Professional development for teachers
Here you’ll find a wide range of free, self-access training and resources designed to help you build the skills and knowledge you need as an English teacher.
All TeachingEnglish professional development resources are aligned with the British Council Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Framework for teachers, to help you plan your learning and develop the areas most relevant to your professional growth.
You can explore resources in a way that suits your goals:
- by professional practices – to focus on specific areas of teaching where you want to deepen your skills and expertise
- by professional development levels – to find resources matched to your training and experience and see how they can help you progress within each area.
Each resource includes a timer icon to show how much time you’ll need, helping you plan your learning effectively.
Integration
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Using digital technologies
Understanding my professional identity
Using 21C skills or core skills
Digital competences for teaching English
Discover how to integrate digital tools to support language learning, collaboration, formative assessment and effective feedback. Improve your digital communication skills and teamwork in your professional context and learn about online continuing professional development. Digital competences for teaching English will open on 2 October 2026 – enrol now.
Engagement
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Planning lessons and courses
Using 21C skills or core skills
Climate action in language education
Learn to integrate environmental issues in English language teaching and develop the skills you need to take and sustain meaningful and impactful action to protect the environment in your local context. This updated course will open on 2 October 2026 – enrol now.
Understanding
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Planning lessons and courses
Managing the lesson
TeachingEnglish: Classroom management for primary
Give your primary learners the best environment to learn English by improving your management of instructions, learning activities, resources and physical space. Classroom management for primary will open on 5 October 2026 – enrol now.
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Knowing the subject
Assessing learning
TeachingEnglish: Feedback and error correction
Identify why learners make errors and respond to them effectively in the classroom. Develop the skills to give meaningful feedback that supports learning and confidently apply a range of feedback and error correction techniques. This new course will open on 5 October 2026 – enrol now.
Understanding
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Knowing the subject
Planning lessons and courses
TeachingEnglish: How to teach reading
Boost your learners' reading skills by learning what effective readers do and develop these skills with engaging classroom activities. How to teach reading will open on 5 October 2026 – enrol now.
Course
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Planning lessons and courses
Assessing learning
Using 21C skills or core skills
TeachingEnglish: Project-based learning
Design and assess engaging projects by identifying key thinking skills and following the stages of successful project-based learning. This new course will open on 4 January 2027 and will open for enrolment soon.
Understanding
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Planning lessons and courses
Understanding my learners
Managing resources
TeachingEnglish: Motivating activities for primary
Engage your primary learners with songs, games, chants and vocabulary activities that will make learning memorable. Motivating activities for primary will open on 4 January 2027, and will open for enrolment soon.
Integration
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Using digital technologies
Using 21C skills or core skills
TeachingEnglish: Digital citizenship and online skills
Enhance your understanding of digital citizenship and your ability to help learners protect themselves online, be kind to others and assess information they find. Digital citizenship and online skills will open on 4 January 2027, and will open for enrolment soon.
Understanding
9–12 hours
9–12 hours
Planning lessons and courses
TeachingEnglish: Creative resources for primary
Inspire your primary learners by learning how to make high-quality resources out of creative and sustainable teaching materials. Develop your learners' language and oral skills through effective use of resources such as flashcards, big books and puppets. Enrolment for Creative resources for primary is closed, though if you're already enrolled you can still work on it until 30 June 2026. Find resources connected to the course contents on this page, and sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open.
9–12 hours
Knowing the subject
Using 21C skills or core skills
TeachingEnglish: Communication skills
Enhance your learners' communication skills with engaging, practical classroom activities that build a clear understanding of effective dialogue. Enrolment for Communication skills is closed, though if you're enrolled you can still work on it until 30 June 2026. Find resources connected to the course contents on this page, and sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open.