Hilal Hastaoglu » advice

First of all I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Emek Dedeoğlu and I’m currently working at a private school teaching kids between the ages of 7-14. I’ve heard CELTA from a friend who is working at a university. After a quick research I decided to take it in order to improve my teaching skills and apply more of the methodology I know to my practical teaching as well as getting a better job. After one week I realized that I was not aware of the content of the program I had decided to attend. It was ‘much more’ than what I had expected in many aspects. CELTA did not only help me with practical studies but also provided me with embodying my knowledge about teaching.
To me; the most challenging part of the experience was it being full time and the deadlines coming one after the other as it was an intense course. I would also admit that being observed is not something you completely feel fine with.

Most of the other teaching training courses involved in-house training or a longer term experience. Although I had been teaching for 6 years before CELTA, I thought it is better to start from the basics. I would definitely recommend the course to people who are thinking about doing the course if they really want to raise their awareness on teaching and improve their skills. I would still say that do not push yourself hard on conforming with the ‘criteria’ that you will hear of during the experience because there can be no such criteria as the tutors have different approaches and understandings; being careful about your deadlines and doing the best you can do will bring you the ultimate result but in the long run I would say it is worth taking the course. 

My teaching before and after CELTA is totally different, I never hesitate or question the time spent in my classrooms as I know what I’m doing well now, it also improved the idea of how planning a lesson works. Awareness and setting up the most effective activities in order to reach the aim of the lesson has helped me a lot. 

 Turkish students’ biggest problem (actually it is a problem for all non-native speakers of English) is that they tend to speak Turkish in the classroom; for YL it is easier to cope with; giving them awards when they speak English motivates them, for adults it is a good idea to give clear instructions and the task language clearly.
Teaching English in Turkey makes you satisfied as there are too many people who want to learn the language and they are eager no matter what their age is but honestly you do not get paid as much as you should have as an English teacher. 

To sum up; I wish luck to everybody who wants to take CELTA and build up a career in teaching. I hope you can find what you look for in life…

All this time, you all had a chance to see how I handled the CELTA. So, just in case some of you might think I’m a nerd (heheh), here are what my colleagues had to say about the course. They can’t all be nerds! hehe..

Scott KESSENICK
Nationality: American
Age: 23

Prior to enrolling in the Istanbul based ITI CELTA course I had completed a TEFL course back in the United States. Compared to the Celta, the TEFL course appeared somewhat impractical. While classroom theory was taught and the course did a reasonable job introducing technical teaching vocabulary, there was a definite lack of teaching practice. What I found most useful about the CELTA course was the evaluation of my own teaching as I was given the opportunity to practice with real students. The theoretical or abstract limitations normally imposed by an instructional classroom environment were removed and I was critiqued on the basis of my real performance as a teacher. In other words, for a total of six teaching practice hours, I became a genuine tutor working with real learners. I believe that this was invaluable to my development throughout the course and that this is an element that should not be overlooked when deciding which type of teaching certification to pursue.Moreover, with specific respect to ITI, the teachers were superb and there was never a lack of enthusiasm or support on their end. The average teacher to student ratio in my CELTA course was 2 teachers for 6 students, which in my educational experience is unprecedentedly low. So it is needless to say that the personal attention was incredible, and I think that every student in the course felt as though they were individually guided according to their needs. After finishing the Celta course I would highly recommend this certification to anyone who is remotely interested in teaching English as a foreign language. Furthermore, I would specifically recommend Istanbul’s ITI as a great company through which to obtain the certificate.
 

Gunseli AKSUT
Nationality: Australian & Turkish
Age: 32

Do you want to be a teacher? I was so miserable in my “exciting” designer job and had thought about becominga teacher for years, but was scared to make a leap. “Who am I to become a teacher? I’m just a girl from Australia with a funny accent and an interest in art history and design.” But, it turned out that there was nothing to be afraid of and that teaching can be learned if you are dedicated enough. So what’s so great about the CELTA?

1. Well first of all you learn from fantastic teachers who really know their stuff and make their lessons enjoyable. 2. You learn so much in such an interesting way that I guarantee you won’t fall asleep in class. 3. You get heaps of support, encouragement and genuine feedback so you know how you are doing. 4. You learn with a small group of students, only 6,and get to interact, learn together and support eachother. 5. You get to observe experienced teachers and see the techniques they use. This course is one of the best things I’ve ever done.I’m so glad I made that huge decision to teach. But, be prepared for some serious work. Most of the time I thought I was at uni. again with all the paperwork, assignments, lesson plans, handouts etc. At times the course gets so intense that you feel overwhelmed by all the work and at those times you have to forget about doing the housework and be prepared to live on toast and coffee because you don’t have the time to look after yourself It’s all worth it though. I recommend this course for all those who have a desire to teach. 

Ilknur CAN
Nationality: Turkish
Age: 30

I have been a student for 19 years through my 30 years of life. I had no idea about being a teacher so far until the CELTA course started. I was quite acquainted about the theories of teaching as I had had formation at university while I had been studying English Philology; however, I felt quite weird during my first Teaching Practice session and very nervous. CELTA, not only teaches you the teaching theories and techniques in a surprisingly detailed and interesting way, but also gives you the chance to stand up in the middle of an actual classroom and teach to students of various levels of English. Comparing my first TP session with my last, I already feel like an English teacher!

Alev SOGUT
Nationality: Turkish
Age: 34

I heard of CELTA long time ago and felt that I would give it a try one day, but I just could not give up my career in finance - until last September when I realised that one could be happy only by doing what he/she likes most in life. So I quit my job and enrolled in the CELTA Course. I had the opportunity to learn a great deal from great tutors and peers who were helpful and supportive throughout the course. The input sessions provided us with the basics of teaching and guided us through the vast literature on TEFL. The teaching practice sessions were a great challenge for all of us and we really had to work hard, but the result was satisfying. Through hard work and efficient feedback from tutors and peers, we managed to plan and run lessons, which is a very positive start in a teaching career. One important lesson I got from the CELTA Course is that there is no end to learning in teaching. To be a good teacher you have to be an enthusiastic learner.

Emiko Foster
Nationality: Australian & Japanese
Age: 56First it’s one of my most expensive paper! Considering how long I’ll be working from now(hope 5 years max), AU$500 a year. That’s my motivation to work during the course. Apart from my calculater mind, it was very interesting to me, all sessions were practical and hands-on. Now I’m ready to work anywhere in the globe, in the middle of the desert in China or in the middle of traffic jam in Tokyo. Also I could see update Turkey through four young Turkish women. It was really enjoyable to talk with those educated women about all sorts of things from girlie issues to Turkish society. I learnt a lot. Without this experience, I would have had a different view to

If you are planning to start a CELTA course, here are the golden rules to follow;

Be organised: Those of you that have a computer, create a folder for everything you do (Homework, Assignments, Lesson Plans, Self Evaluations, Observations etc.). If you don’t have a computer, prepare your self a folder with all the documents in separate files.

Sleep well: You need to have enough sleep! Otherwise you may have some mood swings which might affect your teaching, understanding and patience.

Go to the institute early: If you are planning to take a CELTA full-time course, try to go there early. It will give you the chance to speak to your tutors, ask for advice, and listen to juicy gossip (hehe just kidding).Take notes: Even if you think the topic of the lesson is easy, you will need something to refer to when you are lesson planning. Those easy things are usually hard to remember when you have a teaching practice to plan for.

Take your chores seriously: Even if it is as simple as A B and C, your tutors will want to see how you handle the tasks given to you.

……. and everything will be just fine!