Who is CELTA for?

Candidates come from all walks of life. Many are recent university graduates, but others are already qualified as teachers of other subjects or are professionals in other fields looking for a change of career or a career break.

Most candidates see CELTA as the starting point of a long-term career in English language teaching. CELTA is suitable for those who wish to work in the field of ELT either within or outside their own country. Some candidates may have a short-term motive for teaching English and enroll on a CELTA course to gain the confidence and skills to teach English professionally.

CELTA is also suitable for students working on gap year programs that include teaching English to adults.

We recommend that candidates should have a standard of education equivalent to that required for entry into higher education. Centres may at their discretion also accept candidates who do not have formal qualifications at this level but who can demonstrate that they have appropriate language competence, skills and experience. It is generally recommended that candidates should be aged 20 or over, but candidates aged between 18 and 20 can be accepted at the centre's discretion.

Applicants do not need to have English as their first language, but must have a standard of English that will enable them to teach at a range of levels.

What do the courses cover?

CELTA courses are designed for people with no previous teaching experience. During the course, candidates develop familiarity with the principles of effective teaching and a range of practical skills for teaching English to adult learners. The course includes teaching practice, observation of experienced teachers in the classroom and completion of a range of practically focused written assignments.

The course programs are designed by individual centres, based on specifications produced by the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL).

Courses can be either full time, sometimes referred to as intensive, (typically 4-5 weeks) or part time, (ranging from a few months to over a year). Centres decide which mode to run.