The importance of teachers professional development

Richard Cleeve
a woman stood in front of a noteboard, gesturing to it. The noteboard has different papers and graphs stuck to it.

There¡¯s the saying, ¡°There are two types of teachers with 20 years of teaching experience: the first are those with 20 years of experience and the second are those with one year¡¯s experience repeated 20 times.¡±

Some believe most teachers want to be the first kind of teacher ¨C constantly evolving throughout their careers ¨C rather than repeating the same classes. Additionally, taking professional development courses can help us reach these new heights.

Doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals regularly have to seek training opportunities. This enables them to keep up to date with the latest technologies, innovations and changes in the wider world. It could be argued that teachers are no different.

Benefits of professional development training

There are several benefits to continued professional training for teachers. For instance, there¡¯s always something new to learn as developments are happening regularly in the world of ELT. Whether it¡¯s innovations in ed-tech, new research into how we learn languages or a new pedagogy, certain courses can help bring you up to speed with these!

Undertaking further training will help you to deepen your knowledge and widen your expertise. So rather than simply repeating the same method of teaching a grammar point over again, you¡¯ll learn new approaches. In turn, you¡¯ll be better equipped to find the tools that work to help your students reach their learning goals.

Another great thing about professional development is that it can lead to career progression and promotion. There are a number of courses that you can take to develop not only skills for teaching, but other roles in the ELT industry.
For example, you can train to become a director of studies, specialize in business or academic English, or enter ELT publishing or management. There are many options to explore through further education!

New trends in English language teaching

To be the best teachers we can be, it's important to be aware of new trends in the field of ELT. Some of the latest ones include:

Hybrid learning

Gaining popularity in recent years, hybrid learning is an approach to teaching. Specifically, it involves some students attending class in person, while others join the class virtually from home. This means that teachers must be prepared to simultaneously teach both students in person and online.

Flipped classroom

A flipped classroom means students are introduced to content at home. Often teachers introduce this via videos and then practice working through the new knowledge in class. This is the opposite of the more traditional method where they are given new content at school, and complete assignments independently at home.

Bite-sized learning

One method of teaching that has become more common is bite-sized learning. For example, breaking down information into smaller chunks instead of having learners listen to long, uninterrupted sessions, and this helps students absorb information and keeps them engaged.

If you¡¯re not already familiar with these, there are lots of professional development courses that teach you how to use them in your classroom.

Formal qualifications in ELT

So what courses can you take? Here are some of the most common courses you can take for English language teaching.

  • CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Cambridge¡¯s Level 5 qualification is an internationally recognized ELT course. While this certificate focuses on teaching adults, language academies accept it for both adults and young learners.
  • Trinity CertTESOL (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Like the CELTA, the Level 5 course is designed for people with little or no English teaching experience.
  • Trinity CertPT (Certificate for Practising Teachers) - Trinity¡¯s Level 6 is designed for teachers who have already been teaching for a minimum of six months. It aims to support teachers' further development and help them improve their teaching practice.
  • DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Cambridge¡¯s provides professional development for teachers with at least one year¡¯s experience. This level 7 qualification is also designed for those who want to progress into more senior roles such as head of English and teacher training.
  • Trinity DipTESOL (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Trinity¡¯s is designed for teachers who have reached a stage in their career where they¡¯d like to progress to a more senior level. Like the DELTA, it¡¯s an internationally respected level 7 qualification for experienced TEFL teachers.
  • Master¡¯s degree - Master¡¯s studies in English Language Teaching, TESOL, or applied linguistics, are great options to reach a more senior level in your career. Most people take them to become a director of studies or reach a management position.
  • Specialized courses - If there¡¯s an area of teaching that you¡¯d like to specialize in, plenty of short courses cover a range of topics. These include teaching online, teaching with technology, teaching business English and teaching very young children. Check out , or to see what they offer.

If you¡¯re unable to take a formal course, sharing ideas with colleagues is a great way to create professional development opportunities. You could exchange lesson plans and ask for feedback or input. There are plenty of podcasts, webinars and social media groups for teachers where you can find great tips and ideas from fellow teachers worldwide.

Whichever route you decide, remember that learning is a lifelong journey ¨C not only for your students but for yourself too! There are always new things to discover that will help you develop as a teacher.

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  • A Parent reading to his two children from a book with all three of them laying on the floor

    How can teachers encourage parents to get kids reading at home?

    By Donatella Fitzgerald MBE

    ¡°Sharing a story with your child is one of the most incredible things you can do for them.¡± ¨C .

    Research shows that getting kids reading at home can increase their reading ability at school ¨C and improve their overall well-being. Parents and guardians can make a big difference. But how can teachers encourage parents to get their children to read more at home? We explore some strategies you can use.

    Tell parents about the benefits

    Reading can give children a break from technology-centered activities. It can help them to relax and unwind; reading a book can make children laugh and feel happier! Through hearing stories, children are also exposed to a rich and broad vocabulary.

    ¡°It is important for teachers to establish contact with parents as much as possible and give very clear guidelines on the benefits of reading, and how they can create a reading routine and help their children read at home,¡± says Kasia Janitz-De La Rue, Product Development Director at ÃÛÌÒapp.

    So, encourage parents to find time for a reading routine. Just before bedtime is a great time, as .

    Give parents practical ideas for reading strategies

    Encourage parents to read with and not to their child. It doesn¡¯t matter how long they set aside to read ¨C just 10 minutes of quality reading time can make a big difference.

    Here are a few tips concrete reading tips for teachers to share with parents:

    • Ask children lots of questions while reading.
    • Use encouragement and praise to keep children engaged. Saying things like ¡°what fantastic ideas¡± or ¡°you thought so carefully about that, what might happen now?"?will keep their minds working.
    • Use their past experiences to talk about what¡¯s being read. Things like ¡°have you learnt about¡­at school?¡± or ¡°do you remember when we watched¡­and found out about¡­?¡± are good conversation starters.
    • Tune in and listen to children, and be curious about their interests. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew so much about¡­¡± or ¡°I love reading stories about¡­with you,¡± are good phrases to keep in mind.

    It¡¯s also a great idea to share online resources with parents. You can also suggest that parents look up read-aloud YouTube videos featuring authors, teachers or librarians reading their favorite stories. This way, children can watch and listen as often as they like.

    Recommend graded readers

    Graded readers are books that use language in line with a child¡®s learning level. They can help children build confidence, and help slowly expose them to authentic reading levels.

    Encourage parents to identify what genre their child is interested in and show them the readers available. Each time parents see their children move up a level, they¡¯re sure to see their children¡¯s love for reading grow.

    Suggest before, during, and after reading activities

    Before reading

    Parents can take turns with their children to predict what the story is about ¨C or what will happen next. Here is an activity teachers may suggest they try:

    ¡°Start with the cover of the book and the blurb on the back cover. Reveal the cover slowly to ask the child what they can see. Ask them to guess what is on the cover. Once they have seen the cover, ask them questions about the images on the cover ¨C who, what, why, where and how?¡±

    While reading

    Remind parents to focus on their children¡¯s reading comprehension by using strategies like prediction, questioning, clarifying, and summarising. Teachers can ask parents to:

    • check ideas and understanding as the child reads: ¡®So, you think that¡­.¡¯ ¡®Did you expect¡­to happen?¡¯ ¡®Why do you think that happened?¡¯
    • use the pictures in the book to help with comprehension
    • describe what is happening and talk about the characters.

    After reading

    Don¡¯t forget: parents can continue to explore the book¡¯s topic once reading time is done! A few ideas to share with parents include:

    • organising a puppet show for family members and siblings after making puppets of the characters in the book
    • having children draw a picture of their favorite character or their favorite page in the story
    • encouraging children to express their opinion on the book.