English as a lingua franca (ELF) represents a substantial paradigm shift in ELT because it challenges the traditional norm of standard English. Despite this changing trend, there is a gap in research on incorporating ELF into in-service teachers' professional development (PD). Given the backdrop that (trans)disciplinary courses are expected to be…

For the best student outcomes, teachers need to engage in continuous professional development. As a result, models of teacher professional development have been developed, among which is the Critical Friends Group (CFG) technique. However, whether it works well with EFL teachers in an Asian context like Vietnam, where EFL teachers in particular do…

This paper describes "mentor development", a means of collaborative professional development through peer observation that was initiated by the author with 18 peers, all native English speaker EFL teachers at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan. It shows how such a programme allows teachers to learn from one another…

Current in-service education and training programmes (INSET) are often found to be unsatisfactory due to the fact that they do not provide the teachers with opportunities to be actively involved in their development and to reflect on their teaching experiences. This study presents an INSET programme in which Turkish EFL teachers were provided with…

This paper reports on establishing and running a Self-Access Centre (SAC) in a secondary school in Hong Kong. The impetus for establishing the SAC came from new government curriculum guidelines with a focus on promoting greater autonomy for school students in their English language education. The approach taken in establishing the SAC was to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the peer coaching model as a professional development tool for pre-service ESL/EFL teachers, and its possible applicability to the Binational Centres in Brazil, as well as to teacher development programmes in general. Peer coaching, a reflective approach to teacher development,…

Investigates the kind of one-month teacher training courses that are the way into English language teaching for many graduates planning to work in the private sector. Raises questions about the continuing appropriateness of such courses. (Author/VWL)

Reports one individual's experience of being both a language learner and a language teacher and argues that these are very different worlds that do not necessarily meet. Examines a number of related studies, in which teachers have chosen to learn a language for purposes of personal professional development, and briefly checks the writer's own…

Summarizes the role, actions and positions of the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL), the second largest affiliate of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The importance of the development of professionalism and of working to improve the education of linguistic minority students is…

In this interview, Julian Edge talks to the interviewer about choices of language use available in professional development groups and in master's programs. (Author/VWL)

Professionalism is widely thought to be desirable in ELT, and at the same time institutions are taking seriously the need to evaluate their teachers. This article presents a general approach to professionalism focused on the accountability of the professional to the client based on TESOL's (2000) classification of adult ELT within eight general…

A veteran language teacher expresses views on the development of language teachers, suggesting there are two professional development routes language teachers take: from method to methodology or methodology to method. (Author/VWL)

Reports a critical friendship between two colleagues--an English for academic purposes teacher and the author--that resulted in the mutual development of both. Suggests that teachers wishing to carry out similar methods of reflection may want to develop ground rules before the friendship begins, such as defining the roles of the participants,…

Presents a needs analysis framework that was developed out of experience with a professional development project in the Philippines. Offers a principled approach to identifying areas for action within a project, many of which have been traditionally overlooked. (Author/VWL)

Describes how data from English language teaching (ELT) classroom research can be exploited in teacher development activities. The contribution data-based activities can make to teacher development is outlined, and examples that illustrate the principles underlying their design are presented. A case is made for using such activities to facilitate…