Teacher development: recognising skill as a basis for ongoing change

This paper reviews key themes in language teacher development over recent decades, and outlines a way forward. First and second generation approaches to teacher learning and developments are described, and a third generation, based on recognising what teachers do well is set out. This is based on data from a teacher development initiative carried out with teachers in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programme in the UK. Key features of this approach focussed on in this paper are the skills of teachers in managing interaction and learning opportunities, the complex cognitive activity which underpins effective classroom practice, and the need to conceptualise teaching as constantly changing. These features are related to the ongoing challenge to develop programmes for teacher development which are effective in terms of teacher experience, and of wider policy goals of curriculum improvement