Update!
Jeff has been mithering me for a few days to update so here we go! I can't believe it's been almost 5 weeks.
Anyway - CELTA. I applied for a course in London back in February. After weeks of waiting and pestering them over the phone, they finally organised a very last minute interview for me. I wanted to start the course on March 30th, and they finally booked me in for a group interview on March 26th! It was pretty good, even though I only had one night to prepare for it - preparation that included putting together a 5 minute "Micro teaching" session and completing a grammar questionnaire.
The micro teaching aspect was really enjoyable, and in the interview I got really good feedback for my teaching (I gave a demonstration on how to give a head massage) and it boosted my confidence quite a bit. Then we had a "Talk of Doom" about how absolutely heart-breakingly difficult the course is. Then the interview was over, and we were told that we would find out in a couple of hours time whether or not we would be accepted on to the course, and whether or not there were any places left on the March 30 start course.
1 WEEK LATER (!!) they phoned me to say I'd done really well in the interview and would I like a place on the course starting on April 27. As nice as it was to hear that I was actually good enough to be offered a place, the piss-poor organisation of the place put me off studying there completely. I can't trust an education establishment that won't bother to open a letter an book an interview until the person applying has waited 4 weeks and phoned up 5 times to ask about it. Oh, and the fact that they didn't bother to read the bit in my application where I said I was only available for the March/April course pissed me off a bit to. I applied in plenty of time for the course date I wanted, and when there were enough places left on it. Bah!
I was also annoyed as I had pretty much put everything on hold as I expected to be in London studying my arse off for 4 weeks. The Manchester courses are booked up until the middle of summer, so that wasn't an option any more either. So, luckily, I have managed to get myself a temp job at Manchester council in the interim. It's only part time, so I can't save up quite as much as I'd like to, but I feel lucky to even have a job, and as I'm working as an assistant to a team of Social Workers in Longsight - a hugely deprived inner city area of Manchester - I also feel lucky that the job I have is interesting and genuinely something I have an interest and enthusiasm for.
So, CELTA is still definitely on the cards, but I won't be doing it till either July or September. Not August though as I have tickets for Leeds festival. Whoop! 3 years on the trot :D Not bad considering I was a festival virgin until 2007. We're also thinking of doing Strummercamp this year too.
Right, I should probably start catching up with you lot now...
Anyway - CELTA. I applied for a course in London back in February. After weeks of waiting and pestering them over the phone, they finally organised a very last minute interview for me. I wanted to start the course on March 30th, and they finally booked me in for a group interview on March 26th! It was pretty good, even though I only had one night to prepare for it - preparation that included putting together a 5 minute "Micro teaching" session and completing a grammar questionnaire.
The micro teaching aspect was really enjoyable, and in the interview I got really good feedback for my teaching (I gave a demonstration on how to give a head massage) and it boosted my confidence quite a bit. Then we had a "Talk of Doom" about how absolutely heart-breakingly difficult the course is. Then the interview was over, and we were told that we would find out in a couple of hours time whether or not we would be accepted on to the course, and whether or not there were any places left on the March 30 start course.
1 WEEK LATER (!!) they phoned me to say I'd done really well in the interview and would I like a place on the course starting on April 27. As nice as it was to hear that I was actually good enough to be offered a place, the piss-poor organisation of the place put me off studying there completely. I can't trust an education establishment that won't bother to open a letter an book an interview until the person applying has waited 4 weeks and phoned up 5 times to ask about it. Oh, and the fact that they didn't bother to read the bit in my application where I said I was only available for the March/April course pissed me off a bit to. I applied in plenty of time for the course date I wanted, and when there were enough places left on it. Bah!
I was also annoyed as I had pretty much put everything on hold as I expected to be in London studying my arse off for 4 weeks. The Manchester courses are booked up until the middle of summer, so that wasn't an option any more either. So, luckily, I have managed to get myself a temp job at Manchester council in the interim. It's only part time, so I can't save up quite as much as I'd like to, but I feel lucky to even have a job, and as I'm working as an assistant to a team of Social Workers in Longsight - a hugely deprived inner city area of Manchester - I also feel lucky that the job I have is interesting and genuinely something I have an interest and enthusiasm for.
So, CELTA is still definitely on the cards, but I won't be doing it till either July or September. Not August though as I have tickets for Leeds festival. Whoop! 3 years on the trot :D Not bad considering I was a festival virgin until 2007. We're also thinking of doing Strummercamp this year too.
Right, I should probably start catching up with you lot now...