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I'm thinking of completing the CELTA course in Thailand and was wondering whether anyone has experience of it there?

I did the basic online TEFL thing as a taster and enjoyed it (20hrs on site, 100 online), although obviously it's pretty worthless on its own so I figure the CELTA is the next step rather than just looking for work with just an online cert and blagging it.

I read it's pretty intense and you have to really put the effort in but is it doable without any prior experience?

Any advice?

of course it's doable but do you really want to spend , what, 2,000$ or even 3,000$ on a certificate which leaves in some sort or indentured labour rather than just blag it and see what happens? blag it i say

PS a tad drunk and too lazy too edit , but you get my gist

PS a tad drunk and too lazy too edit , but you get my gist

mynameisphil wrote:
I read it's pretty intense and you have to really put the effort in but is it doable without any prior experience?

Any advice?

I took the CELTA course in Vietnam a few years ago. So I can't answer your exact question, but I can help a little..

It was he'll on earth for 4 weeks!

I also took it after being on holiday for almost 2 years straight, so I was allergic to work at the time.

It was A LOT of work to do, but nothing was very "difficult."

I hate taking work home, but after the first few days, I was doing several hours of work after already finishing a full day of heavy work load.

I usually try to "wing" things in life, but this was a lot of work.

The easy part was being in class. The pain in the ass part was doing 6-page lesson plans for 20 minute lessons the next day.

I also got along surprisingly well with the uptight British instructor, which helped immensely.

One thing to remember is that each center creates their item curriculum based on VERY loose guidelines, so they vary a lot.

We studied zero grammar. Thank God.

If you have found a specific site that's offering it, I would suggest going on over to eslcafe.com and posting about the exact place. ESL Cafe is HEAVILY moderated, so you might not get an honest response.

I got kicked off their a few years back because I refused to stop posting that you don't actually need anything to teach in Cambodia (and they make money off getting people to sign up for TEFL courses, go figure).


Tips:

Don't have a girlfriend while doing the CELTA. You will NOT have time for both.

Don't mention that you already have any teaching cert or have even attempted teaching before. Their motto is, "There is the Cambridge way and the wrong way." I felt they really gave anyone who had admitted to teaching before obtaining the holy CELTA a hard time. "Surely you couldn't have been doing a half decent job, you didn't have a CELTA yet!"

You get no points for creativity. You are supposed to be copying their EXACT style.

Have some Valium handy.

Make friends with the other person taking it that will probably excel. They could be an immense help.

And just remember it will be over soon.

Ask the questions that pop into your head even if you think they're stupid. Everyone else is probably busy as confused just to scared to ask.



^ That should lead you to victory! If i think of anything else important I'll add it later!

Good luck!

sounds about right

Surprised the CELTA people in Thailand were offended by the notion that you do not need any diploma or teaching experience for teaching English in Cambodia. It is already the case in Thailand, I am not even sure that you need to be a native speaker.

I have heard they decimate paying CELTA aspirants with a prescribed failure rate from the British Council inc to add credence to the "difficulty" of the course.

IELTS is absolutely imperative for any 3rd worlders wanting to get on the scholarship/gravy train- not that it is fat- but it is attainable and a way out.

I know a guy who done the 120 hour online basic tefl last year and got a job in PP no problem. Told me the lessons plans are in the class course books. I would try teaching in Asia to see if you like it, before spending time and money on a celta. imho.

UKJ wrote:I know a guy who done the 120 hour online basic tefl last year and got a job in PP no problem.

I would try teaching in Asia to see if you like it, before spending time and money on a celta. imho.

You don't NEED anything but a pulse to teach in Cambodia.

That said, your advice is still good.

I would even think about contacting "Conversations with Foreigners" and see if they'll let you in a classroom....