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Professional development is a term that is used widely in all professions and is very abstract in education. When teachers think about it, the first thing that comes to mind are hours of sitting through workshops or in-service training in order to be in compliance with an established work policy. Professional development has to be much more than this, it has to keep up with the challenges the teaching profession poses and it has to motivate teachers to get involved in the continuing learning experience. According to Gabriel Diaz-Maggioli, teachers must engage in their own career development voluntarily in order to know how to adjust their teaching to the learning needs of their students. So, what is the best approach to professional development for the language teacher? An effective ongoing teacher career development helps teachers improve their understanding and teaching skills. teachers and schools have different needs during their careers and it is important for them to update their knowledge (Richards, Jack C.). It is crucial for esl/efl teachers to keep informed in new trends in teaching methodology theories, linguistics and accent reduction, grammar and language functions, management, using resources, and technology in order to help students achieve their educational goals. It is the responsibility of administrators and supervisors to become familiar with the new research on teacher development in order to offer appropriate assistance for teachers (Burden, Paul R.), and it is important for teachers to take an active role in their professional development.
Because there is such diversity among teachers, an array of strategies is needed in order to engage teachers in a successful career development. Each strategy varies in relation to the amount of involvement a teacher has in his/her own career development. Most teachers attend conferences, courses, or seminars as part of their development, but many schools are opting for peer coaching or mentoring. According to Diaz-Maggioli, peer coaching is especially suitable for those teachers who need to learn new ways to use and implement the target language in the classroom, and mentoring brings together the more knowledgeable teacher with a less experienced novice one. Other teachers and schools opt for memberships in professional associations that offer a vast range of resources to support teacher development. Regardless of the choice the teacher makes, it is important for them to realize that his or her professional development goals are realistic and relevant to the profession and that he or she sees results and receives feedback (The Texas Education Agency).
In conclusion, teachers have different needs during different stages of their teaching careers. It is important for a teacher to evaluate him or herself and to realize that there is not a “one size fits all” career development strategy. An effective professional development will allow teachers to enrich and build on their instructional knowledge in order to improve classroom instruction and student achievement. In order to provide a learning experience that is effective, both new and experienced teachers must actively follow an ongoing career development that will allow them to implement their newly learned skills in the classroom.
Burden, Paul R. Implications of teacher Career Development: New Roles for teachers, Administrators, and Professors. Kansas State University. Manhattan, Kansas. 1982.
Diaz-Maggioli, Gabriel H. Professional Development for Language teachers. Center for Applied Linguistics. August 2003.
John Harland & Kay Kinder. teachers' Continuing Professional Development: Framing a Model of Outcomes. Journal of In-Service Education,71-84. 1997.
National Capital Language Resource Center. What Language Teaching Is. A project of the National Capital Language Resource Center. 2003 – 2007.
Richards, Jack C. and Thomas S. C. Farrell. Professional Development for Language teachers: Strategies for teacher Learning. Cambridge University Press 2005. New York, New York.
Sparks, D. Designing Powerful Professional Development for teachers and Principals. National Staff Development Council. Oxford, OH: 2002.
The Texas Education Agency. Professional Development for Language teachers. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Austin, Texas: 1997.
Timperley, Helen. teacher Professional Learning and Development. International Academy of Education, International Bureau of Education. Imprimerie Nouvelle Gonnet. Belley, france: 2008.
