ELT Professional Competencies for Student Teachers

7/30/2019 ELT Professional Competencies for Student Teachers

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ELT article published by Prof. Jonathan Acua at http://reflective-online-teaching.blogspot.com/

ELT Professional Competencies for

Student Teachers

5 tips to be better in your teach practicum and practice

As a student teacher lacking the experience of being in front of a class and

working with students, the need to develop ones professional competence

is a must. The teaching practicum is a way to start building ones

professional competencies and confront ones teaching beliefs with ones

own teaching particulars and environment. To help oneself create some

sort of competence awareness, student teachers are here provided with

five tips to help themselves grow professionally.

Self-/Peer Assessment Ask yourselfat the end of the class-, what

went right and/or what went wrong? This sort of question can help you

reflect and self-criticize yourself as an educator. All teachers need to review

their teaching beliefs to be able to make changes or adjustments in their

teaching. By evaluating your tactics [BBCs TeachingEnglish 2003], this

practice may lead you to teaching perfection and to a highly


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constructive teaching reflective stage. And if possible, ask a student

teaching partner (or another teacher in school) to lend you his/her ears

and eyes to help you spot areas that need extra polishing. Their help can

be of great use in ones teaching competence development.

Classroom Atmosphere In an in-service training session at CCCN

with Dr. Neil J. Anderson (2004), author ofActive Reading Skills for

Reading, overs here in San Jos (Costa Rica), he insisted on the

importance ofcreating a classroom culture.This culture or atmosphere

allows us to ensure discipline in class and respect among class members.

As the head member, the teacher can control pair and group work

efficiently and time class activities to maximize student learning. This

comfortable atmosphere will make teachers and students avoid

confrontations that will disrupt the balance of the class culture.

Students Attitudes towards English Learning If a class

culture is successfully created, shifting students attitudes towards the

target language seems to be a feasible task. Keep in mind that not all the

students in class are really interested in learning English; English could just

be another subject to pass. Nevertheless, making pupils aware of the

importance of English in the working world can be a great way to motivatethem to go the extra mile needed to succeed in their future, potential

professional lives.


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Professionalism Projecting oneself as an education professional is

also a must as part of ones teaching career. Several things need to be

taken care of so one does no lose face in front of students (and their

parents), school officials, an ones teaching colleagues. Among those

things, always be punctual for class. As the TeachingEnglish editor (2003)

states it, Be prompt and punctual because promptness and punctuality

lead to systematic work.Students need to learn the value ofpromptness

andpunctuality,so please set the example for them by being on time for

class and giving back graded assignments, quizzes, tests, and the like.

Show your professionalism by always using rubrics to grade students and

their performance or work. This will save you extra headaches when

students complain or school officials ask you to justify a given grade. And

show your professional style by following the school dress code all of the

time. Do get to explore how else you can improve your professional image.

Language Practice Involve your students in authentic

communication actions, which encourage a continuous flow of speech(TE

Editor 2003). Creating and having students take part of meaningful and

memorable exercises guarantees learning. Be creative and replicate the

real world in class so students understand why English learning isnecessary. Scaffolding student performance can yield even better results in

terms of class production and the accomplishment of language learning

outcomes. All these elements also contribute to a greater language practice

in class within a comfortable atmosphere and class culture.


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To sum up, developing is a real needELT Professional Competencies

for amateur and for consolidated teaching professionals. Discovering ones

beliefs and how to adapt them to new teaching environments and

particulars is part of the development of those competencies to become a

better-shaped professional. But bear in mind that teaching goes beyond

the class, so try to create your PLN [Professional Learning Network] to

always be updated and to become a desirable teacher to be hired

anywhere you apply for a teaching position.

To fully develop and comprehend this teaching issue, its advisable to

research and expand these areas:

1 Professional competences

2 Self-Assessment in teaching

3 Peer assessment for teaching improvement

4 The class culture

5 My professional image as an ELT teacher


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Professor Jonathan Acua-Solano

ELT Instructor & Trainer based in Costa Rica

Curricular Developer atCCCN

Senior ELT Professor atUniversidad Latina

Freelance ELT Consultant for in Central AmericaOUP

For further comments or suggestions, reach me at:

@jonacuso Twitter

[email protected]

Other blogs I often write for my students at the university are:

1.http://bin-02.blogspot.com/



a. Anderson, Neil J. (2004) San Pedro:In-Service Training at CCCN.

CCCN, Costa Rica

b. (2003) by TE Editor,Professional Competence 1

[http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/] 28 March 2003 Published on

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/professional-competence-

1
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ELT Professional Competencies for Student Teachers