EFL Teachers' Profesional Development: A Concept, a Model, and Tools
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Дата
1999
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Анотація
The main purpose of this article is to propose the Distance Profesional Development and Support System (DPDS), an approach specifically
designed to help non-native speakers of English teach English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) in a non-English-speaking setting. English has become the primary language of international communication, and there is a growing need for teachers of EFL. Research shows above all that a good instructor, trainer, manager of learning, and communicative partner is what is needed. Therefore, the outcome of training in English depends to a great extent on teachers,which makes teacher profesional development especially important. The greatest need is in the area of teaching non-native speakers of English to be good teachers of English to other non-native speakers in a non-English-speaking setting. Teaching EFL in a non-English-speaking setting presents different demands and challenges (both advantages and disadvantages) that must be addressed. It is concluded that such situations require greater focus on language forms and on intercultural comparisons, but that EFL teachers who are not native speakers of English but who share their students' mother tongue and culture have a number of advantages over their native English-speaking colleagues unable to find support in making recourse to the language and home culture of their students. The proposed DPDS model is effective in overcoming the disadvantages non-native English-speaking EFL teachers face while preserving their advantages.