Cactus CELTA in Spain - Barcelona, Seville & Madrid

Cactus How would you say worldwide recognition of the CELTA compares with that of the TESOL and other qualifications?

Roger Hunt The Cambridge CELTA is certainly the best known of the qualifications. Its assessment scheme, in which each course is externally moderated by an assessor appointed by Cambridge has ensured standardisation of grading of candidates; consequently employers can be quite confident in the abilities of new teachers they employ. The Cambridge scheme is also rather bigger in terms of numbers of candidates than other schemes.

Cactus Is the CELTA available on-line? Would you recommend any of the distance learning courses in CELTA? If so, which ones?

Roger Hunt CELTA is not available on line. The assessment of practical teaching under supervised conditions makes this impossible at present.

Cactus Where do the CELTA trainees studying in Barcelona come from?

Roger Hunt About 35% come from the USA and Canada. A very few (although this number is increasing) are non-native English speakers from around the world. The majority are still from the UK though my current course is 60% north American.

Cactus What are the main advantages of studying in Spain as opposed to staying in the UK to do the course?

Roger Hunt Working with monolingual groups. Most CELTA graduates teach monolingual classes in their first jobs abroad. The experience of encouraging English in a classroom where it is not really needed can be very useful. Also, Barcelona is quite a city!

Cactus To what extent does the quality of a CELTA vary from centre to centre?

Roger Hunt It shouldn't. This is because of the external assessment scheme. However, clearly one tutor may be more gifted than another, facilities in one centre better than another etc. Cambridge ensures very high minimum standards by constant moderation and standardisation of centres and courses.

Cactus What are the main things to look out for when choosing a CELTA?

Roger Hunt It´s a good idea to see what else the centre offers eg: help with finding work, other courses such as teaching younger learners or the Cambridge DELTA (if your tutor is also a DELTA tutor he/she is likely to be rather good!)

Cactus Is the 4-week intensive course really that tough?

Roger Hunt A realistic number of hours involvement per day for candidates is 12 to 15. Most candidates find the course tough (standards are high) but most also thoroughly enjoy it. It has to be noted that doing anything for the first time can be difficult, and stressful.

Cactus Do trainees have time to learn some Spanish or meet Spanish people during the course?

Roger Hunt I would forget trying to learn a language during the course - there is far too much else to do. However, candidates do learn just by being here. They certainly meet lots of Spanish people - they have to teach them!

Cactus What are the host families like? Are they close to the school?

Roger Hunt Host families are carefully selected and monitored by the school. Most have been with IH for a very long time. The norm is very helpful, friendly, caring people who speak good English (particularly important for candidates who do not speak Spanish). Most of the hosts are near enough for candidates to walk to the school.

Cactus Do trainees who have taken the CELTA in Spain have a better chance of finding work in Spain after the course?

Roger Hunt I think so, yes. They can walk into schools and introduce themselves. School directors usually prefer to meet a new teacher if they can before employing them. You can tell a certain amount from a CV but it´s not the same as a face to face interview.

Cactus Thanks a lot