As the year ends, we may enjoy planning the new year and write down a to-do list for professional development. The general idea is that we keep moving and keep learning. That way we may reach higher as teachers and inspire not only our learners, but our colleagues to develop and become better and better. Here are some ideas for development that you might want to try on your own or with peers. Even though I tend to agree with Wallace’s (1991: 3) distinction between training (that may come from others) and development (that can only be done by oneself), I believe that we can inspire and be inspired, influence and be influenced towards development, when working with other people.
Here are ten ideas to help us all develop in 2017. Which ones are on your lists? What others do you suggest?
- Ask a colleague or a superior for feedback on your work, share what you believe your strengths and weaknesses are and what you plan to do. Someone else’s views might either confirm and strengthen your beliefs or help you question and choose a different path for development. Then, as an individual follow-up on your reflection, it is important to write down your goals, what you want to incorporate in your teaching, what you want to keep or what you want to change about your professional life. Not only will you be able to visualise what you plan and how feasible it is, but also to keep track on your progress during the year.
- Choose a coach to discuss your development with throughout the year. Not necessarily starting from a plan, but to professionalise your development, increase your awareness of your skills and knowledge, help you question beliefs and consider various paths and empower you to go beyond what you see for yourself. It is slightly different from simply asking for feedback, this person may accompany your progress and probe new areas for investigation in your teaching, for instance.
- Take a different course – become a learner in an area that takes you away from your comfort zone. Choose a skill or knowledge area you would like to learn about – history, martial arts, maths, etc. – and take the plunge. Apart from giving you insight into how learners might be feeling in your class, it may help you stretch your ideas and cultivate a growth mindset towards success (Dweck, 2007) and lifelong learning. If you think you are ready for in-depth research about some of your students’ feeling about studying English, choose a skill you consider important but you are not fond of.
- Do volunteer work teaching English in an NGO or to the community where you live. Many of these projects lack teachers who are willing to embrace the challenge of teaching mixed-ability groups, real beginners, or simply learners who do not have access to language schools. The experience will certainly add value to your repertoire and to your understanding of how teaching and learning affect people’s lives and growth. Another idea here is to join a teaching association and actively help it grow, promoting the professionalization of English language teaching. In Brazil, we have BRAZ-TESOL (braz-tesol.org.br).
- Set up a study or discussion group in your work environment, becoming an agent of change towards better teaching. You will all be able to choose what to focus on, what to act upon, what actions to take, who to talk to. This may impact your development, as well as the lessons you teach, your learners’ progress. In discussions you may all find new paths of investigation, suggest changes in approaches and processes and be agents of innovation in the world of English language teaching.
Well, I hope the ideas inspire you to either act or come up with different development steps in your career. Have a wonderful and productive 2017!
Dweck, C. (2007) Mindset: the new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Wallace, M.J. (1991) Training Foreign Language Teachers. Cambridge: CUP.
