What it means to be a professional teacher

About the webinar

In recent years, academics and key figures in English language teaching (ELT) have spoken about how the sector is moving towards being a specialised field, based on high professional standards, and how this move towards professionalism benefits learners, parents and other stakeholders, as well as teachers. But much of this discussion has been on changes that teacher educators, schools and lawmakers need to make in order to professionalise ELT. But what can we do, as teachers, to reflect the values professionalism both inside and outside our classrooms?

This talk will start by taking a look at what it means to be a professional teacher and the wide array of competencies a professional teacher needs to have: subject knowledge, lesson planning abilities, lesson delivery skills, and commitment to successful student learning and inclusion.

It will then go on to share practical steps that we can take to prioritise our professional learning and development, challenge unprofessionalism and to build and contribute towards a culture of learning within our own teaching contexts.

Recorded on 2 March 2023

Watch a recording of the webinar below

About the speaker

James Bukowski has worked in education and training for over 15 years, variously as a teacher, teacher trainer, examiner and academic manager. He is currently a Teaching Quality Manager for English Online, British Council's flagship online learning product for adults. He has particular interests in IELTS, teaching pronunciation and professionalism within ELT. He holds degrees in education and English, CELTA, DELTA and various other teaching and training qualifications, and has presented at teacher conferences in Poland, the UK and Slovakia.