Hello Exam Seekers,

There’s been a long while since I post about the ICELT. Actually, there’s been almost a year since I last posted about it, but there’s a reason for that. I had been hearing some rumors about it, which have finally been confirmed:

ICELT discontinued from July 2020

Cambridge has posted the following message on their website; check this out: Following a review of the teaching qualifications we provide, ICELT (In-service Certificate in English Language Teaching) will be discontinued from July 2020. This means that the last ICELT courses will begin before 30 April 2019. Contact your ICELT centre for further details of courses available.

Depending on the skills you are looking to develop, we recommend the following teaching qualifications and courses as suitable alternatives:

• CELTA – Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
• CELT-P – Certificate in English Language Teaching – Primary.
• CELT-S – Certificate in English Language Teaching – Secondary
• DELTA – Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.
• Language for Teaching
• TKT – Teaching Knowledge Test.

That means that Cambridge realized that the ICELT was not a very interesting course to continue supporting and they decided to end it. It was actually not really known, and there was not much publicity on it, people always hear about the CELTA Course, but the ICELT wasn’t really that recognized.

What was the ICELT exactly?

The acronym stands for In-Service Certificate in English Language Teaching, which meant that it was a Certificate you would receive for taking on this course assessing your English Language Teaching in your real job. It was quite different from the CELTA, where you learned a methodology in a prepared center.

Both CELTA and ICELT are practical courses, however, the ICELT would support you to reflect on your teaching and apply your learning in the classroom. This course would extend your knowledge of teaching methodologies and develop your understanding of the principles underlying language learning and teaching.

For me, the ICELT was just as I mentioned above, it broadened my horizons related to my teaching knowledge. I started seeing teaching Speaking, Listening, Writing, and Reading differently after that.

What to expect…

Let’s see what Cambridge is planning to replace the ICELT, because whenever a Cambridge course/certificate ends, another is in store. Cambridge always plans on another certificate or course that will fill the shoes for the previous one.

Moreover, I plan to keep on sharing whatever I learned from the ICELT, because it provided relevant teaching techniques, so I’ll try to pass them on to you.

What happens with my certification?

If you already have an ICELT, you shouldn’t really worry. What happens is that they stop offering the course, and people who already have a certificate will keep theirs, which will still be considered – although Cambridge doesn’t really mention anything about it. It is just that Cambridge won’t offer it anymore or publicize it.

This is not the first certificate/course discontinued and will not be the last, unfortunately:

Discontinued exams:

• Cambridge English: Financial (ICFE) discontinued in December 2016.^[1]
• Cambridge English: Legal (ILEC) discontinued in December 2016.^[2]
• Certificates in ESOL Skills for Life (SfL) (UK only) discontinued in June 2017.^[3]
• CELS (Certificates in English Language Skills): modular qualifications for English language learners.
• DTE(E)LLS (Diploma in Teaching English (ESOL) in the Lifelong Learning Sector) and ADTE(E)LLS (Additional Diploma in Teaching English (ESOL) in the Lifelong Learning Sector): these qualifications for English language teachers in the UK were discontinued in September 2012. CELTA is a recommended alternative for those wanting an English teaching qualification for teaching in the UK.
• IDLTM (International Diploma in Language Teaching Management) discontinued in June 2016.^[5]
• PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector): discontinued in November 2012.^[6]
• Young Learner (YL) Extension to CELTA discontinued in December 2016.
• TKT: KAL and TKT: Practical discontinued in December 2016.^[7]

Unfortunately, 2 of the courses I took have been discontinued 🙁 Well… they are still valid; they are just not in progress anymore…

Anyways, we have to think positively: whenever one ends other courses begin! So keep posted that I’ll bring what is new around the ELT world.

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Have a great week,
Patricia Moura