CELTA advice from Eliberto Salinas Vargas

Eliberto Salinas Vargas is a CELTA tutor at the IH Mexico schools

 

How long were you an EFL teacher, and how long have you been a teacher trainer?

I had been an EFL teacher for 13 years before becoming a trainer.

Did you have a different career before EFL?

No. I majored in EFL.

What are your hopes/aspirations for your trainees?

For them to increase their awareness of the rationale behind what they do in class, thus making the most of every learning opportunity.

When you were an EFL teacher what did you like most, and how do you bring that into the classroom for your trainees?

I liked it when I could help my students become autonomous learners, and ever since I started my training career, I have tried to give my trainees insight into the importance of promoting critical thinking in their lessons.

What advice would you give your trainees for successfully completing the course?

For starters, they need to have good time management and focus on one thing at a time.  This will help remove some of the anxiety in the course. They also need to take feedback on board and do things that take them a bit out of their comfort zone.

What advice would you give your trainees for an interesting and rewarding career?

No matter how good they feel with their teaching, there is always something new they can learn to make it even better and more informed.