I have been looking for my original CELTA documents, and good news! I found my documents. I was looking around the house for them for ages. So, I am now able to share my experiences of the first CELTA Written Assignment. In the video above, I look at what I covered during the CELTA written assignment, what I did when I failed the first written assignment initially and what I did to correct it before resubmitting as well as what books to consider getting to help you complete the assignments..
As you know, the CELTA course is one of the most challenging courses that you could undertake to become a certified English language teacher. On top of lesson observations and lesson planning, you will be expected to complete written assignments on your course. It is incredibly intense and you will need to manage your time appropriately.
Nevertheless, the first written assignment on the CELTA looks at analysing language and I was given seven lexical items to analyse and write up on. These items and their corresponding examples included:
- Needn’t: “She needn’t have got up so early.”
As well as the aforementioned lexical items, I was expected to look at several things such as:
- Target Language: the definition of the lexical item
- Meaning: the use of the lexical item
- Context: the way you would introduce the lexical item in the classroom
- Form (Part 1): from the given example trainees are expected to analyse the grammar (i.e. Subject + needn’t have + past participle + time marker)
- Form (Part 2): trainees will then need to look at the pronunciation and phonology of the lexical item at word level and sentence level in context
- Checking Understanding: trainees are expected to write concept checking questions (CCQs) here with possible answers to ensure that learners fully comprehend the language point
All the areas mentioned above are to be marked according to four criteria:
- language points have been analysed correctly
- terminology has been used correctly to assist with analysis
- referencing or sourcing is adequate
- all the above must be clear, accurate and appropriate for the reader
Here are some of the recommended books (as mentioned in the video above) for those wishing to pass the CELTA written assignments:
- Practical English Usage: https://amzn.to/2ZkHDxa
- Grammar for English Language Teachers: https://amzn.to/2Lku4nU
- Teaching English Grammar: https://amzn.to/2X1SiuO
And some other books you should consider getting:
- English Grammar in Use: https://amzn.to/2F1N9c7
- Learning Teaching: https://amzn.to/2KGjGIj
Many thanks for the support and don’t forget to Like the video, Subscribe and hit the notification bell so you know when I upload another video and please Share the video with your colleagues or other teachers.
Happy teaching ????
Thank you for sharing these great tips.