CELTA key terms

The supervised lessons a trainee teaches to real learners during the course, each one observed by a trainer and followed by spoken and written feedback.

The course tutor who observes teaching practice, writes up feedback, marks written assignments and judges whether the trainee is meeting the course assessment criteria.

A document prepared before a lesson setting out aims, target language, anticipated problems, materials and the step-by-step procedure with approximate timings.

The single most important outcome of a lesson, usually worded as what learners will be better able to do by the end of it.

A secondary purpose of a lesson, such as revising vocabulary or developing a subskill, which supports the main aim without replacing it.

A short statement of the purpose of one step in a lesson, written from the learners' point of view and linked to the overall plan.

A development target the trainee sets for their own teaching in a particular lesson, such as giving clearer instructions or talking less.

The grammar structure, vocabulary item or functional expression that a lesson is designed to present or practise.

A natural sentence containing the target language, used to show its meaning in context and to model its spoken form.

Short, simple questions asked after presenting new language to check that learners have understood its meaning; they can usually be answered with yes or no.

Questions asked straight after setting a task to confirm that learners know what to do, how long they have and how they should work.

Getting language, ideas or answers from learners through questions, prompts, pictures or mime instead of simply telling them.

Repeated oral practice of a language item, led by the teacher with the whole class, groups or individuals, to improve pronunciation and fix the form in memory.

The grouping arrangement used during an activity, such as teacher to the whole class, pairs, small groups or learners working alone.

The teacher moving around while learners work, listening and noting problems, giving help where needed without taking over the activity.

The share of a lesson taken up by the teacher speaking; trainees are asked to keep it purposeful and to give learners more chance to talk.

Adjusting the teacher's own speech, including speed, vocabulary, sentence length and repetition, so that learners at a particular level can follow.

The teacher's response to learner mistakes, which may be immediate or delayed and may involve the learner self-correcting, a peer helping or the teacher reformulating.

An approach in which learners do most of the talking, deciding and problem-solving, with the teacher organising and guiding rather than lecturing.

Temporary support such as examples, prompts, models or partly completed tasks that the teacher provides and then withdraws as learners gain confidence.

An activity in which learners use the target language in a closely restricted way, often with one correct answer, in order to build accuracy.

An activity in which learners use the target language more openly for a real purpose, with the teacher stepping back and intervening less.

A lesson framework that presents language in context, practises it through controlled tasks, then gives learners a freer, more communicative activity.

A way of teaching language in which learners work out a rule from examples with the teacher's help, rather than being given the rule first.

The difficulties a teacher expects learners may have with language, tasks or materials, listed in the plan together with what the teacher will do about them.

The opening stage of a lesson that raises interest in the topic, draws on what learners already know and prepares them for the main work.

The teacher's written breakdown of an item's meaning, form, pronunciation and appropriacy, together with the difficulties learners are likely to have with it.

A piece of written coursework marked by the trainer against set criteria, covering language analysis, skills analysis or reflection on teaching practice.

The assignment in which trainees analyse one grammar item and one lexical item, describing meaning, form, pronunciation, likely problems and a way to teach them.

An assignment in which trainees choose a reading or listening text, justify it, identify useful subskills and design tasks that develop those subskills.

A reflective assignment in which trainees review their own teaching practice, discussing strengths, weaknesses and plans for future development.

A written justification of why a text, task or procedure was chosen, linking the choice to learners' needs and to established teaching principles.

Showing which books, articles or websites an assignment has drawn on, using one consistent style so that readers can locate the sources.

Using another person's words or ideas in an assignment without saying where they came from, which is treated as a serious academic offence.

Expressing a source's idea in your own words while still naming the source, instead of copying the original wording.

The required length of a written assignment; work that is far too short or far too long may be returned for rewriting.

Whether language fits the situation in which it is used, covering degrees of formality and the relationship between speakers; a standard part of language analysis.

A particular reading or listening ability such as predicting, skimming for gist, scanning for detail or inferring meaning from context.