Cardiff and Vale College takes part in nationwide celebration of English language teaching

Cardiff and Vale College in Cardiff connected with 50 colleges and language schools across the UK and Ireland this month, as it took part in a national series of birthday parties celebrating the 30^th year of the CELTA qualification.

Established in September 1988 by Cambridge Assessment English, CELTA is a qualification for teachers of English as a foreign language. Based on an intensive four-week course, or more extended part-time study, it combines theoretical and practical study with at least 120 hours of face-to-face teaching practice. CELTA courses are available at over 300 approved centres in more than 70 countries, and, to say thank you to all of the centres, tutors and trainees who have championed CELTA over the years, Cambridge Assessment English invited Cardiff and Vale College to take part in the nationwide birthday party.

Cardiff and Vale College has been offering the CELTA course for 14 years, with courses running three times a year. More than 400 English teachers have learned their trade with Cardiff and Vale College.

Lisa Manogg and Simon Smith, CELTA Course Leaders at the college, said: “We are very excited about celebrating 30 years of CELTA. We have recently embedded the CELTA into our ESOL department, which provides our CELTA candidates with an authentic teaching experience and an insight into what it is like being part of a large Further Education college. We decided to join in the celebrations because we believe CELTA has had such a huge impact on language teaching worldwide and in our own college where many of our colleagues hold a CELTA qualification. We feel proud to be part of the CELTA and hope it will continue to grow and develop as the world’s most important English language teaching qualification.”

CELTA is highly regarded across the globe, and, according to recent research which looked at requirements for English language teaching (ELT) jobs around the world, CELTA is the qualification most often requested by employers. The study revealed that CELTA is requested by 71.5 percent of ELT employers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, compared to just 23.6 percent asking for CELTA’s nearest equivalent the Trinity CertTESOL.* The data from the study further revealed that, in the UK, 88 percent of jobs that require an ELT qualification specifically ask for a CELTA qualification.