CELTA – Gain Expertise in English Language Teaching Quickly

CELTA teacher Sarah Hall has been teaching at West London College for almost 25 years and has seen a growing trend towards change in the students who attend her courses. Once upon a time, CELTA was the employment passport to living abroad while at the same time making your living by teaching English. Today the course participants are increasingly likely to be English as an Additional Language or ESOL teachers, as well as classroom or SEND assistants.

CELTA – the Cambridge University accredited Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages – is a Level 5 course, equivalent to the second year of degree study in higher education. The qualification can be achieved in just 4 weeks on the full-time intensive course or 12 weeks on the part-time one. 

At West London College, the course costs £1300, payable in 3 parts with 50% paid in your first instalment, which is excellent value for money compared to many other providers. The advantage of studying CELTA at West London College is that you will be able to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to cover the cost. Repayments on an Advanced Learner Loan are highly affordable, and only start when you are at work, and earning more than the threshold amount, which is £27,295 at the time of writing.

Sarah says: “Once students achieve CELTA they generally find it to be a very liberating experience. Some may have been new to teaching at the start of their course, but by the end will become skilled at lesson planning, creating engaging and interactive learning materials and possess a systematic and structured approach to teaching and learning.”

Our alumni have gone onto great success – Ned Coomes is now the Digital and Media Communications Manager at Pearson, leading a team of Media Producers and Visual Designers in the development of creative content (including video) for product and marketing on a variety of learner platforms and social media. Seventeen years ago he completed CELTA at West London College.

Ned says: “I completed a CELTA at West London College in 2004 before heading off to work as an English Language Teacher in Tokyo, Japan for 1 year. It was an intense and high-level course that prepared me well. It really enhanced my communication skills and I have continued to use these skills as my career has progressed.”

CELTA student Claudia Luzi said: “I personally struggle a bit with technology, but I’m proud to say that I managed to deliver “attractive” lessons thanks to the equipment and facilities of the CELTA room.”

Fellow student Asha Ahmed said: “I needed support and advice as I developed into a good teacher, and this course provided it in spades. If you want to be challenged and advance in the industry, this is the course for you! My trainers pushed and guided me to apply for jobs nearing the end of the process, and they even assisted me in finding my current work. So not only was I trained how to teach English, but I was also assisted in finding work.”