LANGUAGE INSTRUCTORS’ PERCEPTIONS AND APPLICATIONS OF CONTINUOUS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Professional development can be defined as all the practices and activities for teachers’growth. In the area of English language teaching, teachers need to follow the pedagogical andpractical developments in their field, thereby developing themselves professionally. This studyaims at figuring out and comparing the perceptions and applications of language instructors inhigher education institutions in Latvia and Turkey on continuous professional development.The authors carried out a small scale research in order to answer the question “What are themost effective forms of professional development for English language instructors?” A semistructured interview was implemented to gather the data. The comparative research was carriedout in the frame of COST Action CA15221 – Advancing effective institutional models towardscohesive teaching, learning, research and writing development – that addresses the field ofprofessional conversations and research. The main finding of the study is that English languageinstructors thought that the responsibility of continuous professional development primarilybelonged to themselves and then their institutions and the other professional institutions.Majority of them claimed that their professional development was triggered by their curiosityand passion. Attending research-oriented events such as seminars, conferences, and workshopswas mentioned as very effective for their continuous professional development.