're immersed in the CELTA course, but if you have some time beforehand I highly recommend you get a copy of Jim Scrivener's Learning Teaching (it's a classic), and try to get the accompanying interactive DVD. All the grammar stuff you can easily find online.

For your lesson plans I recommend you google top tips for lessons plans so you know how to sequence your activities. Lesson plans are fairly formulaic (warmer, leadin, preteach vocabs, drill, control practice, freer practice...etc) but the key thing is having a clear lesson aim, that is what do you want the students to be able to do by the end of the lesson.

I also recommend you google "How to teach...." and you'll find tons of great stuff on whatever grammar points or skills you'll need to teach in the CELTA. The go to sites for me are busyteacher.org, Onestopenglish, Australian network, or the British Council. I also recommend going onto youtube and watching videos on how teachers drill pronunciation, teach grammar and sequence their lessons...etc. Mimic, mimic, mimic! At our school the teachers are required to either observe a teacher in person or watch a dvd.

Keep in mind the CELTA is training you to teach adults but the reality is  most schools cater to young learners so you're likely to be teaching the little ones when you start off, unless you specifically target schools that market to adults. I recommend when you start off, check out what resources the school has. The professional ones will be well stocked and they'll offer workshops to polish up your skills after CELTA.

I hope this was of some help. All the best.

The CELTA course is like trying to drink from a fire hose.  Don't schedule a lot of outside activity during the weeks that you'll be taking the course. 

Scrivner is a must read.  Swan's practical English Usage is another good resource. 

Best of luck.

I took my CELTA course in the UK.  If the Saigon version is similar, you will be very busy.  I enjoyed the course and found it provided great practical experience.  The 9-5 thing may be a bit if a misnomer.  I found myself working from 9-bedtime pretty much the entire month, save for a bit of free time on weekends.  I missed meals on a few occasions.  The work isn't difficult per se, but the deadlines are tight and continuous.  They sort of throw you in to sink or swim.  Still, it's worth it after you finish, and if you enjoy the company of your classmates and students it can be fun.

majordoxa, thank you for the wonderfully detailed information. It was exactly what I was looking for. It sounds like the more legwork I do before the course starts, the better off I'll be.

mtgmike and anh map, thanks for confirming that this course is intense and demanding on your time. I'll certainly have to scale back my social life during that time but it's only a month!