Overview
The CELTA is a common requirement for those entering the field of English language teaching. Since it is recognised internationally, it is a particularly popular credential among people who wish to travel and teach English around the world. However, it is also held by people who intend to teach only in the country where they trained, and do not intend to travel.
The full-time CELTA course runs for four to five weeks; it can also be taken part-time over several weeks or months. CELTA courses are run by many different institutions, whereas the courses are validated and certificates are issued by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES), a part of the University of Cambridge.
The CELTA is awarded upon passing the course, which includes six hours of assessed teaching practice to real EFL classes at least two different levels of ability. The course grade is determined primarily by the performance of the candidates in this teaching practice; there are also four written assignments due throughout the course, which are graded on a pass/fail basis only. The grades awarded are Pass, Pass B and Pass A.
The full-time four-week course is very intensive. Even the part-time version of the course can take up more time than a full-time job for many candidates, especially those with no teaching background.
There are over 286 approved CELTA centres in 54 countries, providing almost 900 CELTA courses every year. Each course is audited by an external assessor.
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