Just been accepted on a CELTA course and I'm terrified!

[carrotfaery]

Have heard horror stories about how intense it is, and I'm already bricking it over whether I'll handle it. The thing is, I have to, I don't live in the UK, my proficiency in the native language is ok but still severely limits my job opportunities, being an English teacher is the most attractive option for me, so I have a lot riding on whether I handle this or not....

Is there anyone who has done the course that can reassure me it's doable? I do have previous experience teaching English to children, but will be teaching adults on the course (mainly why I wanted to do the course, to get experience teaching adults). I think I mostly worried about the word count on the written assignments as I tend to summarise everything!

Please excuse the typos and nervous babbling..

I did one 20+ years ago. It was fine. I had heard similar stories of, um, intensity, including one from a friend who said the pressure had made her ill. I know everyone reacts to stress differently but it was really, really fine. I did mine more or less straight after finals at university. Coming from 4 years as a full-time student, the most challenging aspect was getting up at a normal time every day to be somewhere by 9am. You’ll be fine. I found it a bonding experience with my fellow students and am still friends with some of them today.

I have different qualifications, but I know several people with CELTA and you don’t have to be special, just work hard while on the course.
Plenty of people have got it, so it’s doable.
Why don’t you get textbooks and look stuff up ahead of time so you feel more confident?
English teaching is very interesting and rewarding, especially when you understand how to plan lessons properly, etc. It’s also a great way to be part of the local community. It has opened a lot of doors for me.
My advice is to focus on what you can learn and make use of afterwards, and what you want to achieve with teaching, rather than the qualification itself, so that you can stay motivated to study hard.

Thanks for the replies. It's been over 10 years since I did any kind of studying, and my degree was fine art so not a lot of written work. I hate writing essays and would rather do practical work. In my interview it was really stressed that I would have to become 'unavailable' for one month, so no shopping, cooking, cleaning etc I'm worried how well I'll pull that off with a slightly demanding 5 year old and a DP who works shifts.

I'm doing some pre course tasks to get to grips with the grammar a bit more. Do either of you remember what the average word count was for the written assignments?

Am afraid I have very little memory of the work from the course. We had such a laugh though - that’s mainly what I remember! Plus a brief fling with one of the Spanish students - sorry, not helpful .

Ah that's good to hear @NoodlingAlong though how did you manage time for a fling between all the coursework!

I'm just feeling quite overwhelmed in general at the mo, have a to do list as long as my arm right now and that's not including course preparation... I have a tendency to turn and run from from things I get scared or overwhelmed by, just keep telling myself to push through the fear.

I did it two years ago. I found it tough and had to shut myself off from family and friends for the four weeks. However, I now have a great job teaching ESOL & loving every minute of it. If I can help in any way, pm me.