This chapter discusses professional development and its approaches and tools for language teachers.

1. Course:
Applied Linguistics for
Language Teachers
Chapter 3:
Professional
development
AGA INSTITUTE
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2. Contents
• What types of teacher education are there?
• Teacher training.
• Teacher development.
• Professional development.
• What defines institutional and personal professionalism?
• The institutional perspective.
• The individual perspective.
• How can professional development be implemented?
• The institutional perspective.
• The personal perspective.
• Strategies for personal professional development.
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3. Introduction
• Maintaining the interest, creativity and enthusiasm
of Ts in their profession is one of the challenges
faced by teachers themselves, as well as by school
owners and program coordinators.
• The field of language teaching is subject to
constant changes, both as the profession responds
to new movements and trends in language teaching
and as the demand for quality language programs
and language Ts expands
• Ts need regular opportunities to update their
professional knowledge and skills, that is,
opportunities to participate in PD.
Language teaching
provides a career for
hundreds of thousands
of Ts worldwide.
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4. The nature of professionalism
• English language teaching is not something
that anyone who can speak English can do.
• It is a profession, referring to a career in a field of educational
specialization.
• It requires a specialized knowledge base, obtained through
both academic study and practical experience, and it is a field
of work where membership is based on entry requirements
and standards.
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5. Teacher
development
Teacher
Training
as an umbrella term to referring to the field that deals with the
preparation and professional development of teachers.
Teacher Education
two approaches within the field of teacher
education.
The nature of professionalism
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6. Becoming a language
teacher
• meant acquiring a set of
discrete skills – lesson
planning and techniques
for presenting and
practising new teaching
points and for teaching the
four skills.
Dominant Graduate
Courses:
• linguistics (syntax,
morphology, semantics),
phonetics, English
grammar and sometimes
literature, plus the study
of methodology.
The nature of teacher education in language teaching has
developed since TESOL emerged as a profession (In the 1960s
and 1970s)
Types of teacher education
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7. Types of teacher education
Becoming a language
teacher
• meant acquiring a set of
discrete skills – lesson
planning and techniques
for presenting and
practising new teaching
points and for teaching
the four skills.
Dominant Graduate
Courses:
• linguistics (syntax,
morphology,
semantics), phonetics,
English grammar and
sometimes literature,
plus the study of
methodology.
The nature of teacher education in language
teaching has developed since TESOL emerged as a
profession (In the 1960s and 1970s)
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8. Types of teacher education
• Experts
arrive at
different
answers to
questions:
• Is language teaching a branch of applied
linguistics or a branch of education?
• How much linguistics do teachers need to
know, and whose linguistic theories are
most relevant?
• What are the essential subjects in a pre-
service or in-service curriculum for
language teachers?
• Do teachers need to know how to carry
out research? If so, what kind of research?
• Since 1960s and 1970s, the field of L2 teacher education has
come of age.The knowledge base of language teaching has also
expanded substantially:
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9. • linguistics,
psychology, second
language acquisition,
applied linguistics
and education
• Each of these
disciplines offers
different perspectives
on the nature of
language teaching
and learning
• Differences in answers reflect the fact that the
disciplinary base for language teaching is derived from
many different sources:
Types of teacher education
From the 1970s till now, teacher education – a movement from
teacher training to teacher development (Richards, 1998a).
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10. • … normally involves providing novice teachers with the practical
skills and knowledge needed to prepare them for their initial
teaching experience
Teacher training
Understanding
basic concepts
and principles
as a prerequisite
for applying
them to
teaching.
Developing a
repertoire of
classroom
techniques,
routines, skills
and
strategies.
Having
opportunitie
s to try out
different
strategies in
the
classroom
Developing
ability to
teach using
a textbook
and
classroom
technology.
Monitoring
oneself and
getting
feedback
from others
on one’s
practice
• Training involves the development of basic concepts, theories and
principles and a repertoire of teaching skills, acquired through
observing experienced teachers and engaging in practice-teaching in
a controlled setting, e.g. through micro-teaching or peer teaching.
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11. Teacher training
the CELTA
(Certificate in
English Language
Teaching to
Adults)
• is a test developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment
for teachers of English to speakers of other languages.
• Offered by teacher-training colleges or by
organizations such as the British Council, and
provide novice teachers with a recognized entry-
level qualification as an ESL/ELT teacher.
the Teaching
Knowledge
Test (TKT)
Three Core TKT Modules:
• language and background to language learning and teaching;
• lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching;
• managing the teaching and learning process.
Two specialist TKT Modules:
• Young Learners; CLIL
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https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teachin
g-english/teaching-qualifications/tkt/
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teach
ing-english/teaching-qualifications/delta/

12. • Teacher development serves a longer-term
goal and seeks to facilitate growth of:
Teacher development
It thus builds on the initial knowledge and
skill base acquired through teacher
training.
• The teacher’s
general
understanding
of teaching
• the
teaching
context
• His or her
performance
as a teacher
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13. One aspect of teacher development involves developing
a deeper understanding of the knowledge base of
language teaching.
Teacher development
• Language-based subjects: grammar, phonology,
sociolinguistics, discourse analysis,
• Learning-based subjects: second language
acquisition, psycholinguistics, learning strategies,
• Teaching-based subjects: methodology, teaching
the four skills,
• Curriculum-based subjects: course design,
materials design, assessment.
• mastering the
discipline of
applied linguistics
• developing a more
advanced and
theory based body
of knowledge
• Applied linguistics
includes many of the
issues discussed in
previous chapters of
this book:
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14. Teacher
development
Teacher
Development
 … deals with the examination of different
dimensions of one’s own practice as a basis for
reflective review.
• Qualifications in teacher development such as the Delta
course or an MA degree,
• Are offered by training organizations and
universities and
• Are based on the assumption that the program is
intended for teachers who have already developed
their practical teaching skills and now wish to
acquire the theory and knowledge base that
supports these skills.
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15. • The school and the teacher’s classroom now
become the main context for CPD.
• While a formal program leading to a qualification may initiate the
process of PD for language Ts (or at least the acquisition of formal
qualifications needed for entry into the profession), PD also continues
once a teacher commences his or her career as a language teacher.
Professional development
• … encompasses both teacher training and
teacher development and refers to both formal as
well as informal activities that seek to promote
different dimensions of teacher learning.
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16. Approaches to
L2 teacher PD:
• Encourage Ts’ mutual sharing (different levels
of experience,knowledge,skill and expertise);
• CPD are motivated once Ts start their
careers.
• Provide regular PD opportunities since L
teaching/learning knowledge is tentative;
• Classrooms are places where students learn,
so do Ts.
• Ts can play an active role in their own PD.
• It is the school/administrator’s responsibility
to provide CP education and to encourage
Ts to participate in them.
• PD need to be planned, supported and
rewarded.
• PD benefits both institutions as well as the Ts.
Professional development
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17. Institutional professionalism
• reflects a managerial approach
to professionalism – one that
represents the views of ministries
of education, teaching
organizations, regulatory bodies
and school principals that specify
what teachers are expected to
know and what quality teaching
practices consist of.
• There are likely to be
procedures for achieving
accountability and
processes in place to
maintain quality teaching
• Teacher training
provides adequate
preparation for a
teacher’s initial
teaching assignments
during the first few
years in a school.
• New teachers tend to
have a fairly heavy
teaching load and
tend to get the more
‘basic’ and less
problematic courses.
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18. Institutional
development
Career
development
Enhanced levels of
student learning
Staff Development has the following goals:
• improves the
performance of
the school as a
whole;
• attract more
students and
achieve better
learning
outcomes
• facilitates the professional
advancement of teachers to more
senior positions in the institution
(e.g. senior teacher, coordinator)
by providing them with the
necessary knowledge and skills.
• The increased job satisfaction
that results will lead to better
teacher performance and better
teacher retention.
• raise the
achievement
level of students
in the institution;
• adds to the
reputation of the
institution and its
teachers.
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19. Joyce (1991) identifies
five dimensions of
institutional
improvement that PD
can contribute to:
1. Collegiality: Create a culture through developing
cohesive and professional relationships between
staff (and the wider community), in which ‘broad’
vision-directed improvements as well as day-to-
day operations are valued.
2. Research: Familiarize staff with research findings
on school improvement, teaching effectiveness
and so on, which can support ‘in-house’
development.
3. Site-specific information: Enable and
encourage staff to collect and analyze data on
students, schools and effects of change, both as
part of a formal/informal evaluation.
4. Curriculum initiatives: Collaborate with others
to introduce change in their subject areas, as well
as across the school curriculum.
5. Instructional initiatives: Enable staff to expand
their repertoires of teaching methods: learning to
teach according to CLIL or text-based teaching.

20. The individual perspective
• Leung (2009) calls independent professionalism, which refers to
teachers’ own views of teaching and the processes by which teachers
engage in reflection on their own values,beliefs and practices.
1. What kind of teacher am I?
2. What am I trying to achieve for myself and for my learners?
3. What are my strengths and limitations as a language
teacher?
4. How do my students and colleagues view me?
5. How and why do I teach the way I do?
6. How have I developed as a teacher since I started teaching?
7. What are the gaps in my knowledge?
8. What role do I play in my school, and is my role fulfilling?
9. What is my philosophy of teaching, and how does it
influence my teaching?
10. What is my relationship with my colleagues, and how
productive is it?
11. How can I mentor less experienced teachers?
Reflection means
asking questions
like these about
one’s teaching:

21. Teacher’s
Personal
Development
• Understanding of
learners: Deepening
understanding of
learners, learning styles,
learners’ problems and
difficulties and ways of
making content more
accessible to learners.
• Career advancement:
Acquisition of knowledge
and expertise necessary for
personal advancement,
including mentoring and
supervisory skills.
Research skills: Knowledge of
research approaches used to
investigate one’s own
classroom practices and to
conduct small-scale classroom
research.
• Understanding of
curriculum and
materials: Deepening
one’s understanding of
curriculum and
curriculum initiatives, and
use and development of
instructional materials.
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22. Teacher’s
Personal
Development
• Subject-matter
knowledge: Increasing
knowledge of the
disciplinary basis of
TESOL –those areas of
applied linguistics that
define the professional
knowledge base of
language teaching.
• Theorization of practice:
Developing theories of
teaching and learning
that derive from the study
of one’s practice.
• Understanding of one’s
teaching philosophy:
Exploration of the beliefs
and principles that provide
the basis for the teacher’s
practice.
• Pedagogical expertise:
Mastery of new areas of
teaching, adding to one’s
repertoire of teaching
specializations and
improving ability to teach
different skill areas to
learners of different ages
and backgrounds.

23. The institutional
perspective
1. Determine the needs of
both the institution and its
teachers:
• needs analysis
(conversation, survey/
questionnaires
• Teacher Appraisal
4. Provide support
• Provide examples and
guidelines for carrying out
different kinds of activities.
• Provide a forum/time for
teachers to meet and
review their
feedback/progress.
• Arrange contacts with other
schools to learn from their
experiences.
3. Select the
participants
• PD activities can
be undertaken as
either individual
or collaborative
projects.
2. Set goals for PD
• Information
obtained from
needs analysis
5. Evaluate what has been learned
• Describing: Report on what
happened, within what time frame,
the resources used and the
problems that occurred.
• Justifying:Show that sth useful
was achieved from the activity.
• Improving: Suggest how the
activity could be improved or more
widely applied in other contexts.
Implementing PD:
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24. The individual perspective
1. Decide what you would
like to learn more
about in the field of
language teaching
• Involve identifying
both short-term and
longer-term goals.
• Keep abreast of
current issues and
developments in
TESOL:
• Teaching methods,
• critical pedagogy,
• blended learning,
• Assessment for
learning.
2.Take steps to implement
a teacher-development
plan
• Identify a strategy to explore
the topic you are interested in;
• Talk to people who have taken
part in a professional-
development activity;
• Find out what kind of support
you will need;
• Select a colleague or
colleagues to work with;
• Set realistic goals and
establish a time frame;
• Evaluate what you have
learned and share the results
with others
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25. Strategies for personal PD
1. Find out how
you teach
2. Expand your
understanding
of language
teaching
3. Expand
your
teaching
skills
4. Review
and reflect
on your own
teaching
5. Collaborate
with other
teachers
6. Arrange for
peer
observation
7. Document
your own
teaching
8. Research
your own
classes
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26. Strategies for
personal PD
1. Find out how you
teach
• Video record or
audio record lessons;
• Invite a colleague to
observe your classes
4. Review and reflect on
your own teaching
• Keep a journal:
• Write narratives:
3. Expand your teaching skills
• Teach classes of different levels
(young Learner Class,Adult Class);
• Teach different kinds of classes
(pronunciation,conversation,etc);
• Experiment (try sth different);
• Observe other teachers’ classes;
• Team-teach with another teacher;
• Attend a workshop
2. Expand your understanding
of language teaching
• Go online, Read journals and
magazines, Form a reading
group,Form a discussion group,
Take a course (TKT), or Attend
seminars, workshops and
conferences
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27. Strategies
for personal
PD
5. Collaborate with other
teachers
• Shared lesson planning;
• Team-teaching;
• Support group: a group of
teachers who meet to
discuss goals,concerns,
problems and experiences
8. Research your own classes
• Research in this context simply means
collecting information to explore and
better understand an issue. Questions:
• ‘Why did this activity prove to be too difficult?’
• ‘Why did my learners not appear to learn anything
from this task?’
• ‘How can I make my classes more interesting?’
• ‘How can I help my learners learn to use authentic
language?’
• ‘Why did this course not develop the way I had
planned?’
7.Document your own
teaching
• PD also viewed as sth
which is self-directed,
inquiry-based and
directly relevant to
teachers’ professional
lives
• Teaching portfolio
6. Arrange for peer
observation (PO)
PO: a teacher watching another
teacher’s lesson in order to gain
an understanding of some aspect
of teaching,learning or
classroom interaction
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