About the teacher training centre
IH London opened in 1959. We are the no.1 language school in Central London, judged by the latest British Council inspections and reported in the EL Gazette (2019). Every year we train over 500 new teachers and enable them to embark on exciting new journeys across the globe to inspire and teach others.
IH London was started by John and Brita Haycraft, the founders of IHWO, and its classrooms saw the very first CELTA courses back in the 1960s. The premises is very centrally located in Covent Garden. The centre is now a charitable trust, and is most well-known for English language courses and teacher training. We have, from our beginnings, been a leading contributor in the ELT field and we strive to continue to make a significant contribution to the international language education community.
What is 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 must ensure 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 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!
Read more about the CELTA here
Book Early and Save £170
On top of the tuition fee, there is a Cambridge University Registration fee of £170 to pay. But if you complete the application and interview process and pay your deposit within 10 working days of the Course Offer being sent, we'll pay this for you!
Course cost: £1,684
Cambridge Registration fee: £170
Total : £1,854
CELTA Online with IH London
In response to unprecedented conditions with coronavirus, it's now possible to take a 100% CELTA online with the same great teaching team from IH London.
The Cambridge CELTA Course Online (or CELTA Online) is a flexible way to take CELTA. It leads to the same CELTA qualification and is assessed and moderated according to the same criteria.
Like the face-to-face CELTA course, CELTA Online has a significant practical component. You will complete 6 hours of assessed teaching practice in groups in an online classroom, from the comfort of your home!
If you want to take the course part-time, there will be a combination of self-study using ready-prepared materials, and some live sessions with your tutor and for teaching practice. To suit people in different time zones, there is the option of choosing live sessions either
- 10:00 - 13:00 (UK time) (about 2 days each week)
- 18:30 - 21:30 (UK time) (about 2 days each week)
What are the benefits of CELTA Online with IH London?
- Accessible: because the course is 100% online, there will be no accommodation or travel costs!
- Our trainers are all trained to teach online.
- Our CELTA Online leads to exactly the same certificate as our world-renowned face-to-face CELTA.
- Teachers can stay connected to people they meet on the course, connect and learn from fellow teachers at different stages of their careers, receive learning resources from IH London, hear about the latest vacancies, and share travel and teaching stories.
- The CELTA certificate does not expire so you will be a qualified English language teacher for life.
More details about CELTA 100% Online
Face to Face CELTA at IH London
We have a large teacher training department, with 25 teacher trainers on our staff. Each has a wide range of specialisms to bring a wealth of experience and different teaching backgrounds to our training courses.
We run 35 CELTA courses a year but no two are the same. Each trainer brings their own creativity to their course and adapts to the needs of the trainees on the course.
We have a mix of British and International students (approximately a 60:40 ratio) with a wide range of ages. They are both just starting their teaching journeys as well as changing careers.
Once you have completed a CELTA with us you will be able to join our member’s only ‘Trained by IH London’ online group and be part of our global community. We stay in touch with our students to share industry news and career opportunities in different schools and countries. We welcome you to share your stories, tips and support with each other. You can stay in touch with the people on your course and be part of our international network of teachers.
CELTA student testimonials
If you're going to do the CELTA course, you couldn't find a better centre, right in the middle of London with nice cafes around. It is quite hard to get through in parts, due to the workload combining lesson preparation with the assignments and teaching. However, the supportive and kind tutors helped keep the motivation going so one felt one could just keep going and try to use their expert feedback to improve in the short time available. The students were keen and fun and lovely to teach. I felt I could trust the judgement of the trainers and they always made themselves available. Judith
The course was really excellent, first class support, teaching absolutely everything. I feel really fortunate to have done the course here. Damara
Tutors at this training centre
Nora Musa
My advice is to always try and continue to learn and refresh / update your skills, be it technology, ideas or techniques. If you are lucky enough to be in a school that has teacher development sessions, opportunities to observe others and to try different contexts, take them. It makes for a more interesting career.
Learn from your students, involve them as much as you can and don’t be afraid to try different things.