CELTA, Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, is an internationally recognised initial qualification for English Language teaching to adults. It used to be called the Cert.TEFL.

Introduction This website - with all the pages in the left-hand menu, the downloadable documents, and the links - contains all the information you need to decide if CELTA is for you, if the Munich courses are for you and to make your application to us. The website pages replace the old print brochure and are regularly updated so you can rely on the information you find here. You may well find it easier to take in all the information if you print out the pages and read them off-screen. If you have queries that are not answered in the web pages we suggest you contact our Münchner Volkshochschule CELTA offices. For email queries (preferably in English) to our MVHS CELTA offices use this link. Or phone our MVHS CELTA offices: Course Director Briony Beaven on 08106 300631 or Senior Tutor Sue Morris on 08122 8928560. However, we suggest that you read all the pages of the website carefully before deciding to contact us, including the documents 'Application Procedure' and 'Course Description' on the 'Apply' page, as we frequently receive queries to which the answer is on this website.

What kind of course is CELTA?

It is a pre-service course for those with little or no previous teaching experience. The course programme, staffing and facilities are approved and recognised by Cambridge ESOL Teaching Awards. The course programme focuses on: language awareness, the teaching/learning context, lesson planning, resources and materials; classroom management and professional development. We recommend that you go to the Cambridge ESOL website (click here) for information about CELTA courses in general.

Certificate award

The Certificate is awarded to candidates who attend the whole course, and whose performance meets a clear set of criteria on all three assessment components; the three components are teaching practice, written assignments and professional development. It will thus be clear that it is not possible to achieve a CELTA without taking part in a course, and also that taking part in a course does not in itself guarantee the award of a CELTA. However, the process of selection that all CELTA centres are required to operate aims to ensure that those accepted for the course are suited to it.

The Münchner VHS CELTA courses

Type 1 This is a semi-intensive course, running for four days a week over five weeks once every June/July.
Type 2 This is an intensive course run for five days a week over four weeks in February every year.
Type 3 This is a part-time course run from the autumn until early the following summer. It is held once a week, on Fridays only. It is suitable for anyone living in Munich or within a couple of hours travelling time from Munich. 

Course dates

The next Munich CELTA full-time course for which you can apply is our full-time course from June 7th 2010 to July 9th 2010. Details and application documents now on this website (see page 'Apply'). The time when you can apply is from Sat.Feb.13th until Weds. April 14th 2010. During the application period you do not need to enquire if places are available because no places are allocated until after the closure of the application period.  

The next Munich CELTA part-time course for which you can apply is our part-time course from October 15th 2010 to May 13th 2011. Details and application documents on this website from June 2010. 

The next Munich CELTA full-time February course for which you can apply is our February 2011 course. Details and application documents on this website from early November 2010. 

Lesson observation and teaching practice

Important and compulsory elements of the course are teaching practice and the observation of experienced teachers. We arrange your teaching practice. You will work in a group of six trainees and will teach beginner and intermediate level students. A course tutor helps you plan your teaching, observes the lessons and gives you feedback afterwards. You give feedback to your fellow trainees and receive feedback from them. We also arrange for you to observe experienced teachers.

Why take your CELTA at the Münchner Volkshochschule in Munich?

We have twelve years' successful experience of running CELTA courses and a highly skilled, well-qualified and capable tutor team (see the page About our tutors). We are proud of the fact that our previous trainees have written to us about their satisfaction with our courses (see the page Testimonials) and that many of them come back and see us (that is the ones who are not teaching in exotic locations overseas which includes many former trainees!). Trainees on our CELTA courses have come from Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iran, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, USA, The West Indies and Zambia so you can expect to benefit from working in an international group. We take only twelve trainees per course, giving you the opportunity to receive individualised help. Good face-to-face support is backed up by access to our Virtual Learning Environment (a Moodle), where you can download useful documents and take part in online discussions with tutors and fellow trainees. All trainees are provided with a training session on how to use the Munich CELTA Moodle, a skill that is transferable to other areas as well as helping you on your CELTA course. Munich is a delightful city, large enough to have a full range of cultural, sporting and shopping facilities but small enough not to be overwhelming. Fantastic countryside with lakes and mountains is within easy reach. The course is held in the Gasteig, a modern, pleasant building in the centre of Munich. (Click here for link to map) The Gasteig is a cultural centre as well as being home to the Münchner Volkshochschule (adult education institute), the host institution for CELTA courses in Munich. The Münchner Volkshochschule is a well-known centre for language teaching, with over four hundred general and business English courses per semester as well as many other language courses. Classrooms are modern and well-equipped. The Gasteig building houses the city library, two small theatres and a large concert hall, home of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. There is a pleasant cafeteria in the building as well as other cafes and restaurants just a few steps away.

Accommodation

If you are from out of town we can provide you with reasonably priced accommodation for the duration of your Type 1 or Type 2 course, both full-time or you may choose to look for your own accommodation. The part-time course lasts eight months and is designed for people who live within once-weekly commuting distance of Munich; we cannot provide you with accommodation for this course.