CELTA Bootcamp: Day 1

Today was decently exhausting, but first days tend to be hectic. My alarm was supposed to go off at 7:30 a.m. but due to a fudge, it didn’t. Thankfully I woke up at 8:03 (I think I was dreaming about CELTA so my subconscious knew something was amiss when I didn’t wake up) and was able to get it together in time to arrive with some moments to spare (by 9:10 for a 9:30 start, even!), and without towing anxiety and stress behind me. I am still getting lost driving around Denver, so getting home was frustrating, but better at the end of the day than at the start!

The Lowdown:

• Bridge Linguatec is a real school! I was so relieved to get the tour this morning and see all the classrooms, all the staff employed, all the resources and computer rooms. It seems so easy to get ripped off with this TEFL stuff and it was reassuring to know that this is a legitimate learning site.
• 3 CELTA instructors: two women, one man (who is British and makes a convincing blonde version of Hugh Grant and who shall hereafter be referred to as Seamus McSporran).
• 18 CELTA trainees: seven men, eleven women. One older couple, three to five recent college graduates, a couple 20-somethings, some 30- and 40-somethings and a few who are a bit older. Everyone’s American save (2 Texans) for someone with dual citizenship, an Irish-American and an Eastern European who has been a refugee/immigrant in the States since age 15.
• Business Casual: I was warned it would be casual but it was more than I expected. I was only one of three women wearing a proper button-down shirt. Quite a few people wore blue jeans. One lady had on cargo pants and a sleeveless tee and flipflops. Didn’t they get the memo?!?! The dress code is apparently stricter on days when you actually must teach (more on that to follow).
• Format: In the mornings we have “input sessions” which are glorified activity/lecture blocks. That’s when we’ll collectively cover topics like classroom management, effective ways to teach vocabulary, grammar, discuss job placement prospects, etc. In the afternoons, we all get the opportunity to teach various English topics on a rotating basis.

Practice Teaching (merits its own heading):
You’ve heard of how beauty schools give discounted manicures and haircuts to anyone willing to be a guinea pig for an aspiring beautician? Well, Bridge Linguatec offers the same deal to local Denver folks who want to learn English. Every afternoon for 2 hours students can receive free beginning, intermediate or advanced English classes.

All 18 of us have been split into three groups, each headed by an instructor. Each teaching practice group is assigned to a level of English. In two weeks, the three groups rotate and go to a different instructor who is coaching a different level of English. The way it pans out, I will be with the intermediate learners for the first half and then with the advanced learners for the second half. I get Seamus. Cool.

Today each group observed Seamus teach our students. Tomorrow three students from each group will begin teaching, and on Wednesday, the other three students will teach. I am SO glad that I was randomly assigned to begin teaching on Wednesday—otherwise, I would be scrambling right now to get a lesson together… And let me tell you, when we left at 5:45 tonight, the folks in my group teaching tomorrow looked less than calm.


In Closing:
The younger folks seem to be more comfortable with the ensuing work load than the older folks. I think this is only because some of them are out of practice with the rhythm of school. This morning I ended up sitting next to a fellow college grad and we were like, “We can handle this. It’s only a month. How bad can it be?”

Ok, well we might actually have our asses handed to us. I’ll keep you posted.