Program Reviews

The course is the best thing I've done! The tutors are super helpful and the staff was incredibly nice and available.
The input sessions are very good and as a trainee you receive one to one feedback in every point of your lessons, and suggestions on how to prepare your lessons effectively.
Looking forward to the DELTA.

Overall experience was rewarding as I felt that I left prepared to teach English effectively and professionally. It was also quite revealing in bringing out the good and bad in both my teaching style and methods so I left confident of my ability yet well aware of where I needed to polish things up. Considerable tedious homework and detailed class plans make things very hectic so long days, very long nights and full-time weekends are prerequisite and even then good time management is essential to keep up. Teaching theory given in the mornings is well presented and expected to be applied in the observed practice teaching sessions in the afternoons. Pre-course reading of textbooks by Jim Scrivener (Learning Teaching) and Jeremy Harmer (The Practice of English Language Teaching) are definitely recommended. Lastly, having 24/7 internet access is helpful.

The overall experience I found was good.

Here are the Pro's

First, I found the staff at the Teaching House and IH very friendly and helpful.

Second, teachers conducted engaging Teacher Input sessions, and provided constructive feedback and support.

Third, The location and the House itself is nice and controlled (you can't get lost or walk to far to come in and out).

Fourth, the overall program is good in that it is a hands on experience teaching. And it is good that the students in the class know we are being monitored, so that they can forgive our mistakes.

Con's or at least some things to consider improving.

Seating - while I understand that it is expensive to bring in bigger desks. My experience with seating is that my papers and books would constantly fall off the desk during input or trying to work on guided discovery planning. This would cause me to lose papers and important notes on occasion.

Printing - I'm sure I am not the first to say that we definitely need more printing pages (and maybe a lecture from teachers at the beginning of the class on ways to save space and paper when printing lesson materials.

Binders and Additional notes from each class - It would be helpful to have dividers in the binder that categorize each stage / category of the program, so that it reduces the time of organizing multiple papers handed out throughout the day into the appropriate section of the binder.

Language Analysis for Grammar and materials for lesson plans.
If someone is enrolled into the program I believe they should either be strong on their pre-interview grammar test, or in the beginning of the course be offered a separate or additional grammar analysis course to help them. Although our teachers taught briefly on language analysis, I feel the instruction wasn't focused enough here especially for those of us who needed it.

There were others in my class who like myself struggled with this task - us mature, professional working folk who graduated from college many moons ago (or who didn't have sufficient grammar teaching in our school days, were slightly at a disadvantage in this area). It was especially difficult completing this task at length when there are other materials to prepare and cover.

Computer (Lab) Rooms, in the lab students (especially in my class) were pretty loud in talking to each other. Their talking usually did not involve working together on their teaching projects. - In the evening, after class, I found it difficult to focus and get my work done while students were talking (non related to their work). I know there is a sign in there about talking, but I myself didn't notice this towards the last week of my being there. I know students should naturally be aware of this but a more prominent sign asking students to speak lower plus a word from the teacher themselves might make this more effective.

At times I felt one of our teachers was giving more praise to some students over others, during their feedback, which had more to do with the student's lengthy language analysis work than their actual lesson execution.

Schedule, The shift in the middle of the course from teaching Pre-Int to Upper Int cause discrepancies in our teaching schedules. What the teacher was scheduling us for (days and subject) conflicted with the schedule that was handed out to us in the beginning of the course.

Overall it was a good experience and I met some friendly people and learned a lot about teaching english, about people and myself.

From my first interaction with Teaching House, when I was researching programs in the fall, the enrollment staff were very pleasant and helpful. They gave me honest advice about where I could expect to get a job once I graduated. I spent nearly half an hour on the phone with them. They didn't rush me, and they helped me understand every step of the process. During the course, any time I needed help, they were always willing to drop whatever they were doing to assist with printers, help locate materials, books, supplies or CDs. The Director of the school would even pop into the computer lab from time to time when we were working on assignments late at night and she would check in on us to see how we were doing and provide technical (or emotional) support.
The teachers were awesome. I had Fiona and Sharon. Other reviewers have mentioned more one-on-one time with the teachers, but I felt that when I sought the teachers out for help, they were always willing to set aside time to provide feedback.
This course is intensive, but I feel like if you set aside enough time for it, and you are the type of person who made decent grades in college, then you probably won't have trouble on this course.

The first day included a T/F exercise - " I will have time to go away for the weekend" - How little did I realize the truth of that statement being False! Intensive is an understatement of the time and commitment needed to finish the course successfully.
However - I can think of no better way to spend a month if you are looking to move into the ESL field. Our instructors, Amir and Robert, were exceptional. Information was coming fast and furious, but they somehow managed to give a sense that all can be accomplished with hard work and discipline. Teaching every other day was a critical part of feeling like what you learned could be put into practice. Assessment by instructors as well as classmates proved invaluable for improvement in lesson planning and teaching. Saturdays in the computer lab were an integral part of finishing all assignments with the support staff and classmates.
The surprise of the course was the relationships that were formed. Being surrounded with people with very similar goals and appreciation for all cultures is something that will not soon be forgotten. The CELTA experience added so much to my life. Not only an immediate job ( I know I was lucky to get one close to home until I can go abroad ), but friends and colleagues who will remain an integral part of my life.

Just being there on the course made some great memories, it was a wonderful experience and a chance to learn something new. The course itself was a bit hard specially during week 3, but it is worth all the lack of sleep and tension. After the course, when I got back to my routine and work I realized that having CELTA was the best decision of my life, not only do I apply the teaching methods into my lessons, but also apply the patience I learned and problem solving techniques to my personal level.
On the course, my tutors were very nice, patient and helpful. My colleagues were supportive and the students were always excited to have a new lesson.
On a personal level, knowing that I passed the course and have that certificate in my hand can always boost my self-esteem. It also helps with job interviews.
I always say you never know what CELTA is until you've tried it. I highly recommend this course, its worth the effort.

If you must take the CELTA course, this is the one to take. I do recommend, however, if you have the time and the resources, that you take the less intensive one, if only for your sanity. This is one INTENSIVE class. Note that word. INTENSIVE. Believe it.

Highlights: Magnificent staff. Friendly, courteous, helpful, resilient in the face of student meltdown, generous, thoughtful, unfailingly pleasant. (insert further encomiums here at your leisure).

Difficulties: Less than stellar printer/copier/computer to student ratio. The one copier was overworked. The joint could do with a refrigerator, microwave, and coffee maker as well.

I may have neglected to stress how intensive this course is. Just in case, let me once again reiterate another time [sic] that this course is intensive. Nevertheless, the result is worth every penny and shredded nerve.

From the very first day I contacted TH everything went smoothly thanks to the very high degree of professionalism and dedication of the TH staff. I cannot think of any step in the process of taking the CELTA at TH New York that wasn't adressed in the most efficient and friendliest manner.
I have to say that by the end of the second week of the the 4-week intensive program I encountered difficulties to cope with the workload and tasks deadlines. I talked to my CELTA tutor about it and she provided unfailing support and encouragements.

The entire course was very intensive but fun and rewarding. The students were the key motivation on constantly trying to improve my lesson plans and teaching skills in the classroom. The teachers at CELTA were all helpful and were willing to help you if you had any questions or if you were struggling in a specific area. I believe there should be more than one copy machine because it wasn't fun when everyone wanted to use it at the same time. Overall, great experience. CELTA helped prepare me for my interview and current job abroad. I am a much more confident teacher thanks to CELTA!

I was at my location from the moment the school opened to the second it closed. TH has many resources and I fully utilized them. This is key. I would spend two evenings/days doing each lesson plan as that is how long you need to create a through lesson plan. The best part of the experience, besides making new friends, is all the feedback one gets from their trainers. The feedback is beneficial and is constructed in a way to help you and your classmates.