What's the Difference Between CELTA and TEFL? - Go ...

CELTA: Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (now known as Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). While at their roots, ... Skiptomaincontent ReadytoearnyourTEFLCertification? ExplorePrograms ByEmilyMonacoPublishedMay22,2020 ShareonFacebookShareonTwitterShareonPinterest It’sperhapsnosurprisethatoneofthemostpopularjobsfornativeEnglishspeakersabroadisteachingtheirmothertongue,butchoosingacertificationforthiscareeroptioncanmakeitfeellikeyou’redrowninginaveritablealphabetsoupofacronyms:TEFL,TESOL,TOEFL,TESL,CELTA…Howareyoutoknowthedifferenceand,moreimportantly,howareyoutoknowwhichoneisrightforyouandyourcareer? WhenIwas22yearsold,IdecidedtobecomecertifiedtoteachEnglishafterhavingfinishedmyundergraduatedegree.IhadbeenlivinginFrancefortwoyearsandhadrecentlyspenttimelivinginSpain.MyintentionwastocompletemytrainingbeforemovingtoArgentinatoteachEnglish,butIwantedacertificatethatwouldberecognizedshouldIdecidetoreturntoEurope–orevengotoAsia! IknewthatIwantedtocommittoaprogramfull-time,butthequestionwaswhichonetochoose? WhenitcomestochoosingbetweenTEFLandCELTA,thefirstthingtoknow,rightoffthebat,iswhattheseacronymsstandfor: TEFL:TeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguage TESOL:TeachingofEnglishtoSpeakersofOtherLanguages TESL:TeachingEnglishasaSecondLanguage CELTA:CertificateinEnglishLanguageTeachingtoAdults(nowknownasCertificateinTeachingEnglishtoSpeakersofOtherLanguages) Whileattheirroots,eachoftheseacronymsmeanssomethingslightlydifferent,inpractice,thefirstthreeareoftenusedinterchangeablytorefertoanycertificationprogramthattrainsanEnglishspeakertoteachtheirlanguagetoothers.CELTA,meanwhile,isthenameofaveryspecificoneoftheseprogramssponsoredbyCambridgeUniversity;thinkofCELTAasabrandofTEFL,TESOL,orTESLprogram(which,forthesakeofsuccinctness,I’llrefertoas“TEFLprograms”here). Related:What'stheDifferenceBetweenTEFL&TESOL? BecauseanyschoolofferingtheCELTAmustadheretostrictstandardsandemployteachersthathavebeencertifiedbyCambridge,itisoftenperceivedasbeingthemostprestigiousofallTEFLprogramoptions--infact,you’llsometimesseejoboffersforEnglishlanguageteacherscitingtheCELTAspecificallyasaprerequisitetobehired. Thatsaid,CELTAisfarfromtheonlyworthwhileTEFLcertification.Manyotherprogramsofferequivalentstandards--andsomeevengoaboveandbeyondaCELTAcourse.ThemaindifferenceisthatwhilewithaCELTA,thequalityofthecourseyou’repayingforisprettymuchguaranteed,withaTEFL,you’llneedtodoabitmoreresearchtomakesuretheprogramisofferingwhatyou’relookingfor. Tohelpyoudecidewhichoneisrightforyou,let’sbreakdownthedifferencebetweenCELTAandotherTEFLprograms. Related:CuriouswheretogetyourCELTA?HerearethetopcountriestoearnyourCELTAcertificate. DifferencesinLengthBetweenCELTA&TEFL CELTArequiresstudentstocomplete120hoursofclasstimeandsixhoursofstudentteaching(practicum)withrealESLlearners.MostCELTAcoursesareofferedonafull-timebasisandtakefourweekstocomplete,butsomeCELTAschoolsofferpart-timeCELTAcertification,whichcanbecompletedinuptothreemonths. TEFLprogramsvarygreatly:theycanbeasshortasoneintensiveweekend,orabout20hoursofclasstime,andaslongasseveralmonths,withupto300hoursofclasstime. Thedurationoftheprogramwillcertainlybeafactorindecidingwhichcourseyoutake,butbearinmindthathoweverlongittakesyoutoearnyourcertificate,aworthwhileprogramwillrequireatleast100hoursofclasstime(completedon-siteoronline)andatleastsixhoursofteachingpracticebeforeawardingyouyourcertificate. DifferencesinIntensityBetweenCELTA&TEFL MostCELTAcoursesrequirestudentstoattendthefull-time,month-longcourse,whichmeanssix-hourdaysandaheavyhomeworkload,includinglessonplanningforyourpracticumandfourwrittenassignments.Amonth-longCELTAprogram,then,isafull-timecommitment.It’stoughtodomuchofanythingelse(includinggettingmuchsleep)duringyourCELTA. Evenasapart-timestudent,aCELTAcertificationisquiteintense,asthecourseworkassumesthatparticipantsalreadyhaveafirmgraspofEnglishgrammarconcepts,somethingthat’snotagivenevenifyou’reanativespeakerofthelanguage.Ifthisisnotthecaseforyou,youmayneedtodosupplementaryworkwhilecompletingtheCELTAcourse. TEFLcoursesrangeinintensity;somearecompletedatleastinpartonlinewithclasstimerelegatedtoweekends,whichcangivestudentstheflexibilitytocontinueworkingwhilecompletingthecourse. SomeTEFLcoursesalsodon’trequirestudentstocompletetheirpracticumwithactualEnglishlanguagelearners,butchoosingthistypeofcoursecanbeproblematic:notonlyisworkingwithactualstudentsanimportantpartoflearningtoteach,butmanypotentialemployersaroundtheworldwillnotacceptanythingelse–suchasteachingpracticewithfellowstudentteachersstandinginforESLstudents–asavalidpracticum. DifferencesinPriceBetweenCELTA&TEFL PriceisoftenthedecidingfactorforstudentswhooptforaTEFLcertificationotherthanaCELTA.CELTAcancostanywherefrom$1,500to$4,000,dependingontheschool.Thisisinpartbecauseoftheprestigeoftheprogram:itisrecognizedinternationally,andschoolshiringteachersknowexactlywhattheprogramentails.Inaddition,becausenoteveryonewhoattemptstheCELTAachievesthecertification,ifapersonlookingtohireateacherseestheCELTAonsomeone'sCV,notonlydoesthepersonknowwhattheprospectiveteacherhasbeentaught,heorshealsoknowsthattheteacherhassucceededincompletingtherigorouscoursework. TEFLcourses,meanwhile,cancostanywherefrom$200-$2000.WhilesomeTEFLcoursesarejustasexpensiveasCELTA,thevastmajorityarenot,makingthemafarmoreattractiveoptionfromafinancialperspective.Inparticular,onlineTEFLcoursestypicallyhaveaveryreasonablepricetag. DifferencesinValueBetweenCELTA&TEFL WhilethepriceofaCELTAtendstobesteeperthanthatofanotherTEFLcertification,itmaybeworthit.HerearesomereasonsyoumaywanttooptforaCELTA,inspiteoftheprice: It’sinternationallyrecognized,whichgrantsCELTA-holdersaccesstojobsthatsomeonewithalesser-knownaccreditationwouldn’tbeeligiblefor.EvenifjobsareostensiblyopentopeoplewithanyTEFLcertificate,aholderofaCELTAmayhavetheirapplicationsenttothetopofthepile. It’sexternallyassessed,whichmeansthatifyoudon’thaveatonoftimetoresearchthevalidityofdifferentTEFLcertificates,it’sasafeandsurebet. Thatsaid,hereareafewinstancesinwhichaCELTAmaynotbetherightchoiceforyou: Ifyou’rehopingtoworkwithchildren.CELTAisexplicitlydesignedforteachingadults,soanotherTEFLcertificatemightbebetterifyouhopetoworkwithkidsorteens. WhileCELTA-holdersaregrantedaccesstojobboardsthroughtheprogram,otherTEFLcertifiersmayoffermorein-depthjobplacementservices,especiallywithlocalschools. Flexibility.CELTAcoursesrequirestudentstobeontheschoolpremises,whereasotherTEFLprogramscanbeavailableonline. CELTArequiresthatyoualreadyholdahighschooldiplomaandbeatleast18yearsold.Ifyou’reyoungerordon’tholdahighschooldiploma,adifferentTEFLprogrammaybeabetteroption. CELTAisfarfromtheonlygreatTEFLprogram;otherwell-knownTEFL-accreditingbodiesincludeWTEFLAC,ACCET,andIATEFL.Inaddition,therearemanyTEFLprogramsthataren’taccreditedbyanyoftheseinstitutionsthatfulfillthestandardsrequiredbyCELTA:well-trainedteachers,atleastsixhoursofpracticumwithrealESLstudents,andatleast100hoursofclassroomwork. ChoosingBetweenaTEFLorCELTACertification WhenIwaschoosingaTEFLprogram,Ifeltabitlost:therearedozensofdifferentprogramsonofferinParisatseveraldifferentpricepoints.BecausetheCELTApoppedupagainandagainoncallsforteachersinArgentina--andbecauseIhadflexibilityintermsoftimecommitmentandpricepoint--Ididn'thesitateinchoosingtheCELTA. NotonlydidIgainvaluableknowledgeaboutEnglishasalanguage,buttheCELTAteachingtoolsandpracticumexperiencegavemeagooddealofconfidenceintheclassroomandsetmeupforprofessionalsuccess. However,theCELTAnameprovedtobemuchlessessentialthanIthoughtitwouldbe.Ididn'tendupteachinginArgentina,butIdidteachinFranceandintheU.S.TheCELTAnamecertainlyopenedafewdoors,butmanyofmycolleagueshadattendedothertrainingprogramsandwerejustastalented--andhirable--asIwas. Attheendoftheday,theCELTAisfarfromtheonlyprogramthatcangiveaprospectiveteacherconfidence,experience,andskills.DoyourhomeworkandseekoutareputableTEFLprogram(withapracticumwithactualESLlearners),andyou’lllikelybegettingagreateducationregardlessofthenameofthecertificationprogramyouchoose. ThisarticlewasoriginallypublishedinJanuary2015,andwasupdatedinApril2018andMay2020. PopularTEFLPrograms 7newreviews GetTEFLCertified&TeachEnglishOnlineorAbroadin2022withInternationalTEFLAcademy 31reviews GetTEFLCertified&TeachEnglishAbroadandOnlinein2021[HiringDuringCOVID] 8reviews GetTEFLCertified&GetPaidtoTeachEnglishinTaiwanin2021[HiringDuringCOVID] DiscoverMoreTEFLCourses PopularCELTACourses 9reviews WorldRecognizedCELTA(TEFL/TESOL)CoursesinPrague 44reviews CELTACoursewithTeachingHouse:LocationsThroughouttheGlobe! 4reviews StartTeachinginKrakowwithaCambridge-accreditedCertification! 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