Why did we develop CTS? CTS vs CELTA

Don't get us wrong - we love CELTA! 

The CELTA course is a valuable qualification that thousands of teachers have benefitted from. It does not, however, suit all the teachers in our context. We developed the ‘Certificate in Teaching Skills’ (CTS) suite of courses as context-specific alternatives to CELTA and other externally validated courses because our needs are sometimes different. 

Specifically:

·       CELTA is specifically for teachers of adult learners. Our teachers work with very Young Learners (K-1), Primary (Grades 2-5), Secondary (Grades 6-11), young adults preparing for academic studies in English (university Preparatory Schools or Schools of Foreign Languages) and teacher-managers who need mentoring-training skills. We have separate courses for each of these different groups.  

·       CELTA is a pre-service course for people who have probably never been in a classroom. Its methodology developed out of the methods devised for training teachers for the Peace Corps. Our teachers are already in the classroom. They have different needs specific to their own language learning histories and their beliefs about how to teach or learn a foreign language, therefore they need a tailor-made course. They also come with some habits that need to be reconsidered.

·       The CELTA application involves a pre-course task and an interview. We do not have an application process. Every English language teacher who is put forward can be accepted.

·       CELTA candidates are required to have a high C1 level of English. We accept any level of English on a CTS course.  

·       On a CELTA, teachers have to carry out practice teaching successfully at two distinct levels; e.g. pre-intermediate and upper intermediate. Beginners are not preferred for practice classes because they require a different methodology. Pre-intermediate and intermediate students are not distinct levels, and not acceptable. These factors make arranging the CELTA practice teaching component quite complicated. Instead, the practice teaching (micro-teaching) on CTS is done with the other teachers in the same group.

·       The CELTA course is typically a one-month, intensive experience. It can be hard for teachers to commit this much time, especially if they have young children. Our CTS course can easily be split into two, two-week sections given in consecutive years. Also, teachers’ motivation tends to be higher on shorter courses.

·       On CTS we use the course books teachers will teach that academic year for practice teaching so they will be able to put into practice what they have learned. This may not be the case on CELTA.  

·       We do not aim to cover as many objectives as CELTA. (See below.) We prefer to ensure that all participants have got the basic skills needed to teach well.   

·       Organising a CTS course is relatively simple as the institution deals directly with SeltAcademy.  

We highly recommend taking CTS courses as a starting point and continuing with CELTA/ DELTA and an MA in ELT as a path of professional development.

Comparison of CELTA and CTS aims

“The (CELTA) course enables candidates to:

• acquire essential subject knowledge and familiarity with the principles of effective teaching

• acquire a range of practical skills for teaching English to adult learners

• demonstrate their ability to apply their learning in a real teaching context.

Candidates who complete the course successfully can begin working in a variety of ESOL teaching contexts around the world.” (Taken from the CELTA syllabus, p. 2)

Download the CELTA syllabus for more details.

The CTS course enables candidates to:

• acquire essential knowledge about teaching language systems (grammar, lexis and pronunciation) and training students in reading, writing, listening and speaking skills

• acquire familiarity with recognised principles of effective teaching

• acquire a range of practical skills for challenging their own learners

• demonstrate their ability to apply their learning in micro-teaching with peers or real students  

It also guides candidates towards resources for their future, on-going professional development.

Candidates who complete the CTS course successfully will be more effective in their working context.

CTS courses study the elements of CELTA that are most useful for our teachers and add elements that they need which would not be covered on a typical CELTA. 

What are the benefits of a CTS course?

When we describe the benefits of taking a CTA course to teachers and to administration, we emphasize the following components of our course.  

·       We aim to help teachers plan effective lessons based on the needs and characteristics of their learners. Their lessons should have an aim. Language should be contextualized.

·       We show teachers ways to choose useful activities, set them up, give clear instructions, monitor effectively and give useful feedback. We teach them to start on time and finish the lesson rather than letting the bell finish the lesson for them. These points help them a great deal with classroom management.

·       We encourage them to give more challenging activities and to develop learner autonomy as appropriate.

·       We give them the skills to teach grammar and vocabulary in English, without using the students’ mother tongue.

·       We show them practical pronunciation activities they can use with their students.

·       We show them how to plan skills lessons. [Top tips: Don't read all the reading passages out loud and don't display the transcripts while listening to the audio.]

·       We teach teachers how to reflect on student learning.

·       We work with their course books so they see practical ways to use them in class.

·       We encourage them to see how students should progress from module to module (in a university context).

·       We include many sessions on Teacher Language; e.g. questions, transitions, eliciting, presenting language, feedback, etc.

·       We correct the teachers’ fossilized language errors.

·       We give the participants many resources for their future professional development for after the course finishes.

Every teacher is an individual learner so every teacher picks up on different parts of the course according to their needs and awareness level. Professional development must continue afterwards to get the full benefit of the course.

When you choose a professional development course for your school, make sure it reflects the needs of the teachers and students (and other stake holders) accurately. 

Successful completion of CTS

A certificate of attendance is awarded at the end of the first two-week course and a certificate of achievement is given at the end of the second two-week course, assuming the participant meets the criteria. For the CTS-Academic, participants earn a separate certificate for each three-day module.   

To be awarded a certificate, participants must:

·       attend 100% of sessions

·       maintain a portfolio of all their lesson plans, handouts, session notes and other work. This should be neat and tidy. Portfolios are checked twice across two weeks and signed by the trainer.  

·       contribute in a positive way during sessions and work towards a good group dynamic both within the larger class group and their smaller micro-teaching group.

·       put all their effort into practice teaching and writing lesson plans according to the input given.

·       make progress across the two weeks

We expect participants to show a willingness to change attitudes and behaviours that prevent their students from getting maximum benefit from English language classes. 

Trainers may withhold certificates of participants who do not meet the requirements. They may also award a certificate with a note on the back indicating areas to work on in the future. 

We hope this helps everyone to understand our aims better. 

Looking forward to seeing you on one of our courses. 

[Images from MorgueFile.com - Kristina's favourite site for copyright friendly pictures.] 

Candy hearts - 

• Image URI: http://mrg.bz/yxBr1i
• JPEG URI: http://mrg.bz/DIroxO 

Mirror ball - 

• Image URI: http://mrg.bz/BMQ0k8
• JPEG URI: http://mrg.bz/9wRKWT

Do you have any questions? by Anette

Well, I found this is exactly the question that produces no questions or the answer ‘no’. While running the CTS course in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan we were discussing this problem. We could see that the participants had quite a few questions but would just not raise them when we offered them the chance to share.

Why are questions so important on our training courses?

….because all learners need time to explore new ideas.

…because we encourage teachers to take responsibility for their own learning. How can teachers encourage their pupils to be more autonomous if they themselves are not autonomous learners? 

…because this is where we can see how participants are interpreting the input or trying to apply it to their situation. “How can I do that when the students aren’t motivated?” or “Why shouldn’t we read the texts out loud if the students want it?” questions let us know what the participants’ needs are.

... because often if we raise the question and let it hang around for a while, they will find answers themselves in the following days.

…because it shows they are beginning to hold up a mirror and look at their own practice, the start of ‘reflective practice’. 

…because one of our main aims on CTS is to help teachers become more reflective. Reflective teachers don’t just imitate, they think through their own situation and adapt or innovate. They think about ‘how’ and ‘why’. You can read more about this in this ASCD article ‘Fostering Reflection’. 

If you don't believe us, maybe you'll believe Voltaire? 

• "Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers."  Voltaire  
• 
  

Question poster activity

This is how the question poster came to life, a very simple idea which worked well and hopefully will find its way also into the teachers’ classrooms. I put up a piece of paper on the wall (at least A2 sized, I used paper for the flip chart), handed out post-it notes, or just left them on my desk so that participants could take them when needed. On the poster I wrote ‘Questions ?’ and then we started the first brainstorming of questions. I asked all of them to let the last couple of days, all the input sessions, the micro-teaching, pass in font of their inner eye and then come up with a question about any what they had learnt or experienced during the last days.

This set up seemed to work quite well, as we had at least 15 questions on the poster after this. The next point was to find time to answer these questions. So we set aside some time in the afternoon to try and answer at least a couple each day. Of course, as soon as you start with activities like this more questions come up. 

One way to use the questions is to group them according to the topic of the input sessions, Agi did (see image below). These are participants' questions related to motivation that she thought they would be able to answer or at least start to answer after the 'Motivation' session. 

Towards the end of the course we had time to set a whole 90-minute session aside to give us ample time to discuss the questions and find solutions for some problems. Again, we wanted to show at the same time how to set up a session like this so that all are involved in finding answers and not just a few people or the teacher only, as this should be a very communicative and student-centred approach. So we tried different mingle activities or ‘four corners’ and the result was great as everybody was involved and some very interesting discussions started. 

When reflecting on the session it became clear that this should be an integral part of the course, as it gives time to answer course participants’ question plus share experience and ideas. 


Other suggestions to try out

If your participants need help coming up with questions, a list like the one on this wiki might helps them. Here are other questions to help teachers reflect. 

At the end of a session, have them finish the sentence, "Now that I have studied ...., I wonder...." on a post-it note and add it to the question wall. 

Another activity to promote questioning is when the trainer writes a statement on a piece of flip chart paper and gets teachers to brainstorm. Sentences like: 'Teachers shouldn't use the students' mother tongue in class' would work well. 

From a trainer’s perspective

There are times to work in ‘hierarchical mode’, i.e. when the trainer should make sense of what is going on, interpreting for the group. 

There are times to work in a ‘cooperative mode’. This means inviting the participants to give their ideas. The trainer throws in ideas, too, but they are not more important than what the teachers say. This can be hard in cultures which are more hierarchical because anything the ‘teacher’ says is seen as ‘the right answer’.  

There are times to work in ‘autonomous mode’. The trainer hands over responsibility for interpretation/ feedback / discussion to the participants. 

The trick is to move between these three modes appropriately since each has advantages and disadvantages, see link to Heron’s work, below. (For more on these three modes, see pages 20-22.)

Finally….

If you are a trainer, we hope you will find dynamic ways of working with participants’ questions. Anette’s ‘Question poster activity’ worked really well. 

If you are a Head of English reading this, we hope you will follow some of the links to learn more about reflective practice. 

Please post feedback in the comments and share your favorite ways of working with participant questions on a CPD (Continuous Professional Development) course.

Further Reading

For more information about reflective learning download this .pdf. 

Or access the materials on this wiki: 

Trainers may find this archive of articles about experiential learning useful. 

(Download the Complete Facilitator’s Handbook, Heron, 1999, p. 20-22.  ).

Kayseri: the trainer's view

Jennifer Hillhouse was with us in Kayseri in August 2013. Here is what she wrote after working with teachers there on our CTS-Primary course. 

"Kayseri was a great adventure.  The teachers, all newly arrived from Tunisia, were all amazing.  Full of enthusiasm and with a great attitude to learning, they were all really eager to take on board as much as possible before embarking on their teaching careers here in Turkey."

Jen's group

We were very well looked after.  Ismail Bey, Edibe Hamin and all the staff at the school were all ready to help us in any way they could, from photocopying to chalk supplies!  The accommodation was lovely and  we had a hilarious taxi driver, who did a great job of teaching us some Turkish.  The food was amazing, everyone went to a lot of trouble to teach us as much as possible about the local cuisine.  It is delicious! 

Turkish chilis  

When we weren't working, we had the chance to wander around and explore the city.  At the weekend we got out to Kapadokya.  Two of us took it reasonably easy, sipping coffee and wandering around the shops.  The rest of the team bravely hiked to the fairy chimneys for about 5 hours!  A heroic effort, given the heat, but definitely worth it!

At the end of the course we were taken for a lovely meal and on an excursion up the mountain in a cable car.  Kayseri is a really beautiful place, and I would never have had the opportunity to discover it without the course.  Thank you for everything!" 

We're looking forward to working with Jennifer again in 2014 somewhere else in Turkey. Stay tuned for more adventures of the CTS team. 

Ismail Bey and sons, plus the rest of the Kayseri team in the background

A view of the mountain

A lion in Cappadochia