The CELTA Course
In my experience as a teacher, head of ELT of some high school departments and teacher trainer, I have observed that there is a broad difference between English teachers in England and first language teachers anywhere in the world. In Spain, for instance, Spanish as a foreign language teachers are required to have a four year university degree which includes the language at advanced level (theory and practical language use, writing, listening and speaking), cultural issues and applied linguistics (for ESL, see also Virginia's language educational policies, 2007). What is necessary in the United Kingdom? In order to find an answer, it may be better to look at the Cambridge University ESOL examinations website: "CELTA is a specialist qualification in the area of adult education". So, if you want to teach adults you only need a 120 hour course which covers:
Is that good enough? True professionals would probably deny this was so. However, in a country like England where there is a huge influx of avid students who need to learn and pass exams to show proof of foreign language competence, the need for teachers is desperate. Thus, qualified and unqualified professionals are equally necessary, and many language schools do not hesitate to hire teaching staff with the minimal skills and requirements to do that job. In light of this reality, this book covers all the requirements for the CELTA course. The content is intended to be delivered or addressed in 40 sessions and addresses the topics:
Experiences and practical training are suggested in the book under three headings:
Finally, the book includes a 'resource file' with extra activities such as warmers, fillers, a language use basic guide, a glossary and further reading for personal development.
On the one hand, the book is a comprehensive guide which includes the basic important aspects of language teaching from a very 'utilitarian' approach (very much a "know what to do" encyclopaedia). On the other, it seems to follow the long standing tradition that includes the most significant contents necessary to do the job ("everything you wanted to know and never dared to ask…"). However, the book tends to be oversimplified. A good example would be the presentation of 'Conditional clauses' (do not miss the definition on page 205) in which only three types are presented (when most advanced grammars present 4 plus irregular structures). There is no question that most teachers will never use more than these three but this is similar to asking a primary maths teacher to only know the basic four operations because they will never teach more than that to first year students. I personally do not blame this limitation on the authors but, instead, on the Cambridge Examinations Board which finally grants awards to prospective teachers who are not likely to have achieved the minimum standards to teach a foreign language. For instance, one can wonder what they will know about psycholinguistics, second or foreign language acquisition, reading skills, and a thousand more topics which certainly the limitations of time will not allow to be included. Overall, given the CELTA award limitations, the book is well written, and very practical. Its contents and design are those required for the course goals. Besides, the book integrates lots of information, tasks, and materials for CELTA courses and, thus, is a valuable volume for instructors involved in teacher training.
Nevertheless, I believe it is necessary to mention the damaging situation of this mini-course that allows many to become an EFL instructor without the desirable skills each year. This fact has been clearly stated in professional forums and papers (Smith et al., 2007; Celik, 2007; García Laborda, 2006). The award is so easy to achieve that it was universally accepted for a while but progressively, language schools are discovering the limitation and effect on learners. Of course, non native language instructors (like myself) should make an effort to improve their language skills since it is language skills that are the most important part of language instruction (Beetham, 2007), but teachers should be also urged to go beyond language (and, from my experience as a Spanish native speaker, native speakers are not always the best examples!) (Tudor, 2006), explore and evaluate their own beliefs (Wilbur, 2007), and explore culture and all the processes that lie below the typical language class - as was already understood 30 years ago.