“HONESTLY, I HAD NEVER IMAGINED BEING A TEACHER”: NARRATIVES OF NEPALESE EFL TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Professional development of EFL teachers is a major concern among Nepalese stakeholders of English language education as elsewhere in the world. Teachers’ professional development benefits teachers and students directly. It boosts students’ learning achievement (Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss & Shapley, 2007). It also increases opportunities for teachers so that they may find some places for themselves where they have other things to do, for example developing curriculum and activities, teacher training, and so on, in addition to teaching. There are indirect benefits on other aspects for teachers that teachers’ professional development may bring about. The theories of adult learning indicate that there is not a single formal mode of adult learning (American Institute for Research, 2011). The studies carried out in the past on teacher development infer that there are different ways that teachers as adults learn from. The approaches that teachers follow for their professional learning is affected by several factors like their context, funding, workload, motivation and so on. However, when teachers realize the benefits of their development, they try to bring changes in their practices. I got opportunities to work with many teachers and scholars of EFL education when I was working as a teacher and studying as a university student of EFL education. The time I spent as a teacher and a student fed me with a lot of different experiences. I met teachers who were in the profession because they loved teaching. Likewise, I met teachers who became teachers because they had to find some ways to earn their daily bread. I also met some teachers who had been doing more than teaching merely in their school. Such differences in experiences led me towards this study. In this study, I explored the experience of professional development of EFL teachers in Kathmandu. I carried out this study with the purpose of explicating the experiences of professional development opportunities used by EFL teachers of Kathmandu. I also aimed at explaining how EFL teachers develop, the challenges they face in course of their professional development and their coping up mechanisms. It was a qualitative study in which I used narrative inquiry as the research method. I interviewed five EFL teachers. The experiences shared during the interviews were used as the narrative data for the study. From the study, I found that EFL teachers keep their efforts to use diverse professional development opportunities for their development. The development of teachers results in changes in their classroom practices as EFL teachers and also as teacher-learners. Although the teachers entered the profession without much learning and preparation, they have realized the change in their classroom practices. Their entry into the profession and the efforts they kept making their teaching effective have resulted in betterment in their students’ learning outcomes. The improvements in students’ learning, in turn, reinforce teachers’ beliefs that professional development impacts them. The teachers have brought about the changes in their professional practices by following the ghosts of their former teachers, joining university degree courses for further studies, attending conferences wherever it is possible, attended training sessions in their schools, outside schools and in the teacher network they are associated with. They participate in workshops for in-service teachers and get enrolled in professional networks for their professional development. Although they do not enjoy much, they participate in the discussions/sharing and professional meetings with their colleagues in the schools. In addition, sometimes they write reflective journals, usually when they have time. They follow their mentors’ suggestions. These days teachers have started using social networks like Facebook for their professional development. I also found out that EFL teachers are aware of the significance of professional development for themselves and their students. They want to transform their classroom practices through learning from different strategies. However, professional development is a challenge since it is difficult for them to balance both everyday professional responsibilities at school and professional development events. Similarly, learning English to be able to teach appropriately, less appropriate training and lack of sponsorship from their institutions are other challenges faced by EFL teachers. I found that the EFL teachers try to minimize the effects of the difficulties managing convenient alternative time for their professional learning. They also request for some fund from their school for such activities. EFL teachers could bring about positive changes in students’ learning if they were provided with learning opportunities. It is necessary to encourage EFL teachers by increasing their services and privileges. It is also necessary to provide them with learning opportunities according to their need.