Start your teaching journey here. Take your first step into English language teaching – in the beautiful Italian city of Pisa.
The CELTA course provides practical, initial training in teaching English as a foreign language, and NILE is delighted to work with our partners at The British School Pisa to deliver this course at their premises.
The mixed-mode CELTA course runs full time over four and a half weeks and takes place first online, then at The British School Pisa. For the weeks you study online, your course will be a mix of online study, live sessions with learners and tutor support. As the course continues face to face at the Pisa course centre you will teach learners living locally and have full access to all The British School’s resources. By the end of the course, you’ll have experience in teaching both in a real classroom and remotely.
In collaboration with
Is this course for you?
Location: Pisa, Italy
Experience: An interest in pursuing a career in English Language Teaching
Language Level: C1/C2
Course dates:
Wednesday 25th June – course starts online with sessions from 11am (Italian time)/ 10am (UK time) to 6.45pm (Italian time)/5.45pm (UK time) with teaching practice sessions from 3.30 to 5.45pm (Italian time)/ 2.30 to 4.45pm (UK time).
Friday the 11th of July – relocation day with no sessions.
Monday 14th of July – the course continues in Pisa, Italy, with sessions from 9.30 to 5pm and teaching practice sessions from 9.30am to 12noon. All times are now just Italian times.
Friday 25th of July – course ends.
Certification: Cambridge CELTA
Course Length: 4.5 weeks full time
Course fees: €2000 (Payable in 3 installments)
Accommodation (2 weeks): Available through British School Pisa
Minimum age: 18
Max class size: 12
Social and cultural programme
Centre for learning differences
Complementary eLearning platform
The course includes
- 6 hours of teaching practice and feedback 6 hours observation of experienced teachers in the classroom
- About 50 hours of practical input sessions on methodology, language awareness, phonology and professional development
- About 20 hours of lesson preparation, initially supervised by the course tutors
- 4 written assignments
- At least one private tutorial to review progress
- Understanding the relationship between the learner, the teacher and the teaching/learning context
- Language analysis and awareness
- Language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing
- Planning for effective teaching of adult learners of English and resources and materials for teaching English to adults.
During input sessions you will find out more about how the English language works, in terms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, as well as learn about practical teaching methodology (how to set up a classroom, best use the resources at your disposal, deal with different learners, give correction and so on). These sessions aim to help you with your teaching practice.
In addition to input sessions, you will do at least six hours’ teaching practice and observe six hours of lessons from experienced teachers. After each teaching session you will be given detailed feedback on your performance, and you will be given an opportunity to comment, reflect on and learn from the lesson observations.
Excellent! Thought-provoking. Structured and balanced. Quality, detailed feedback on practical issues. Excellent provision by a talented, knowledgable and dedicated team of professionals.
Amanda, September
The teachers were fantastic. Even though the course was demanding (from Monday to Friday and 150 minutes a day), they managed to make it enjoyable and capture students’ attention. They understood the characteristics of each student, and this motivate them. I really learned a lot in a short time, and in a very pleasant atmosphere.
Maria Laura, July 2024
Our teachers were incredibly communicative and supportive for our individual needs. It was a wonderful place to learn with a lovely atmosphere.
Seamus, September
Further Information
Candidates are assessed continuously during the course and there is no final examination. An external assessor, appointed by Cambridge ESOL, moderates each course. Completion of the course does not guarantee the award of the Certificate. There are two components of assessment: teaching practice and written assignments. To be awarded the certificate candidates must pass both components. There are three grades: Pass, Pass B and Pass A.
Application process:
When we receive your application form – Go to NILE’s website by clicking on the apply button below, and complete the application form there – we will contact you for your CV and to complete our Application Task focussing on previous language teaching/learning experience, language analysis (please see example question below) and reasons for taking CELTA. Once you send us that, we arrange an interview either face to face or via Zoom.
British School Pisa
The British School IH Pisa Group was founded in 1978. We now have 4 centres, Pisa, Pontedera, an online school and a Cambridge exam centre. Our main work is teaching English to Italians and Italian as a foreign language. British School Pisa works with around 3000 students each academic year. This has placed us as one of the top language schools In Italy. At present British School Pisa employs over 40 people of which 30 are trained teachers. We are also a major center for Cambridge Language Assessment exams, a Preliminary Preparation centre for the OET medical exams and a Platinum center examining about 4,000 candidates a year.
Example language analysis question:
Look at the verb underlined in the sentences below. The verb is in the wrong tense.
i) correct the sentence
ii) name the correct tense
iii) explain why the tense is used; what meaning is conveyed.
I worked on my assignment when the phone rang.
If you have any questions please contact: delta.admin@nile-elt.com.
Available dates:
| Course dates | Location | Course length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th June – 25th July 2025 | Online and in Pisa | 4.5 weeks |
