DELTA Module 2: what to expect and how to do it well

Thursday evening. You have just taught your fourth lesson of the day, and it went well: the students talked, laughed and left happy. On the way home, a thought that has been visiting you more and more often returns: the lessons work, but you have been running on autopilot for a while. And you cannot always explain why you do things the way you do.

If that is the point where DELTA comes to mind, then most of your questions are probably about Module 2. It is the practical heart of the diploma: what gets assessed is not your knowledge about language but your actual lessons. It is also the part people fear most. So let us walk through it in advance — from the first «is this for me right now?» to the final lesson in front of a Cambridge assessor — together with people who have already been down this road.

Six honest questions before you start

Let us start with you, not with the syllabus. A «no» to any of these questions does not mean you are not ready — it shows what to sort out before the course begins.

1. Have you been teaching for at least a year? In Module 2 you analyse your own lessons. Without real practice there is nothing to analyse — which is why Cambridge designed DELTA for experienced teachers.
2. Do you have a group of at least five learners? Assessed lessons are taught to a real group of at least five; one-to-one students do not count. No group of your own? Ask the centre whether it can provide one.
3. Are you comfortable writing academic English? Cambridge expects C1 or above. Every essay comes with referenced sources and a bibliography in a standard format.
4. Can you find 12–15 hours a week? 200 hours over 14 weeks averages 14 hours a week including sessions — and more before assessed lessons.
5. Are you ready to have your lesson taken apart minute by minute? You are observed five times over the course: the diagnostic lesson, three internal LSAs and the final lesson in front of the assessor. After the first four, a tutor gives detailed feedback.
6. Do you know why you want it? A senior teacher or Director of Studies post, a move into academic management, a path towards training, or simply your own growth. A goal helps you choose essay topics and not give up on the third assignment.

If most of your answers are «yes», let us look at what the work actually consists of. The clearest way is to follow one assignment from beginning to end.

One assignment from the inside: from topic to reflection

The basic unit of Module 2 is the LSA (Language Systems or Skills Assignment): a research essay plus a lesson on the same topic. Rather than retell the handbook, let us follow one LSA all the way through, with a live example.

Step 1. Narrow the topic

Say your B1 group keeps confusing the present perfect with the past simple. «The present perfect» will not do as a topic — too broad, the analysis will stay shallow. But «the present perfect for talking about experience, with a B1 group that confuses it with the past simple» is a working topic: Cambridge assesses separately whether you have defined it clearly and justified the choice with your own lessons and reading.

Step 2. The background essay, 2,000–2,500 words

Now the topic needs researching: how the form, meaning and pronunciation of this grammar work, exactly where learners with different backgrounds stumble — and which procedures and materials address that. The essay is assessed in four categories: quality of writing, clarity of topic, analysis and issues, suggestions for teaching. And listing procedures is not enough — they have to be critically evaluated and tied to the problems you described.

This is the step that swallows the most time. Ha Truong, a teacher who kept a detailed diary of her Module 2, worked out after her first LSA that 90% of her time had gone on the essay and only 10% on the lesson — and it was the lesson that suffered (her blog, 2024). Her recipe for the next assignments: outline the essay first, then read with a purpose, keeping notes in one system. The recipe worked: she finished the module with a Merit, having saved a topic she knew inside out for the final external LSA (guest post on Sandy Millin’s blog, 2025).

Step 3. The lesson, 40–60 minutes

From the essay you take one narrow part and teach it to your group — the same group it all started with. The plan comes with a 500–750 word commentary: why the lesson is built this way for these learners. In the lesson, tutors and the assessor look at four things: the learning atmosphere and engagement, your language and explanations, your procedures and sequencing, and your classroom management.

Step 4. Reflection, 300–500 words

Straight after the lesson comes the evaluation: what worked in the planning and teaching, what did not and why, and what should come next. What earns marks here is not retelling the lesson but seeing causes. It is, in fact, the very skill you will use every day afterwards — with no assessor in the room.

How four LSAs fit into the calendar

There are four such assignments over the course: two on language systems (grammar, lexis, phonology or discourse — each on a different one) and two on skills (one productive, one receptive). Timetables differ between centres, but the logic of the course is the same, because Cambridge sets it.

• The start. A diagnostic lesson observed by a tutor. It begins the PDA: the Reflection and Action part (2,000–2,500 words) on your beliefs, strengths and development plan — written in three stages across the course.
• The main stretch. Three internal LSAs, one after another. After each one, feedback you use in the next. Tutor guidance gradually decreases — deliberately.
• In parallel. Experimental Practice (1,500–2,000 words): you try an approach that is new to you in a lesson of its own and analyse how it worked. Plus 10 hours of observing other teachers’ lessons, live or filmed.
• The finale. The fourth LSA is assessed by a Cambridge assessor. Tutors may discuss your idea and suggest reading, but they no longer correct drafts of the essay or plan — you work independently. The centre sends your lesson evaluation to the assessor within 48 hours.

And now the part everyone asks about: how the grade is put together.

• Pass means a Pass for the essay and the lesson in the internal LSA the centre submits to Cambridge, a Pass for the essay and the lesson in the final external LSA, and completion of both parts of the PDA.
• Merit and Distinction depend above all on the final lesson in front of the assessor: it needs a Merit for a Merit and a Distinction for a Distinction. In addition, both essays need at least a Pass, the internal lesson at least a Pass (for a Merit) or a Merit (for a Distinction), and both parts of the PDA must be passed.
• If the finale goes wrong, a candidate may usually be referred rather than failed — the right to retake the final assignment without repeating the course. According to ELT Concourse, this requires a complete internal portfolio, a Pass in both parts of one internal LSA and a completed (not necessarily passed) PDA; you can retake twice within a year. Your centre will give you the exact conditions.

Intensive or part-time: the price of speed

The same module can be lived through very differently. Lauren, the author of the EFL Teacher Traveller blog, deliberately chose a 12-week course over a six-week intensive, which she called a «kamikaze» option (her account, 2022). Her logic is simple, and we share it: the main value of Module 2 is the feedback after each assignment, and on an intensive there is simply no time between assignments to absorb it.

So: an intensive — a few weeks of full immersion — suits you if you can take a break from work and sustain the pace. Part-time — several months alongside your job — suits teachers with groups of their own; the risk here is different, leaving the essay to the last week, so you need discipline. Online, face to face or blended — Cambridge allows all of them. What matters is not the format but three questions to the centre: how much live contact with tutors, how often the tutorials, and who provides the group for your lessons.

What it changes in your career — honestly

Geoffrey Adamson, a head of department at an international school, writes that Module 2 taught him the two things he had been missing most as a manager: giving colleagues concise feedback and pinpointing why a lesson went wrong (the CELT Athens DELTA centre blog, 2023). That is probably the most precise description of what the module gives you beyond your own classroom: you start seeing other people’s lessons as clearly as your own.

That is why Module 2 gives the most to teachers looking towards a senior teacher or academic coordinator role, academic management or training — though DELTA alone is not enough to become a CELTA trainer; Cambridge has separate requirements for that. And to be honest about money: DELTA does not guarantee an automatic pay rise. In our experience, it more often opens doors to new positions than changes your rate straight away.

To weigh the alternatives, it helps to see all three side by side — though they are not really rungs of one ladder but different tools:

• CELTA is the way into the profession: 120 hours, six hours of assessed teaching, four written assignments. It teaches you how to run a lesson.
• DELTA Module 2 is for people who already teach: 200 hours, four LSAs with research-based essays plus the PDA, a final lesson in front of a Cambridge assessor. It teaches you to explain why a lesson works and to analyse it against the Cambridge criteria.
• An MA in TESOL or applied linguistics is for research and an academic career. An academic programme, usually with a dissertation.

Formally, DELTA stands high: Ofqual, the UK qualifications regulator, places its modules at Level 7 — the same level as a master’s degree. It is not a master’s degree, but some MA programmes accept DELTA modules as credits — according to the Cambridge handbook, up to 20 credits per module.

Two months before the start: five steps

If you have read this far and are still thinking «yes, this is me», here is what to do in advance — each step will later save you weeks.

1. Arrange a group. Agree with your employer which groups you will teach for assessment, or ask the centre.
2. Ask for the reading list. Cambridge gives centres recommended reading lists for each module. Start with a grammar reference and a book on teaching skills.
3. Set up a note system. One table: source, page, idea. At the end of an essay it saves you an evening on the bibliography.
4. Start a teaching journal. Two lines after each lesson: what worked and why. It becomes ready material for Reflection and Action.
5. Clear your schedule. Do not put Module 2 next to Module 3 or a big project at work.

The winter DELTA Module 2 course at IH Kyiv

We are opening a part-time online course: 17 January to 25 April 2027, 14 weeks. Input sessions on Sundays from 9:00 to 15:00, teaching practice on Thursdays from 18:00 to 20:00, Kyiv time. International House Kyiv has trained teachers on Cambridge programmes since 2005, including every DELTA module.

The DELTA page has the requirements, the application form for Modules 2–3 with its pre-course task, and current fees. Leave a request and our coordinator will help you decide whether to take Module 2 now or start with Module 1.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pass Module 1 first?

No. The modules can be taken in any order. Some recommend starting with Module 1 for the terminology, others with Module 2, because practice makes the theory easier to grasp.

Can I do it without CELTA?

Cambridge sets no formal entry requirements, but recommends an initial qualification such as CELTA and at least a year of experience. For Module 2, the centre runs its own selection.

How long can I take between modules?

As long as you like — there is no time limit. Cambridge issues a certificate for each module, and once all three are complete you hold the full DELTA qualification; your centre requests its certificate.

Where can I check these rules?

Everything about the format and assessment comes from official sources: the DELTA page on the Cambridge website, the DELTA Handbook for tutors and candidates (October 2023 version) and the results page.