We
have been warned that the CELTA course is intensive. We have been supplied with pre-course information about
timetables and requirements. We have researched it's ‘a
level 5 qualification equivalent
to the beginning of the second year on a university first degree course’ based on the Cambridge franchise and compressed into 20 days. Yet we didn't believe it all until the very first days... I personally planned a lot of
appointments for evenings; one coursemate from abroad wanted to learn Polish in
the meantime; another
one chose couchsurfing as the free of charge accommodation and had to
move every couple of days.
But there was no meantime. There was no spare time. In fact there was too little time for maintenance of vital functions like sleeping or eating. Some of us slept 2-4 hours per night. Some of us lived mostly on coffee and cigarettes. Agreed: it is NOT possible to imagine the CELTA course until it becomes your reality! But what a satisfaction you get when it’s over! And... somehow right after the last day you start missing it... That’s why I decided to press on a slow release button in my memory and write down these:
CELTA survival
know-how tips from a May-June
2013 participant:
· Choose the right place – I don't know how many British Council institutions around the world
are located like the one in Cracow, Poland. It’s situated in the Main Market Square, facing Adam Mickiewicz's monument, in the
middle of Royal Way from Matejki Square to Wawel Castle, literally in the heart
of Old Town. The building itself is magnificent, historical and antique with
spectacular wooden ceiling and opera-style chandelier. As a Pole I was proud to
present the best of Cracow to foreign colleagues (sometimes probably to bore
them with bits of history and architecture;) every day just while stepping out from the shadow of BC gate
to the sunny square
full of life and music.
· Choose the right time – we were this lucky group which had one additional free day
on 30th of May as it was
the Corpus Christi
holiday. It gave
us some extra time
to catch ‘a breath of
life’ and overcome the
workload shock at the pretty
beginning...
· Prepare for challenging weather – due to worldwide climate change it's not
foreseeable anymore. We had two weeks of very ‘English’ weather with cold showers or niggling
drizzle all days and nights. Then tropical sun started shining and burning so that all
non-residents experienced the full amplitude between 5 and 35 degrees Celcius.
· If you are a teacher in service –
prepare for elimination of your worst habits and ‘throwing some of your sacred
cows out of the window’. To me it was one of the most valuable teaching
experiences: interiorizing that freer practice (fluency) is just as important as restricted practice
(accuracy); that echoing is no good at all
and that IWB is soooooooo useful!
· If you are a native speaker – you may feel pressure that you should
know your mother tongue better...
prepare to hear from your Tutor statements like this: ‘sometimes you think you know something but in fact you don't
know. Don't use your brains – use a
dictionary instead’;)
· Decide
in advance if you want to sacrifice some
of your healthy lifestyle for fun and socializing. I stayed in a
place with no Internet access thus
I managed to sleep 6-8 hours per night, completing all my coursework in British
Council's computer room. But I missed a lot of night chats, f.ex. when at 4 am
one of the trainees posted a question ‘where is word stress in this sentence?’ and received four totally different
answers… I also almost
regretted my non-smoking when during last week it occured to me how much relieve a
quick ‘group cigarette ritual’ can give...
· Cooperate, not compete – I got
the impression of a very unique group which every single member
enriched so much! I felt the support and inspiration at all times: lessons,
sessions, inputs, lunch breaks, evenings, mornings... On the last day we all
managed to have farewell dinner together; then we all met in a night club again
– even people leaving on Saturday morning! It was a special night of summer solstice, at which we gained our post-course
catharsis by relieving all stress and pressure... I'll
remember forever the moment when
T. chested, mapped out and did demo of pole dancing or, after we drilled, backchained and
practiced club's name (quite difficult to pronounce for non-Polish), A. asked
me if the two ‘apostrophes’ indicated word stress. The
answer was: ‘Yeah, and this line below shows intonation pattern!’
· Trust your Tutors – all of Cracow Celta Trainers are simultaneously
charming while requiring the highest quality – and that’s what I call teaching
mastership. I entirely admire
their ability to follow every
single lesson minute by minute while taking accurate notes and not only
skimming but also reading the lesson plan for detailed comprehension... That's not only
multitasking, that's extreme long and divided attention span! ‘Verba docent, exempla trahunt’ – I experienced
plenty of good examples in this theory-practice-reflection CELTA cycle thanks to them.
Wake me at midnight and I’ll tell
you with no hesitation what PPP TTT TBL or ‘thru-text’
mean. I feel I got it all: self-awareness, firmness and flexibility. Now I know: no
pain = no gain; no suffering = no satisfaction! CELTA was worth it!
