DELTA

I took the Delta course at Teaching House in New York in 2014. Module 1&3 I completed on-line with a great support from my tutor Lizzy Adams. For Module 2, which includes input sessions, teaching practices, observations and writing assignments, I came to NYC. Overall, the module is structured similarly to Celta with a heavier workload and more opportunities to experiment (we had a chance to conduct unassessed lessons which were so much fun and always seemed to be better that assessed ones!) The most challenging aspect was completing the work in the time we had and we never had enough…
There were only five of us on the course and we formed really strong bonds with each other. Now, we are in different parts of the world but try to keep in touch. Actually, not all of us made it through all the 3 Modules (for different reasons), but I think all of us would agree that those 8 weeks are well-worth the cost , tremendous effort and the loss of sleep.
It was a fantastic learning and teaching experience. Teaching a group of multilingual students (from 7 different countries) was alien to me…their accents, mistakes they were making, ideas, personalities. Everything was different. Prior to taking the Delta, I had been teaching only monolingual classes.
The course made me a better teacher in so many ways. The most valuable ability I have formed and developed is being able to reflect on my peers’ and my own teaching. I never thought that reflecting could be such a powerful tool in professional development as a teacher-researcher.
I would definitely recommend this course (blended Delta) to those looking for a flexible way to progress further and update teaching skills in the field of TESL. Unfortunately, the Delta does not seem to be valued enough in China and it does not open doors to ESL positions at international schools where I hoped to land.