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 70 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Magali Rutschman on December 17, 2012 11:00 am
78%
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This course was an incredible and intense experience. I came into it never having taught a course in my life. Day two you are conducting a 20 minute lesson. By the 9th teaching practice, you’re teaching a 60 minute lesson. Our three trainers were great. Sharon Balani, Julie Bray and Colleen Kalchik all had great input (Chicago course). The feedback we got immediately after each lesson was invaluable and enabled us to improve each time.

We taught two levels of learners: high intermediate and pre-intermediate. However, I would have liked to have taught a lesson to beginners as well.

We also learned how to teach a variety of types of lessons to real English learners from the community. This was wonderful, practicing on people who needed the help. The only drawback was that sometimes there was only 1 or 2 students for the Pre-intermediate class. To fix this problem, I think the recruitment process for students could be greatly improved.

I recommend this course. For those who have prior teaching experience, be prepared to potentially unlearn some of your teaching habits, because they may not jive with the methodology CELTA teaches. Also, this is extremely intense and fast paced. Be prepared to fully dedicate the month to it.

Review 69 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Mensur Ganibegovic on December 16, 2012 6:05 pm
83%
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By completing the CELTA course, I think we all realized just how much we learned within a month. The course trained us well, but it is by no means an end to the learning process. I think this is something achieved over months and years, total knowledge is impossible to achieve over a month. It takes experience, will and effort. This was a difficult, but excellent starting point. Everyone tried very hard to the best of their ability. All of our tutors did a great job as well in teaching and observing us. They did their job and we did ours. It was fun.

I would definitely recommend this course to anyone interested in teaching English to adults, no matter of their field background, though with an “intensive” remark in the end and an exclamation point to the word.

Review 68 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Monica Bologna on December 16, 2012 4:45 pm
80%
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Be prepared for a very intense month! You must clear your schedule completely for this course but it is worth it and even though it is intense if you stay organized, it is doable! You gain real teaching experience and at the end, you truly feel prepared to start a job.

Review 67 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Mary on December 16, 2012 8:22 am
80%
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I really enjoyed this course, however it was as intensive as other people have described. I spent about 9 hours a day at school, with another 1-4 hours at home working on assignments and lesson plans. It was worth it. I have just finished and have yet to be placed with a job, but I am confident that my CELTA experience has prepared me well enough for my first teaching position. Best of luck!

Review 66 of 267 Teaching House

Written by B.B on December 15, 2012 10:31 pm
58%
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I recently finished the CELTA course, and I must admit that I feel prepared to teach. The people I met were awesome, and the trainers as well.

My first advice, like many others have mentioned, is to keep your schedules clear when you are entering into the course. It’s full on teaching and learning; your evenings will only be filled with lesson planning and studying on teaching the grammar/function materials for the next day. However, if you’re fresh out of school and taking this course then I assume the workload won’t be that intimidating – in fact, it shouldn’t be if you’re well prepared.

Also have in mind that 80% of the work is on your own. The instructors will only provide a faded guideline of what you’re supposed to do and you’re supposed to fill in the blanks by doing your own research and preparing for your own materials. However, this should be good training for your future preparations. In addition, don’t expect your hand to be held by the instructors throughout the entire course. They’re pretty busy too, and they expect you to at least get your stuff together and be prepared. Personally, I asked for specific help during the first week but after that I was well prepared to be on my own where I wouldn’t ask the instructors for any guidelines in teaching my lessons.

Side note: I had rented a place in the northern part of Chicago because I was told that the course would take place in the downtown campus; however, it was much later revealed (after I signed my contract and paid the deposit) that it was at the southern campus. Also there was miscommunication and misunderstandings within themselves (CELTA) where they sent out the incorrect information, and I had to remind them of it … but other than that, always ask them – even if they seem annoyed by it, it’s really a good thing to make sure where their course will take place so they will feed you the correct information.

The southern campus at the Granada center wasn’t really my cup of tea. It was very small and had limited space. There were no libraries and the books provided only came in copies of perhaps 2 each (if lucky) and could never leave the classroom. Thankfully, there were two printers (though one of them broke down during the last week of the course), and there were no computers for the teachers to use. However, Sharon Balani (the head director) was gracious enough to lend out her laptop to those who needed it.

That then leads to my critique of the trainers. During the entire course, I was able to intake different flavors of teaching styles from each trainer. Sharon Balani is a bit lenient in a way where she won’t pinpoint at every little thing. However, that doesn’t mean that she overlooks your teaching points. She times you in every stages of the lesson and will provide you feedback on how to better your lesson as well as greatly complimenting your teaching styles and/or materials you used for the lesson. Colleen Kalchik is a very gentle soul who does look at the smallest things in your teaching style and lesson, which leads you to perfect yourself for future teachings. She will take the time to walk you through anything you need to improve on your next lesson and also cover any questions you have as well as provide ideas for the students. Julie Bray is also a great trainer, for she encourages the teachers to use a lot of creativity. Her input sessions seem the most lively and she always gives fun ideas for the teachers to use when teaching their lessons.

Overall, all of the trainers have their own spark of color where it encourages and disciplines us future teachers. From each trainer, you can achieve helpful ways in bettering yourself and your teaching styles.

A slight disappointment I had about the course was that it does not guide you in seeking an ESL job. Unlike TEFL courses where they seek jobs for you, CELTA only prepares you for the work. The job seeking – you must do.

Then why did I choose CELTA? Well, I was really close in choosing TEFL since they do the job hunting for me (according to their recruiter who kept telling me), but I have no regrets in choosing CELTA since it really did prepare me much more. Also if status came to it, CELTA is run by Cambridge, which was an A+ for me.

Please have in mind that this course is not for the weak-hearted and the busy bee. You must keep your schedule clear and you must be willing to feel like a university student all over again – finals every single day of the week. However, it’s worth it. It’s only hard while you’re in it, but afterwards it leads to a successful future.

Review 65 of 267 Teaching House

Written by K.W on December 14, 2012 11:29 pm
97%
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Not Applicable
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I completed the CELTA course at Teaching House Chicago. From the application process through my final taught lesson, I was challenged, encouraged, and impressed with the CELTA curriculum and tutors.

My first recommendation to anyone planning to study for the CELTA is to clear your schedule as much as possible. Also try to read through the recommended materials prior to the first day of class. The work load, especially the first two week can be extremely taxing and any measures you can take to prepare should be considered. Come prepared to put in hours outside the classroom, complete research, and work closely with your classmates.

Taking this course is definitely worth the time, money, and energy.

Review 64 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Rob Sheehan on December 13, 2012 8:58 pm
83%
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I recently finished up at the Chicago Intensive CELTA course and I really cannot stop singing the praises of everyone involved. Though the facilities were somewhat lacking (small rooms, little access, and lack of a library), every other aspect of the course was amazing. Speaking as someone with zero teaching experience before the course, I felt that every lesson I taught I became stronger and stronger. The content in the input sessions was extremely helpful and paced in such a way that it didn’t overwhelm me with information. Each session slowly build up a repertoire of techniques and activities that will help to make me the most capable teacher I can be right out of the gate.

Though I definitely put a lot of personal effort into the improvements that took place, it was also a collaborative undertaking between myself and my wonderful teachers. It was truly a pleasure to be taught by Sharon Balani, Julie Bray, and Colleen Kalchik. Their advice was timely and important to increasing our awareness and effectiveness as new teachers. Though it was concise, by focusing on the main issues that were raised in the feedback sessions after each teaching practice it was possible to get a handle on glaring problems early and correct bad habits before they really became habits at all.

I would recommend both the CELTA course and the trainers to anyone. Both have made a giant positive impact in my life, and I feel quite lucky to have taken this course at the time and location that I did. Thank you.

Review 63 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Yasmeen Coaxum on December 13, 2012 3:02 pm
75%
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I was on the CELTA course at Teaching House in NY. I opted to take the semi-intensive 10 week course instead of the month-long intensive since I was already a full-time teacher at a language school in NY who wanted some official credentials to boost my future opportunities. I was on the course from Oct 2011-December and it proved to be very useful. While I was already teaching in NY and had taught in Japan for a year and a half before taking the course, I still felt that I was missing a lot of knowledge about the methodology behind what I was doing, as well as different approaches to my style of teaching.

The trainers I had- particularly Sharon Balani and Lizzy Adams- were extremely patient and helpful in providing additional resources for further development during and after the course, as well as overall encouragement and support.

Although it was tough doing the course while teaching full-time, I felt that it was well worth it. I was able to use new techniques I’d learned from the course at my job, and overall, I felt more of a sense of professionalism. The location was awesome- not too far from Battery Park, so I even ended up taking some of my students to the area as a Friday field trip.

The only issue I had with the course is that I felt a little “left to my own devices” when it came to finding a job. We were given reputable company names in NYC, but I felt that a little more time should have been spent toward the end of the course helping us with resume crafting or cover-letter writing for the countries we were interested in. A list of schools abroad that have gotten good reviews by previous CELTA grads, or that the trainers themselves heard positive things about would have been very helpful to get us started. The list of schools on the website was overwhelming and didn’t really come with specific recommendations by others, so I wasn’t sure which ones I should even tackle.

After thorough research, I am now teaching at a private university in Turkey, which has a heavy work load for teachers. If I hadn’t been trained thoroughly through this course, I know I would be having a much more difficult time adjusting.

The course was a great decision for my ESL career, and I also met some awesome people along the way!

Review 62 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Dean Rogers on December 11, 2012 3:24 am
100%
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I really had an amazing experience at the NYC CELTA program. The instructors did everything they could to make sure I both understood the material and could succeed in the class. I would recommend this program to friends wanting to be better ESL teachers and I have.

Review 61 of 267 Teaching House

Written by Eliza on December 11, 2012 3:19 am
90%
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This is the best thing I’ve done for my teaching career so far. This past month was packed with an amazing course that let me grow into a better, well rounded ESL instructor. My tutors were very helpful and positive, and I always felt as if I was being supported with the program. Feedback was always constructive and encouraging. I do agree that this program is intensive and time consuming, but it is all doable and not impossible. My only complaint was the resources of the allocated conference room. the internet was not reliable, which I do realize was beyond Teaching House’s control, and the books on hand were limited and unavailable for checkout. There was also no available area to work at on the weekends unless previous notice was given, making last minute emergencies for assignments a little more difficult to grapple with. However, the support of my classmates was enough to help during the weekends away from the classroom. Overall, with the support and motivation I got from my tutors and peers, I feel that anyone serious about teaching English should take this course and will benefit greatly from the information and training provided.

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