The Disgruntled Profession? How to take control.

 Is it fair to say that, by and large, ELT is a disgruntled profession? There is certainly plenty of evidence of disgruntled teachers complaining about low pay, poor conditions and little or no staff development opportunities. There is also evidence of disgruntled employers who complain that their teaching staff are not committed, are in the job just to see the world and are more interested in seeing the sights and enjoying the local nightlife than preparing and delivering effective classes. There is no doubt that there are the cowboys and also that some teachers match the latter description but I believe that most teachers care about their learners and want to do the best for them, as do employers. However, so long as there is a degree of truth in either disgruntled scenario, an element of unprofessionalism will permanate within the profession as this vicious circle feeds itself.

What can we do about it?
First, we can be honest with ourselves about what we can expect. While good employers provide a living wage (and we should expect that of everyone and not accept less, or the cowboys will never be eliminated!) the profession as such does not pay "big bucks" and when it does, it is due to reasons of supply and demand. However, normally there is a constant supply of new recruits keen to travel and learn about new cultures thus keeping salaries at the living level rather than the luxury level. Therefore it is important to accept this when deciding to opt for ELT. If you can't, opt for something else or forever trail the disgruntled route - something which will only do you and others a disservice.

The plan..
Having "made your choice" and assuming it is the former, it is important to have a plan, albeit a flexible one to accommodate the unforeseen twists and turns of this crazy old world, which will develop your career. This could be outside or inside the ELT profession. What we will address here are possible avenues within the profession, although we recognise that there are many skills one acquires and utilises in language teaching which are also transferrable to other professions. The plan will keep you focussed and should help you avoid the situation of finding yourself in a rut ten years on, tired of what you are doing but unprepared or under-prepared for a change in direction.

The career structure in English Language Teaching is limited but varied. To explain what appears to be almost a contradiction in terms, I mean that there are a limited number of 'posts of responsibility' in comparison with the number of teaching positions available but there is more than one route you can take.The most common of these are, Teacher Training, Materials Design, Management, and CALL. There are obviously others such as English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Testing, Syllabus Design and Implementation, Evaluation, Needs Analyses.....but today we will concentrate on the common 4 under which the latter can be subsumed.

Responsibility
While good employer practice should, where possible, provide for professional staff development, essentially the responsibility for developing your career is YOURS. It is something you may be fortunate to be able to do with the support of your colleagues and superiors but it is you who must make the decisions, you who must do the work and indeed you who more often than not can create the development opportunities. By that I mean, often if we show willing and go that extra mile doing some extra work on something or launching a new project, the otherwise cynical employer who copes with a high annual staff turnover as teachers want to move on, may be more than willing to encourage and perhaps reward your efforts.

Investing in yourself
A word of caution though. Remember what is in your contract and ONLY what is in your contract is what you can expect. Things can get pretty emotive and unprofessional if we start to assume that we are due more than we have been legally promised because WE chose to go that extra mile. But there is no need to become demotivated if that recognition or encouragement is not forthcoming because what you have done is invest in yourself, enhancing your own repertoire and your own marketability. Whichever avenue you choose, the most common first reaction to professional development is: "I must go on a course".

There are a number of excellent courses on the market in every field of ELT and delivered by a number of equally excellent providers and I would never rule them out as an element of one's professional development. However, I do not always feel that it is the correct FIRST step and I am a great believer in 'testing the waters' before making that costly (in time, effort and money) decision. Many employers also share that view which sometimes causes friction between employer and employee when there is disagreement about immediate release and or funding/ part funding for courses in which the employee has expressed an interest. It is equally important if you are the one who is sacrificing time and money to know why that particular course would be good for you, how it could enhance your prospects etc.

Training investment
I can remember not so very long ago that British teachers were led to believe that if they didn't do an M.A. they would never get a better job. As a result, many people spent a lot of money, time and effort and got that M.A. It cannot have been a totally wasted experience, quite the contrary and I am sure many job prospects were enhanced. But there were the glitches too. For example, one major UK /international ELT organisation insisted on M.A.s for all its teachers in Spain. As every man and his dog wanted to work in Spain this was, to their mind, a way of ensuring quality. However, the result was a country-wide teaching staff that was extremely frustrated.

They had done their M.A. to get beyond the classroom and their expectations were not being fulfilled. Policy was changed and reverted to a healthy staff mix of diploma and certificate qualified teachers. The same organisation on a global basis then said to its employees that if they wanted to progress through its career structure they now needed to do an MBA. The point I am trying to make is that it is OUR responsibility to really think through, test the waters and then decide before making a substantial formal training investment.

Testing the waters
So how do we test the waters? If you are interested in materials development for example, don't go for 'the book' that'll probably come after you've gone down this and other routes and will be a culmination of your experience. Start with designing some supplementary materials, pilot them (with other teachers too), evaluate and modify. Ideally you will do this in a team with perhaps more experienced materials designers but if not, don't let it stop you. My personal experience is that it is a wonderful learning experience as one has to think of every aspect of the targetted students' learning, its relevance, how it is presented etc. and the pilots demonstrate how much we can take for granted and how much care needs to be taken.

Alternatively, if teacher training is your choice, the most valuable first step is to "shadow" an experienced trainer and have them as your mentor. For this you probably need to be working in an organisation where teacher training is taking place. If this is not the case, you should target such an organisation for your next post. In the meantime, try running a few workshops in-house (with your employer's agreement of course). If they don't already take place, it could be just the thing to encourage other teachers to share their ideas and experience thus lightening the load for everybody. When you do get to that enviable position of being able to 'shadow' an experienced trainer and in effect undergo gradual trainer training by at times team training and then delivering sessions on your own under their supervision.

Likewise with gradual participation in observation and feedback of teaching practice to the point where you are able to do it alone, you will probably have had some of the most effective training of a lifetime. Who said there was anything wrong with apprenticeship schemes? The 'testing of waters' opportunity in the area of Management is probably that which is most frequently available by way of Senior teacher, Assistant Director of Studies and Director of Studies positions. These first and foremost call on one's teaching knowledge and experience but also begin to introduce first line staff management, negotiating skills, issues of staff development, recruitment, organisational skills such as timetabling and registration procedures, customer care and maintaining professional standards to financial management considerations such as market research, business planning and product development and diversification.

Normally 'good teachers' display strengths in people management as essentially that is a large part of managing people's learning. However, they may need formal training in, for example, accountancy, marketing and business planning. Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is there for all you aspiring computer whizz kids - I'm assuming (perhaps wrongly) that practising whizz kids are making a fortune outside ELT. There is a relatively new and growing niche for you and coupled with the expertise, either your own or that of others, in materials design the sky is the limit. As technology forges ahead distance learning and electronically supported real-time communication is changing and will continue to change the face of language teaching. This isn't a threat but a resource to be harnessed and utilised to further facilitate the learner's learning.

Life beyond?
Is there life beyond where we are now? The disgruntled breed the disgruntled. Your life is your life. Your career is your career and those who take control of both are best placed for success and contentment. Needless to say, the more of us who do it, the more professional the profession will become!