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CELTA
Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Application Form
Please complete the application form and language awareness task electronically and send
them by email to: [email protected]

International House Buenos Aires

Vuelta de Obligado 1808, 5º
CABA 1428
Argentina
Tel :(00 54 11) 4788 1788
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ih-buenosaires.com

Remember to keep a copy for yourself; you may be asked to expand on your answers at the interview.

Preferred course start date: Month: January Year: 2022

Please delete as appropriate Full-time
Alternative course start date: Month: January Year: 2022
Please delete as appropriate Full-time

Personal Details

First name(s): First language:

Sabrina Soledad Spanish

(as you want them to appear on your final certificate)

Surname(s): Date of birth:
Sarmiento 03/06/1984
(as you want them to appear on your final certificate) (DD/MM/YYYY)
Address: Place of birth:
Laprida 454 General Rodriguez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
City & Postcode: Gender:
1748 Female
Country: Present occupation:
Argentina Teacher
Telephone: General health:
+5491161033244 Good
Email: Please state if you are currently under any medication:
[email protected] -
Nationality: Do you have any special requirements?
If Argentinean, DNI: 31015583 (equipment; wheelchair access. Etc.):No

Education Please state where, when and what you have studied and include results.

Secondary/High School Qualifications: Other relevant qualifications:

School: EEM N 1 ex combatientes de Malvinas
Completed in 2002
Degree: Bachelor, Art design and communication

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Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]
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modality
GPA: 8,96

Higher Education: Which languages do you speak/read/write?

Please comment on your level of proficiency (including your learning and
level of English and any public exams taken)
 ISFD N°23
English Language Teacher for Primary school.
My mother tongue is Spanish. I also speak, read and write in
Completed in 2014
English at a C1 level.
GPA: 7,30
 ISFD N°23
English Language Teacher for Secondary School
and upper levels.
Completed in 2016
GPA: 7,74

Training and Work Experience

Do you have any initial training in teaching English as a foreign language?

(Please give qualification, organisations, dates and grades).

 Teaching training college: ISFD N°23.

Address: Lavalle 241, Lujan, Bs. As.
Qualification: English Language Teacher for Primary school.
Dates: 2009-2014
GPA: 7,30
 Teaching training college: ISFD N°23.
Address: Lavalle 241, Lujan, Bs. As.
Qualification: English Language Teacher for Secondary School and upper levels.
Dates: 2009-2015
GPA: 7,74

Do you have any formal training as a teacher of other subjects?

(Please give qualification, organisations, dates and grades).

No

Do you have any experience of teaching English, other languages or other subjects?
(please give details of dates, companies, types of students and course etc.)

 English Kingdom Institute (2015-2019)

Address: Rawson 1211, Lujan, Bs. As.
Student type: Children and adolescents from Kinder to B2 level.
Contact details: 02323 436207/02323 15556207

 Colegio PAC (2013-)

Address: French 780, General Rodriguez, Bs. As.
Student type: pre-adolescents and adolescents from primary to secondary school. After five years, I started to
work as coordinator of the English department.
Contact details: 0237 4843250/(0237) 484-1637

International House Buenos Aires - International House World Organisation

Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]
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Email: [email protected]

What other work experience or professional training do you have beyond teaching?
I have worked as a shop assistant in a family business.
I have also worked as a waitress in restaurants and bars.

Please state your reasons for wishing to take a CELTA course and why you want to take it with IH Buenos Aires.

I decided to apply to the CELTA course because the degree I obtained as a teacher in Argentina is not valid for working in other countries. I think the
CELTA degree is going to provide different job opportunities in my professional development.

Any other information which you think may be relevant to this application:

Please give the names, addresses and telephone numbers of two referees who would be prepared to give relevant
support to this application. Indicate in what context they know you.

1. 2.
Name: Ana Pighin Name: Gabriela Matarrollo
Address: Juan B. Justo 660, Lujan, Bs As. Address: Rawson 1211, Lujan, Bs. As.
Telephone number: 02323 544435 Telephone number: 02323556207
Ana Pighin was the head of the English Department at Gabriela Mattarollo was my teacher at the Teaching
PAC school. She was in charge of correcting and observing Training College. Then, she hired me as a teacher in her
my work. institute. I worked there for four years.

How did you hear about our courses?

A friend of mine talked to me about this course.

Disclaimer
I declare that, to the best of my knowledge, the personal information contained in this application form is accurate
Signature Date

(typed electronic signature is fine)

Language Awareness Task

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Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]
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Please complete this task carefully. We would recommend referring to a good grammar book e.g. ‘Practical English Usage’
by Michael Swan, published by Oxford University Press, and a good dictionary, when preparing your answers. Candidates
are expected to demonstrate the ability to research grammatical and lexical areas and to name tenses etc.

1. Correcting a student’s mistakes

Each of the exchanges below contains a mistake. In each case:

a write the corrected version in the space provided

b write in simple terms, as if speaking to a learner of English, how you would make the correction clear

For example:
1.0
“Can you borrow me $10?”
“Sure. Here you are.
a correction
“Can you lend me $10?”
“Sure. Here you are.
b explanation
You borrow something from someone, but you lend something to someone. You could also say “Can I borrow $10 from
you?”

Now it’s your turn:

1.1
“I’d like some informations about your courses.”
“Certainly. Here’s our brochure.”
a correction
“I’d like some information about your courses.”
“Certainly. Here’s our brochure.”
b explanation
“Information” is an uncountable noun, so we don’t add “-s” or ”-es” to show the plural form.

1.2
“Do you have any money?”
“Yes, I’ve been to the bank yesterday.”
a correction
“Do you have any money?”
“Yes, I went to the bank yesterday.”

b explanation
We say “I went to the bank” because it is appropriate to use the past simple tense to refer to a short action that started
and finished in the past.

1.3
“Why didn’t you answer the telephone?”
“Because I washed my hair.”
a correction
“Why didn’t you answer the telephone?”
“Because I was washing my hair.”

b explanation
We use the past continuous tense in this case to refer to an action in progress that was interrupted by another action.

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Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]
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2. Helping students understand differences in meaning

a Comment on the differences in meaning between the following pairs of sentences.

b Outline some ideas on how you might teach these differences in meaning to students in class.

For example:
2.0.1 She translated the book into Welsh.

2.1.2 The book was translated into Welsh

a differences in meaning
In the first sentence the verb is active, so the subject of the sentence did the action to the object and the emphasis is on them doing so.
In the second sentence the verb is passive and the focus is on the action happening to the subject of this sentence. It’s not important
who did the action, we want to emphasize the completion of the action and its effect on the subject (which would be the object of the
active verb).
b teaching idea
I would show two pictures (Her translating the book and a book in two different languages) and ask questions to check the students
have understood the differences between the two sentences:
Which picture matches which sentence? 2.0.1 Her translating. 2.0.2 The two books in different languages.
Who translated the book? 2.0.1 She did. 2.0.2 We don’t know.
What is the focus of the action? 2.0.1 The translator. 2.0.2 The book.
Which sentence is active and which is passive? 2.0.1 Active. 2.0.2 Passive.

Now it’s your turn:

2.1.1 If I have the money, I’ll buy a new car.

2.1.2 If I had the money, I’d buy a new car.

a differences in meaning
Conditional sentences refer to a condition, showed in the IF clause, and a result expressed in the following clause.
The first sentence is a first conditional sentence which is used to talk about actions/events in the future which are likely
to happen or have a real possibility of happening. In this case the IF clause is followed by the present simple tense and
we use the future tense in the second clause.
The second sentence is a second conditional sentence which is used in situations/actions in the present or future which
are not likely to happen or are imaginary or hypothetical. We use the past simple tense in the IF clause and WOULD in
the second clause.
b teaching idea
I would explain that sentence 2.1.1 is probable to happen but sentence 2.1.2 is unlikely to happen. I would write on the
board other examples such as “If I study, I will pass the exam” and I would ask “Is this probable?”. I would write on the
board “If I were rich, I would buy many houses” and then I would repeat the question “Is it probable?”
I would ask students to think of some other examples too.

2.2.1 The house was very isolated.

2.2.2 The house was very secluded.

a differences in meaning
The difference in meaning is that an Isolated house is separated from the others either by a long or a short distance
while a secluded house is hidden and often difficult to reach.

b teaching idea
I would show two pictures to compare the meaning between the two adjectives. Then I would ask students to google
some other pictures to find some examples and check understanding.

2.3.1 Give me a hand with this bag, will you?

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2.3.2 Could you give me a hand with this bag, please?

a differences in meaning

Sentence 2.3.1 is a command which includes a tag question. We add a clause in the form of a question at the end of a
sentence. If the main part of the sentence is positive, we usually add a negative tag question. If the main part is
negative, we usually add a positive tag question. These type of expressions are usually used in informal situations and
the intention in this case is to check something is true, or invite people to agree with us.

Sentence 2.3.2 is a polite request because it includes a modal verb. This shows that the speaker is asking for help
politely.

b teaching idea
I would tell student that they will see two videos of famous movies or TV series where the speakers use question tags
and polite questions using modal verbs. I would ask them to pay attention to the relationship between the speakers and
the intention while using question tags or polite requests. I would elicit the use of both grammar structures through
questions such as “Does the person using question tags expect a NO for an answer?” “Is the person using modal verbs
uttering a command or is he/she really asking?”

3. Pronunciation

(i) State the number of syllables in each of the words in the box below. Example: comfortable = 3

(ii) Underline the stressed syllable on the words in the box below. Example: comfortable

1 photographic =4 2 independent =4 3 reliable =4 4 record (noun) =2 5 record (verb) =2

6 allow =2 7 computer =3 8 hospital =3 9 hospitality =5 10 vegetable =3

4. Teaching experience
Write approximately 300 words describing either a successful or an unsuccessful learning experience you have
had. State your reasons why the experience was successful or otherwise and what you learnt about teaching
and learning from the experience.

One of the most successful learning experiences I have ever had happened when I entered the world of
education. Some years ago, I started teaching in fifth grade of primary school and I found quite a difficult
group. Most of them were fast at learning English but there was a boy who was always distracted and
mischievous.
After a while, I could notice he had not been doing the tasks developed during the class also when he was
asked about the reasons for the empty notebook he said he did not understand anything. Throughout the

following classes, I tried my best to explain some concepts and I paid special attention to this boy who
continued misbehaving. However, it was not until I contacted his mother that I could find the difficulty.
She told me that he could not read or write properly because he had dyslexia. I had never heard of that before
so I started doing my research in order to teach him appropriately. I understood that he was not being rude

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Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]
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just because he did not like me, instead he was struggling to identify words and numbers in his mother tongue
therefore it was almost impossible for him to solve some tasks designed for an A2 level. In fact, my attitude
towards his actions before knowing about his cognitive difficulties did not help at all. I began to change my
strategies to guide him through flashcards and TPR games which let him understand vocabulary and grammar
structures without noticing. I had to change from written, traditional tests to oral evaluation which forced me
to get out of my comfort zone and learn from a different perspective.
Nowadays, with some more experience I can see that the first period of my teaching this boy was clearly
unsuccessful but it was only when I started learning from him that my classes started being fruitful.

International House Buenos Aires - International House World Organisation

Vuelta de Obligado 1808 5° piso – CABA 1428 - Argentina
Tel +54 11 4788-1788 - e-mail: [email protected]