There’s the saying, “There are two types of teachers with 20 years of teaching experience: the first are those with 20 years of experience and the second are those with one year’s experience repeated 20 times.”

Some believe most teachers want to be the first kind of teacher – constantly evolving throughout their careers – rather than repeating the same classes. Additionally, taking professional development courses can help us reach these new heights.

Doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals regularly have to seek training opportunities. This enables them to keep up to date with the latest technologies, innovations and changes in the wider world. It could be argued that teachers are no different.

Benefits of professional development training

There are several benefits to continued professional training for teachers. For instance, there’s always something new to learn as developments are happening regularly in the world of ELT. Whether it’s innovations in ed-tech, new research into how we learn languages or a new pedagogy, certain courses can help bring you up to speed with these!

Undertaking further training will help you to deepen your knowledge and widen your expertise. So rather than simply repeating the same method of teaching a grammar point over again, you’ll learn new approaches. In turn, you’ll be better equipped to find the tools that work to help your students reach their learning goals.

Another great thing about professional development is that it can lead to career progression and promotion. There are a number of courses that you can take to develop not only skills for teaching, but other roles in the ELT industry.
For example, you can train to become a director of studies, specialize in business or academic English, or enter ELT publishing or management. There are many options to explore through further education!

New trends in English language teaching

To be the best teachers we can be, it's important to be aware of new trends in the field of ELT. Some of the latest ones include:

Hybrid learning

Gaining popularity in recent years, hybrid learning is an approach to teaching. Specifically, it involves some students attending class in person, while others join the class virtually from home. This means that teachers must be prepared to simultaneously teach both students in person and online.

Flipped classroom

A flipped classroom means students are introduced to content at home. Often teachers introduce this via videos and then practice working through the new knowledge in class. This is the opposite of the more traditional method where they are given new content at school, and complete assignments independently at home.

Bite-sized learning

One method of teaching that has become more common is bite-sized learning. For example, breaking down information into smaller chunks instead of having learners listen to long, uninterrupted sessions, and this helps students absorb information and keeps them engaged.

If you’re not already familiar with these, there are lots of professional development courses that teach you how to use them in your classroom.

Formal qualifications in ELT

So what courses can you take? Here are some of the most common courses you can take for English language teaching.

• CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Cambridge’s Level 5 CELTA qualification is an internationally recognized ELT course. While this certificate focuses on teaching adults, language academies accept it for both adults and young learners.
• Trinity CertTESOL (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Like the CELTA, the Trinity CertTESOL Level 5 course is designed for people with little or no English teaching experience.
• Trinity CertPT (Certificate for Practising Teachers) - Trinity’s Level 6 CertPT is designed for teachers who have already been teaching for a minimum of six months. It aims to support teachers' further development and help them improve their teaching practice.
• DELTA (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Cambridge’s DELTA provides professional development for teachers with at least one year’s experience. This level 7 qualification is also designed for those who want to progress into more senior roles such as head of English and teacher training.
• Trinity DipTESOL (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) - Trinity’s DipTESOL is designed for teachers who have reached a stage in their career where they’d like to progress to a more senior level. Like the DELTA, it’s an internationally respected level 7 qualification for experienced TEFL teachers.
• Master’s degree - Master’s studies in English Language Teaching, TESOL, or applied linguistics, are great options to reach a more senior level in your career. Most people take them to become a director of studies or reach a management position.
• Specialized courses - If there’s an area of teaching that you’d like to specialize in, plenty of short courses cover a range of topics. These include teaching online, teaching with technology, teaching business English and teaching very young children. Check out LinkedIn Learning, Coursera or Udemy to see what they offer.

If you’re unable to take a formal course, sharing ideas with colleagues is a great way to create professional development opportunities. You could exchange lesson plans and ask for feedback or input. There are plenty of podcasts, webinars and social media groups for teachers where you can find great tips and ideas from fellow teachers worldwide.

Whichever route you decide, remember that learning is a lifelong journey – not only for your students but for yourself too! There are always new things to discover that will help you develop as a teacher.

What do driverless car engineers, telemedicine physicians and podcast producers have in common? About 10 years ago none of these positions existed. They are representative of a new technology-driven marketplace, which is evolving faster than employers, governments and education institutions can keep up.

As new jobs appear, others fall by the wayside. Today, it’s estimated that up to 50% of occupations could be automated with currently available technology. Routine jobs like data entry specialists, proofreaders, and even market research analysts are especially at risk of becoming redundant within the next 5 to 10 years. Globally, that means between 400 and 800 million workers could be displaced by automation technology by 2030, according to McKinsey.

Moreover, 65% of today’s young people will need to work in areas that do not exist in the current market. The question is, what can we do to prepare learners for a future when we have no idea what jobs they’ll be doing? Mike Mayor and Tim Goodier discuss this uncertain future and explain why English for employability is such a hot topic right now.

A rising level of English and employer expectations

Mike Mayor, Director of the Global Scale of English at Pearson, explains that while he believes employability has always been a factor in English language education, it has become more important and more of a focus for students looking to enter the workforce.

“Expectations of employers have risen as proficiency in English language, in general, has risen around the world,” he says. “They’re now looking for more precise skills.”

Tim Goodier, Head of Academic Development at Eurocentres, agrees. He explains that English language education is primarily about improving communication and soft skills – which is key for the jobs of 2030 and beyond.

“There’s a convergence of skills training for the workplace and language skills training,” Tim says. “The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) has recognized and, in many ways, given a roadmap for looking into how to develop soft skills and skills for employability by fleshing out its existing scheme – especially to look at things like mediation skills.”

How the Global Scale of English and CEFR have surfaced employability skills

The Global Scale of English (GSE) is recognizing this increasing prominence of English for employability. Mike explains that it’s doing this “by taking the common European framework and extending it out into language descriptors which are specific for the workplace.”

In developing a set of learning objectives for professional learners, Mike and his team have given teachers more can-do statements. “They are able to create curricula and lessons around specific business skills,” he says.

Tim comments that one of the most interesting things about the GSE is that it links can-do statements to key professions, which he explains “is another extension of what these can-do statements can be used for – and viewing competencies as unlocking opportunity.”

Showing how these skills and competencies relate to the real world of work can be a strong motivating factor for learners.

He says that teachers need to visualize what success will look like in communication “and then from there develop activities in the classroom that are authentic.” At the same time, he says that activities should be personalized by “using the learners’ own interests and adapting the course as much as possible to their future goals.”

Preparing students for the future workplace

Speaking on the role of publishing in English for employability, Mike says:

“I would say as course book creators we actually incorporate a lot of these skills into our materials, but… I think we could do to push it a little further.”

In Mike’s view, educators need to do more than teach the skills, they need to raise awareness of their context. In other words why these skills are important and how they will help them in authentic situations both in and out of the work environment.

Beyond teaching the language itself, he says publishers should be helping teachers ask:

• Are the students participating fairly in group discussions?
• Are the students actively listening?
• Are they interrupting politely?

These skills “don’t come naturally, and so just to begin raising awareness would be an added value,” he says.

Future skills: careers in 2030

In the same way we didn’t know that driverless cars would become a reality 10 years ago, we cannot say with absolute certainty which professions will arise and which will disappear. However, using tools like the GSE teacher toolkit, we can help our students develop the language and soft skills they need to navigate an ever-shifting job market. The future is an exciting place, let’s help our learners prepare themselves!

Watch the full interview with Mike and Tim below: 

Max Kortrakul is CEO and co-founder of StockRadars, a premier mobile application (app) for stock investors in Thailand. The company was one of Southeast Asia's most well-funded technology start-ups and won an Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Award in 2014.

Technology start-up companies are flourishing in Southeast Asia, where record deals were made in 2015. According to a report released by Temasek and Google Singapore, within ten years, the internet economy in the region could reach US$200 billion annually. Here, Max recounts how he recruited investors for his app and went on to build his start-up company from scratch – and how his knowledge of the English language has helped him create a company worth an estimated US$15 million. 

Why did you decide to develop an app for stock investors?

“People tend to shake their heads at the mention of the stock market; it involves big numbers, lots of data and is high risk. I thought about investing but there weren’t any helpful tools to do so. My idea was simple: make investment easier for myself and for others in Thailand and that led to my idea for the StockRadars app.”

How did you know your idea was a good one?

“It was the one that kept me awake at 3am, so I put all my energy into finishing the app. Trusting your own intellect is crucial because sometimes you have to actualise your idea before you can even tell if it’s a good or bad one. If it works, then good for you. You never know, you could be standing in line to be added to the The Unicorn List – private companies valued at more than $1 billion. If your idea bombs, you can always move on and try another one.”

When you pitched your idea to investors, how did you approach it?

“I made sure that potential investors could see the value of my idea, not by presenting the projected numbers but by showing how much dedication, time and energy I had put into the project. When you’re able to prove that you have invested in yourself, the investors will invest in you too. I also pitched hard with facts about the importance of the product – I wanted investors to understand that if the app can balance the risk of stock investment, then we can make it less complicated for our users.”

What was your greatest fear when you were in the meeting?

“I tried not to think of myself as a small, powerless business from a small country with very few successful technology start-up companies. Thoughts like that could have hindered me when I was pitching – but I try not to be the kind of person who overthinks things. Of course, you have to pitch your idea in English, which can be daunting. People often believe that you have to use big words and jargon to give the impression that you’re clever but that’s not necessarily true. Investors are people, too, and people want to listen to something simple, with clear facts. Luckily, I had learnt to speak English while I was working for an IT company in Vietnam.”

Has working in a multicultural workplace shaped the way you think?

“I learnt to embrace diversity. Many people speak English but will speak their version of it – Thai English, Singlish (Singaporean English), Vietnamese English, and so on. The more you understand the English language, the better communication you will have. We may not be a fully multicultural workplace at the moment but we lean in that direction. We took on interns from Nepal and England, which was great as we gained new perspectives from other cultures with different beliefs and mindsets than our own. It’s very beneficial when we’re brainstorming – and that’s how we came up with a variety of ideas to adapt our platform.”

Do you think learning English can help other technology start-up companies in Southeast Asia achieve more?

“English is the language that connects you to the world and if you can speak it, it means more opportunities and you’ll meet more people. There are many tech start-ups in Southeast Asia and now is the time when start-up ideas are likely to become a reality – and knowing the English language will help.”