Saturday, August 16, 2025
A lot of teachers often come to a point in their career when they ask what next? Is this it until I retire? One way to offset this anxiety is to continue your professional development and in the English language teaching world, a great to do this is by obtaining the Cambridge DELTA. The DELTA qualification is comprised of 3 modules and the certification is equivalent to a Master’s level degree. You receive a certificate upon completion of each module and once all three have been passed then you get one final certificate stating that you are the proud owner of the DELTA. And in today’s blogpost we are going to be focusing specifically on DELTA module one, so let’s dive into the teacher becoming the student!
DELTA module one is a Cambridge University certified exam officially titled Understanding language, methodology and resources for teaching. It consists of two papers, 90 minutes each and with a short break in between to refuel, take a pitstop and stretch the legs before launching into the second half. The exam dates are always in June and December and depending where you live, you may have to factor in travel and/or accommodation.
There are 200 marks in total across the two papers (100 marks each) and similar to the English exams we teach, there are different grades available. Fortunately, a pass grade here is not the approximately 60% most of our students have to achieve for B2 First, C1 Advanced and so on, instead it is around 50%. As a rough guide 100 marks (more or less) equates to a pass, 130 for Merit, and 150 for Distinction, though it all depends on how the bell curve works out. So, to help with achieving the best mark possible, let’s take a closer look at what the tasks require in each of the papers.
Consists of 5 tasks, 100 marks and in the words of the handbook requires “labelling, short answer and longer written responses”. The great thing about studying for this exam is that a lot of the knowledge overlaps between tasks, for example tasks one and two involve labelling terminology and stating definitions of ELT concepts and this knowhow is super useful right throughout the exam as long as it is used appropriately. Starting with shorter, simpler tasks like the first two also helps you get on a roll before the longer answers and, if you’ve had a quick glance at all the questions, which we recommend you do, your brain can start whirring away subconsciously before you then tackle them head-on.
Task three is considered a longer written response, however, it is still nothing too strenuous. It is simply identifying what students need to be able to do to successfully complete a productive skills task (speaking/writing) and then give an example, which you’ll soon see is a common requirement across many of the exam tasks. The material provided is either taken from a published ELT resource such as an exam or coursebook so if you have taught exams, used coursebooks or activities from resource books you are perfectly set up to identify what students need.
Task four, while still involving productive skills, focuses instead on the completed task in which you receive an authentic writing or speaking transcript and have to recognise the student’s strengths and weaknesses as well as extracting an example from the given text (of course!).
And then we come to Task five, the biggie, indeed worth half of all the marks from the first paper so naturally you’re going to be writing a lot but what you end up writing is actually done according to a (more or less) consistent framework – in other words you essentially write a lot of short answers, no prose necessary. Similar to earlier tasks you are given an authentic text but, in this case, it could be any type of language-emitting medium. Past exams have featured novel extracts, advertisements, brochures, articles and even the inside of a book cover. The first step is always to identify typical features of the genre before going on to analyse language aspects like form, meaning, use, and pronunciation of discrete items or areas highlighted in the text. You are also likely to have to discuss potential problems relating to the aforementioned aspects. And if all of this sounds familiar to you as an English language teacher that’s because it should be! Delta is not this mythical unobtainable object from beyond. Yes, it requires work but the language analysis that goes on when planning lessons and considering the possible things students might struggle with is merely lesson planning 101, only with Delta you are going to a slightly greater depth of analysis, yet the basic teaching principles remain the same. The point is, have hope you can do it!
In the second paper all the tasks require “longer written responses” but there are only three, totalling 100 marks, which is the same as paper one. Task one focuses specifically on testing so it useful to know the relevant terminology but remember to apply it appropriately. In this part, you are given a test and the surrounding context such as who the students are and their current situation. Your task is to then evaluate the positives and negatives of said test for this specific group of learners as well as mentioning what effect the +/- aspect might have on the students (called the application).
Task two involves assessing coursebook material and being able to recognise how the different stages/activities that occur during a lesson relate to each other. You need to figure out the purpose and also the underlying assumptions behind the task itself or order of activities – why exactly are students being asked to do X now and in this way? For instance, a reading for gist task is designed to have learners get a general understanding of a text before going into detail, the assumption being that this reflects how learners typically approach texts in their L1 and is a more effective way to obtain an understanding than reading from word to word, and as teachers we want to encourage the transfer of these subskills. Lastly, you also have to identify specific examples from the material to back up your answers just like the rest of the exam.
And then there is Task three. For this one, if you imagine Forrest Gump as a Delta Tutor, he might have drawled “Task three is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. It is a complete lottery as to what the question might be about, previous topics have included: teacher talking time (TTT), pairwork and groupwork, reconstructing a text, using L1 in the classroom and even student feedback. So, to help prepare this is where all your reading, experience and even common sense come into play and you simply make as many relevant points as possible in the time available.
While some may consider anyone taking a further teaching qualification at the Masters’ level as being a sucker for pain, others can hopefully see the benefit of furthering their professional development and all the opportunities that come with it. It can be a gateway to various senior teaching roles (anyone wanting to become a teacher trainer must have it) or it could simply be a personal challenge for teachers to refresh their teaching knowledge. And as luck would have it, the Delta can also be cross-credited with other qualifications such as an MA in Linguistics and Language Teaching depending on the institution.
So, if you are an English teacher serious about advancing your prospects both personally and professionally then jumping aboard the Delta train is a way forward. The Cambridge handbook recommends having an English level between C1 and C2, an initial teaching qualification such as the CELTA and at least a year’s teaching experience. Having said this, we would recommend having more than just a year’s experience because that way, you are likely to have taught in a range of contexts and have more knowledge and experience to draw upon. That said, if you have a passion for teaching and the drive to learn it is still achievable with the bare minimum of experience alongside pure hard work, of course.
So then, what next? Well, if after reading this blogpost you’re a little more inspired about taking the Delta module one exam, then continue reading! Seriously, read read read! That and doing the numerous practice exams out there plus creating (a lot of!) flashcards. We would also seriously recommend signing up for a course to help guide you through the tasks with an experienced tutor, though it is not compulsory in being able to take the exam. For a more in-depth description and explanation (plus the other modules) please consult the DELTA handbook which can be found on the official Cambridge website. We wish you all the best on your teaching journey!
