British Council organises CELTA training multiple times a year now, allowing individuals who are interested in pursuing a teaching career an ideal qualification to start with. CELTA is Cambridge’s most widely recognised English teaching qualification in the world. British Council along with many institutions around the world requires CELTA as a minimum requirement to hire English language trainers.
CELTA is not easy to acquire, it entails lots of hard work, innovation and sleepless nights!
We usually get asked if our teachers are British and some actually request to be taught by foreign teachers; little do they know how qualified our Sudanese trained teachers are that is in addition to the fact that we do not discriminate between our teachers. So whether you are taught by a Sudanese teacher or a foreign teacher at the British Council, it doesn't matter, they are both highly qualified!
We had a chat with 2 Sudanese individuals Khalid and Kholood, who just completed their CELTA to give us an insight of what they had to do to become CELTA Qualified.
What inspired you to do CELTA?
Kholood: As a computer science student, I get asked this question a lot on different occasions. I’ve always had a passion for the English language and as an adolescent, I had thought about pursuing a career in English teaching, however, I majored in computer science instead. But I wholeheartedly believe I found myself in teaching English, which is why I decided to take on the CELTA course and hence, shift my career drastically.
Can you tell us about some of the challenges you faced during the course? What were their reasons and how did you overcome them?
Khalid: What was challenging is the fact that you are expected to perfectly do a lot of work in a short amount of time. This is due to the immense amount of knowledge we receive in the input sessions, and that we should apply this knowledge the next day in our ‘TP’. However, I managed to cope well through hard work and being focused throughout the course.
Kholood: The course is quite intense and you face different challenges throughout. One of the biggest challenges I faced was standing in front of a group of students and delivering a lesson as I had never taught prior to CELTA. Thankfully, I had the support of my amazing colleagues and my trainers. I put my fears aside and focused mainly on teaching my students and that helped me overcome those difficulties.
We know that the training is very intense and nerve wracking, how did you manage your time?
Khalid: I had to put all my social life on hold for a whole month, and I didn’t waste any energy or time on complaining about how intense the course is. In a nutshell, I was to the point.
What was the most helpful tip you can give to a CELTA student?
Kholood: I’d tell those who wish to take on the CELTA course to be patient, to help each other and to keep pushing forward no matter what; the sleepless nights are worth it and it will pay off!
Khalid: Be open to feedback and feel confident to try new approaches of teaching.
Tell us about what motivated you to carry on and what disappointed you the most?
Kholood: Regardless of how intense the course was, I found myself enjoying it, and as insane as I might sound, the knowledge that I gained throughout the course motivated me to keep going. I knew that the sense of achievement and accomplishment that I’ll feel once I pass the course will be marvellous. However, once it ends, you have to say goodbye to all the amazing people you got to know during the course and to me that was the hardest part.
One of my trainers gave me great advice that I’ll carry on with me through life. She told me to remember to take it day by day and to always take at least one day off to do something I enjoy. I took that advice and it helped me in managing my time better, prioritizing my mental health while still doing my best in the course.
Khalid: My motivation was the fact that I knew all this hard work and sleepless nights will for sure pay off and reflect positively on my career and personality as well.
I was disappointed the most when I knew I could do better if I had some more time.
British Council signed a contract with three of the previous CELTA training graduates. Registration is now open for another CELTA training starting 12 January 2020.