When I decided to do the CELTA course many years ago, I was living in Germany at the time but looking for a way to return to the UK. I did some research and decided to apply to International House in Newcastle. I had never been to Newcastle before but relished the opportunity to embark on what turned out to be a very challenging four weeks in a place where I would be alone and have no distractions. I wasn’t disappointed.
Completing the CELTA course opened up a wealth of opportunities for me within the UK and I made my way into a fantastic College of Further Education in Manchester where I was given tremendous support from a very experienced team. It is there that I went on to do the Dip. TESOL (Trinity College London’s equivalent to Delta).
For me, completing the course in the UK was important because I was looking to settle back down there. My decision was the right one for me at the time.
Amanda and I now run the CELTA course in Munich and are pleased to enrol trainees from all over the world. However, Munich does not tend to be a destination CELTA Course, unlike perhaps places like Prague or Istanbul or Bangkok. I have thought about why that is and to be honest, I can’t put my finger on it. There is of course the matter of money, the aforementioned places can offer cheaper courses and their cities offer cheaper accommodation but should cost be the overriding factor? Surely, if embarking on the TEFL career path, the opportunities post CELTA should also play a part in the decision making process?
Things to consider:
- does the Centre appeal to me?
- where do I plan on teaching after the course?
- will the Centre help me find work after the course?
- where are the Teaching Practice students from – ie who exactly will I teach?
I would be interested to hear from anyone who is currently deciding where to apply for the course and/or those who feel they made the right or wrong decision. Where will you / did you do your course and why?
The Ultimate Guide to CELTA 
Hi! I’m German and currently looking for a CELTA placement. For me, money is not too big of an issue as my employer is covering the costs, but I still have to stay within a certain budget. None of the German CELTA centers are near me and those that do exists are in rather expensive cities. So it turned out that going to another country would actually be a better option for me, which means I will mostly likely end up going to Spain this summer. I can brush up on my Spanish, combine my stay with a small vacation, and the local center actually organizes cheap accomodation for the CELTA candidates.
I think that, at the end of the day, the fact that the CELTA courses promise to be standardized across the world means that students are going to focus on the other aspects of the destination in order to make their final decision. And those will differ between individuals.
Best,
Linda
LikeLike
Thanks for your comments Linda. If you can go abroad to do the CELTA course it’s a great experience. I hope you enjoy it and you use this Blog and our book to help you through! Good luck.
LikeLike