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Modules take pressure off training
Learning English
Friday September 19th 2008
When Cambridge Esol started to look at how it could improve its diploma-level qualification for teachers, the feedback it received was loud and clear. Busy teachers wanted a more flexible way to access training to help them keep working while they study. Max de Lotbinière examines the product of that consultation – Cambridge Esol's new-style Diploma – and finds out how teachers can now choose when they want to study and what to specialise in
Friday September 19th 2008
Flexible options... the Delta gets more teacher-friendly. Photograph: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP
Cambridge Esol, the UK-based exam board responsible for globally popular English language assessment tests such as First Certificate and Ielts, has made a virtue of the slow pace at which it embraces change. Aware of the need to maintain users’ confidence, Cambridge prefers to make sure that it has done its homework thoroughly before it turns the page on something new.
This is certainly the case with the launch of the new version of its diploma-level qualification for experienced teachers. This month the old "DELTA" will be replaced by the new "Delta". The shift from the diploma’s old acronym to new brand name is but a small detail in a major overhaul that has been three years in development. For teachers frustrated by the limitations of the old qualification, the Delta is likely to be good news.
Nick Charge, examinations manager at Cambridge Esol, says the exam board became aware that the old diploma needed updating back in 2005. Already a decade old, the content of the syllabus had not kept up with changes going on in the classroom, most significantly the widespread use of new technology.
Cambridge were also aware that the course of study required to complete the DELTA was becoming increasingly burdensome for teachers who could not afford to take three months off work for full-time study or six months for part-time. Not only was that time-scale fixed but candidates risked having to retake the whole qualification if they failed one part – with course fees ranging from $4,000 to $6,000, no small consideration.
"Our research showed that DELTA had become a monolithic qualification," says Charge, but it also showed that candidates were trying to adapt it to better suit their needs.
"We were finding that teachers were trying to modularise the DELTA themselves by opting for deferrals. The message was that the old DELTA was just too much of an ask for teachers. The need to move to a modular syllabus was clear from early on."
The result is not just a qualification that is broken up into three distinct modules, which can be taken in any order and at any time, but also a rewriting of the syllabus to allow candidates to draw on a much wider range of teaching experiences.
Module One serves to consolidate the core knowledge about teaching and learning that a teacher with at least two years’ experience (the minimum requirement) should have. The module’s seven units cover the theories behind how people learn languages and how they are taught and it is assessed by a written exam.
Module Two shifts the emphasis to practical skills and to acquiring and applying new knowledge in different contexts. This is where candidates are likely to learn new things and, by passing this module, prove to employers that they are ready to take on greater responsibility, both in class and in management roles.
Candidates will need to follow Module Two on a supervised course. To pass they will need to submit a portfolio of course work, including observed lessons, background written assignments and an externally assessed lesson observation.
Module three is a further break from the old format. Here candidates are invited to chose a specialisation and then, in a detailed written assignment, explore how they would go about planning, designing and assessing a language course. Whereas in the past the written assignment was based on a single student profile, now candidates can chose from across the ELT spectrum. Both Modules One and Three can be taken independently without needing to enrol on a formal course.
Cambridge unveiled the new-format Delta 12 months ago and Charge says the response from training providers has been mixed. Many are continuing to offer extended full- or part-time courses, delivering the new Delta syllabus in a similar way to the old DELTA. But there are signs the flexibility offered by the modular framework is starting to be explored.
This month Bell, the leading UK-based ELT provider, launched a new Delta course that offers Module Two as either a five-week face-to-face course or a 12-week blended learning course (mixing online and face-to-face delivery). Courses covering Modules One and Three are delivered online.
Charge says teacher training institutions have shown interest in incorporating one or more modules into their existing syllabuses. To date the majority of candidates have been "native-English-speaker" teachers, but Charge hopes that more "non-native" teachers will encounter the Delta through their local training and think about taking on the full qualification.
Charge also expects the Delta to have greater appeal for employers. "Allowing people to accrue the Delta over time makes much more sense. In the past it was all or nothing and that wasn’t helpful to employers."
• Click here for more information about Cambridge Esol's new Delta.
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