Planning a great 2016 in teaching
It is the end of the year and what better date to make resolutions and plan the next year? So here are some brief ideas for a brilliant 2016 in ELT:
1. Actively engage in ELT associations. Think about how you can contribute best in productive discussions, taking part in special interest groups. The best thing is being able to make teaching a more and more respected profession by working along with fellow teachers.
2. Develop a new skill in your career. Depending on the stage of your professional development, you may want to start teaching an age group or level you have less experience with, or you may wish to look into your lessons and experiment with a greater variety of approaches to teaching specific skills or systems. The idea here is to challenge yourself and leave your comfort zone.
3. Revisit your career goals. There’s no need to change them if that does not apply to you. However, assessing them before the year starts may help you plan steps you want to take and focus on what you want to achieve. Remember to write your goals down and co,mmit to your professional development.
4. Talk more about teaching. That’s a tricky one because most of us talk about our work all the time. What I mean here, however, is constructive talk about ideas and actions we can take, talking about how to better approach certain students rather than complain that they are ‘difficult’. To become greater professionals, we need to choose wisely what to discuss and produce.
5. Fall in love with your work again and again. there’s nothing more inspiring to students and peers than someone who works with passion – a passion for learning and for helping others thrive.
What is in your to-do list for 2016?
