The essential TEFL qualification that’s trusted by employers, language schools and governments around the world.
CELTA is one of the most widely taken qualifications of its kind, with thousands of people each year choosing CELTA to open up a whole world of exciting English language teaching opportunities.
CELTA is for people with little or no previous teaching experience. For new teachers, CELTA gives you the training you need to become an English language teacher. It is ideal if you are looking for a new career opportunity or wanting a short break in your existing career.
If you are already working as a teacher but have not had much formal training, you can use CELTA to:
- sharpen your teaching practice
- prove your ability
- get a promotion or a better teaching position.
Ways to take CELTA
You have a lot of flexibility with CELTA. You can choose to take your course:
- full-time – usually 4–5 weeks
- part-time – from a few months to over the course of a year
- online – combining online self-study with hands-on teaching practice.
What you will learn
Your course will teach you:
- the principles of effective teaching
- a range of practical skills for teaching English to adult learners
- valuable hands-on teaching experience.
The CELTA course is designed to help you develop effective and principled teaching practice. As well as receiving input from your tutors about key topic areas related to teaching English, you will also have substantial hands-on teaching practice to turn theory into practice.
How you will be assessed
You will be assessed throughout the course. There is no final examination. An external assessor, appointed by Cambridge Assessment English, moderates each course.
There are two types of assessment – Teaching Practice and Written Assignments. To get the CELTA certificate, you must pass both assessments.
- Teaching Practice: You will teach for a total of six hours, working with classes at two levels of ability. Assessment is based on your overall performance at the end of the six hours.
- Written assignments: You will complete four written assignments that focus on analysing and responding to learner needs, analysing language for teaching purposes, teaching language skills and reflecting on classroom teaching.
