Every now and then I get an email from a teacher asking how I got into teacher training. I know I certainly had similar questions. The one thing I’ve realised after being a teacher trainer for a number of years as well as working with other teacher trainers is that the route into this area is different for everybody. In fact, any academic management position has its own peculiar path. Our sector is often viewed as somewhat ‘closed’, i.e. there are not a lot of options for teachers in terms of career advancement. Now, whilst I do agree with this to a degree, I think for those teachers that decide to make a career out of ELT, there certainly are avenues that can be taken – but perhaps these ‘avenues’ need to be made a little clearer.
Keeping this in mind, I decided to start a new video series – Sponge Chats. There are two main objectives:
- Provide teachers from around the world with insights into how people in various academic management positions got there, what advice they have, and how they continually develop.
- By providing this information to teachers, hopefully it will encourage more teachers to seek more training, more professional development opportunities, which in turn may increase the level of professionalism across our sector.
So, when can you expect to see these Sponge Chats? Well, not too far in the future. I’ve already filmed and am editing one, have a few more in the pipeline – I think you will all be very happy with what is coming. Stay posted!
If you have any suggestions, other Sponge Chat ideas or would like to get involved somehow (e.g. you are in an academic management position and feel like sharing your thoughts), feel free to get in touch!
SPONGE ELT 
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