Oh, To be a Teacher Trainer! In the relatively recent past, Cambridge ESOL redefined their policies regarding the hiring of Course Tutors for CELTA, DELTA and other Cambridge Teaching Awards courses stating an absolute minimum qualification:
Today, it is almost impossible to be approved as a tutor on any of these courses if one does not have a Cambridge DELTA Diploma.
Although not necessary to have attended a trainer training course or to have a Masters in TEFL/TESOL or Applied Linguistics in order to be employed in one of these courses, Cambridge ESOL requires prospective CELTA and DELTA tutors to go through an extensive induction period, supervised by an Authorised Teaching Awards Centre involving:
- putting together a portfolio of trainer training tasks, documents and materials
- observing/following one or more courses at an accredited centre
- being observed by one's supervisor (usually to Course Tutor)
- being assessed for their portfolio work and trainer skills by a specially appointed external Cambridge Assessor.
I consider this is a very positive development, although it does create issues for very experienced (and often highly sought after!) teacher educators who find themselves interested in becoming approved CELTA and DELTA approved tutors at this particular juncture.
Still, although the system may have its drawbacks for a small number of exceptions, as a rule it forms a very good code of practice for the profession. And I believe that Cambridge ESOL are, in a way, attempting to declare the profession's coming of age.
A HISTORY OF THE PAST – TEACHER TRAINER OR TEACHER EDUCATOR?
I have been a teacher trainer for many years, more years, in fact than I have been a teacher educator. My career as a teacher trainer began when I was literally pulled out of the classroom by a highly perceptive Academic Director who saw some potential in me and who threw me into teacher training head first!
By that time, I had already attended a Certificate level course, obtained my Diploma in TEFLA (then known as the RSA DTEFLA, equivalent of today’s Cambridge DELTA) and had five years' classroom teaching experience with both young learners and adults.
But other than that, I had no other training on how to train TEFL teachers; later, I gained more experience when certain British publishers offered me the opportunity to do freelance teacher training for them. Through this training, I got my second major lucky break – I was offered a job as an in-house teacher trainer for a major language school in Athens (now also a major publisher as well) and started training the staff at that school through pre-sessional/start of the year courses and through continuous development workshops and seminars throughout the year.
I learnt an enormous amount through this job, a lot of it about teacher training and a lot about the administration of introducing innovation and change into a language institution.
After I had been a teacher trainer for some time, I felt I needed more background and that was the time I decided to follow an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, a course I completed at the University of Reading and which I still use to its fullest!
On that M.A., I followed a Teacher Education option, which was really the first formal training I received on syllabus design for teacher education courses, different coding systems and ways of giving feedback, analysing classroom discourse, teacher assessment schemes, and many more relevant topics.
It is at that point that I realised the difference between a teacher trainer and a teacher educator, a term which if not introduced by H.G.Widdowson, was certainly inspired by an important article published in ELTJ in 1984 , in which he says that “teachers need to be trained in practical techniques, but must also be educated to see those techniques as exemplars of certain theoretical principles..” otherwise they cannot derive expertise from experience, and later calls for teachers who “are not consumers of research, but researchers in their own right. It is this, I think, that makes teaching a professional activity, and which should, therefore, provide incentive to those who claim membership of the profession.”
My career as a teacher educator – in Widdowson’s sense then, changed and became more charged with a focus on teacher education for reasons to do with a new perception of what training and educating classroom teachers involves since I completed my MA studies.
My personal training style evolved many times over throughout the years up to now, mainly through focussed observation of experienced tutors/presenters at conferences and workshops.
Personal favourites include Rod Bolitho, Tony Wright and Ken Wilson but watching my colleagues has also given me inspiration - current CELTA co-tutor Olha Madylus is one of the most inspiring and motivating teacher educators I have ever seen; as are Tony Whooley and George Vassilakis, great CELTA & DELTA co-tutors, to name only a few.
CURRENT PRACTICES & CHOICES
These days there are numerous Trainer Training courses available to anyone interested in teacher education. To name a few, Marjon's (The University College of St Mark & St John in Plymouth) runs a very good one; Warwick University has an MA in TEFL, specializing in teacher education.
To anyone who asks today what they should do in order to go into the field of teacher education, I always suggest following one of these courses.
You can, of course, learn on the job, but it's the same as teaching.
You do acquire some skills through practice or by being mentored by good teacher educators, but the shortcut to faster development is by following a good course and it is well worth the effort and cost.
Without one, you may eventually get to your destination but it will take you a much longer time to achieve what you can learn in a much shorter time.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A TEACHER TRAINER/EDUCATOR?The Council of Europe stipulates that those involved in the training of professionals should have received a minimum of 400 hours of training themselves, which is a good point to think about, not just regarding teacher educators.
Apart from evidence of extensive training (ideally including a DELTA and an M.A. in TEFL or Applied Linguistics), here are some of the qualities I look for in anyone who wants to work as a teacher trainer/educator at my training institution.
I look for educators who...
- have extensive and varied classroom teaching experience
- are experienced and highly skilled in lesson & materials design
- are familiar with a wide range of materials available, published in print form and online
- have extensive experience of training and supporting adult learners
- have experience of having been observed by others themselves
- are able to deliver lessons using a wide range of presentation/teaching modes
- are highly polished classroom practitioners/master teachers themselves
- are confident and supportive individuals
- have an interest in their own ongoing professional development/ new technologies do not frighten them and they are keen to develop and learn
- have thorough understanding of the theoretical assumptions underpinning classroom techniques/ lessons/ materials/lesson shapes, etc.
- are highly proficient in the language of instruction (English) with outstanding language awareness
- have observed other teachers extensively and seen different ways of giving feedback to trainee teachers
- are mature, balanced, objective and have a reflective approach to teaching and teacher education
- are in full control of their teaching style and classroom persona
- are keen learners and sharers and are generous about sharing what they know with other colleagues
I could add many more qualities I look for, such as a bright and sunny disposition, a good sense of humour, tolerance and patience, sensitivity, efficiency, passion for teaching – a great ingredient!!! - professionalism, promptness, punctuality, flexibility, empathy....the list could go on and on.
But what I want to stress is that my ideal candidate will have both the high polish of a good teacher trainer as well as the depth of understanding of a good teacher educator.
CAN EVERY GOOD TEACHER BECOME A TEACHER TRAINER/EDUCATOR?
Many of you may have noticed that many of the qualities mentioned in the previous section are also highly desirable qualities in a teacher!
So, can a good teacher become a good teacher trainer/educator?
This is a key question, and I am afraid that my own personal response is “No, I do not think so”. Not all very good, or even outstanding classroom teachers are suitable for a career in teacher training.
There is one major (in my own view always) attribute which is absolutely necessary, the ability to analyse the teaching process and classroom practices for the benefit of one's trainees.
Without this very special ability, while it may not be difficult to pick up a published or unpublished set of training materials and deliver sessions to a group of trainees, it can be very difficult to support the same trainees in lesson preparation, suggest alternatives, advise them or tailor one's instruction to suit different needs, different teaching and learning contexts as well as the developing/emerging needs of one's own trainees!
To my trainees who ask me how it is possible to develop into a good teacher educator, I say the same things. This is not just the next logical step in every TEFL teacher’s career and it cannot be done well by everyone but there is no doubt that there is, indeed, a great need for more people in this profession!
Teacher training/education is a serious business requiring specialist knowledge, a passion for teaching and helping people, personal commitment, the classroom polish of a master teacher and a willingness to learn and share the learning with others.
It should be serious but also greatly motivating and great fun – when appropriate.
So to balance out my very serious post, I've included a couple of photographs from training sessions which were wonderfully inspiring and great fun for trainees and their tutor! Do you have any questions?
About the AuthorMarisa Constantinides is the DOS of CELT Athens, a teacher education centre in Athens which offers TEFL, Cambridge CELTA and DELTA courses to teachers from all over the world.
You can reach her via:
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