Cambridge CELTA Certificate Course: Malta

Teacher Training in Malta

CELTA Course Aims

The CELTA (Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) is an initial training course in teaching English as a foreign language designed for those with little or no previous teaching experience. It is also suitable for people who have already taught English but have had no formal training and/or teaching qualifications and teachers of other subjects who wish to retrain as English language teachers. Although designed for native speakers of English, it is also open to non-native speakers who have native speaker competence in both spoken and written English.

CELTA Course Entry Requirements

Candidates suited to this course have:

1. reached the age of 20 years
2. done some university study, or have academic qualifications sufficient for university entrance in their country of origin
3. a competence in English, both written and spoken, that enables them to follow the course and complete all the assessed elements successfully

Equal Opportunities:

The Training Center in Malta is an Equal Opportunities employer and training centre. We welcome applications from all adults regardless of age, race, gender, physical ability or sexual orientation.

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CELTA Course Content

The core of the course is six hours of teaching practice. In this time, trainee teachers teach a variety of lesson types to adult learners of English at two different levels - usually Elementary and Intermediate.

The supervised teaching practice is supported with guided lesson planning and personalised feedback on lessons. There are two seminars or workshops each day, which include demonstration lessons, discussion of teaching principles and techniques, materials evaluation, and language analysis for teaching purposes.

Trainee teachers also observe four hours of live lessons and two hours of videoed lessons given by experienced teachers and teacher trainers in language classes at the school. In addition, candidates write four assignments on topics involving language analysis, teaching and learning.

It is designed to enable you to:

1. develop your language awareness
2. appreciate the cultural and individual needs of learners
3. become familiar with the principles and practice of effective English language teaching
4. develop basic skills for teaching adults
5. identify and exploit appropriate resources and materials
6. identify opportunities for future professional development

You will be kept fully informed of your progress and will have the opportunity to discuss your work in detail during your individual tutorials.

CELTA Course Length

The CELTA course is an intensive course that runs for four weeks. The normal working day is from 08.30 to 18:00 Monday to Friday but this may be extended, occasionally, to include observations and tutorials. The course is very intensive and, in addition to the above, trainees need to keep most evenings and some weekends free to plan classes and write assignments.

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CELTA International Recognition and Employment

Certificates are awarded by Cambridge ESOL (University of Cambridge - English to Speakers of Other Languages). Cambridge ESOL approves all aspects of the course including the course programme, the trainers, and centre facilities. CELTA is an internationally recognised qualification and has British Council approval.

It is the foundation qualification for employment in most recognised language schools all over the world. Course tutors are experienced English language teachers who have taught in a wide range of professional situations and are accredited CELTA trainers. All courses are externally moderated by CAMBRIDGE ESOL, ensuring that rigorous standards are maintained.

The CELTA certificate offered at the Training Centres in Malta is internationally recognised, the CELTA candidates in Malta receive the same internationally recognised Cambridge University CELTA certificate as they would at any other centre in the world. Courses may vary from centre to centre but each CELTA centre, trainer and course is externally assessed by Cambridge University to the same high international standard.

CELTA Employment

Following the clear establishment of English as the lingua franca globally there has been a sustained high demand for English language teachers. The Teacher Training Centre in Malta advertise teaching positions for other schools both locally and abroad, although jobs cannot be guaranteed.

This employment assistance includes

• resume and cover letter assistance
• job contacts
• contract review
• visa advice and assistance
• anything else you need to begin working as an English teacher at home or overseas

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CELTA Course Assessment and Grading

Assessment

The course assessment is both continuous and integrated. There is no final "exam". The training centre works hard to make the assessment procedure as transparent as possible. Candidates are able to ask their trainer at any point in the course how they are progressing and what they can do to improve. Besides, each teaching practice session receives verbal and written feedback and is graded against clear assessment criteria which all candidates are made fully aware of throughout the course. Moreover each candidate is given at least one (two if the need arises) one-to-one counselling tutorials to focus on their strengths and to identify areas in need of development.

All teaching practice records and assignments are submitted in a portfolio at the end of the course for final assessment.

Trainees are expected to demonstrate competence in the following areas, in both their teaching practice and assignments:

1. Language awareness, including aspects of vocabulary, grammar, phonology and a consideration of how language is used to express different meanings.
2. Classroom techniques to manage a language class effectively.
3. Effective lesson planning for adult learners including timetabling.
4. Awareness of teaching and learning styles and the different contexts in which English is taught.
5. Evaluation of materials available for teaching.
6. Professional development and the ability to evaluate strengths and weaknesses in their teaching.

Grading

The grades awarded are Pass, Pass "B" and Pass "A" and are based primarily on teaching ability and competence in lesson planning. The course at the Training Center in Malta also includes four written assignments. These are assessed and are also taken into account for the final grade. Award of the CELTA requires meeting strict Cambridge criteria for the ability to teach adult learners of English and, consequently, the possibility that candidates may fail the course and not be certified exists.

Provisional grades are awarded at the end of the course. A certificate, issued by Cambridge ESOL, is sent out six weeks after the end of the course and includes a personalised report written by the Malta tutors. The report focuses on the teacher's strengths and areas to develop beyond the course.

At the Training Centres in Malta we make every effort to be explicit and clear about the grading system. We reiterate that each lesson is graded with tutor comments explaining the grade and how if it is appropriate the grade could be improved for the next lesson. Twice during the course you will have an individual tutorial with your tutor who will explain how you are progressing and support you. If any candidate is at risk of failing they are offered additional tutor time and support.

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2013 CELTA Dates and Fees - Full-time & Part-time courses

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Enrolment Procedure

• If you believe you cover the minimum requirements to be considered as a candidate for any of the courses mentioned above, ask for the application package of the course that interests you.
• Prospective trainees must complete the application pack and return it via email to the Programmes Coordinator. The CELTA applicants need to include an updated copy of their CV.
• CELTA Applicants who have satisfactorily completed the application package will be invited to attend an interview shortly after this date with the main course tutor on the telephone (at their own cost).
• All successful applicants will receive an offer of a place on the course of their choice immediately, if there is a place available.
• After receiving an offer of place, you will have one week (7 days) from the moment they offer you the vacancy to pay a deposit in order to secure your vacancy on the course.
• 6 weeks prior the course commencement you will have to pay the balance.
• The demand for vacancies on these courses is very high. Applicants are advised to apply at least two to three months before the start of a course, although there are occasionally places available due to last-minute cancellations.

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Enrolment Cancellations:

Once a vacancy on the course has been offered to you, you will have one week to pay your deposit and secure the vacancy. After having paid the deposit, these are the terms and conditions that you will be under regarding cancelling your course:

1. With a minimum of 6 weeks advance notice, the Centre will reimburse a student full payment, less the deposit which will be valid for another course starting during the same calendar year.
2. Deposits are non-refundable and cannot be returned under any circumstances.
3. Students who start but do not finish the course will not be reimbursed.

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How to Pay

Payments (deposit & balance) can be done directly to us via international bank transfer or with a credit card using the internet payment system offered by PayPal (www.paypal.com). Personal cheques will not be accepted.