Professional Development for English as a Second Language Teachers

ESL Teaching is an easy thing to do poorly if you are inexperienced, and lack knowledge about what you're doing as a teacher. But to do it well, so that your students are actually learning English and hopefully enjoying themselves while they do it is not so simple. It takes practice, patience, and a working knowledge of the basic theories in the field, as well as a toolbox of games and activities that you can use to help your students. A little passion for teaching is also an invaluable thing. Here are my recommendations for some TEFL / TESOL training books you can read to help you become a better English Teacher. Find what you like and challenge yourself to incorporate some of the ideas into your English as a Second Language classroom.

Maybe you just finished university and plan to head overseas to teach English. The only problem is that you've never set foot inside a classroom as the teacher. That was my experience the first year that I came to South Korea to teach in a private institute. Back then, I didn't even really consider what I would or should be doing in classes and just did anything to fill the time. However, I truly wish that I had read a few books about teaching ESL before I came to Korea so that my first couple years teaching could have been much more effective. So, if you're heading overseas to teach ESL for the first time, read a few of the books so you have some idea of what you're doing. Bring them along with you to refer to when you run into problems.

I obviously read these books later on in my teaching career and they benefited my enormously. I saw the why behind the how. It was very enlightening. So, even if you're an experienced teacher, a bit of reading could help you enormously.