TeachingEnglish: Focus on professional development

Take control of your professional growth by exploring the wide range of development opportunities available to you as a teacher and discover how to maximise their impact through collaboration and reflective practice. Enrolment for Focus on professional development is closed. 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.

Three teachers at a conference. A Black woman is speaking into a microphone.
TeachingEnglish
Engagement
9–12 hours
Start: 03/10/23
End: 30/10/23
Certificate
Workbook
Online community

Enrolment for Focus on professional development is closed. Sign up for our newsletter, and we'll keep you updated when enrolment will open next. In the meantime, if you’re interested in learning more about Focus on professional development, you can view helpful resources here.


What resources can you access at any time?

  • A free workbook with extra learning content and resources connected to the course contents
  • A dedicated Facebook community of course participants with up-to-date insight, resources and innovative teaching ideas for you to try out (Facebook account required)
  • Learning content related to our courses on Facebook and YouTube
  • Live events and recordings with course tutors and language teaching experts on Facebook and YouTube
  • Teaching resources on the TeachingEnglish website
  • Sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date on when our courses open

What are the self-study modules in Focus on professional development?

Module 1 – Understanding professional development

The aim of this module is to introduce you to the concept of professional development and how it applies to you in your teaching career. You will define the term 'professional development', identify the most appropriate professional development tools based on your teaching and learning context as well as write a professional development plan based on your short-term goals.

Module 2 – Engaging with reflective practice

The aim of this module is to increase your understanding of reflective practice; the process of thinking about, evaluating, analysing and reviewing what takes place in the classroom. You will explain what reflection is and how to do it, select reflective tools appropriately to help develop your teaching practice as well as write a reflective action plan related to your own professional development.

Module 3 – Engaging with peer observation

The aim of this module is to increase your awareness of the importance of peer observation as a professional development tool and how you can use it effectively. You will recognise the importance and value of peer observation in your own professional development, describe the skills involved in peer observation as well as begin to plan a peer observation.


Course reviews

What have other teachers said about how Focus on professional development helped them?

"I've tried the pop in observation method and peer observation method which was a great push for me and my colleagues to try to improve our teaching skills, It has put us into the right path."

Course participant, Egypt

"I am conducting a research on teachers' self assessment so I found very important information about reflective teaching . next week I am going to visit many teachers for their professional development so the module about observation is very beneficial. thanks to  British Council, I am a lifelong learner. Thank you"

Course participant, Morocco

"I started peer observations with my colleagues to model and get used to this type of observation. I hope next year each teacher will choose their partner and the way they want to do it"

Course participant, Paraguay


Do you have more questions?

Please see our FAQs or access further support through our Help button.


Downloads

Comments

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Tue, 02/20/2024 - 10:24

In reply to by Maha0

Hi Maha0

You can download the course workbook above which gives more information about the course plus links to other useful resources.

Hope you find it useful,

Best wishes,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by lananhnguyn on Fri, 10/27/2023 - 18:32

That’s a nice course

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Mon, 10/30/2023 - 10:29

In reply to by lananhnguyn

Thanks for your positive feedback lananhnguyn! We are glad you found the course useful,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Tursunboyeva M… on Tue, 10/24/2023 - 09:42

Thank you

Submitted by The maestro on Tue, 10/10/2023 - 12:25

Hi there

Dear TeachingEnglish .org

I could not go through the website's page, and I ask for the certificate's webinar right now.

Thanks a lot for you. I look forward to heating from you soon.

Best regards,

Name: Mr. Zakarya Sadeq AbdulBari Al Qadasi

Hi there and glad to hear that you made it to the webinar. Unfortunately there is a problem with the site today ( this is quite unusual but happens now and then). Please try again early tomorrow when it should be fixed,

Anne :)

Submitted by ShaheenSadia on Sat, 05/10/2025 - 19:35

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Hi,I would like to inquire about the enrollment process for the course. Could you please provide the details?

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Thu, 05/15/2025 - 11:52

In reply to by ShaheenSadia

Hi ShaeenSadia

This course is not currently available, so it's not possible to sign up for this particular course.

You can check our course calendar here: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/2025-03/2025-2026_TeachingEnglish_training_course_calendar_QR.pdf

You can also check our FAQs about all our training here: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/training/training-courses-faqs

Hope that helps,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Ma242 on Tue, 10/03/2023 - 09:10

I like this course

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Wed, 09/27/2023 - 13:00

In reply to by Amin Ur Rahman Khan

Hi Amin

Thanks for your comment. I've just checked your account and can see that you are successfully registered in another course. If you log in, click on the MY PORTFOLIO - My courses tab which will take you to our training platform. Then click on "Explore all courses". You can click to enrol on this course from there.

Hope that helps,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Mon, 10/02/2023 - 09:35

In reply to by Abdirahman Caamir

Hi Abdirahman

To register for the course, you need to follow the instructions on the page above under "How do I register for this course?" 

Hope you enjoy it!

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Mon, 10/23/2023 - 09:41

In reply to by Roaataha

Hi Roaataha

If you are looking for resources for learning English, you might find the British Council's LearnEnglish site useful - you can find it here: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Florencia Baez on Sun, 12/04/2022 - 11:59

Hello ! I started the course but due to personal problems I wasn´t able to finished. I´d like to do it because I´ve already made more than 60% of it. Is there a possibility for me to achieve the certificate? I´m really really interested in the course. Thanks in advanced.

Hi Florencia

I'm afraid all of our courses only run for a limited period, and if you are unable to complete the course in that time, we are not able to re-open the course. We hope to offer this course again next year, so please check back for new dates. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with all our latest courses and events here: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/subscribe-our-newsletter

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Ben Amor on Sat, 11/12/2022 - 05:40

I would like to thank The British Council team for being so helpful.
The course was very valuable and enlightening. Keep it up.

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Mon, 11/14/2022 - 15:21

In reply to by Ben Amor

Thanks for the feedback Muhamad, and we are glad you found the course useful!

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by areejbanat on Fri, 11/11/2022 - 23:10

hi,
I've been trying to access the course in vain.NONE of the links you have posted work. They always take me to my profile page. Now the course has finished without me being able to access the course. Please help!

Hi areejbanat

Sorry to hear you are having problems accessing our courses. Have you followed the step by step instructions above?  This course has now ended, so it won't be possible for you to access it, although we hope to run it again next year. Once you have created your account and you are logged in, you should be able to see the "My Portfolio" tab at the top left of the page. If you click on this tab, you will see a drop-down menu with "My Courses", which will take you to the courses homepage. If you don't see this tab, then you are not logged in. For future courses, if you have problems, please write to us, and we will try to resolve them. Please remember that our courses are usually available for four weeks.

Thanks,
Cath
TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Juan Oropeza on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 12:29

Hello sir or madame, I did the course until the end, and I want to have a certificate please

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Wed, 11/02/2022 - 12:00

In reply to by Juan Oropeza

Hi Juan

If you have completed the course but have not received your certificate, please contact the course administrators by using the "Help" button on the courses page.

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Win Yamon Aung on Tue, 11/01/2022 - 06:44

How can I resume my course? I have finished Introduction and Module 1: Unit 1 but I can't keep on taking the course. Is it because of duration for the course or anything else? I would like to continue my course until the end and try to get certificate. Thanks

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Wed, 11/02/2022 - 12:04

In reply to by Win Yamon Aung

Hello

I'm afraid that this course ended on 31st October, so the course material is no longer available if you have not completed it.

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Aiuba Antonio Pinto on Fri, 10/28/2022 - 18:03

I am here to ask the correction of my name in the certificate. It's written like "Aiuba Pinto" but it should be written "Aiuba António Pinto".
Note: Aiuba Pinto ❌
Aiuba António Pinto ✅
I hope to get solution from the British Council.

Thank you in advance.

Hi Aiuba

The name on the certificate is taken from your TeachingEnglish profile. To change the name, you need to log in to the site, click on "Edit Profile" and then change your name. Save the changes and then use the "Help" button on the course page to request a new certificate with the updated name. 

Hope this helps!

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Pham Thu Ha on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 03:05

I have missed the chance to take this course. Today is 26 October but it closed on 24 October. Can you tell me: Will this course open one more time? If yes, when can I sign in the course?
I really need to take the course to finish my master program. I hope you will reply my comment. It's very important to me. Thank you so much!

Submitted by Cath McLellan on Wed, 10/26/2022 - 10:45

In reply to by Pham Thu Ha

Hello Pham Thu Ha

We hope to run this course again in 2023, but I'm afraid we don't have a definite date yet. Please check back on our Training page for more information and updates on our courses: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/training

You can also sign up for our newsletter on this page to keep up to date with all the news and resources on the site.

Thanks

Cath

TeachingEnglish Teams

 

Hi Shaik,

On the course platform where you access your training, please use the 'Help' button to request a new certificate. Names on certificates are taken from your personal details in your free TeachingEnglish account. To change your name, click or tap on your name to edit your profile. Update the details on your profile page and save the new details - the new certificate will have your correct name on.

Hope this helps,

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

Submitted by Hend Mohamed E… on Sun, 10/16/2022 - 18:59

I can't find the link of the modules anymore. I have done the first one. I tired today to log out and log in again but also this is not work. I need to done my course before the deadline of the course, please.
note:
I tired all the tips that you gave under line nothing work, can't find my courses option or MY PORTFOLIO. TT_TT

Hi Hend,

I am sorry to hear that and I hope you have managed to get back in. There have been some technical issues accessing the site. To access your training, please log in to your TeachingEnglish account and click or tap this URL https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/dashboard.

I hope that helps,

Anne

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Paul Braddock on Thu, 10/13/2022 - 14:17

In reply to by Farah Ghnimi

Hi, Please follow the instructions on the page here:

How do I sign up for the course?

We are currently having some technical issues. To access your training, please log in to your TeachingEnglish account and click or tap this URL https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/dashboard

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 10/17/2022 - 21:22

In reply to by Farah Ghnimi

Hi Farah,

I am sorry to hear that and I hope you have managed to get back in. There have been some technical issues accessing the site. To access your training, please log in to your TeachingEnglish account and click or tap this URL https://open.teachingenglish.org.uk/dashboard.

I hope that helps,

Anne

TeachingEnglish team

Submitted by Salih Ali on Tue, 10/11/2022 - 13:58

I have just enrolled in the course but I can't find the option (my course) to get into my courses.

Submitted by areejbanat on Thu, 10/27/2022 - 21:11

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Hi
Every single time I try to find the course, but it always opens my profile page. I try toclick on "my courses" but still it disappears. I even saved the page as a bookmark, but it will always be very difficult to find the page. I can see every one here has the same complaint. Please help!

Hi areejbanat

Sorry to hear you are having problems accessing your course page. Have you tried logging out of your TeachingEnglish account on all devices and browsers, and then logging in again? Then click on "My Portfolio" in the menu bar at the top of the page. You can also try clearing the cache on your browser and try logging in again. If you are still having problems, please let us know.

Thanks,

Cath

TeachingEnglish Team

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