My CELTA journey – Rebecca Saliba
We had the pleasure of sitting down with one of our ESE teachers, Rebecca Saliba, who recently completed her CELTA course in November 2023. In this post, Rebecca shares her invaluable tips for those considering the course, along with insights from her own experience. She details what to expect during the training sessions, both online and in person, and explains why pursuing this programme is a worthwhile investment in your teaching career.
Why did you decide to do the CELTA Course?
When I decided to make a career change and go into teaching English as a foreign language, I knew right away that I wanted to get my CELTA. I did a lot of research before taking any decisions, and learnt that although it is a very challenging course, it is highly regarded worldwide, and would be the best qualification to equip me with the tools and confidence I needed to launch into this new career.
How did you prepare for it?
My initial idea was to do a full time CELTA online right away, without having any teaching experience. A good friend advised me that it might be better to do a TEFL course and get a little bit of teaching experience first, and I’m so glad I took her advice! I completed my TEFL with ESE, which was a brilliant intensive and fascinating introduction into the world of teaching, and I was able to start teaching immediately using my new-found skills.
In the meantime, knowing I would have the opportunity to do CELTA in the following six months, I spent any extra time I had preparing and reading. This included revising grammar, reading teaching books, and learning about the communicative approach to language teaching. I feel that this preparation was key to my success in the CELTA course, and I would advise anyone considering CELTA to do as much preparation as they are able to beforehand; it will certainly make the course easier and less stressful!
What does the CELTA course involve and how intense is it?
I took the CELTA course last October with NILE through ESE. It was a blended learning course over 10 weeks, with input sessions given online in the evenings, and the teaching practice done in person at ESE school premises. This approach worked really well because we could do all the learning from the comfort of our homes, while the teaching practice was done in a proper physical classroom setting with actual students. The tutors were excellent, managing to make the input sessions engaging and interesting, while using teaching techniques on us to demonstrate how they should be done. I looked forward to each one and found myself buzzing at the end of the sessions, despite being a little tired.
The two weeks of teaching practice was the most challenging yet the most rewarding part of the course. It involved long tiring days and meant that for those two weeks our lives needed to be focused on CELTA and nothing else, however the amount of learning that went on in those classrooms can only be understood by those who have experienced them. We finished the final teaching practice exhausted but elated, and I can honestly say that every minute of missed sleep was worth it!
Would you recommend doing this course to other English Language teachers?
The CELTA course was everything I expected and more, and I can feel it positively impact my teaching more and more as time goes by. Throughout the course, we were fully supported by the ESE admin staff. From words of encouragement and use of resources for assignments, to helping with the set-up of classrooms, interactive whiteboards, and the use of technology, they helped the whole journey to run smoothly. For anyone who is considering doing CELTA to start off or to enhance their English teaching career, I say go for it!
ESE Malta, in partnership with NILE (the Norwich Institution for Language Education), will be offering the CELTA (the Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course this October.
Course dates are as follows: 14.10.2024 – 03.12.2024 (8 weeks)
How do I apply?
Prior to enrolling, you are required to complete this form involving an application task focusing on language analysis and teaching and learning experience. You must submit the form to [email protected]
Once your application has been checked, ESE and NILE will organise an interview either in person or via Zoom.
Limited places are available – the course will only hold 10 students. Your English level must be C1 or C2 to be eligible for the course.
Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
To learn more about this course and to enquire visit https://ese-edu.com/nile-malta-celta/.
Focus on Fluency
- a career change (noun) – a change to a different type of job from the one you have been doing
- highly regarded (adjective compound) – to consider or think about something in a particular way
- to equip (yourself) with (fixed expression/collocation) – to provide yourself/someone or something with the things that are needed for a particular purpose or activity
- to launch into (phrasal verb/ verb with a dependent preposition) – to begin something in an enthusiastic way, especially something that will take a long time
- initial idea (noun phrase) – first thoughts
- new-found skills (collocation) – recently discovered or achieved abilities
- beforehand (adverb) – before something else happens or is done
- from the comfort of (someone’s) home (fixed expression) – something that you usually have in your home that makes your life easy and pleasant
- to find (yourself) buzzing (colloquial fixed expression) – full of excitement
- (to feel) elated (adjective) – to feel extremely happy
- to have an impact on (collocation + dependent preposition) – the effect that something has on somebody/something
- to enhance something (verb) – to improve the quality, amount, or strength of something
About the Author
Rebecca Saliba
Teacher at ESE
Rebecca (Becky) Saliba started teaching as ESE in April 2023 after completing her TEFL course with us. Since joining she has successfully taught all courses offered at ESE including Business English and Exam classes. Apart from teaching, Becky is a qualified running coach who trains people to run marathons both locally and abroad. In her free time, Becky enjoys trail running around the beautiful Maltese coast.
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