Teaching Qualifications - Recognition FAQs

You can find information about CELTA at www.cambridgeenglish.org/celta

You can find information about DELTA at www.cambridgeenglish.org/delta

CELTA is not accredited on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), because the framework serves to describe foreign language proficiency and CELTA is not a foreign language exam, but a teaching qualification.

Although CELTA can only be taken by people whose English level is CEFR C2 or high grade C1, Pass A or B, Cambridge English does not require a language certificate for candidates to be admitted to a CELTA course.

It is at the discretion of test centres whether or not to admit candidates who do not have formal educational qualifications at the level indicated above. In such cases, candidates can only be admitted if they demonstrate that they would be likely to be able to complete the course successfully.

CELTA is currently accredited in the UK by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) at Level 5 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and is a 30-credit qualification.

Level 5 qualifications recognise specialist learning and involve detailed analysis of a high level of information and knowledge in an area of work or study.

This is the same level as a foundation degree or a higher education diploma – however whilst the levels are the same, they should not be considered equivalent due to their content differences.

The current Ofqual accreditation number is 501/1891/2 and a link to Ofqual Register can be found here.

DELTA is currently accredited in the UK by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) at Level 7 on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) and is a 60-credit qualification.

Level 7 equates to Master’s level in terms of content.

The Ofqual accreditation number is 600/2402/1. Please see the Ofqual website for more details.

The number of academic (university) credits awarded for CELTA or DELTA will be at the discretion of the educational institution that the candidate is applying to.

CELTA

In the past, CELTA was accredited at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in the UK by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).

CELTA was re-evaluated against the NQF level descriptors and deemed to be at a Level 5 and was subsequently re-accredited in August 2009 to Level 5.

The difficulty of the qualification itself has not changed and a CELTA taken before the change in 2009 can be considered the equivalent of those taken after the change.

CELTA then moved from the NQF to the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), where it was accredited at Level 5.

As of January 2018, the QCF and NQF were both replaced by a single Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), which continues to accredit CELTA as a Level 5 qualification.

DELTA

In the past, the DELTA qualification was accredited by the exams regulator for the UK government (Ofqual) at Level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

In 2006, DELTA was re-accredited to Level 7 of the NQF. The change in level was on account of a change in the NQF level system rather than a change in the level of the qualification.

DELTA then moved from the NQF to the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), and was accredited at Level 7.

As of January 2018, the QCF and NQF were both replaced by a single Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), which continues to accredit DELTA as a Level 7 qualification.

A DELTA taken pre 2006 can be considered equivalent to the current DELTA qualification.

While CELTA can only be taken by people whose English level is CEFR C2 or high grade at C1, Pass A or B, there is no formal requirement for candidates to present a language certificate.

If CELTA candidates do not have formal educational qualifications at the level indicated above, centres may still accept them if they can demonstrate that they would be likely to complete the course successfully.

CTEFLA

The Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults (CTEFLA) was an initial qualification previously offered by Cambridge English (formerly known as Cambridge English Language Assessment). It was designed for people with little or no teaching experience. The CTEFLA was replaced by the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA).

The CTEFLA itself was not mapped to any qualifications frameworks; however it can be seen as comparable in level to the current CELTA.

The CELTA was accredited at Level 5 on the UK’s Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF).

As of January 2018, the QCF was replaced by a single Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) which continues to recognise CELTA at Level 5.

This is at the same level in accreditation to the second year of a Bachelor’s degree, however this should not be considered equivalent due to the differences in their content and purpose.

DTEFLA

The DTEFLA (Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to Adults) was a teaching qualification previously offered by Cambridge English (formerly known as Cambridge English Language Assessment). It went on to become the DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).

The DTEFLA itself was not mapped to any qualifications frameworks and was not given a credit value; however it was set at the same standard as the current DELTA, which was accredited in the UK by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) at Level 7 on the QCF.

As of January 2018, the QCF was replaced by a single Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF), which continues to recognise DELTA at Level 7.

This is at the same level in accreditation to a Master’s degree or a Professional Diploma, however they should not be considered equivalent due to the differences in their content and purpose.

TKT modules are not accredited or regulated by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) and therefore do not have a RQF level assigned to them.

Comparison between RQF and CEFR is not possible because they measure different things.

The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) is a credit system which recognises qualifications and units by awarding credits and levels (from Entry Level to Level 8). The credit value gives an indication of how long it will normally take you to prepare for a unit or qualification. One credit will usually take you 10 hours of learning. Please see the Ofqual website for more information.

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is an internal framework for describing language ability on a scale of levels from A1 for beginners up to C2 – please visit our website for more information.

QTS (Qualified Teaching Status) is awarded for teaching in state schools (e.g. primary or secondary) in the UK.

CELTA, DELTA, CTEFLA and DTEFLA were designed for people wanting to teach English as a foreign language and therefore are not suitable for teaching in state schools in the UK, they do not offer Qualified Teacher Status and are not recognised for roles in state schools in the UK. More information about QTS is available here.

CELTA and DELTA are widely accepted by private English language schools in the UK for recruitment purposes for teachers of English as a foreign language. Additionally, some further education colleges may accept the qualifications to teach English as a foreign language in the further/adult education sector.

Cambridge English does not issue transcripts with our qualifications; however, what we can provide is a letter with information about the content of the exam, together with an electronic copy of the syllabus for the qualification, which is considered as equivalent to a transcript.

You can then share this, together with your certificate, with the institution/organisation in question.

DELTA Module One, Two and Three can be verified on the Results Verification Service, but other Teaching Qualifications cannot.

Organisations/institutions can use the manual verification request form for this purpose.