Learning to be an EFL teacher is “a life-long experience” and if you pursue to be an experienced and effective EFL teacher, you must take charge of training yourself to be:
- Aware of the philosophy of language teaching and learning,
- Efficient in drawing on and adapting content knowledge,
- Capable of making decisions before, during and after every teaching and learning experience
EFL teacher professional development is critical. It is your responsibility once you are in the context of the workplace.
Professional development means:
- Searching constantly for answers to the questions that arise from the ever-new circumstances in educational contexts.
- Training continually for the purpose of keeping up-to-date with advancements in language teaching and learning.
To be able to achieve the previous aims, there are a lot of resources online and steps for EFL teachers to take to become better-informed language teaching professionals
Here are the most important eight steps:
1. Join ELT Professional Associations:
Connect yourself with a network of people who do what you do and who share your concerns. You’ll receive newsletters and periodical journals of ELT. I suggest you join niletesol.org
NileTESOL is a professional association for all those individuals who are actively involved in the development of the teaching of English and in teaching content in English globally.
Do you have any more suggestions? Leave a comment below.
2. Attend Regulars Webinars and Online Conferences:
They’re good opportunities to meet your fellow teachers, get some inspiring ideas, and know about EFL books and materials.
3. Join & Participate in ELT Forums:
They provide you with valuable opportunities to work collaboratively, contact experienced colleagues, and find some fellow teachers who are willing to exchange thoughts and ideas. A long-term relationship with other teachers can be very beneficial.
4. Subscribe to ELT Blogs:
Have regular access to the blogs that relate to ELT. You can visit my blog elttguide.com regularly or subscribe to it to get practical tips, steps, ideas, and procedures to be able to teach English more effectively.
Also, you can share your thoughts and ideas, leave your feedback, or interact with thousands of EFL professionals internationally.
5. Take & Know How to Deliver Online English Exams:
Get a look at them, answer the questions, and be aware of the specifications of the good test. Learn how to put a good English test and know well how to assess your students in English.
6. Take Online Courses:
Put yourself in the position of a student and know what it feels like to struggle with a new language. This experience will improve your level in English and your level in teaching English as well. This exercise is so useful that it is worth repeating every few years to refresh your mind and increase your self-confidence.
7. Get & Read ELT eBooks
Read all that you have or can get of ELT materials. Focus on practical ideas and steps that you can make use of and follow in your EFL classroom. Write down the gist you’ve got from the topics you’ve read about to be helpful resources for you in the future.
For your ELT professional development, I offer a variety of eBooks on teaching the four language skills, starting with teaching listening, beginning reading and early writing, ending with teaching, and developing students’ speaking. Not only that, but I also went beyond teaching the four language skills and created more practical books on aspects that every teacher needs to read about to have control and master an ELT career.
You can get a look at these eBooks Here
8. Make Use of “Teacher’s Online Resource Guide”
This resource guide includes a lot of workable links to useful websites, YouTube videos, and other valuable online resources that all teachers need so that they will improve their English language levels and learn more about effective English teaching practices.
All these resources are available online for free and you can always access them while staying healthy at home.
Get This Resource Guide From Here
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Want to Continue Your ELT Professional Development?
I offer various ELT publications on teaching English as a foreign language.
In these publications, I put the gist of my experience in TEFL for +20 years with various learners and in various environments and cultures.
The techniques and tips in these publications are sure-fire teaching methods that worked for me well and they can work for you, as well, FOR SURE.
Go ahead and get a look at these publications to know more about each one of them and the problem & challenge each one focuses on to overcome.
Then, you can get what you have an interest in. It is very easy and cheap. You can afford it and you’ll never regret it if you decide to get one of them, FOR SURE.
