Below are some key tools to help you along on your CELTA journey and are services I have used or made and certainly recommend them.
Please also note that some of the links below are affiliate links, which means no difference in price to you but, if you purchase anything through the link, does generate a commission for me, the author, which will be used to help fund maintenance of the CELTA Helper website and future content.
Let’s get to it!
Get Teaching Experience Before CELTA: italki
If you have no teaching experience, then there I would strongly recommend trying to get any that you can through one of the following ways:
- Teaching friends or family
- Volunteering
- Recording yourself on a smartphone
- Do a free language exchange (i.e. teaching) on on italki.com (affiliate link)
So, to explain more about italki specifically, it is a language learning website where people can search for teachers to learn just about any language out there.
However, if you are not an experienced teacher, you can create a free account on italki.com and do a free language exchange with someone who wants to learn your native language and/or any languages you are able to teach.
I have taught for several hours on italki and liked the flexibility and options available.
The great thing about using italki is that you can also become a teacher on the platform and earn money that way, as well as learning any other languages you like in the future, either paid or as an exchange.
Again, this is the kind of platform I wish had been available when I’d started my CELTA so be sure to check it out today!
Sign up for Free and Get Teaching Experience on italki Here!
Scribendi for CELTA Assignment Proofreading
Scribendi is an online proofreading and editing service with staff all over the world. They specialise in completing work in as short a time as you need, although you will pay more for a quicker turnaround.
Scribendi proofreading and editing is most likely useful for CELTA students when submitting their written assignments as they can help you with style, as well as referencing and other issues.
I used to work for Scribendi and can tell you that the entry standards are extremely high, with a thorough test and good standards.
If you are not entirely happy with the quality of your work, you can request a full refund, too.
Check out their services below:
English Academic Editing from Scribendi
REV for Audio Transcriptions of your Interview and Recorded Notes
Rev is a great service that I only discovered a few years ago (long after my CELTA!) but it can help those of you who:
- Need to transcribe the interview with a learner for the Focus on the Learner Assignment
- Prefer to dictate notes into your smartphone
- Like using ‘voice typing’ but want a more accurate service
The way it works is that you either:
- Download the Rev app and record your audio there directly, submitting it for transcription once finished
- OR Record the audio on your smartphone and upload the audio file to Rev.com and they will then transcribe it within 24 hours (check their site for more details on this as this can change).
You will then receive an email with an attached Word document containing your transcribed file.
From my own estimations, I would say that Rev’s transcription service (affiliate link) is about 5 times faster than me transcribing it myself.
It is also great if you are a slow typer or just don’t feel that confident writing in English.
You also get the first 10 minutes of audio free when creating a new account, so I would recommend any CELTA student to try this.
Check out:
REV.com transcriptions here!
CELTA Student Notebook and Diary
OK, to be clear, this is a notebook and diary I have made to help people along on their CELTA course.
I made the CELTA Student Notebook and Diary (Amazon) because I felt that CELTA students could benefit from having many notes and templates in one place to save them having to organise everything and formulate these themselves.
As such, in this notebook you will find:
- Notes for pre-reading with space for references
- Notes for your lesson plan ideas
- Reflections on your teaching practice, with key prompts
- Diary entries for your final assignment
You can get this with a more discreet version if you prefer.
