DELTA (ELT)

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DELTA, the Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults, is a professional qualification in English language teaching awarded by Cambridge Assessment, formerly UCLES, a part of the University of Cambridge. The Diploma (or Dip) is often seen as a follow-up to the certificate known as the CELTA, once the individual has done a couple of years of teaching and has decided on a more long-term and serious commitment to the teaching of English. The Dip does not cover related non-teaching responsibilities (administration, training of teachers, and so on), but those who undertake these tasks often hold this qualification, or its equivalent.

The diploma is awarded upon passing a course which includes supervised teaching practice, observation of other teachers, completion of a range of written assignments, completion of an extended assignment, and a written examination. The DELTA is available in many different countries throughout the world. The course can be taken part-time over a year or more, or full-time over a period of two to three months. Distance learning is also available. It is widely recognized around the world, as is the CELTA. The DELTA is also integrated into some MA programs. The DELTA and LTCL DipTESOL are often seen as roughly equivalent qualifications.

The DELTA was introduced in 1999. It replaced the DTEFLA, the Diploma in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults, which was administered jointly by the RSA and UCLES. The two qualifications were equivalent in level but the DELTA was more narrowly focused on teaching English as a foreign language; that is, the old qualification focussed on teaching English to those who need it for exams, study, work or travel, whereas the new qualification includes the needs of immigrants settling in anglophone countries.

[edit] Accreditation in the United Kingdom

The DELTA is accredited by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority as a Diploma in Teaching ESOL at NQF level 7 on the National Qualifications Framework for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Following government restructuring of Further Education (FE) the DELTA alone will be insufficient to teach ESOL/EFL in FE from 2010. An extension module has been created to help teachers and lecturers currently in employment and who already hold the DELTA to upgrade their qualification to the required Level 4 certificate of subject specialism. However, teachers and lecturers employed from September 2010 onwards will be required to have completed a specialised Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at NQF Level 7, as well as the Level 4 certificate, regardless of DELTA certification. Compared to the DELTA, the PGCE has a higher standard of observed classroom practice, content regarding classroom management, student assessment and curriculum development and also confers professional teacher status (QTS/QTLS) which the DELTA does not.