Professional development for English teachers: Taking responsibility for your professional development
If you want some support with your professional development, this is the perfect place to get started.
The free tools and resources below have been specially selected to help you:
- understand your professional needs and interests to help you define short-, medium-, and long-term career goals
- use technology and other tools to develop professionally, connect with other professionals to create a learning community, and stay up to date with developments in language education
- find opportunities to learn, develop and apply your learning in the classroom.
There is no set order for the resources below. Choose what to do according to the time that you have and the topics that are most interesting for you.
- Video: What are Teacher Activity Groups? (5 minutes)
Watch this short video to find out how Teacher Activity Groups (TAGs) can help us learn from each other, develop our subject knowledge and prepare action plans. Through collaboration and sharing, teachers can reflect on their practice and obtain support through face-to-face and digital channels.
You can explore TAGs in more depth with this British Council report. It looks at six British Council projects in different countries and analyses the implementation of TAGs and their impact on both teachers and learners. Recommendations for setting up TAGs are also given.
- Article: Reflecting on reflecting (10 minutes)
Read this article by Ceri Jones that explores simple ways to reflect on our teaching and how to encourage our learners to reflect on their own learning too.
- Webinar: Building teacher communities, building learning (1 hour)
Watch this webinar by two of our Courses for Teachers Facebook tutors, which shows you the many advantages of actively participating in an online teacher community like TeachingEnglish. You'll get tips for successful online learning and discover the essential ingredients for effective self-directed learning. You'll also find out more about our free TeachingEnglish training courses and how to sign up!
As you watch the webinar, make notes: Steve and Rabia talk about five elements of self-directed learning. Considering these five elements, which are you already doing? Which would you like to do more?
After watching the webinar, share your answer to the discussion question in the comments below.
If you watch the recording and comment on it, we'll be happy to send you an attendance certificate for the webinar.
Click here to explore all of our free teacher development training courses.
- Video: How can ICT support professional development? (4 minutes)
Watch this short video where Nik Peachey shares how we can use digital tools to develop our teaching, and build our own personal learning network (PLN).
- Article: Action research: As easy as 1, 2, 3! (10 minutes)
Are you interested in doing your own action research? In this article, David Petrie looks at three simple steps to help you get started with action research in your classes.
- Publication: Creating and running successful online groups for teacher development (2 hours)
Use this step-by-step evidence-based toolkit if you want to start up and run a successful online group for teachers. The toolkit has advice about how to get started and how to choose the right technology to help you.
- Podcast: How can we motivate our students? (30 minutes)
In this episode of the TeachingEnglish podcast, we talk to Liam Printer and Azadeh Moladoost who discuss not only how to motivate our learners but also how we can stay motivated as teachers, whatever our teaching context.
- Webinar: How to feel more motivated in your teaching career (1 hour)
Watch this webinar with Patricia Ramos Vizoso and Ula Staszczyk to find out how they moved away from feeling demotivated or bored in their teaching careers to being reflective, conscious and critical teachers.
Explore some activities you can incorporate into your daily routines to help reflect on why we do the things we do, and how to tweak things we do in class to enhance our students' learning experience. Feel more motivated and help your students enjoy their learning more.
- Workbook: Taking responsibility for professional development
If you want to go further with your professional development, this workbook will help you take your skills to the next level. It is designed to help you create a regular learning habit and apply what you've learned in the classroom. You'll find an overview of the theme and recommended learning materials. You will also find support to reflect on and personalise your learning. You can use the workbook in different ways – do what works for you! We hope you find it beneficial.
Workbook: Taking responsibility for professional development