Jess Carr

Review of Regent Language Training

Attended this to train as a language teacher 2005 ...

Attended this to train as a language teacher 2005 and do NOT recommend the CELTA training course if this is still running and being run by same personnel..



Academic psychologist and management consultant (50s) on course opined that the bullying by trainers systemic. Went to one of the trainers and challenged trainer, who said that "they had also suffered a lot of stress on this side of the wall ".

Two students had worked successfully according to CELTA guidelines before training but nearly failed, one of them massively demoralised. Another one left the course in a state of near breakdown.

One of the trainers admitted she found the other large trainer prone to invasion of personal space very intimidating, eg leaning over trainee's desk, getting right in the trainee's face, and bawling him or her out.

Feedback to external assessor was set up so that aggrieved students could either prepare for assessments (scheduled to run straight after feedback) or voice grievances.

Assessor was told there were problems and another session requested but external assessor vanished.

Trainers handed out feedback forms with pre-set questions, and told trainees if there were any answers to questions about complaints or room for improvement, those forms would be binned.



Some of the fee-paying foreign students complained bitterly to trainees about the teaching they were receiving from one of the trainers.

Double standard in operation. Trainees taught the voluntary students, some of whom were noisy and disruptive. Even gentle reprimands strictly forbidden and penalised for assessment purposes, but during one of the male trainees' assessed lessons he reprimanded the students and was backed up by the trainer assessing, who said told the trainee that the voluntary students only came in to flirt and giggle with "good-looking young male trainees." We were being assessed on attractiveness to trainers as well it seemed!