The Distance DELTA is a unique programme for experienced English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals. Developed by International House London and the British Council, the programme prepares experienced teachers for the Cambridge Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA).

The Distance DELTA is for practising teachers in the field of ELT who wish to upgrade their qualifications and are keen to develop their teaching skills. Designed for teachers who would like to continue working while they study, the Distance DELTA provides an alternative to intensive and part-time face-to-face courses.

As with any distance learning programme, it is important that you consider carefully if your own learning style and environment would make you an effective distance learner. To follow the Distance DELTA programme, you need to be able to dedicate a minimum of 10 to 15 hours per week, over 8 months, to DELTA-related work and you need to be able to work to set deadlines. For more information, see Entry Requirements below.

The Distance DELTA is an integrated programme which enables you to follow a DELTA course whilst still working in your school or institution. The 8 month programme comprises:

• A 2-week Orientation Course, run at International House London and in selected regional International House and British Council centres.
• A distance component which covers all aspects of the Cambridge DELTA syllabus and assessment.

The Orientation Course

The Orientation Course is an essential part of the programme. It introduces you to the main themes and approaches to be followed during the distance component and provides a sound grounding in the skills of analysing, planning and reflecting objectively on your own teaching. Unit 1 of the programme, including your first formally-assessed Portfolio Assignment leading to the Cambridge DELTA, is completed during the Orientation Course. As a result, the Orientation Course is an intensive yet rewarding part of the programme.

As a distance learner, it is important that you make contact with others who are following the same programme so that you can share ideas and opinions. The Orientation Course is the first step towards becoming part of the Distance DELTA learning community.

The Orientation Course is held at International House London and in selected International House and British Council regional centres (where demand permits).

The Distance Component

The Distance Component covers two essential elements: research and written work, and the development of practical teaching skills.

Research and written work

• Core course materials are delivered on a CD Rom, in 8* units to be completed to a set schedule. Each unit of work contains information, tasks and guided reading projects which require you to reflect on your own teaching and your own teaching context. The unit also contains a formally-assessed assignment which contributes to your overall assessment on the course.
• There is a dedicated website which contains updated course content and, most importantly, discussion group work monitored by an experienced DELTA tutor.
  (*Unit 1 completed during the Orientation Course)

Practical teaching skills

Your reflection on your own teaching development will be monitored by the experienced DELTA tutors responsible for providing support and assessment over the course of the programme. On a face-to-face basis, however, your teaching will be monitored by your approved Local Tutor.

You should ensure that you can dedicate a minimum of 10 hours per week, over 8 months, to work on the Distance DELTA. This work will include reading, completing assignments and, vitally, reflecting on your own teaching.

Throughout the programme, there will be a team of experienced DELTA tutors working with you to ensure you gain as much benefit as possible from the programme. In addition to the course materials described above, there are several key elements in place to ensure that your learning is supported:

• You will be part of a study group (maximum 12 participants) who will participate in online discussions, monitored by an experienced tutor.
• The Course Tutor team, comprising tutors from International House and the British Council network, will provide guidance on your progress during the course and outline ways in which you might develop your ideas further.
• A support team of a Course Co-ordinator and the Course Administrator, and an IT helpline are available should you need extra help.
• Your nominated Local Tutor will provide extra support at a local level through seminars and observation of your teaching.

Work towards the Cambridge DELTA award is assessed in 3 components.

1. A portfolio of assessed coursework
2. An extended assignment.
3. A 3-hour written examination

Components 1 and 2 are completed during the course. You will take the written examination in the session following the end of the course (December or June).

The portfolio includes:

• 7 assignments, 6 of which are internally assessed. The seventh is externally assessed. 5 of the assignments include the observation of your teaching. The first formal observation is completed during the Orientation Course. Observations 2, 3 and 4 are completed by your Local Tutor. The final observation is part of your externally-assessed assignment and is observed by a Cambridge-approved DELTA Assessor.
• The extended assignment is a case study of a learner (4000 – 4500 words) and is externally assessed. Throughout the course, you will be given guidance on completing this assignment.
• The written examination is a 3-hour examination, held in early December and early June. You may take the exam either at International House London or you can transfer to a British Council local centre or another approved local centre. (Please note that transfer centres may charge an administration fee).

All participants on the Distance DELTA need to nominate a person who will be willing to act as their Local Tutor during the course of the programme. Normally, the Local Tutor is either the Director of Studies or a teacher trainer within your own institution who is responsible for your development programme during the year. They should be appropriately qualified, with experience of Cambridge teacher-training schemes and extensive experience of providing teacher support.

The Local Tutor is responsible for the following:

• running regular monthly seminars on DELTA-related topics
• informal observation of your teaching
• formal observation and assessment on 3 occasions during the programme (marking written work and observing a lesson)
• making arrangements for your externally-assessed practical lesson

The role of Local Tutor is voluntary, and prospective Local Tutors need to be able to dedicate around 5 hours per month to each candidate (possibly fewer if there is more than one candidate).

Many Local Tutors find the work involved in the Distance DELTA provides a useful framework for creating development plans, and in particular find the seminar programme useful for all staff members. In addition, Local Tutors receive support through the following:

• a briefing pack complete with observation standardisation tasks
• guidelines for seminars and appropriate materials
• a dedicated website area for the exchange of ideas, as well as support from the course co-ordinator

All applicants for the Distance DELTA must nominate a prospective Local Tutor and all prospective Local Tutors must submit a completed application form. This application will then be forwarded to Cambridge ESOL for approval. Candidates cannot follow the course without the support of an approved Local Tutor. For more information for prospective Local Tutors, see Local Tutors: Information for applicants

Your final assignment within your coursework portfolio will be assessed by an external assessor, appointed by Cambridge ESOL. Assessors are experienced teacher trainers who are very familiar with the Cambridge DELTA scheme. They are nominated by Cambridge ESOL to carry out external assessment.

Candidates normally complete their externally-assessed practical assignment in their own place of work and every effort is taken to ensure that an assessor can be found in the country where you work. However, it is sometimes necessary for an Assessor to travel from a different country. Please note that Cambridge ESOL will reimburse local rail travel within a country but that the cost of all travel between countries and all flights, national and international, are the responsibility of the candidate or their sponsor (minus £39 payable by Cambridge ESOL). Cambridge ESOL will reimburse accommodation and subsistence expenses.

Entry requirements 1: Qualifications and experience

The Cambridge DELTA is a qualification for practising teachers in the field of ELT. Typically, candidates following the course will have:

• a first degree
• an initial ELT qualification
• a minimum of 2 years full time (1200 hours) teaching experience of ELT to adults within the past five years
• a range of teaching experience involving work in different teaching contexts and experience of teaching adults at different levels
• an appropriate awareness of language, and language competence in English to enable them to follow the course and complete all assessed elements successfully

The entry requirements above are in accordance with those laid out in the Cambridge ESOL DELTA Syllabus & Assessment Guidelines.

Entry requirements 2: IT skills and access

The Distance DELTA is an electronically delivered programme and you must ensure that you have adequate access and IT skills to enable you to follow the course. These include:

• access to computer facilities with CD ROM drive
• adequate word-processing skills to enable you complete written assignments
• competent in using the internet and e-mail
• regular access to internet facilities (minimum one hour per week)
• regular access to adequate word-processing and email facilities
• anti-virus protection regularly updated

Entry requirements 3: Practical requirements

The Distance DELTA is an integrated programme, with practical and written components forming the basis of all formally-assessed assignments. During the course, you need to:

• be involved in ELT teaching on a regular basis
• teach groups of adults (i.e. learners over the age of 16 years). For formal assessment purposes, you must ensure that there is a minimum of 5 students in the group you are teaching. On one occasion, there must be a minimum of 10 students in the class
• have the support of an approved Local Tutor
• have access to appropriate library facilities.
• (for April entrants) guarantee that you will be teaching for a minimum of two months out of July, August and September

Note to all applicants:
Approval to become a Local Tutor depends on your application being linked to that of a named candidate. Wherever possible, Local Tutor applications should be submitted alongside the application of the candidate(s) whom you wish to supervise. We regret that we cannot extend full approval to prospective Local Tutors whose prospective candidates do not submit a completed application.

All Local Tutors must:

• hold a diploma-level qualification in ELT.*
• have extensive experience of English Language Teaching to adults
• have experience of running in-service teacher development seminars
• have significant experience of observing practising teachers for evaluation and development purposes
• provide evidence of their own continued professional development

*An MA in Applied Linguistics or TESOL will be regarded as relevant if supported by a significant period of teaching and teacher-training experience.

Points to consider:

As a Local Tutor, you would be expected to:

• participate in the Local Tutor briefing and standardisation procedure (provided as a distance course)
• provide support for your course participants* throughout the period of the programme. Please note that the demands on participants on distance courses vary markedly from those facing participants on face-to-face courses.
• dedicate around 5 hours per month to Distance DELTA-related development work for each candidate for whom you are responsible
• arrange a number of informal observations
• formally observe and assess lessons on 3 occasions
• follow procedures for arranging external practical assessments
• write a brief summarising report on your participants' progress at the end of the course

All prospective Local Tutors must submit a completed Local Tutor’s Application Form.

*A Local Tutor cannot be responsible for more than 3 participants. In centres where more than 3 participants are following the programme at any one time, a second Local Tutor is required.

Much of the work done on the Distance DELTA is individual research. This means that in addition to the course books and resource books which you generally use, you need to have access to appropriate library facilities. The following list is an indication of some of the most useful texts referred to in the Distance DELTA. Specific references for study purposes will be given in the course material. However, please note that your reading will largely be dictated by the areas which you need to research and as a result, you may wish to read texts not included in this list.

Click here to go to the full book list.

Articles in ELT Journals

The Distance DELTA website contains references to a wide range of articles in ELT journals. These provide an efficient and economical means to understanding theoretical issues. The following are the most useful journals:

• English Language Teaching Journal. www3.oup.co.uk/eltj. A CD-Rom containing all journals 1981-2002 is available for Distance DELTA trainees at a discount price ofc. £30 (order form on Distance DELTA website)
• English Teaching Professional. www.etprofessional.com
• Modern English Teacher. www.onlinemet.com
• IH Journal of Education. www.ihjournal.com

Please click here to see a unit by unit description of the course content.

You can also download and print out all of the above information in pdf format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the document.

Download distance_delta_brochure.pdf (209kb)

For more information about the course, please contact:

The Distance DELTA Administrator
16 Stukeley Street
London WC2 5LQ
UK