There鈥檚 the saying, 鈥淭here are two types of teachers with 20 years of teaching experience: the first are those with 20 years of experience and the second are those with one year鈥檚 experience repeated 20 times.鈥�
Some believe most teachers want to be the first kind of teacher 鈥� constantly evolving throughout their careers 鈥� rather than repeating the same classes. Additionally, taking professional development courses can help us reach these new heights.
Doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals regularly have to seek training opportunities. This enables them to keep up to date with the latest technologies, innovations and changes in the wider world. It could be argued that teachers are no different.
There are several benefits to continued professional training for teachers. For instance, there鈥檚 always something new to learn as developments are happening regularly in the world of ELT. Whether it鈥檚 innovations in ed-tech, new research into how we learn languages or a new pedagogy, certain courses can help bring you up to speed with these!
Undertaking further training will help you to deepen your knowledge and widen your expertise. So rather than simply repeating the same method of teaching a grammar point over again, you鈥檒l learn new approaches. In turn, you鈥檒l be better equipped to find the tools that work to help your students reach their learning goals.
Another great thing about professional development is that it can lead to career progression and promotion. There are a number of courses that you can take to develop not only skills for teaching, but other roles in the ELT industry.
For example, you can train to become a director of studies, specialize in business or academic English, or enter ELT publishing or management. There are many options to explore through further education!
To be the best teachers we can be, it's important to be aware of new trends in the field of ELT. Some of the latest ones include:
Gaining popularity in recent years, hybrid learning is an approach to teaching. Specifically, it involves some students attending class in person, while others join the class virtually from home. This means that teachers must be prepared to simultaneously teach both students in person and online.
A flipped classroom means students are introduced to content at home. Often teachers introduce this via videos and then practice working through the new knowledge in class. This is the opposite of the more traditional method where they are given new content at school, and complete assignments independently at home.
One method of teaching that has become more common is bite-sized learning. For example, breaking down information into smaller chunks instead of having learners listen to long, uninterrupted sessions, and this helps students absorb information and keeps them engaged.
If you鈥檙e not already familiar with these, there are lots of professional development courses that teach you how to use them in your classroom.
So what courses can you take? Here are some of the most common courses you can take for English language teaching.
If you鈥檙e unable to take a formal course, sharing ideas with colleagues is a great way to create professional development opportunities. You could exchange lesson plans and ask for feedback or input. There are plenty of podcasts, webinars and social media groups for teachers where you can find great tips and ideas from fellow teachers worldwide.
Whichever route you decide, remember that learning is a lifelong journey 鈥� not only for your students but for yourself too! There are always new things to discover that will help you develop as a teacher.
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