09
Sep
If you are thinking about teaching English, changing careers or developing your classroom skills, you may already have come across five letters that appear regularly in English Language Teaching: CELTA.
But what exactly is CELTA? Is it a university degree? Is it the same as TEFL? Do you need teaching experience before you start?
Here is a straightforward introduction.
What does CELTA mean?
CELTA is a teaching qualification awarded by Cambridge English. Its current full title is the Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
It is designed to develop the practical skills and knowledge needed to teach English effectively, particularly for people entering the profession or teachers who want formal, classroom-focused training.
Unlike a course that focuses mainly on theory, CELTA includes observed teaching practice with real learners. This practical element is a central part of the qualification.
Who is CELTA for?
One misconception is that CELTA is only for experienced teachers. It is not.
CELTA can be suitable for people who are beginning a career in English language teaching, as well as teachers who already have some experience but want to develop their methodology and gain a recognised qualification.
That means candidates may include recent graduates, professionals considering a career change or teachers who have learnt much of their craft through experience and now want more structured training.
The common thread is most definitely not previous teaching experience. It is an interest in learning how to teach English, not simply knowing how to speak it.
Being good at English and teaching English are different skills
Knowing English very well is important, but it does not automatically tell you how to teach it.
A teacher has to make many decisions that a confident speaker may never consciously consider.
- How do you explain a grammatical structure without turning the lesson into a lecture?
- How do you check whether learners have actually understood a new word?
- When should you correct an error?
- How do you organise pair work so that learners spend more time speaking?
- What do you do when an activity finishes much earlier than expected?
- How can the same lesson work with learners at different levels of confidence?
Teacher training starts to make those decisions visible.
CELTA focuses on areas such as language analysis, lesson planning, classroom management, teaching receptive and productive skills, and selecting appropriate approaches for different learners and lesson aims.
What happens on a CELTA course?
CELTA is a highly practical and Cambridge assessed training course.
Cambridge states that CELTA courses include a minimum of 120 contact hours, covering areas such as input sessions, supervised lesson planning, teaching practice and feedback.
Candidates complete six hours of assessed teaching practice, working with adult classes at a minimum of two different ability levels.
This means you do not simply discuss teaching.
You teach.
You prepare a lesson, deliver it to real learners, receive feedback and use that feedback when planning future lessons.
That cycle of planning → teaching → feedback → reflection → improvement is one of the most valuable aspects of practical teacher development.
How is CELTA assessed?
There is no single final examination that determines whether you pass the course.
Assessment takes place throughout CELTA.
Cambridge identifies two main forms of assessment: candidates’ teaching practice and written assignments. It is your overall development across the course that matters, rather than your performance in one final test.
You are learning new concepts while simultaneously trying to apply them in the classroom.
But that is also why the course is practical: feedback is connected to teaching you have actually done.
What does observed teaching practice look like?
Imagine you are teaching a lesson on past experiences.
A lesson plan may look perfectly logical on paper. Then the actual lesson begins.
Perhaps your instructions are too long and learners are unsure what to do.
Maybe you explain a grammar point for ten minutes when a shorter example and a few well-chosen questions would have been clearer.
Perhaps one learner dominates the speaking activity while another barely speaks.
Or you discover that learners understood the language much faster than you expected and your carefully planned activity finishes early.
These are difficult things to learn from a textbook alone.
Observed teaching practice allows trainees to see the relationship between what they planned and what actually happened in the classroom.
Why Good Teaching Is More Than Following Rules?
Good teacher training is not about memorising a script that every teacher must follow.
Teachers need to understand principles and then make informed decisions according to the learners, the language, the activity and the lesson aim.
For example, there is no universal rule saying that every learner error must be corrected immediately.
During an accuracy-focused activity, immediate correction may sometimes be useful. During a fluency activity, constantly interrupting a learner may make communication much more difficult.
The important skill is not simply knowing a correction technique.
It is knowing why and when to use it.
That kind of decision-making is part of becoming a more reflective teacher.
Can CELTA be taken online?
Yes.
Cambridge currently offers different ways of taking CELTA, including face-to-face, online and blended options, depending on the authorised centre. At Shakespeare School, candidates can choose between a face-to-face CELTA course in Bucharest and a fully online CELTA course, while following the same Cambridge requirements and completing assessed teaching practice as part of the qualification.
The qualification requirements and assessed teaching practice remain part of the course regardless of delivery format.
Courses may also be organised intensively or over a longer period.
An intensive course can therefore feel very different from a part-time course, even though both lead towards the same qualification.
Is CELTA the same as a TEFL qualification?
CELTA is a TEFL qualification, but not all TEFL qualifications are the same.
TEFL is a broad term used for courses that prepare people to teach English as a foreign language. These courses can vary enormously in length, quality, assessment and practical training. Some are entirely self-paced and theory-based, while others include some form of teaching practice.
CELTA is different because it is a standardised, internationally recognised qualification awarded by Cambridge English. Every CELTA course has to meet the same Cambridge requirements, wherever in the world it is taken.
CELTA involves at least 120 hours of training and, importantly, includes assessed teaching practice with real learners. Trainees are observed by experienced tutors, receive detailed feedback on their teaching, observe experienced teachers, complete written assignments and are continuously assessed throughout the course.
But perhaps the biggest difference is that CELTA does not simply give you a collection of teaching techniques. It trains you to plan, teach, reflect, respond to feedback and make informed decisions in the classroom.
That combination of rigorous training, real teaching experience, individual feedback and internationally consistent standards is what has made CELTA one of the most widely recognised English language teaching qualifications worldwide.
So, while CELTA is a TEFL qualification, “TEFL” and “CELTA” are not interchangeable terms. If you are comparing courses, it is worth looking beyond the certificate itself and asking what training, teaching practice, assessment and professional recognition actually sit behind it.
What can CELTA actually give a teacher?
Perhaps the most useful outcome is not a collection of teaching tricks.
It is a different way of looking at a lesson.
Instead of asking only:
“What am I going to teach?”
you gradually begin asking:
“What do my learners need to be able to do by the end of this lesson?”
You start noticing teacher talking time, instructions, interaction patterns, lesson pace, learner engagement and the difference between explaining something and actually helping somebody learn it.
And you begin to reflect on your own teaching more systematically.
That ability to notice, evaluate and adapt is useful long after the CELTA course itself has finished.
CELTA is a beginning, not the end of teacher development
Completing CELTA does not mean that a teacher has learnt everything there is to know about language teaching.
No initial teaching qualification can do that.
What it can provide is a strong practical foundation: terminology, techniques, classroom experience and a framework for reflecting on teaching.
The real development continues afterwards — through teaching different learners, observing colleagues, reading, training, experimentation and reflection.
A good teacher never really reaches the point where there is nothing left to learn.
And perhaps that is one of the most important lessons of teacher training itself.
Ready to take the next step in your teaching career?
Join our CELTA course and develop the practical skills, confidence and internationally recognised qualification you need to teach English professionally.
Enrol now – click here to secure your place.
Frequently asked questions about CELTA
Do I need teaching experience before taking CELTA?
CELTA is used as an initial teacher-training qualification, so previous professional teaching experience is not necessarily required. Authorised centres have an application and selection process for candidates.
Is CELTA only for native English speakers?
No. Being a native speaker is not what makes somebody an effective English teacher. Candidates need an appropriate level of English to complete the course successfully, but English teachers and CELTA candidates come from many linguistic backgrounds.
Is CELTA mainly theoretical?
No. Theory and methodology are included, but practical teaching is a core part of the qualification. Candidates complete six hours of assessed teaching practice with real learners.
Is there a final CELTA exam?
No. Cambridge assesses candidates throughout the course through teaching practice and written work rather than through one final examination.
Can CELTA be completed online?
Yes. Cambridge currently allows CELTA to be taken through different delivery formats, including online and face-to-face options.