To be accepted onto a CELTA course, you need to:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Have an acceptable level of proficiency in English, both spoken and written. When you apply for a CELTA course, your English proficiency will be assessed in your application tasks and then at the interview stage.
- Demonstrate an interest in and awareness of the English language and its teaching and learning.
- Demonstrate the potential to complete the course teaching practices and written assignments successfully.
- Be able to commit the appropriate amount of time necessary to complete the course. This includes not only the 120 contact hours involved in a full-time course; but also a considerable amount of your free time, to work on lesson preparations and assignments. (Cambridge English recommends that trainees spend at least 80 hours of their own time working on the course too.)
Please note that to get onto a CELTA course, candidates are normally expected to at least have educational qualifications that would give them entry to further education in their home countries. Also, many employers and institutions around the world – though not all of them – expect new teachers to have a first degree as well as a CELTA certificate.