Taking the CELTA isn’t only for novice teachers – Stefania Scardigli decided to get the TEFL qualification after teaching in an elementary state school. Her teaching career has been extremely varied, from being self-employed to writing articles, and now she wants to move into coursebook writing and teacher training…
I had been employed as an elementary state school teacher and worked as an ESL specialist for about eight years in Italy when I applied for CELTA. I had a degree in Linguistics, but didn’t have any formal education in TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language), and I felt the need to go deeper in what I was doing. So I decided to take a sabbatical and enrolled in the extensive CELTA at International House Milan (as well as a translation course).
During the CELTA training, I had to humbly reconsider some teaching habits, but I also transferred my experience with Young Learners (YLs) into the adult classroom.
After CELTA I went back to my job in elementary school, putting into practice my new techniques. I wrote a couple of articles for some publications. I also started to teach private students, both adults and children. When I was still teaching in state school, I also took the TKT CLIL Module.
When my family relocated abroad, I moved into teaching adults, always being self-employed and teaching one-to-one or small groups privately.
I am extremely happy with the training I received. I have also transferred the knowledge I gained into teaching Italian to foreigners. I would very much like to move into course book writing, especially for YL, or teacher training.
Gaining the CELTA has been a confidence booster for me, and has allowed me to wear multiple teaching hats. I think a good teacher is someone who never stops learning, and CELTA is an excellent start.
