Notes from the Classroom - Montreal

Walking through downtown Montreal, the much-talked about “European charm” of this Canadian city becomes immediately evident, both in the architecture and the French being spoken on the streets. Passersby are very patient with my lack of French as I ask them for directions to ILSC, one of Montreal’s best English language schools.

I am on my way to meet two enthusiastic English teachers – Paul, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, who did his CELTA in 2007 and taught English in Seville, Spain for six months before returning to Montreal; and Jessica, a new teacher who just completed her CELTA in September 2008 and was hired by the school immediately upon completing her course.

Talking to both teachers over coffee, I am able to get a feel for what it’s like to live and teach in Montreal and how the CELTA has helped them get there.

Jessica

“I think the biggest thing is—it’s helped with confidence, because you get so much practice and so much good feedback from peers and the tutors,” says Jessica when asked how the CELTA has aided her in the classroom. “And, confidence-wise, it helped with lesson planning—thinking about what the aims are and what’s the meaning, form and pronunciation of the language I’m teaching. Also, because I’m a new teacher, I structure the lessons I teach now the same way I learned to do on the CELTA because I’m not familiar with teaching yet and I don’t like sort of winging it. It helps me be more organized.”

Paul adds, “It’s the same for me. I had no preconceived ideas about what teaching was. I’d never done any teaching, so CELTA entirely taught me how to teach. I just absorbed everything. It’s all about – like Jessica said - giving you confidence, so you know what to do.”

Paul

Both Paul and Jessica remark on the advantages of teaching in a school like ILSC, stating that it is important for them to work in an environment that offers a great deal of support for teachers. Teachers often say that a CELTA center is a good indicator of a high-quality language school, as it shows that the school cares about teacher development and the quality of classroom teaching. Paul and Jessica say themselves that ILSC has a number of experienced teachers amongst the staff who are enthusiastic about helping new teachers in any way they can.

It is also mentioned that Montreal is a great city to teach in, as the population is extremely diverse and multicultural. “It’s a much more interesting experience for students in a multilingual classroom because they’re interacting with students from other cultures and that’s motivating for them, and more interesting for them,” says Paul. “They get to find out about other cultures, meet people from different cultures. I think that aspect is more motivating and more fun for students. Because it’s not just about learning English, it’s about making friends and having this experience of living abroad.”

As the largest French-speaking city in North America and the second largest in the world after Paris, Montreal is not only a great learning environment for ESL students, but it also has a great deal to offer teachers in terms of lifestyle and culture. Accommodation is more affordable than in most North American cities, and therefore Montreal gives CELTA-qualified teachers the opportunity to live and work in a cosmopolitan city and, perhaps, learn a new language. At the same time, residents can also enjoy Montreal’s comfortable similarities to other cities in the U.S. and Canada.

Jessica, who had taught English before doing the CELTA, adds, “I taught in Japan for a year in monolingual classes and I like it better here, too, teaching multilingual classes because the mistakes that students make are different. If someone makes a mistake in a monolingual classroom, it’s possible no one knows how to correct it, so it has to be teacher-focused. But in a multilingual class, the chances of somebody knowing how to fix the mistake is high, so it fosters more collaborative learning.”

English Class at ILSC, Montreal

When asked if the CELTA course was the right choice for them, Paul and Jessica immediately nod their heads. Jessica adds that she wishes she had done the course before she taught in Japan. “I think one of the advantages of the CELTA is all the practical experience you get…you realize how much work goes into teaching a good lesson.”

This is certainly true. But, more importantly, it could be said that what the CELTA provides is much more than the ability to simply recognize a good lesson. It gives new teachers the skills to teach good lessons themselves.