English Language Teachers; Opportunities and Challenges in the Twenty-First Century

The argument throughout this study is that English has become the global language for communication in industry, business, scholarship, entertainment, advertising, and diplomacy and, more recently, the Internet. It is taught in different settings with learners of different sociocultural backgrounds, different aspirations, and of different ages. It has now been established that learning to teach is a complex process and teaching in the twenty-first century is one of the controversial and thought-provoking questions the author poses in this article. As educational leaders, classroom teachers, students and parents will agree, 21st century teaching carries with it a complicated mix of challenges and opportunities. The challenges facing the world are huge and the answers lie in teachers' hands. Challenges include the issues of teacher turnover, accountability, changing student populations and student expectations, mounting budget pressures, and intense demand to build students’ 21st century skills. On the opportunity side of the equation, the growing capacity, capability, and power of technology-based tools and resources give the education community the ability to address these challenges successfully. With strategic use of 21st century learning tools, educational institutions can provide the supportive productive environment educators need to reach, teach, and support each student’s learning needs and potential. The significant change in world warrants a response in how we prepare teachers. This article is an effort to share the contributors’ knowledge, experience, and ideas with colleagues, particularly with novice language teacher educators, but many can be adapted to professional teacher development programs.

کلیدواژه ها:

teacher education ، development ، 21st century ، opportunities ، challenges