CELTA study guide
CELTA · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is a Cambridge qualification for people who want to teach English as a foreign language. Cambridge describes it as the most widely recognised English teaching qualification in the world and the one employers most often request: globally over 63% of English language teaching jobs require a CELTA qualification. It is designed for new teachers with no experience, teachers with some experience who want to develop their skills, first-language and non-first-language English speakers, and teachers who want to travel and teach English. All CELTA courses include at least 120 hours of study. Topics cover practical teaching skills and the theory behind them, and candidates get real-life teaching experience with groups of learners, feedback and advice on their teaching, and are assessed on their teaching skills and on written assignments. Courses are delivered face-to-face, online, or as a combination of both, and can be taken full time (usually over 4-5 weeks) or part time over a few months to a year. Topics on this exam: Teaching practice (assessed on teaching skills, observed by a trainer) and Written assignments. The CELTA study guide has 2 sections and about 554 words.
01Teaching Practice: Planning, Delivery and Reflection
CELTA teaching practice is assessed against criteria covering planning, language analysis, classroom management, teaching skills, awareness of learners, use of materials and professionalism. You must show you can plan a coherent lesson with clear aims, stage it logically, and adapt when things change. Trainers look for learner-centred decisions, not a performance. Aim vs activity: “Students will do a gap-fill” is not an aim.
291 words, about 1 min02Written Assignments: Analysis, Evidence and Referencing
CELTA written assignments typically cover language analysis, focus on the learner, language skills, and reflection on teaching. Each has a rubric: read it closely and answer every part explicitly. Assignments are assessed on whether you address the task, support claims with evidence, and write clearly and concisely. Describing rather than analysing: a narrative of what happened is not analysis.
263 words, about 1 minMore study resources for CELTA
- Practice questionsWhat should the main aim of a lesson describe?
- FlashcardsTeaching practice hours. CELTA requires a minimum of six hours of assessed teaching practice, delivered over at least eight lessons to two groups of learners at different levels.
- Cheat sheetCELTA requires a minimum of six hours of assessed teaching practice, delivered over at least eight lessons, with at least two groups of learners at different levels.
- Key termsTeaching practice (TP). 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.
- Study planMap the eight teaching-practice assessment criteria into a personal checklist and rate your current ability on each using a 1-5 scale.
- Common mistakesNerves and a belief that a clear explanation is faster and safer than elicitation; the candidate has not planned the questions that would hand the work to the learners.
- Exam-day guideBring the original ID document used for your booking (passport or driving licence).