Reviews of Teaching House

4.6 Rating •
267 reviews
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Description

Cambridge Assessment English approved the opening of Teaching House in 2007. With the aim to expand quality English-language teacher training in the United States, Teaching House has opened over 15 center locations and trained over 3,000 new teachers. Teaching House is now the largest provider of Cambridge CELTA courses in the world.

Ensuring the high standards of education that are set by Cambridge English, all Teaching House CELTA courses have a maximum of only 6 trainees working with each trainer. To fulfill this trainer/trainee ratio, the Teaching House staff include over 20 Cambridge English-approved teacher trainers as well as a strong support team based at our headquarters in New York.

In addition to the standard four-week CELTA course format, Teaching House has developed two new formats:

  • a 10-week part-time course run on two evenings a week and on Saturdays;
  • a part-time blended course over 14 weeks allowing people to work online during the week and do teaching practice on Saturdays.

We also offer in the USA a two week compressed teaching practice option with online content, for those who are only able to take two weeks for their teaching practice component.

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Courses

Course Types

Combined TEFL Courses
On-site TEFL Courses
Online TEFL Courses

Course Lengths

Standard (120-140 hours)
Long Courses (150+ hours)

Certifications

Cambridge CELTA
Cambridge DELTA
TEFL / TESL / TESOL

Additional Features

Online Practicum
Part-Time Study

Locations

Canada

Toronto ON

England

London
Oxford

USA

Boston MA
Miami FL
New York NY

Teaching House has received 267 student reviews and has an overall rating of 4.57 out of 5 stars based on the following criteria.

Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

267 reviews of Teaching House

Review 80 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Johnny on January 14, 2013 3:40 pm
83%
Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

I took the intensive course with trainers Helen and Heather, who are wonderful people. My fellow trainees were also very nice, and I enjoyed working with everyone.

Course Content

You are given a binder full of information on the first day. It is your guide to everything about the course/teaching EFL and will only double in size as you use it throughout the month and perhaps beyond. It’s very important, so don’t lose it!

Practice Teaching

I loved the two classes I had an opportunity to teach. The students were very enthusiastic and intelligent. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will have similar students. You are asked to teach lessons starting from the second day of the course. It can be nerve-wracking, but it was quite a valuable learning experience. You will do fine as long as you do your lesson plans properly, and don’t forget to smile.

Quality of Feedback

This will depend on the trainers on your course. The feedback from my trainers was very good. If you are doing poorly, they will let you know how to improve. If you seem to be on the verge of failing, then they will warn you well in advance.

Lesson Plan Guidance

Guidance starts off very thorough, and then the trainers will ween you off their input. By the end of the course, you will have planned at least one whole 60-minute lesson by yourself with minimal guidance from your trainers.

Instructor Competency

Heather and Helen are the best.

Job Placement

There is a job listing section on the “My Teaching House” website, but other than that, you will have to do your own job search. Your trainers may be willing to write you letters of recommendation after the course.

Facilities/Resources

There are plenty of iMacs to use for the course. The printer-copier was very unreliable. There are vending machines for snacks if you get hungry.

Review 79 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Jorge on January 9, 2013 1:55 pm
88%
Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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I finished the Celta course in December 2012. The word “intense” is not an understatement. It is challenging, informative, satisfying, nerve wracking…all in one! It was a great experience and our tutors were fantastic. As hard as it was at times, I am glad I did it; and I feel ready for the next stage in my teaching career.

Which brings me to the only drawback, I wish teaching House gave us more resources and assistance in finding teaching positions upon finishing the course. There was a brief session towards the end, but i feel this could improve a little more.

Other than that, it was worth every penny…and although it is expensive, it prepares you and forces you to think on your feet and enables creativity and independence. It was an experience I will never forget. Thank you again to all three tutors: Colleen, Sharon and Julie. You guys rock!

Review 78 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Barbara Duffy on January 5, 2013 6:53 pm
95%
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Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Instructor Competency
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I took the Semi-Intensive Course for 7 weeks in NYC. It was a very intense course, to say the least, but also challenging and stimulating. I recommend to clear your schedule and have plenty of time after class and weekends for all the lesson planning and assignments required. The instructors were experienced, encouraging, engaging and always ready to help each student. They were invested in our success! I am proud to have earned my CELTA certificate! Every aspect was great, except for the frustrating, tense moments at the ONLY copy machine that often broke down or got jammed. I also would have appreciated a bit more help with resumes and cover letters during the course, though a lot of information was given about how to go about finding work. I highly recommend this course!

Review 77 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Kate Tomaskovic (Graduated CELTA November, 2010) on January 4, 2013 10:55 pm
90%
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Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

Completing the CELTA course was one of the best decisions I have ever made, but the experience was made even better by my first teacher trainer, Sharon Balani. She was the perfect role model for CLT teaching and gave critical and constructive feedback- no coddling here! I learned more in the one month at Teaching House than many of my undergraduate (and now graduate!) courses. When I first started searching for TESOL Certification courses I knew I wanted to go through the best, and this course exceeded my expectations.

I loved having the teaching practice, which really made the lesson planning feel more critical than simply an assignment to be handed in. I thought some of the assignments were more valuable than others; especially assignments which forced us to use the grammar and vocabulary sheets. The drilling exercises and other demo activities which we could then use in our lessons were invaluable, and I still use many of those ideas even two years after my course.

I was able to land a teaching job two months after graduating, which I found through Teaching House’s website. My CELTA certification and Sharon’s recommendations also helped me when I switched ESL teaching jobs and applied to graduate TESOL program. Thank you, Sharon!

Review 76 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Cindi on December 30, 2012 11:25 am
93%
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Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

I took the intensive 1 mth CELTA course in NY with trainers Heather and Sharon. Intensive is the definitely the one word to describe it! Make sure you are working on this full time as you will still be working on lesson plans and assignments after class and during the weekends. I had some experience but this has definitely changed my perspective of teaching ESL and I walked away knowing what good ESL teaching really is. The course content was useful and I always enjoyed the input sessions. What I loved most about this course is probably the Teaching Practices, as you get invaluable feedback to improve yourself and learn from observing your peers teach. We had the opportunity to teach real students from different backgrounds and levels. I’d definitely recommend this course to both new and experienced teachers.

Review 75 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Barry Blecher on December 19, 2012 8:21 pm
95%
Overall Rating
Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

This was a fantastic course (CELTA, New York, Nov 5- Dec 20 2012 semi-intensive), and greatly exceeded my expectations in every way. The syllabus is constructed tightly and intelligently and covers multiple aspects of teaching and of language. Lizzy and Sezgi are instructors of the highest caliber, extremely bright, hard working, totally professional, and totally devoted to educating and training teachers. The feedback was endless and detailed, providing a clear path toward improvement. I am so happy I chose this path and this school for certification.

My only criticism is the copy machine (which is why I gave only 3 stars to Facilities/Resources). They need to replace the old one they have and also buy a second one!

Review 74 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Joseph Brennan on December 19, 2012 5:10 pm
95%
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Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
Lesson Plan Guidance
Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

I would highly recommend the CELTA course at Teaching House in New York City. The instructors were excellent, the facility is very modern (minus the printer) and the students were a joy to teach. Both Ben Hammond and Svitlana Bulkina did everything they could to help trainees pass the course by offering lots of constructive criticism, being very well prepared with engaging activities for the Saturday input sessions and sharing their knowledge of ESL in a professional manner. The facility is housed in an ordinary New York city building but is very well maintained and the computer lab has quite nice Mac computers to use. The foreign students we all had the opportunity to teach were a fun bunch, very motivated and patient as all the trainees “fumbled” with certain techniques during our lessons.

I will never look at the English language the same way again. Doing the Language Analysis sheets, although a bit tedious at times, broadens your knowledge of the language systems – grammar, vocabulary, functional language. You always learn more than teach when you teach. I acquired some great techniques, methodology and activities that I will use wherever I teach next.

Review 73 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Sharon Schweinfurth on December 19, 2012 12:41 pm
94%
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Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Job Assistance
Not Applicable
Facilities/Resources

This Celta course in Chicago that I just finished (Nov. 8-Dec. 7) was the most intense class that I have had in a very long time and I am a teacher. It was all worth it, as I know that I will get to start the next chapter in my life with a new career in another country. Sharon Balani, Colleen Kalchik and Julie Bray were wonderful instructors. Each had a different approach to teaching the course but all were wonderful. It was easy to ask questions, go over lessons and seek out advice. Thank you to all my teachers.

Sharon

Review 72 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Henrietta Gwaltney on December 18, 2012 11:30 pm
80%
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Course Content
Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Instructor Competency
Job Assistance
Facilities/Resources

I learned a lot about teaching the CELTA method and enjoyed the accessibility and support of the teachers. Most of all I enjoyed the learners I was teaching and believe that my practice teaching, (the hands on learning) was most helpful. The library is located in a tight area and not conducive to reading and thinking along with the copy machine.

Overall I am pleased that I completed the course.

Review 71 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Leah Squires on December 18, 2012 6:21 am
90%
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Practice Teaching
Quality of Feedback
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Instructor Competency
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I completed my training in November 2011 in NYC. The course is composed of learning and teaching hours, which ensures you are always absorbing new information, whether you are the learner or the teacher. My CELTA training honed my teaching abilities and gave me the tools to be a creative and effective teacher.

As promised, it was an intensive month. The days were long and often tiring, but I was fortunate to have two incredible instructors, Lizzy Adams and Sophie Bryce. No moment was wasted in our training–they prepared every lesson so that they not only conveyed important content, but so they also modeled effective teaching strategies. Their energy always helped motivate us on the hardest days.

In my opinion, teaching actual classes is the best part of the training. You become comfortable standing in front of a classroom. You begin to develop your own teaching style. You develop and write your own lesson plans. You get immediate feedback from your peers and trainers. When I was teaching, I could always count on Lizzy’s and Sophie’s astute observation skills to pick apart my lessons and offer constructive feedback. I still reference old lesson plans, with their notes scribbled in the margins, to direct my lesson planning and reflect on my shortcomings and successes as a teacher.

CELTA lives up to its reputation. When I was considering TESOL certificates, I wasn’t sure CELTA was worth the investment, but over a year later, I can definitely say it was the best choice. Immediately after I finished the course, I cold called a program in St. Louis to see if they were in need of substitute teachers. When I said I was CELTA certified, I had an interview the next day and was picking up classes the following week. I’m currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, and I’m teaching English to high schoolers at the youth center in my community. A year from now, I’m confident that with my certification and two years of teaching behind me, I will be able to secure a teaching job of my choosing.

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