An Interview with Bruno Balducci – Main CELTA Tutor, Auckland

We talk to Bruno about the course in Auckland, the English teaching industry, and what makes his city of Auckland so unique.

Where in the world have you taught English and trained future English teachers?

I taught for many years in the UK. I moderated language courses for the Open College Network in North Yorkshire, then specialised in English language teaching and became a CELTA trainer in 2005. Since them I have been training new and experienced teachers in different schools, mostly in Vietnam and New Zealand.

What are your favourite things about the English teaching industry?

One of the great things about this industry is that you can live and travel just about anywhere in the world. But even if you stay in the same country, you are still meeting and getting to know people from many different cultures. Depending on the classes you teach, you are working in a multi-cultural environment where students are constantly learning about each other, about their backgrounds and their personal experience, and about other countries.

And, you know that what you do is of vital importance in helping them to cope with the challenges of an English-speaking environment.

What makes your CELTA teacher training centre in Auckland stand out from the rest?

Ours is a 5-week course, which has certain advantages over the more traditional 4-week option. It allows you to have an extra day during the week to research your written assignments and plan your lessons. There is less pressure and more time for you to meet the deadlines. Overall you get a less stressful and more enjoyable experience.

But as well as this, we’re in an ideal location – close to the buzz of the waterfront, and only a few minutes from the Britomart train and bus station and the main shopping area in the city centre.

Auckland is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. What’s the best way to immerse yourself in the culture as a short-term visitor to the city?

You have some great restaurants on the waterfront, with views of the harbour and a wide variety of cuisines to choose from. But there are other locations too, like Federal Street, Ponsonby and Parnell. You have museums, concerts, performances, exhibitions and lots of festivals and cultural events all throughout the year – for example the world’s largest Pasifika festival, the Chinese Lantern Festival, Diwali, New Zealand fashion week… There’s always something happening!

Probably the best way to organise your visit is to look at the official Auckland travel and tourism guide and the Heart of the City website.

What makes Auckland such a great launching pad for new, aspiring English teachers?

Auckland is a well-established centre for English Language Teaching. Trainers have a lot of experience in the field and it’s a good place to meet teachers who have worked in different countries. And as a multi-cultural city, it not only offers exciting attractions for visitors, but also lots of resources and opportunities for language teaching.

Want to read more on what makes Auckland so special? Check out the following articles:

4 reasons why Auckland is the cultural gateway to Asia and the Pacific

When you think of the world’s most multicultural cities, places like London; with its colourful Notting Hill carnival, or New York; full of countless districts named for their respective immigrant residents, often come to mind. But Auckland – that far away, Pacific outcrop home to some 1.5 million people – is more diverse than both. According to New Zealand’s most recent census, a whopping 40 per cent of Auckland’s population were born overseas. Read more…

New Zealand: A Colourful Tapestry of Career Opportunity

Looking out over the ocean from New Zealand’s east coast you get the sensation that you’re perched on a wild frontier. Between here and South America lies nothing but water and a few, scattered Pacific islands. From the bustling European, Asian and American metropolises in the Northern Hemisphere, this is about as far as you can get. Read more…

How the newest CELTA trend could benefit students

The five-week model is a great option for those who want to take a full-time course, but can’t handle the heat of a nine-to-five, five-day a week schedule. Bruno Balducci, Head CELTA Trainer in Auckland, says that they introduced five-week courses due to popular demand.