CELTA in BRATISLAVA (Slovakia)

B The International House Bratislava application process:

C Interview Procedure:
The interview is a Cambridge Assessment English regulation. The primary purpose is to ensure that you have the potential to comfortably pass the course (before you decide to invest the time and money. An in-person interview lasts two hours and includes written tasks (one hour and 20 mins) and an oral interview (up to 40 mins). The written tasks can be done before and handed in up to 30 minutes before your interview. At this stage, you have an opportunity to ask any questions about the course to the course tutor or an experienced trainer.

Applicants within the Slovak Republic will be interviewed at International House Bratislava, Nám. SNP 14, 81106 Bratislava; applicants from outside the Slovak Republic will be interviewed by skype or telephone.

Telephone interviews are made at the applicant’s expense, and the applicant should make the call. Many applicants use Skype, which is perfectly acceptable and ensures that the cost is minimal. If you are unfamiliar with Skype, please ask us for information.

D Interview Aims:
The interviewer (one of the course tutors) will ask questions related to your future plans, the content of your application, and some further questions similar to those on the application. You will have the chance to ask questions about the course, and anything else you would like to know. At the end of the interview you will be informed as to whether your application has been successful. Perhaps the main aim is to make sure that we don’t offer a place to – and accept money from – someone who we feel does not have a good chance of passing the course.

E Acceptance:
If your interview is successful and you are offered a place in the course, you will be instructed on how to submit payment. If you are applying within six weeks of the course start date, payment will be required at that time to reserve your place. At this time, International House Bratislava, s.r.o. can receive payment via bank transfer. Feel free to contact us for more information or questions.

We will also send you our Centre´s Candidate Agreement and Pre-course task.

The aim of this task is to introduce you to some of the areas covered on the CELTA course and to provide you with the opportunity to prepare for the course. The tasks should be completed on a separate sheet, and you may be asked to submit it at the start of the course. This is not part of the interview and acceptance stages, but a series of 50 tasks to help you prepare for the course together with the answers. The tasks should be thought about and completed in the order they are presented, but you are not expected to complete the pre-course task at one sitting. It would be more beneficial for you to work on the task in a number of sittings over a period of time.

There are five sections to the task, with each section focusing on a specific topic area from the Cambridge CELTA syllabus. These are the units on which candidates are assessed during the course:
Unit 1 – Section 1 Learners and teachers, and the learning and teaching context
Unit 2 – Section 2 Language analysis and awareness
Unit 3 – Section 3 Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
Unit 4 – Section 4 Planning and resources
Unit 5 – Section 5 Developing teaching skills and professionalism

To help you successfully complete these tasks it is advised to do some pre-course reading. Here are some books which may be useful:
Gower, Walters & Philips – Teaching Practice Handbook – 2nd edition (Macmillan) Harmer, J. – How to Teach English – 3rd edition (Longman) Kenworthy, J – Teaching English Pronunciation (Longman) Lewis, M & Hill, J – Practical Techniques for Language Teaching (LTP) Riddell, D - Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language (Teach Yourself) (Hodder Arnold H&S) Scrivener J – Learning Teaching (Macmillan)

F Cancellations:
In the case of cancellation six weeks or more before the course starting date, 90% of the total fee will be refunded. With less than six weeks ‘notice, 50% of the total fee will be refunded. If cancellation occurs in the final ten working days before the starting date, no refund will be given. In the event of a course being cancelled the course fees will be refunded.

G Equal Opportunities
International House Bratislava believes that equal opportunities are important in order to: Encourage the development of individuals’ abilities, talents and potential to the full Attract potential students from the widest possible pool of talent. Meet its moral and legal obligations. Provide a working environment free from unlawful discrimination, harassment or victimisation.

H Acceptance onto training courses:
International House Bratislava staff involved in the recruitment and selection of trainees will ensure the company’s recruitment and selection policy is adhered to and that:

I Disclosure of information relating to disability or other relevant factors:
Whilst legally there is no obligation for persons to disclose information pertaining to disability or other factors, International House Bratislava respectfully requests that all applicants disclose any disability or other health factor which might otherwise foreseeably contribute to the applicant being:

All information received is treated in absolute confidence, and will not count in any way against the application nor against the candidate during the course.

J Complaints
Students or employees who feel they have been discriminated against should raise the matter with the Director and/or the course tutors. Initially the student/employee and Director/Tutors should aim to resolve the matter informally. It may be that discriminatory action is unwitting and easily resolved once the problem is clear. If students or employees are dissatisfied with the outcome, or the complaint is very serious, or the Director(s) is/are the cause of the complaint, the student/employee should raise the matter, in writing to both the Directors of the school and Cambridge Assessment English.