Being Professional

It is very common that most of the language teachers in Iran are, by and large, consumers of linguistic knowledge. The self-acceptance of the position that teaching a second language is in fact an intellectual activity and that it requires authority, autonomy and critical thinking in addition to linguistic knowledge is an issue that seems to be overlooked by the second language teachers and also teacher training programs. The bare fact is that teaching English has lost its professional identity. The gate-keeping criteria for the teachers to enter the actual practice of teaching seem to be the linguistic knowledge and the ability to keep watching the standards of policy makers and curriculum designers. As a result, the prospective teacher does not feel the need for improving some very important qualifications and abilities which are the distinguishing benchmarks for the teachers as the insiders of a profession. This loss of border and position, however, is not without its remedy. There should be programs to widely and flexibly introduce this still strange but rewardingly important identity and position, to provide the teachers and would-be teachers with practical and teacher-friendly strategies for changing the so-called concept of a teacher, and to create the basic blocks of a new professional teacher. This workshop proposal, then, seeks to introduce the concept of professionality of teaching English and the professional teacher. Following is an outline of what will be covered in this workshop.1. An Introduction to the Loss of Identity I. Theory and practice II. Responsibility III. Motivations IV. Expectations 2. An Introduction to the Meaning of Professionality I. Definition II. Gate-keeping criteria III. Codes of ethic IV. Codes of conduct 3. An Introduction to the Required Strategies I. Penetrating observation II. Critical thinking III. Autonomy VI. Action research V. Mind map