Have you ever thought of taking the CELTA course yourself?

Why not--in Krakow, Poland?

I did it, and I'm so very glad I did for several reasons:

1. I learned a lot.
2. I met great people I still keep in touch with.

3. Krakow is BEAUTIFUL and budget-friendly.

4. My job possibilities have expanded, and my career is growing.

Granted, this list is just a short summary. If you want a better idea of how this course went for me, check out my CELTA Diary. It's not the most interesting read, I admit; but it covered exactly what I went through in the course.

Demanding? Yes.

Intense? Sure.

Worth it? Definitely.

Tell Barbara, Declan, and Magda I say "Hi!"

CELTA Course, Day 20 (16. June) The Final Day

After 4 weeks, the day has finally arrived: the final day.

Last night, I slept the least amount I had ever slept during this course (4.5 hours). It took me so long to prepare for this lesson.

Then, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped:

I had to skip a kinesthetic activity I spent a lot of time preparing.

I got lost part-way through the lesson (i.e., Where am I? What's next?).

I made-up one stage of the lesson. I thought I had prepared something for it, but I didn't. So I just winged-it.

At least I was able to get through the lesson. The students got the target language (words to express comparisons and contrasts) and were able to use it well--even correcting each other.

That was my final observed teaching practice lesson. Whoa.

After 4 weeks, the day had finally arrived.

One of the teachers who works at the British Council told us that the time would go by quickly. Before we knew it, the course would be over. We laughed at him. He was right. It feels as though we were here for years, but we had learned so much in 4 weeks, that it does feel like 4 years...

...and it is over.

I'm going to miss my CELTA course-mates. We have made lots of fun memories and friendships I hope to maintain and continue.

Good luck and GOD's blessings on your future English-teaching careers!

Kraków May-June 2016 CELTA at British Council

Trainees in the back, Tutors in the front.

CELTA Course, Day 18 & 19 (14-15. June)

Ugh, I actually couldn't post anything Monday night because I lost internet connection from about 21:30 and didn't get it back til 7:45 the following morning.


Anyway, 14. June

I taught my 2nd-to-last lesson on Tuesday. It was ok--it came out better than it could have, but I saw from the students' questions that there were lots of holes I hadn't sealed in my lesson. At least I got immediate feedback.

For the input sessions, we were told about further training and things to keep in mind when looking for a job. Sure, I've already had a couple of jobs, but it was good to be reminded of a few pointers and learn about a couple other things I didn't know.


15. June

Two guys who started their teaching practice 1st, had their last classes today. I watched the one guy's lesson ('cause he was in my group, the other wasn't). I'd say he finished off on a high note: it was his best class. If only I could do the same . . .

The other girl and I in my group were going to teach the following day. We had questions about our lessons. This was our last tutor help.

For our final input sessions, we had a review of everything we were taught, as well as students' questions on grammar. Both showed us that we still have a lot to learn and review.

Now, to prepare for my final lesson . . .

CELTA Course, Day 17 (13. June)

It's the final week.

We're still busy, but things are winding down.

We turned in our final assignments (Lessons from the Classroom). I can say this was our easiest task--it was basically a self-reflection. We had to point out 3 strengths, 3 "areas of development" and 3 ways to improve each of the said "areas of development." We also had to reference what we've seen in our peers' teaching practices, DVDs of experienced teachers, experienced teachers live, feedback from our tutors, and our students' reactions.

Not bad at all.

To think, we've all done, turned in, and got our assignments back. All 4. I have 2 more teaching practice classes to teach--and that's it!

I've got my lesson prepared for tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

CELTA Course, Day 14 - 16 (8-10. June)

Yeap, this is how you know you're busy: you were going to keep a daily diary of what's going on in the CELTA course, only to find out that you haven't posted anything in 3 (now 4) days.

Really sorry, everyone. Let me try to remember what I did . . .

8. June (Wednesday)

This was the day we had our private 1-to-1 in-depth feedback from our tutors. This was when our tutor would tell us how we were doing, what we needed to do to improve, point out anything we needed to have pointed out to us, the works.

Basically, I'm going to pass; the question is which "pass" will I get? 

Job-wise, it doesn't matter which pass you get, as long as you pass--and it's backed by Cambridge University. But one finds it difficult to subdue the privilege of having bragging rights.

If I can improve my set-ups, monitoring, and the like, then I can get a Pass B (just below Pass A--reserved for the elite. Most trainees get a Pass). I have 1 more week--2 more lessons--to rise to the occasion and prove myself.

That was it! The rest of the day was free to work on/plan our next lessons or whatever.

9. June (Thursday)

The 1st class I monitored (as usual). The 2nd class I taught unobserved. Since we just had an input session on how to teach writing--and I don't have any writing classes--I decided to plan my unobserved as a simple writing class. It worked, but there were definitely areas for improvement. Since this was my 1st time teaching writing through the CELTA method, I think it went well.

Thanks to the extra time on Wednesday, I had a nice head-start on planning my lesson for Friday. I had to tweak quite a few things, but I was able to finish preparing everything. Only 1 minor setback. I finished typing out my procedure, and I was going to save it on top of my older file of the same document (which I've done all the other times before). What happened? I saved the older version on top of the newer. 

Oh man, . . . So I had to do most of it all over again. At least I knew what I was going to do.

10. June (Friday)

We taught our lessons (and they went pretty well). The only difference was that we had an assessor coming from International House Prague to assess how the course is going (if it's upholding the Cambridge CELTA standards or not and such). Basically, the assessor was there to assess our tutors. It was a little unusual having the assessor observe my class and another fellow trainee's class. I kinda knew my class was going to have this guest, but that was by some kind of intuition.

After lunch, we had a private meeting with the assessor, where she asked us what we thought of the course; if there was anything that was going well, anything that could be changed, if we had any other questions, etc. It was short and painless.

After the last input session, we 5 went out to celebrate a fellow trainee's birthday: dinner at a Mexican restaurant (I wouldn't really recommend it unless you were desperate for a Mexican food fix), and another escape room. This time, we were not in a freak-show, but in a murder scene. We actually managed to escape in 45 minutes (we had 60 min.)! Go, team! To celebrate, they had ice cream, and I just had tea (wasn't personally in the mood for ice cream).

Yay! All caught up! Just need to work on the final assignment, due Monday morning. It would be wise if I could get a good head-start with Tuesday's lesson. If I get that far, maybe take a look at my final lesson on Thursday.

Just 1 more week to go! Monday - Thursday, Thursday being the last day of the course.

Shew, the last day of the course already?!

CELTA Course, Day 12 & 13 (6-7. June)

Monday

Us two groups of teachers were switched to different classes--and different levels. I had the lower-intermediate for 2 weeks. Now we will have the upper-intermediate for the next 2 weeks. They are a bigger class, I'd say more enthusiastic, probably 'cause their collective English level is that much better.

I had guided help for preparing my lesson for Tuesday (today). Some things were already prepared, just needed to be fine-tuned--and I needed to write my lesson plan. That's basically the last thing I always do: write my lesson plan. That's just how I work.

Imagine how happy I was to finish everything a few minutes before midnight . . .

Tuesday

I taught my class. Man, I forgot to check if the class understood the vocabulary I introduced to them. I also didn't replay the audio file when I should have. Blast! Oh well, at least I can identify my mistakes. Now, to make sure they are not repeated.

Oh, tomorrow will be a nice day: we only have a 30-min. session with our tutors. That's it! We're free the rest of the day, just need to meet with our tutors to see where we are and how we're doing in the course. I'm looking forward to all this extra time to get a head start on my unobserved lesson on Thurs., my observed lesson on Fri., and my final assignment due on Monday (all about our progress in the course).

I also want to see if I can get a box to send more stuff to the States. I need to lighten my check-in luggage.

CELTA Course, Day 10 & 11 (2-3. June)

I wonder if this means I'll be so busy from now on, that I can only publish a diary entry every-other day . . .

~June 2nd~

Standard day. The only difference was that we needed to interview our students for our Focus on the Learner assignment. True to her word, my student arrived on time, and we had held the interview. It lasted about 18 minutes, which was fine.

Then, since we had an unobserved class to run. The one who was supposed to do it that day didn't know about it, so I was volunteered to help her. Ok, we had to teach a lesson that was going to start in about 10 - 15 min. No pressure.
But seriously, there was no pressure: it was unobserved! So we just played "Hot Seat" and had a random conversation. I think the students enjoyed it--at least they seemed to have enjoyed it.

Ah, and for the 2nd class, which we needed to observe, we needed to observe the other group. Why? Because we are going to start teaching them this coming Monday!

Oh, I had a lot almost/kinda prepared for my class on Friday morning, just needed to tweak a few things here and there. Working on all of that, I was able to finish right before midnight! That's a record!


~June 3rd~

I taught my last lesson with the pre-intermediates. I tried to make it lively, radiating my excitement on them (they're a fun class, I really like them). It seemed to work. A few things didn't go well from my part. For example, abstract questions to generate interest in the topic--too abstract for this level, although they pulled through pretty well; teacher-centered meaning clarification & check, and form clarification (sorry for the big words). The pronunciation drill, restricted practice, and freer practice seemed to work pretty well, though. Anywho, what's done is done. All I can do now is learn from my mistakes and try to not repeat them.

The students from my group invited all us CELTA trainees to the bar just downstairs from the British Council ("Buddha Bar?") tonight. That was really sweet of them. Too bad I can't go. I live kinda far, and I don't want to pay for a taxi--much less have them pay for a cab for me.
Well, I guess I could've taken a tram? But when do they stop running? I don't know. I've never ridden on any type of public transport since I arrived in Kraków.
But no, I don't think that would be the best place to welcome the Sabbath.

CELTA Course, Day 9 (1. June)

Man am I tired.

I just did 66% of my Skills assignment (due Wednesday) and got quite a bit done on my lesson plan for Friday--but still have a long way to go to be really finished. I'm looking forward to talking it over with my tutor tomorrow.

Also, I have an appointment to interview one of my teaching practice students tomorrow morning. We agreed on 8:40 am. I hope she remembers and comes. I also hope that my computer's recording device will work and be ok. It would be great if my computer also didn't decide to die half-way through the interview . . .

I need prayers. Please.

CELTA Course, Day 7 & 8 (30-31. May)

Ugh, I forgot to make a post for yesterday. Sorry.

30. May:

Well, I remembered I needed to choose a student that day to interview for our Focus on the Learner assignment (due on Monday for my group members). I selected a student, approached her and we agreed to have the interview on Thursday morning, before the lessons.

I had an overall plan ready for my lesson today, just it was a bit fuzzy, and I needed extra guidance. I got it and felt much better about my lesson. Just that I worked on getting all the handouts and the display for about 5 hours after I returned to my apartment (around 19:30). Good thing I had already started!

31. May (today):

I taught my 3rd observed class. Since it was about theater (and The Phantom of the Opera was mentioned in the reading text), I decided to open the class with a snip-bit of that famous song--myself. I got their attention! The rest of the class went well, except for a few things here and there. Just more things I need to work on. Typical, really. I'm still glad I had that lesson.

Now, what do I have on my plate now?

- my 4th observed lesson that I need to prepare (I've got some questions about that one already)

- my interview with 1 of my students for my assignment that's due on Monday.

- my Skills assignment that's due on Wednesday

- my 5th observed lesson I will give on Tuesday--with the other class.

(After this week, we will switch classes--and levels. My group taught lower intermediate from the beginning until now. Next week, we'll switch to the other class and teach the upper intermediate students for the rest of the course. That's how the course generally goes.)

. . .  Ok, so 2 classes and 2 assignments within a week's time (give or take).

No pressure, no pressure at all. . . .

CELTA Course, Day 5 & 6 (24-25. May)

Whoa, whoops!

Sorry about that. I honestly didn't even notice that I didn't post anything for the last 2 days. I'll see if I can remember what happened:

24. May (Tues.)

I taught my grammar class (2nd observed class). I thought it was a disaster. I got lost a few times and just went with it. It seemed to me that I wasn't keeping good track of the time. In the freer practice, the students weren't using the correct target language--because I didn't prepare it well enough for them to do so. When it was time to stop, they didn't want to (which could be a good sign?), so I touched each one on the shoulder to get their attention and gently tell them to return to their seats. That worked.

During feedback, all I was told was that I had a good class, lots of good visuals, and that I was keeping good track of time. Really? Kinda goes to show how different perspectives can be.

We had 2 input sessions (lectures) in the afternoon (just like we do every day). Afterwards, I and 3 others had to observe an experienced teacher's class. It was 90 minutes long. The teacher's voice was engaging, and his way of speaking was entertaining, but I was fighting sleep. 

Oh well, now off to put the last-minute details to my 1st assignment before I turned it in the following morning.

25. May (Wed.)

We didn't have to come in by 9:30 because there were no teaching practices. We only had 2 input sessions (lectures), turn in our 1st assignment, observe another experienced teacher, and we were done! The first thing we did was turn in our assignments. I had to resubmit it, due to several small errors here and there. The good thing is that you could technically pass the course even if you had to resubmit all your assignments--as long as you passed 3 out of 4. I hope this will be my only re-submission.

Seeing we started our input sessions at 11 and finished by 14, and we needed to be back to observe by 17:15, we all enjoyed a really long lunch break.

My group observed another experienced teacher who was livelier than the one we observed the day before. Her class's dynamics were much more energetic. Time passed by quicker--and I got a few great ideas. It was after the observation that we received our assignments back. Most of us had to fix a few things and resubmit it. Apparently, that's normal. Good to know. Many have done the course before; it's comforting to know that those who passed also went through not-so-glorious moments like these.

As for today, it's a national holiday in Poland (Corpus Christi), so no classes. According to Polish ways, we'll be off tomorrow as well (might as well get a long holiday when you can, right?). This means a little bit of rest/fun and more time to prepare for our 3rd teaching practice. Well, I needed to have mine by Tuesday, not Monday. Although, this teaching practice now required a FULL, up to 5-page lesson plan, not just the procedure page we filled out before. Ah, this long weekend also gives us more time to start and develop our 2nd assignment (due June 8th).

Yeap, it's a long weekend in Krakow, but I need to stay focused. I'm doing this for my future, after all.

CELTA Course, Day 4 (23. May)

It's actually 00:24 Tuesday morning as I type this.

My weekend was lovely. Sabbath was a real blessing, seeing friends at church I didn't expect to find. Truly an immense blessing.

Sunday, I was able to finish everything, except look at my 2nd observed teaching practice notes. That was done today in the afternoon.

The unobserved class was very relaxed. At least, that how I carried it out. I forgot one activity I really wanted to do, but other than that, I think it went well. At least I was able to relax a little in class.

I've been preparing for my 2nd observed teaching practice. I spent about 3 hours at the British Council after we were done for the day. After coming back home and taking a shower, I spent about 2 more hours preparing/making handouts/getting everything in order. I plan to get up early, go to the British Council earlier than before, and get the final touches set and ready for my grammar class in the morning.

CELTA Course, Day 3 (20. May)

I taught my 1st CELTA class!

I was very nervous this morning as I walked to the British Council.

 After going through my lesson and story a few times, and letting go, I started to relax--although not completely.

I forgot a lot of stuff (i.e., asking instruction concept questions/ICQs, sticking with the time limits, getting everyone's attention, remembering to use each student's name, etc.), but I also did a lot of stuff pretty well. I was able to catch myself doing something I shouldn't, then change it into the way I should have done it from the beginning. This means I'm getting it, remembering it, and able to remind myself as I'm doing the tasks! Hey, baby steps are victory dances in themselves!

Besides, the students themselves were great. They helped me feel comfortable (then again, we met and interviewed each other yesterday morning, so that helped).

We had a session on how to teach reading and listening skills. We had another session to get us prepared on researching and analyzing the target language (for our 1st assignment, which will be due on Wednesday). Sounds hard? It kinda is--if you don't have a good hold on grammar. Mine is ok.

So, basically, I have the following to do during the weekend:

1. An exercise sheet that should take 5 minutes.
2. Prepare for my unobserved lesson for Monday morning (since we are so few, then each of us will teach an unobserved class. I guess this is just so we can get more comfortable/confident in our respective classrooms. Hey, instead of teaching 8 lessons, we teach 10? The more practice, the better!).
3. Start getting my lesson together for my 2nd teaching practice, which will be Tuesday morning.

I'm not planning to post any diary entries during the weekend. All I'd like to do is go to church tomorrow and explore a bit of Krakow. We'll see how they go.

CELTA Course, Day 2 (19. May)

I just observed a fellow group-member's class (we were all divided into 2 groups). My team is teaching the lower-intermediate for the first 2 weeks of this course. On the 3rd week, we'll switch to the other class and teach the upper-intermediate for the other half of the course.

Fellow group-member did a good job. Then again, he has teaching experience, so it wasn't too difficult for him.

I started getting ready for my class tomorrow morning. I have all of my materials/handouts finished, I just need to practice my instructions/delivery.

Even though I've (kind of) done this before, I am stressed. I can see that the CELTA method is WAY more structured than what I'm used to. There are a few things that are somewhat familiar, at least subconsciously but never really thought about until it was pointed out to me/us in these lectures.

I see I came to the right place.

I need to remember, this is my 1st time using the CELTA method, so I'm bound to make some mistakes of some sort along the way tomorrow morning. That's ok. Through trial and error is how we learn, right? Besides, if I knew everything, my presence in this course would be pointless. I'm here 'cause there are things I need to learn--and unlearn.

CELTA Course, Day 1 (18.May)

WELCOME TO MY CELTA DIARY!

Today was my 1st day at the CELTA course. Since it's late and I'm near exhaustion, I'll keep my thoughts to these bullet points:

1. Wow, we're such a small class! I expected 12, but we are 6!
2. We 6 come from very different backgrounds:
• 2 Brits
• 2 Poles (1 born & raised, 1 born & emigrated to Canada at age 6)
• 1 Uzbek
• yours truly
3. We have 3 trainers (I'll call them "B," "D," & "M" to respect their privacy).
• They have a lot to tell us ('cause there's A TON of information to share!)
• They really know their stuff (how long have they been training EFL-teachers-to-be?).
• If there's anything they want us to remember, it's that they are here for us! They want to help us do a great job and succeed!
• They are very communicative. They will tell us what we need to know several times, just to be sure we got it--and then tell us again to be extra sure.
4. I need to buy a binder and enough clear plastic paper sleeves to best organize all the materials/handouts they will give out. There have already been 14 sheets of paper today alone (some with info on both sides)!
5. Organization is paramount.
6. Taking good notes is also a plus.
7. Procrastination must go into exile this month.

Next big step: CELTA course.

Where: Kraków

When: 18. May - 16. June

I'm going to try to keep a diary of my CELTA experience here.
I'll be ambitious and shoot for a day-by-day record, even if it's only a 1-sentence entry.

Time to buckle in and hold on tight . . .

. . . I'm going in.