Delta (ELT) - Accreditation in The United Kingdom

Accreditation in The United Kingdom

The Delta is accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as a Diploma in Teaching ESOL at NQF level 7 on the National Qualifications Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Following government restructuring of Further Education (FE) the Delta alone will be insufficient to teach ESOL/EFL in FE from 2010. An extension module has been created to help teachers and lecturers currently in employment and who already hold the Delta to upgrade their qualification to the required Level 4 certificate of subject specialism. However, teachers and lecturers employed from September 2010 onwards will be required to have completed a specialised Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at NQF Level 7, as well as the Level 4 certificate, regardless of Delta certification. Unlike the Delta, the PGCE confers professional teacher status (QTS/QTLS). That said, to be eligible to apply for a Delta course, applicants must have at least two years' full time (1,200 hours) experience of teaching English to adults in a variety of different contexts and at different levels, within the five years prior to enrolment and have an initial teaching qualification, such as the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) or the Trinity College London Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CertTESOL), whereas a preliminary teaching qualification and previous teaching experience is not a formal requirement for entry on to a PGCE programme.