Video transcript
There’s a huge amount on the internet to learn from to develop your teaching, but if you want a break from a screen, here are three ways to develop your teaching and boost your career WITHOUT sitting over a screen.
I’m Jo Gakonga from ELT-Training and if you think I’m talking some kind of sense, don’t forget to like and subscribe- I make a new video every week – and check out my site (link below) for other great development ideas.
Idea 1- Learn from your colleagues
Your colleagues are a great source of professional development. Talk to them! Ask if you can observe their classes (especially if they’re teaching a class that you don’t have experience of). Ask for advice. In my experience, EFL teachers are a helpful group of people and they’ll usually share their expertise and resources really willingly. If there’s one available, join a local teachers association, too – they’ll often run workshops and be friendly groups of people to learn from. They’ll also probably be people who understand your context and specific local problems. Don’t be shy!
Idea 2 - Learn from your classroom
Action Research might sound a bit off-putting but it doesn’t have to be formal - the cycle of plan, action, reflect and replan for the next action is a great way of focusing on a particular area of your practice. I always like John Fanselow’s thought which is to ‘do something different’. Make small changes and see what happens. It doesn’t matter what you do- and it doesn’t matter if it ‘works’ - keep trying something different, reflect on the results and you’ll learn and develop.
Idea 3 - Learn from your work
For me this is a big one. Get as much experience as you can – apply for different jobs – teach different levels, different ages, different nationalities, different contexts, try writing materials, giving talks. It’s definitely the best way to find out what you like and what you don’t – and you might be quite surprised by what you enjoy.
For what it’s worth, in life as well as in ELT, my advice would always be Just say YES (even if it's out of your comfort zone). If someone has offered you a particular class or a particular job, they obviously think you can do it and you almost certainly can! If you hate it, you can always change again and you never know what new things lead to, so be brave and have fun.
