Most people recognise that learning is a life-long endeavour – and, certainly, one that doesn’t stop when you become a teacher.
Several of the contributors to Issue 85 of ETp look at how teachers can go on learning and how we can all contribute towards helping each other along the developmental path.
In our main feature, Peter Watkins praises the way that teachers further develop their skills, share ideas and give support to their colleagues through workshops, action research, peer-observation and shared reflection initiatives and shows that even those teachers working for institutions that don’t offer much in the way of professional development programmes can help themselves and each other to grow.
We hope that our magazines (and this website) can also contribute to the idea that we are a community with the power to help each other, whatever our teaching situation and wherever in the world we are working.
Ana García-Stone continues our series on the different roles available to people within the teaching profession with a look at the duties and responsibilities of a Diploma-level tutor. The commitment and energy required of teachers pursuing a Diploma course in order to enhance their professional development is clearly matched by that required of those who train them! We would welcome further contributions to this series. Do you have a different kind of job within the profession that you would like to share with us?
Paul Bress points out that his language students are often teachers – non-native teachers who want to improve their English – and he celebrates the opportunities this provides and the dedication and enthusiasm of his students as they take advantage of the chance to take their knowledge of English to new levels.
Looking at learning from the point of view of the student, Emily Edwards recognises that it needs to continue both outside the classroom and when an English course is over. She tries to ensure that her one-to-one students are equipped to improve their language skills even further in the outside world.
Mark Hancock also considers the reality of the learners’ experience of English outside the classroom, and in the first of two articles he examines how we can best prepare them for the variations in pronunciation they are likely to encounter when faced with authentic speech.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our subscribers, contributors and visitors to the website a happy and prosperous new year and to thank you all for your support in 2012.
