About the teacher training centre
IH Bratislava opened in 1999 when it was originally named "The Caledonian School" in Obchodná street.
Now it is centrally situated in the city and and consists of nine classrooms and a suite of administrative rooms on the first and second floor of a building. Parking is a problem in the centre of Bratislava but the school is very well served by public transport, in particular by the tram network which is very highly developed.
Nowadays, the school teaches more than 3000 students, 700 children, and delivers 50 000 lessons each year.
There are a large number of Swiss and German companies operating in Bratislava, so this accounts for the popularity of German lessons which make up about a third of the business of the school.
What is the CELTA?
The CELTA is a TEFL qualification which prepares you to teach English as a foreign language. You don’t need any existing English language teaching experience or training. It’s usually a 4 or 5 week full time course (but you can also take it part time).
Standing up in front of a class for the first time is a daunting prospect, so you need to make sure you have the skills you need to teach effectively. The CELTA prepares you for the classroom in these ways:
- Taught sessions on methodology, lesson planning, language analysis and language skills. (In total, you’ll have 120 hours of input.)
- The opportunity to observe experienced teachers in a real-life language classroom situations – so you can see the different skills and techniques they use.
- Teaching yourself – with helpful and detailed feedback from your tutors. This practical experience is invaluable when you start your first job.
You’ll have to complete some written assignments as well, but when it’s all successfully completed you’ll be ready for your first job and first students!
Tutors at this training centre
CELTA student testimonials
The CELTA course at IH Bratislava completely fulfilled my expectation, and I was given way more than I was expecting. I had some teaching experience prior to applying for CELTA, but I felt that I needed to make my teaching methods more strategic and organised. I couldn’t choose a better way to do that! I learnt how to teach different types of skills, how to deliver an effective grammar lesson, how to organise my lesson into logical stages and, what I ended up appreciating the most, how to make my classes more student-centred and purposeful for the learners. All that was made possible thanks to our lovely and experienced tutors Laura and Stephanie, who were constantly providing us with useful feedback and advice. The staff of the IH centre in Bratislava was incredibly friendly, and even though those 4 weeks were truly intense, we felt welcomed and supported all the time. If you decide to apply for CELTA, you’ll get (in addition to some sleepless nights) so much invaluable experience, feedback, improvement, and a bunch of like-minded peer trainees :) Dari
I feel fortunate that I could have taken part in the CELTA course at IH this year. It was hard and intense, but I feel my confidence and competence has improved a lot. Our tutors Laura and Stephanie have set an inspiring example when conducting extremely enjoyable, communicative sessions on complex linguistic issues. Moreover, our teaching has been insightfully observed, discussed, commented, appreciated and most of all, improved. I have also enjoyed a wonderful, encouraging team spirit our classmates and tutors have created during the course. To sum up, the course has been an immense source of knowledge, skills and inspiration, and was definitely worth of money and hard work. Ivetka
CELTA course at IH Bratislava has exceeded my expectations. The course was led by two highly professional teacher trainers who were able to help me develop my teaching skills in an effective but also very empathetic way. It is very demanding regarding time and effort but it is doable and absolutely worth it. The centre provided us with all the facilities and amenities that we needed. I am very satisfied and I can highly recommend this course to anyone who is serious about teaching English and wants to become an efficient teacher. Martin
Nothing could have prepared me for just how intensive the CELTA course was. That said, it was definitely worth all the hard work. The input sessions are really helpful and engaging and Laura & Stephanie (our tutors) were supportive and approachable. I'd recommend the CELTA course at IH Bratislava to anyone who wants to teach English because it clarifies the methodology behind effective teaching practice. An experience that has taught me valuable skills that I can apply in the classroom. Marc