The CELTA qualification and onestopenglish

17-Oct-2011

The CELTA certificate is obviously one of the most popular routes into English language teaching, and here at the Macmillan English Campus offices, we understand how important lesson planning, preparation, and resources are for English teachers to create successful and interesting lessons. In combination with this special series of postings about the CELTA certificate and onestopenglish, our teachers’ site that contains over 8500 resources, until December 23rd 2011 we are offering CELTA trainees and graduates a special discount on a subscription to onestopenglish.com.

One graduate who has taken advantage of this offer is Joanna Cross, who tells her CELTA story to us here:

“My name is Joanna, and I am part Scottish, part French. I grew up in France and studied at Queen Mary University of London, where I did a BA Honours in Hispanic Studies. During my degree I spent two years in Spain: one in Granada, studying within the Erasmus scheme, and one in Malaga, working as an English teacher. Even before finishing my degree I knew I wanted to go back to Malaga, so I applied for the CELTA course at International House London, in order to have teaching qualifications to teach in Spain. At the time I thought that teaching was the best option for me due to the high level of unemployment in Spain.

I finished the CELTA course a month ago now. I thought CELTA was one of the best things I ever did, as a personal and professional experience. I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering doing it. It was intensive but good fun… The CELTA course also helped me a lot to feel confident about myself as a teacher and now I can say that I enjoy teaching a lot. I have given one or two classes but I have only been in Malaga for two weeks.

I have used onestopenglish a bit; have been looking at the lessons plans for adults and also the games for kids, so it has been very handy to have this website as a tool. I also think it’s nice to have lesson plans already there, as I have learnt in IH that they are the basis of a good lesson, like the digestive biscuits in a cheesecake… Am I being a bit cheesy there?”- Joanna Cross, CELTA graduate, IH Malaga, Spain

We here at blendedmec love cheesecake, so no worries Joanna! Another CELTA graduate who has recently taken advantage of a discounted subscription to onestopenglish is Sam:

‘I have recently moved to Brighton after finishing my degree. After much deliberation and research and several unfulfilling jobs I decided I really wanted to teach. Teaching English is a career that has so many different progression options and travel opportunities that I couldn’t believe it had taken me so long to get around to it. The CELTA course was the most highly recommended of all the possible routes and I started the 4-week intensive course in August. I passed with flying colours and after a short and much needed break in France I am now looking for teaching work in Brighton. I joined onestopenglish as soon as I finished so that I could keep learning and adding to my portfolio of lesson plans and ideas. There is so much information on there and I know it will be an incredibly useful tool and support once I start working.’- Sam Mudge, CELTA graduate, Brighton UK

As Joanna and Sam’s stories show, the CELTA course is clearly a fantastic way of entering the teaching profession, whether you go for a long or an intensive course, and whether you do it online or face-to-face. So if you’ve just completed or are in the middle of your CELTA course, and want to join the onestopenglish community to benefit from thousands of lesson plans, teaching tips, and English language resources, just get in touch with us by clicking on the banner below!