Continuing Professional Development Needs for English Language Teachers in Kenya.

Abstract

With the widespread use of English across the world, it has become essential to raise English language teachers’ awareness and sensitivity with regard to the strategies they need to deploy in designing their activities and adjusting their teaching so as to take into consideration the current status of English as a world language. Although many of these strategies can be learnt through teacher reflection, others such as subject knowledge matter, pedagogical expertise and understanding of curriculum and materials cannot. Professional development should therefore go beyond individual reflection to include new trends and theories in language teaching; familiarization with development in subject matter knowledge; and critical examinations of the way the schools and languages programme are organised and managed. This article discusses the views of teachers regarding the teaching of English in Kenya, what they consider as their CPD needs, challenges and suggestions for improvement. It makes use of data collected from interviews with teachers of English, policy documents as well as interviews with CPD providers who had direct influence on the teachers’ work.