The DELTA in Korea: Is it possible?

In the past couple of years, I’ve done modules 1 + 3 of the Cambridge DELTA course while in Korea. During the process, I was blogging about it so I get a lot of questions from readers asking whether or not it’s possible to do the DELTA in Korea. The short answer is: Yes, kind of.

Table of Contents

DELTA Modules 1 + 3 = Easy to do in Korea

DELTA module 1 is a 3-hour written test covering TESOL theory and practice that’s offered twice a year on specific dates. I wrote mine at the British Council in Seoul, who simply administer the test for candidates in Korea.

DELTA module 3 is a big research paper that is kind of like a mini thesis.

To prepare for modules 1 + 3, you have 3 basic options:

Prepare on your own. This isn’t really recommended, especially for module 3 because I think it’d be extremely easy to stray down a wrong path.
The Distance Delta. It’s an online preparation course, complete with practice tests, suggestions for your paper and plenty of tutor support. This was the program I used and I was extremely happy with it.
Bell English. It’s very similar to the Distance Delta, just not as good according to the reviews. It seems like they give you a ton of reading instead of just condensing the relevant information into PDFs like the Distance Delta. The tutor support for the paper and feedback on the practice tests seems a little patchy as well.

Delta Module 1 Study Notes-If you Insist on Going Cheap Style

If you insist on doing module 1 without a tutor, well, use my DELTA module 1 study notes. I did exactly none of the extra reading and instead just studied from these I notes I made using the PDFs from the Distance Delta as well as the terminology using a phone app with vocab sets that other people had already made. And, I got a Pass A, the highest score possible.

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility if you use these notes exclusively and fail, or something. Use at your own risk!

DELTA Module 2 = Impossible

After I’d finished modules 1 + 3, I inquired with my old CELTA tutors at the British Council in Seoul about whether or not it would be possible to do Module 2 in Korea. Basically, I’d need to find an approved tutor to supervise my teaching. They told me that unless I worked for the British Council, it’s basically impossible, especially since I lived in Busan and there seemed to be precisely “0” DELTA tutors in the city.

Let’s Sum This Up: Delta in South Korea

Delta in Korea: it’s possible, kind of. But, you’ll need to head somewhere else to do Module 2. Eastern Europe seems to be the most popular destination for this. But beware: most of the courses cover all 3 modules and if you’re only doing the second one, you’ll often pay the same price.

If you have the time, you might be better off just doing the whole thing in 6-8 weeks intensively instead of piecemeal like I attempted to do. That said, there is still a significant amount of value in completing 2/3 of the course so it was not a total loss.

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If you want to teach English abroad for a career, you’ll want to get qualified. Learn more about it in this short video or you may also want to check this out: ESL Resume Tips.