CELTA – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
If you have any questions and/or to submit your application please email celta@schulung.mvhs.de
Before the Course
Accomodation
We can suggest some contacts for accommodation but most people find their accommodation through the usual short-term lodging sites such as Air BNB.
Applicants
This is quite normal, as a native speaker you tend not to know the ins and outs of your language. The pre-course task and some sessions during the course will help you with this.
Yes, as long as your English is native speaker level (C1 or above)
Although it is not necessary, if you have learned a foreign language you will have a better understanding of the learning process.
It is recommended that candidates are over 20 years old (18 at the centre’s discretion). You need to show that you are capable of studying at a higher education level.
No, CELTA is an entry level certificate and contains all the elements you need to help you teach for the first time.
Experienced teachers have completed the CELTA course with us and have “learned a lot”. The disadvantage of coming in with some experience is that bad habits are hard to shake.
Centre
No, the CELTA course is a standardized course and is externally assessed to ensure the standards are maintained, no matter in which centre the course is conducted.
The courses are held in our Language Centre, in Orleansstraße, Munich, close to Ostbahnhof Station (access via S-Bahn, U5, regional trains).
The centre has wifi and you will be offered photocopying facilities (please bring a USB with your materials saved as a PDF).
CELTA Course Types
This is an intensive course and runs over 4 weeks, Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm. It is suitable for candidates who are prepared to put their life on hold for 4 weeks (including weekends). It is a face-to-face course and will take place in our Language Centre in Munich (near Ostbahnhof).
This is a semi-intensive course and runs over 5 weeks, Monday to Friday (not on Wednesdays) from 9am to 6pm. It is suitable for candidates who are prepared to put their life on hold for 5 weeks (including weekends) but would benefit from one day midweek to regroup and process what they have learned. It is a face-to-face course and will take place in our Language Centre in Munich (near Ostbahnhof).
This course runs over 15 weeks (not during the Bavarian school holidays), teaching practice takes place in the traditional classroom environment, the theoretical side of the course is delivered partly through face-to-face input sessions on Friday mornings and partly through online activities. This course is suitable for anyone who can get to Munich on a Friday and would like the flexibility of online learning during the week. It is ideal for anyone with children or those with a part-time or flexible job. Please note that there are deadlines so although there is some flexibility online tasks need to be done within the week given.
Interview
We usually conduct interviews via Zoom. If a telephone interview or face-to-face interview is preferred please request this when applying.
Preparation for the CELTA Course
- Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener
- The Ultimate Guide to CELTA by Emma Jones and Amanda Momeni
- Practical English Usage by Michael Swan
During the Course
- The majority of people achieve a Pass.
- The Munich Volkshochschule Pass B and Pass A rate is above average.
- The number of fails are very low due to the selection process.
- Withdrawals are often due to people underestimating the workload.
If you do the part-time course, yes but make sure you set aside enough time each week to work on lesson plans and written assignments. If you do the full-time course, absolutely not!
If a particular book or laptop/tablet is required for a particular session or on a particular day, we will inform you in plenty of time. It would be advisable to bring your laptop every day so that you can take every opportunity to keep up with the workload.
Yes, the students you will be teaching have been in to our offices for advice and guidance and a placement test. They pay a lower price for the course than the standard Volkshochschule course fees and are aware that they will be taught by teachers in training.
After the Course
There are no guarantees but experience shows that people holding a CELTA certificate can expect to have a timetable to suit them within 6 months of completing the course. If you are interested in teaching at the Munich Volkshochschule, we will try to engage successful candidates as quickly as possible.