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End-of-course session

Life after CELTA

Finding work, settling in, and carrying on developing. Where next, your CV, where the jobs are, Istanbul, the interview, the paperwork, and a first-year plan to take with you.

To begin

So, where next?

Four weeks ago most of you had never planned a lesson. Talk to the person next to you for three minutes:

  • Which country, and why that one?
  • Which age group would you actually choose, now that you've taught some?
  • What's the one thing about teaching you most want to get better at?
  • Where do you want to be in a year: same job, different country, further qualification?
Worth saying out loud A CELTA gets you into the profession; it doesn't finish the training. Almost everything that makes someone good at this job is learned in the two or three years after the course, which is what the second half of this session is about.
First

Your CV, covering letter and referees

You'll need a CV and a covering letter. You'll also need referees; your tutors are normally happy to act as one, and your CELTA report is itself a reference, so send it with your application.

What a post-CELTA CV should make obvious in ten seconds

  • The qualification, in full: Cambridge CELTA, the centre, the date. Put it near the top, not at the bottom under hobbies.
  • What you actually taught: the levels, the number of assessed hours, the age group, whether it was in-person or online. "Six assessed hours across A1–B2 adult groups" says far more than "completed teaching practice".
  • Coursebooks you've handled. Make a note of them before you forget — you will be asked.
  • Anything else that transfers: other languages you speak, previous work with children or in training, admin or tech skills.
  • One page if you can, two at most. Clean, no photo unless the country expects it.

The covering letter

  • Name the school and say why that school: one sentence of evidence that you've read their website.
  • Say what you can teach and what you'd like to learn. Schools like new teachers who want feedback.
  • Keep it to three short paragraphs. Attach the CELTA report.
Do this while it's fresh Write the CV this week, before the details fade: your levels, your books, your assessed hours, your tutors' names and emails. Ask your tutors now whether they're happy to be named, rather than in four months' time.
Finding work

Where the jobs are

All of these were checked and working when this session was put together.

General job boards

tefl.com free
The biggest international board. Set up a profile and let employers find you.
eslcafe.com free
Dave's ESL Cafe: job boards plus long-running forums where teachers discuss employers.
eslbase.com free
Jobs, plus country-by-country guides on visas, pay and what to expect.
teachaway.com
A recruitment agency: international schools and government programmes.
footprintsrecruiting.com
Recruiter placing new teachers abroad; they'll walk you through the paperwork.
gooverseas.com
Reviews of schools and programmes. Read these before you sign anything.
transitionsabroad.com
Working and living abroad more broadly, not only teaching.
tefl.net free
Jobs, forums and a large archive of practical articles for new teachers.

By region

ajarn.com
Thailand. Jobs, plus blunt cost-of-living and salary reporting.
gaijinpot.com
Japan. Jobs, apartments and visa guidance in one place.
jobsinjapan.com
Japan. Teaching and non-teaching roles for foreign residents.
ohayosensei.com
Japan. A twice-monthly jobs newsletter, going since the 1990s.
jetprogramme.org
Japan. The government scheme; applications open roughly a year ahead.
tealit.com
Taiwan. Jobs, housing and classifieds for teachers.

Large employers and networks

ihworld.com
International House: 140-odd schools worldwide, and they recruit CELTA graduates from their own centres.
britishcouncil.org
Usually wants experience, but worth watching from the start.
bellenglish.com
UK-based group, summer schools are a common way in.
ef.com
EF: large, and recruits heavily at entry level across many countries.
languagelink.co.uk
Schools and placements, with a long history of taking newly qualified teachers.
Before you accept anything Search the school's name plus the word "review" or "forum". Ask to speak to a teacher who already works there; a school with nothing to hide will put you in touch. And get the contract in writing before you buy a flight.
Closer to home

Finding work in Istanbul

How people actually get hired here

  • Turn up. Visit schools in person and leave your CV. It still works here in a way it doesn't in most places.
  • Get on the job lists. Ask your tutors which mailing lists and teacher groups are worth joining.
  • Facebook groups. There are long-running Istanbul teaching groups where jobs are posted, and separate "blacklist" and "greenlist" groups where teachers name schools that pay late, or pay properly. Read those before you accept an offer.
  • September and January are the two big hiring moments. Out of season, cover work is how you get a foot in.

Where to look

TypeExamplesWhat to expect
Language schoolsInternational House, Britishside, American Kültür, British Culture, Dilko, English TimeThe usual first job. Hourly or monthly, mixed timetables, a lot of contact hours.
Private universitiesBilgi, Koç, Sabancı, Yeditepe, Kadir Has, Özyeğin, İstek, BahçeşehirBetter hours and holidays. Koç and Sabancı normally want an MA; others may take a CELTA plus experience.
State universitiesİTÜ, YTÜ, Boğaziçi, İstanbul, MarmaraPrep-school teaching, structured, competitive. Usually needs experience.
Private schoolsMEF, Hisar, Şişli Terakki, ACI, Bilfen, Doğa Koleji, IşıkYoung learners and teens. Longer days, school calendar, often better paid.
One honest word about universities Most university jobs are advertised for people with experience or an MA. That doesn't mean you shouldn't apply. It means apply anyway, and expect the language schools to be where you start. A year of solid classroom teaching changes what you can apply for.
The hard part

The interview

Expect to be asked for a demo lesson, and sometimes a lesson plan to go with it. It is normal; expect it. Find out as much as you can about the school beforehand, starting with their website.

If they ask for a demo Ask three questions first: what level, how long, and how many students. Then plan something you can actually deliver: a clear context, a short clarification stage, and as much student talking time as you can build in. They are watching whether the students talk, not whether your materials are beautiful.

Questions to ask them

Tick the ones that matter to you and take the list with you.

Questions they'll ask you

  1. Why did you decide to be a teacher, and why this country?
  2. How did you find the CELTA, and what did you learn?
  3. What are your strengths as a teacher, and what would you like to develop?
  4. What levels do you prefer teaching? What have you taught?
  5. What books have you used?
  6. How would you motivate a group of disinterested students?
  7. How would you get students to speak in class?
  8. How would you teach [a structure or a set of vocabulary]?
  9. Why do you want to work here?
  10. What are your professional development plans?
The point of all this

Carrying on developing

Three kinds of development: things you do on your own, things you do with other people, and things you get a certificate for. You need all three, and the first is free.

On your own, starting Monday

  • Keep a teaching journal. Five lines after each lesson: what worked, what didn't, what you'd change. After a term you'll have something no observation can give you.
  • Record yourself. Audio is enough. Listen for how much you talk and how long your instructions are. It is uncomfortable and it works faster than anything else.
  • Read one thing a week. An article, a blog post, a chapter. Not a book a month; that never happens.
  • Keep your CELTA folder. The frameworks you were given are still the frameworks. Go back to them when a lesson goes wrong.

With other people

  • Peer observation. Ask a colleague if you can watch them, and offer the same back. Most teachers say yes and almost nobody asks.
  • Staff-room workshops. Schools that run them are the schools worth working for. Volunteer to give one in your first year; it's the fastest way to be taken seriously.
  • Teacher associations. Cheap, and they run the conferences and the webinars.
IATEFL
The UK-based international association: annual conference, Special Interest Groups, webinars. Student and new-teacher rates exist.
TESOL International
The US equivalent: conventions, journals, online courses.
INGED
The English language educators' association in Turkey: local conferences and events, useful if you're staying.

Qualifications, in the order people usually take them

WhatWhat it's forWhen
Cambridge Delta
Modules 1, 2, 3		The next full teaching qualification. Module 1 is an exam, Module 2 is assessed teaching, Module 3 is a written specialism. Modules can be taken separately, in any order, full-time or by distance.Usually after two years or so of full-time teaching. You can take Module 1 earlier.
Examiner trainingSpeaking examiner for Cambridge exams or IELTS. Paid work, and it sharpens your assessment eye.Normally needs around two years' post-CELTA experience, and you apply through an authorised centre.
MA in ELT / Applied LinguisticsNeeded for most university work, here and elsewhere. Often done part-time or by distance while teaching.Later. Several universities will accept a Delta as partial credit.
SpecialismsYoung learners, Business English, exam classes, online teaching. Short courses, and often the quickest way to more money.Any time, and they make your CV distinctive early on.
Delta: official information
What the three modules are, and how to find a centre or a distance programme.
All Cambridge teaching qualifications
The whole ladder, including TKT and the primary/secondary certificates.
The realistic first year Teach a lot, keep a journal, join one association, go to one conference or a few webinars, and pick one thing to get properly good at. That's a full year. Delta can wait until you have enough teaching behind you to get something out of it.
Keep these

Resources worth bookmarking

Lesson materials and ideas

teachingenglish.org.uk free
British Council and BBC. Lesson plans, articles, and a large free professional development section with webinars. The single best free site for a new teacher.
learnenglish.britishcouncil.org free
The learner-facing companion; give this one to your students.
breakingnewsenglish.com free
Graded news lessons at seven levels, updated constantly. A lesson in ten minutes when you're covering a class.
teach-this.com
Ready-to-use communicative worksheets and games, sorted by language point.
eslprintables.com free
Teachers sharing worksheets. Enormous, uneven, and occasionally exactly what you need.
bogglesworldesl.com free
Lanternfish: printables, flashcards and young-learner material.
eslflashcards.com free
Printable flashcard sets. Worth knowing about before your first young-learner class.
iteslj.org/questions free
Conversation questions by topic. Unglamorous, still useful, still there after twenty-odd years.
puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com free
Make your own word searches and crosswords.

Publishers

elt.oup.com
Oxford: course materials, teacher's books and free downloads.
macmillanenglish.com
Macmillan: courses, teacher resources and webinars.
cambridgeenglish.org
Everything about the Cambridge exams; essential if you end up teaching exam classes.
flo-joe.co.uk
Practice material for B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency.

Reading, listening, keeping up

Humanising Language Teaching free
Free online magazine, practical articles from working teachers.
EFL Magazine free
Articles, interviews and jobs.
EL Gazette
News about the industry: who's hiring, which sectors are growing, what's changing.
Modern English Teacher
Practical classroom-focused journal. Many schools have a staff subscription — ask.
Sandy Millin's blog free
A teacher trainer writing about the things new teachers actually struggle with.
Luke's English Podcast free
Made for learners; a good listening source to point students towards.
American English (US State Dept) free
Free teaching materials, and the English Teaching Forum journal.

Books to own

  • Learning Teaching, Jim Scrivener. The one to buy first.
  • The Practice of English Language Teaching, Jeremy Harmer. Broader, more reference-like.
  • How to Teach Grammar and How to Teach Vocabulary, Scott Thornbury. Short, and they answer the questions you'll actually have.
  • Practical English Usage, Michael Swan. For the moment a student asks something you can't answer.
  • Teaching Unplugged, Thornbury and Meddings. For when you're ready to teach with less.
Before you leave

Your first-year plan

Ten minutes. Be specific and be realistic: one or two things per box, not ten. Print it or save a copy and put it somewhere you'll see it.

By the end of next week

CV, referees, applications

First three months

Settling into the job

Six months

One thing to get good at

Twelve months

Where this is going
And one last thing Keep in touch with each other. The people on this course are the only ones who will know exactly what your first term feels like, and a group chat between six new teachers is worth more in year one than any website on this page.

Sources. The links were checked when the session was written; the interview questions and the Istanbul table are the tutor's own. The books to own are listed under their authors.