So you’ve booked your CELTA? How exciting!

Here are a few ways to best prepare for the course, and some top tips for making the most of the course once it starts!

Brush up on grammar:

Firstly, IH London offers successful CELTA candidates a free ‘Grammar for Teachers’ self-access course ahead of your start date. We highly recommend taking the time to complete this course before starting the CELTA no matter what your level of English is, as this will help to highlight any gaps in your knowledge, and act as a refresher. Grammar is a key part of teaching English, and a part that some candidates can find challenging during their course. Prepare by completing this short course and you will feel much more confident in the

Further Preparation:

You will also receive the CELTA pre-course task. This is a booklet of 50 questions about teaching, learning and language, which are designed to get you thinking about some key elements of the course syllabus, and introduce you to some terminology and perspectives. This pre-course work is not assessed: you will be supplied with the answer key so you can self-check your ideas. This pre-course task is a very valuable set of exercises that you can dip in and out of in the weeks before the course – we don’t recommend that you try to complete it all in one go!

Reading recommendations:

You will receive some reading recommendations in your course offer. These are designed to be ‘investment books’ to help you both on the course and in your career: we don’t expect you to have read them all in detail before the course starts!

Plan ahead:

The CELTA is made up of a variety of elements. Your input lessons and practice lessons happen synchronously (that is to say, at a set time either face-to-face or online), however you will also be required to complete independent study. Ensure that you have space in your life and day-to-day schedule to devote to the course. Whether you choose the full-time or the part-time course format, there will be a lot of additional, independent study outside of the course hours, such as lesson planning, making materials and writing the four assignments.

Get advice:

If you are able to, talk to people you know who have already taken the course. They will be able to explain their experience and give you some top tips! If you don’t know anyone who has taken the course, there are plenty of blogs and vlogs online from previous trainees offering their advice. Check out some from previous IH London CELTA graduates here.

Connect with your course mates:

No one knows the process better than those going through it with you! Take time to make friends with your course mates, not only will they be able to provide support, but they can also help with recommendations, feedback and tips to help you succeed. It’ll also certainly make the experience more rewarding!

Stay positive!

The CELTA can be a demanding course, however it is important to keep reminding yourself why you chose to study it in the first place. There will be times you feel happy, and times you feel frustrated. Remember how valuable the qualification will be towards achieving your goals once the course is finished.

We wish you all the best of luck in your CELTA course. If you have any questions, please contact us.