Celta or TEFL for teaching children?

Question

I want to start a course in learning English. I'm confuse because I want to teach young children and not adults. But know what course do I have to choose because there is TEFL&CELTA? What big difference is there between this two?TEFL=Teaching English as a Foreign Language CELTA=certificate and teaching English to adults. So if understand right CELTA is for teaching English to adults but all the info I read they said there is no difference between this two?

Answer 1

I have a CELTA and have been teaching for more than 10 years. I have taught adults and children.

The CELTA course (run by University of Cambridge) is, as you rightly say, about teaching adults. You train with adult students.

The problem with using a CELTA for teaching adults is a practical one, rather than a job-seeker's one. In my experience, most language schools will employ you to teach children if you have a CELTA./Trinity. Children need to be motivated and engaged in different ways than adults. Many adults have chosen to study English, so they are motivated. Children, on the other hand, are often sent by parents to study English and lack motivation.

This can result in children misbehaving in class, being 'naughty' or silly in class. The CELTA does not focus on how to manage children's behaviour and there is not much emphasis on the type of games and activities which are suited for children. I had to learn at the chalkface and it was not enjoyable much of the time.

The University of Cambridge, several years ago introduced a Teaching English to Young Learners course. I believe this can be taken as a stand alone course now, and can be taken also as a 'top up' course to the CELTA.

TEFL is the who area of teaching English as a foreign language, rather than a particular brand of course. Find out what the structure/topic areas of the course are before you take it. If you do a course with a younger learners component then you might be satisfied. Either that, or do a general course and then sign up for a young learner's course in the future.

Good luck.

Answer 2

The main qualifications to teach English abroad are a degree and a TEFL certificate. The TEFL certificate is Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Sometimes TEFL is referred to as TESOL which is Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. You'll also see it sometimes referred to as TESL which is Teaching English as a Second Language. There are slight differences between TEFL, TESOL and TESL but to all intents and purposes they're the same and if you have a TEFL certificate this is the same as a TESOL certificate and employers won't distinguish between them. The CELTA is a high-level TEFL certificate issued by Cambridge. It's very intense and costs a lot.

Answer 3

Hi. If you want to know about the CELTA, here is a BLOG of a CELTA Trainee that shares experience regarding the course. Subscribe and you will get all the info you need on the daily routine of the CELTA course. Have fun and Good Luck!

http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=653171

Answer 4

If you take the CELTA, your certificate will also say "TESOL" on it. They offer a variation on the program, called the CELT-YL for people who want to teach young learners. I did my CELTA at International House Barcelona, which (I later realized) has an excellent reputation around the world. Doing the CELTA there opened a lot of doors for me that might not have opened at other centers. You can see the IH BCN program below.