Re-reading Your CELTA Training Course: A Case Study of Four International Teachers Working at a Saudi HE Institution

Abstract

This paper examines the philosophy and underlying assumptions of one of the most popular short TESOL teacher training courses, CELTA—Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The findings from semi-structured interviews with four international teachers working at a Saudi HE institution that were designed to discover how these teachers viewed their CELTA training in retrospect are also presented. These findings show that the CELTA course was based mainly on a performance-based philosophy (competency-based training—CBT), which is an inappropriate approach for language teacher education. The paper also contends that it is inappropriate to realize language teacher education on a performance-based philosophy such as this, and that furthermore, in light of the neoliberal globalization of English education, the uncritical acceptance of language teachers with such qualifications in particular discourse communities may bring more contradictions to the already complex role a teacher is required to play.