Practicalities
The Verona face-to-face course leading to Modules One and Two has seminar sessions of 4 hours on language and teaching methodology once a week. These are from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm and take place on Wednesdays. The course starts in mid-October and runs until the Module One exam on the first Wednesday in June. There will be sessions on most Wednesdays, with breaks for Christmas and Easter. There may also be some study weeks where attendence in Verona is not necessary.
The seminars will, in the main, take the form of a guided seminar format in which participants are actively involved in exploring theoretical issues and their direct classroom applications. The course is seen as developmental as opposed to being specifically exam orientated, but inevitably some of the sessions will focus on the Module One exam.
You will be observed teaching six times over the course. Some of these observations will take place with specially arranged groups of students in Verona in the afternoons from 2:30 – 4:30 pm. Feedback will then follow until approximately 5:15pm. You are encouraged to stay on and watch your colleagues teach in the afternoon, even if you are not teaching that day. Teachers on the Delta course find that feedback on observed teaching practice is a very useful opportunity to link background theory and classroom practice and discuss the effectiveness of new teaching strategies and skills.
You will need to be available to stay until 5:00pm for a minimum of 6 afternoons in the period October – March.
The seminars will, in the main, take the form of a guided seminar format in which participants are actively involved in exploring theoretical issues and their direct classroom applications. The course is seen as developmental as opposed to being specifically exam orientated, but inevitably some of the sessions will focus on the Module One exam.
You will be observed teaching six times over the course. Some of these observations will take place with specially arranged groups of students in Verona in the afternoons from 2:30 – 4:30 pm. Feedback will then follow until approximately 5:15pm. You are encouraged to stay on and watch your colleagues teach in the afternoon, even if you are not teaching that day. Teachers on the Delta course find that feedback on observed teaching practice is a very useful opportunity to link background theory and classroom practice and discuss the effectiveness of new teaching strategies and skills.
You will need to be available to stay until 5:00pm for a minimum of 6 afternoons in the period October – March.
Workload
The Delta course consists of a heavy workload and candidates should be sure that they are able to give sufficient commitment to the course before applying. Officially, the Delta is recognised as 60 QCF credits, which is equivalent to 20 ECTS credits. This means 500–600 hours of study for all 3 modules, with each module expected to take up around 200 hours. In practice, however, everyone is different in terms of time management. On previous courses, most candidates said they spent an average of 5 hours a week on Delta work (more when an assignment was due in), and found that this was do-able when teaching up to, but not more than, 25 hours a week.
Advice from previous Delta candidates
Be prepared for a lot of hard work!
Do as much of the background reading as possible beforehand.
Have a group of at least 5 learners ready to be your 'guinea pigs' - you can test your lessons on them and it was useful, not just for my teaching but also for their learning.
Don't do it just for (long-term) financial gain - it must be a decision based on your desire to improve in the classroom.
Read the Delta handbook before starting the course.
Don't expect the course to be easy even if you're an experienced teacher.
Make sure you MAKE time for it
Be prepared to do a lot of writing.
Do as much of the background reading as possible beforehand.
Have a group of at least 5 learners ready to be your 'guinea pigs' - you can test your lessons on them and it was useful, not just for my teaching but also for their learning.
Don't do it just for (long-term) financial gain - it must be a decision based on your desire to improve in the classroom.
Read the Delta handbook before starting the course.
Don't expect the course to be easy even if you're an experienced teacher.
Make sure you MAKE time for it
Be prepared to do a lot of writing.
Feedback from previous Delta candidates
The course has given my lessons diversity and made me more flexible in my teaching methods. It has also given me a desire to develop further in ELT.
I liked the fact that I can use the ideas we learn right away in my classes.
I'm enjoying being with other teachers and learning in more depth a profession I love.
I feel I am learning a lot and at the same time being exposed to many interesting theories and ideas about teaching. I know this is helping me in my professional development.
I didn't expect the course to be so influential on my approach to teaching at this stage of my career.
I'm enjoying taking part in the morning sessions.
Doing the Delta has made teaching fun again.
I'm enjoying being able to discuss issues with so many committed colleagues.
Really enjoyed this course. I would recommend it to other teachers.
I liked the fact that I can use the ideas we learn right away in my classes.
I'm enjoying being with other teachers and learning in more depth a profession I love.
I feel I am learning a lot and at the same time being exposed to many interesting theories and ideas about teaching. I know this is helping me in my professional development.
I didn't expect the course to be so influential on my approach to teaching at this stage of my career.
I'm enjoying taking part in the morning sessions.
Doing the Delta has made teaching fun again.
I'm enjoying being able to discuss issues with so many committed colleagues.
Really enjoyed this course. I would recommend it to other teachers.