How to become a professional English teacher?
Summary
TLDRIn this teacher training video, Steve emphasizes the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for English language teachers. He explores various CPD activities, such as reading articles, attending seminars, and completing courses, to enhance teaching skills. Steve recommends several resources, including websites like TeachingEnglish.org.uk, Cambridge.org, and ELT.oup, and encourages teachers to join associations and engage in peer feedback and reflection to improve their practice.
Takeaways
- 📝 **Professionalism in Teaching**: Teachers are considered professionals as they undergo specific training to meet educational standards set by institutions and countries.
- 📚 **Importance of CPD**: Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is crucial for teachers to enhance their skills and adapt to changes in the field, such as the shift to online teaching due to the pandemic.
- 📞 **Evolution of Teaching**: The teaching landscape is constantly evolving, necessitating the adoption of new skills and methodologies, especially in the context of online education.
- 📝 **CPD Activities**: Engaging in various CPD activities like reading educational blogs, attending seminars, enrolling in courses, and listening to podcasts can significantly contribute to a teacher's professional growth.
- 📞 **Valuable Resources**: Websites like TeachingEnglish.org.uk, Cambridge.org, and ELT.oup offer a plethora of free resources, lesson plans, and courses to aid in teaching English as a foreign language.
- 📝 **International Recognition**: Qualifications such as Cambridge CELTA, Trinity Cert TESOL, Cambridge DELTA, and Trinity Dip TESOL are internationally recognized and demonstrate a teacher's commitment to professional development.
- 📚 **Online CPD Courses**: Providers like IH World, Oxford TEFL, and FutureLearn offer online CPD courses that are practical, assessed, and relevant to teaching contexts.
- 📞 **Local Opportunities**: Local universities and colleges may provide CPD courses for teachers, which can be a valuable resource for professional development.
- 📝 **Networking and Associations**: Joining associations like IATEFL and TESOL Arabia can facilitate networking, resource sharing, and learning from the broader teaching community.
- 📚 **Practical Collaboration**: Collaborating with colleagues, seeking advice from experienced teachers, and incorporating student feedback are practical ways to improve teaching methods and materials.
- 📞 **Reflection and Journaling**: Maintaining a CPD journal to reflect on teaching practices and experiments in the classroom is essential for evaluating effectiveness and guiding future improvements.
Q & A
What is the main focus of this teacher training video?
-The main focus of this video is to discuss different ways to help individuals become professional English language teachers.
Why are teachers considered professionals?
-Teachers are considered professionals because they work in various contexts, follow courses, and adhere to standards set by institutions and countries they work in.
What does CPD stand for and why is it important?
-CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. It is important for teachers to engage in CPD activities to continue improving their professional skills and adapt to evolving teaching methods.
How has the pandemic affected the teaching profession?
-The pandemic has revolutionized the way teachers teach, making online teaching a prominent and essential part of the profession.
What are some examples of CPD activities mentioned in the video?
-Examples of CPD activities include reading blogs, attending seminars, courses, listening to podcasts, and discussing with colleagues.
What are some recommended websites for English language teachers to improve their skills?
-Recommended websites include teachingenglish.org.uk, cambridge.org, elt.oup, ihworld.com, etprofessional.com, eltlearningjourneys.com, and peachypublications.com.
What types of courses are suggested for English teachers to complete for CPD?
-Courses such as Cambridge CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL, Cambridge DELTA, and Trinity DipTESOL are suggested, along with online CPD courses from providers like IH World, Oxford TEFL, and FutureLearn.
Why should teachers join associations like IATEFL or TESOL Arabia?
-Joining associations allows teachers to network, make contacts, share resources, and learn from each other, which is beneficial for their professional development.
How can teachers benefit from feedback and peer observations?
-Teachers can benefit from feedback and peer observations by gaining insights into their teaching methods, understanding student preferences, and improving their teaching practices.
What is the importance of keeping a CPD journal as suggested in the video?
-A CPD journal allows teachers to document their learning, reflect on their experiences, evaluate what worked and what didn't, and plan for future improvements.
What is the role of student feedback in a teacher's CPD?
-Student feedback plays a crucial role in CPD by providing direct insight into the effectiveness of teaching methods and materials from the learners' perspective.
Outlines
📚 Becoming a Professional English Language Teacher
Steve introduces a teacher training video focusing on enhancing professional skills to become better English language teachers. He emphasizes that teachers are professionals who must meet educational standards set by institutions and countries. Steve highlights the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers to adapt to changes like the shift to online teaching during the pandemic. He suggests various CPD activities such as reading blogs, attending seminars, courses, listening to podcasts, and discussing with colleagues. Steve also recommends several websites for resources and professional development, including teachingenglish.org.uk, cambridge.org, elt.oup, ihworld.com, etprofessional.com, eltlearningjourneys.com, and peachypublications.com.
🌐 Online Resources for English Language Teaching
Steve continues discussing CPD for English teachers, focusing on online resources and courses. He mentions international qualifications like Cambridge CELTA, Trinity Cert TESOL, Cambridge DELTA, and Trinity Dip TESOL as ways to show commitment to professional development. Steve also suggests online CPD courses from providers like IH World, Oxford TEFL, and FutureLearn, which offer practical and assessable courses. He encourages teachers to join associations like IATEFL and TESOL Arabia for networking and sharing resources, and to consider local universities or colleges for CPD courses.
🤝 Collaborative Development and Reflection
In the final paragraph, Steve talks about the value of collaboration in teacher development. He advises teachers to share ideas and materials with colleagues, seek advice from more experienced teachers, and gather feedback from students. Steve stresses the importance of maintaining a CPD journal to reflect on teaching practices and improve continuously. He concludes the video by encouraging viewers to like and subscribe for more teacher training content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Professional
💡CPD
💡Online Teaching
💡Pedagogical Values
💡British Council
💡Cambridge University Press
💡Oxford University Press
💡International House
💡Celta
💡Delta
💡FutureLearn
💡Peer Observations
Highlights
Introduction to the video on becoming professional English language teachers.
Teachers are professionals who work in various educational contexts.
The importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers.
CPD activities help teachers improve their professional skills.
The impact of the pandemic on teaching methods and the rise of online teaching.
Examples of CPD activities such as reading blogs, attending seminars, and listening to podcasts.
Useful websites for CPD: teachingenglish.org.uk, Cambridge.org, and ELT.oup.
International House's ihworld.com as a resource for English language teaching.
ET Professional as a magazine created by teachers for teachers.
ELT Learning Journeys and PeachyPublications as resources for technology in ELT.
The value of completing courses like Cambridge CELTA or Trinity Cert TESOL.
Cambridge DELTA and Trinity Dip TESOL as higher-level qualifications.
Online CPD courses offered by IH World, Oxford TEFL, and FutureLearn.
The benefits of joining associations like IATEFL and TESOL Arabia.
Simple CPD activities like sharing ideas with colleagues and seeking feedback.
The importance of keeping a CPD journal for reflection and improvement.
Encouragement to subscribe for more teacher training videos.
Transcripts
hi everyone and welcome to another
teacher training video with me
steve in today's video we are going to
be looking at different ways
to help you become professional english
language teachers
if you haven't done so already please
click subscribe at the button below
let's crack on with today's video
[Music]
now some people ask me are teachers
professionals
the simple answer to that question is
yes
we work in a wide variety of contexts
whether it be
state private schools colleges
universities online or even at home when
we're delivering
one-to-one private classes in all of
these contexts
we are teachers and teachers are
professionals
because we've had to follow courses um
in order to deliver classes to set
standards
um set by the institutions we work in
uh all the countries that we work in
so how can teachers improve
their professional skills three letters
to remember cpd
continuing professional development
i cannot stress how important this is
in order to continue improving your
professional skills
cpd relates to the learning activities
that professionals engage in
in order to develop and enhance their
abilities
teaching is constantly evolving
if we take the pandemic it's
revolutionized the way that we teach
online teaching is here to stay and
although online teaching happened before
the pandemic
it is now at the forefront of what we do
and it's enabled
us to survive as a profession
and people have had to learn new skills
in order to
feel comfortable with delivering lessons
online
but also to understand the methodology
behind teaching online what are the
pedagogical
values and that we need to consider when
we're delivering online classes
any type of cpd allows teachers to
become more
conscious and reactive in their cpd
activities
it also allows us to find our strengths
and focus on the areas that we need to
improve
and cpd can include um
a wide range of um of activities whether
it's reading blogs
attending seminars attending a course
listening to podcasts
even talking to our colleagues all of
these are examples
of cpd activities so
what type of activities can you do
as a teacher to help you develop more
i'm going to show you um some example
websites and talk to you a little bit
about them
um it's not a definitive list this is
just
a few ideas um some examples of websites
that i
use on a regular basis so the first
thing you can do
is read articles and blocks
all of these are free and you can do
them in your own time
teachingenglish.org uk is
created and run by the british council
there are thousands and thousands of
ready-made lesson plans articles related
to
different areas of teaching and free
courses that you can access
um even after 16 years of being in the
profession myself
i regularly look at this website and to
look for new ideas or maybe new lesson
materials depending on what age group
i am attending i am teaching
cambridge.org and elt dot oup
are two of the main elt publishers um
cambridge university press and oxford
university press
both of these websites again offer a
wide range of free resources that you
can download
and there's some materials that you can
use in your lessons
um both of these also offer a
subscription service
and you don't have to pay but every
month they send you an email
and covering the events that will be
happening in the month
and also some free resources that you
might like to download whether that be
lesson materials
or articles for you to read just to give
you an example
for oup this month i read a really
fascinating article
about pragmatics in elt and how this can
be beneficial
and for learners in the classroom and
there was also a really cool
um free resource about how to
incorporate
music into um your lessons for different
age groups
ihworld.com international house is
another um website i refer to
there is a blog page here um where they
offer information about different areas
of um english language teaching for
different age groups as well
et professional.com this is um
english language teaching professional
magazine or journal
that is created by teachers for teachers
and every month
there are a wide range of articles um
that offer practical advice
and practical solutions to different
problems that we face in the classroom
um there is a subscription service and
but you can also download some specific
articles
um if you want to elt learning journeys
dot com this is run by pearson
another um eltm publisher
again a fantastic blog um that covers a
wide range of
um areas of english language teaching
and then another favorite of mine
peachypublications.com
nick peachy is the person to go to
um in terms of anything related to
using technology in english language
teaching
on this website um there is
there is access to his blog and there
are other parts of the website
where you can pay for books that he's
written for
training videos etc again a fantastic
resource
and that you can refer to
another example of cpd for english
teachers
is completing courses um
and here i've got some examples
cambridge celta or the trinity cert
tesol are two of the most
internationally recognized
um english language teaching
qualifications um
and then the next one up from that is
the cambridge delta
or the trinity dip tesol and these are
the next level up courses from the celta
and the trinity cert
again internationally recognized um
and they really do show commitment um to
um to your um professional development
and the delta and the trinity dip are at
level seven so they're considered as a
masters level
and they're very practical um in their
approach
um as well niall which is the norwich
institution of language um education
um ihworld and oxford tefl.com all
offer online cpd courses and that you
would have to pay for
examples of courses include how to teach
young learners
how to teach very young learners how to
teach exam classes
teacher development teacher training how
to teach pronunciation
the list goes on i've completed quite a
few of these courses and i have to say i
was very very impressed with them
a lot of people are worried about online
teach teacher training or teacher
development courses
and i really wouldn't worry about them
at all what i really liked
about these three providers is the fact
that
um the courses are very practical and
they are assessed and for some of the
assignments you need to take the
information from the course
and apply it into your own teaching
context and evaluate it
so it's making it very very relevant for
your teaching context
futurelearn.com also offers um a wide
variety of
free courses um when everything went
online
in march last year um cambridge and
cambridge english and british council
created
a four-week course about how to teach
online
i completed it myself even after years
of
teaching online and it was it's a
fantastic course
it's very practical there are lots of
information and resources that you can
download to apply to your own
context so i really would recommend you
going on to future learn
and seeing what free courses are
available
another thing you can do is check out
your local universities or colleges to
see if they offer any
cpd courses specifically for teaching
another activity you could do is to join
associations
um one of the most widely known is
called
aya tefl the international association
of teachers of english as a foreign
language um
this this association holds online and
face-to-face events
each year where they bring in people
from all over the world
to deliver presentations or to talk
about
an area of research that they have been
working on so as to share it with
the wider elt community um
there are other associations that exist
in
countries or in regions and just to give
you an example
tesol arabia which focuses on the
countries in the gulf
and the middle east i would highly
recommend that you check to see if there
are any
tesol associations in the country that
you're based
or in the region that you're based this
is a great way for you to
network make contacts and also to share
resources and learn from each other
the idea of pulling everyone's resources
and ideas together is a fantastic way
for you to develop
as a teacher and finally some very
simple activities that you can do
and share ideas with your colleagues or
try out different ideas with colleagues
and colleagues are people you work with
on a daily basis
and they're always there for you to
bounce ideas off and to share materials
and this is a great way for you to
develop as a teacher
ask advice from more senior colleagues
or more experienced colleagues
and try to get feedback from your
students
and also from your more experienced
colleagues maybe through peer
observations
student feedback is really really useful
because at the end of the day
you are there to help them improve their
level of english
and if they really like an activity or
resource that you've used
then you can continue using that if they
don't like a specific activity that you
do then you no longer have to use it
also try to keep a cpd journal of the
things that you're doing
so for example maybe one week you might
have read
um an article about teaching
pronunciation
um write down some of the ideas that you
learned from that
you put them to use in the classroom and
then reflect
on how it went did it go well
if did it go badly if it did
why and how can you change it reflection
is really really important in terms
of your continuing professional
development
and because it allows you to evaluate
what went well what didn't go well and
more importantly
what you can do in order to improve
what didn't go well i hope um
some of the information i've given you
has been useful if you liked the video
click the like button below
and if you haven't done so already click
the subscribe button below
as well thanks for watching and i'll see
you soon
for another teacher training video with
me steve
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