Top 8 PD Topics for English Language Teachers in 2022

by Laura Baecher |

In a flash, we come to the end of 2022.  It is a great time to pause and look back to see what some of the trends, key topics, and themes were when it comes to teacher professional development (PD) over this past year.

The field of English language teaching consistently evolves and always provides educators with abundant opportunities to learn and grow professionally.  From using the printed word in blogs, newsletters, books, and journal articles to sharing information and ideas in videos, webinars, and online conferences, there is an abundance of PD available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.   Many topics continue to surface year after year, as these relate to ever-relevant topics, such as working with learners in the four skills, integrating content and language, or addressing the needs of particular types of curricula or students.  Apart from these familiar topics, and in no particular rank order, here are eight topics that appeared frequently in 2022 in the TESOL community.  To arrive at the list for this blog, I reviewed the:

These are all freely available resources. (Note: Accessing the conference program book after a conference is completed can be a useful strategy to keep your finger on the pulse of what is of high relevance to educators in any given year.)

Topic Countdown

8. Overcoming Teacher Burnout

PD in this area focuses on recognizing the stress teachers are living in on a daily basis, approaches to self-care, and finding ways to create better structures within schools so that teachers can address dilemmas that are within their locus of control.

To learn more, read:

7. Mindfulness

PD in this area focuses on social-emotional learning; student, teacher, and staff well-being; and intentionally creating space in the curriculum for learning about ourselves and implementing routines and practices that promote self-awareness and positive ways to collaborate with others.

To learn more, read:

6. Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

PD in this area focuses on identifying our own biases and identities as teachers, and then learning more and celebrating students’ home cultures, languages, and experiences and seeing these as resources upon which to build curriculum and classroom community.

To learn more, read:

5. Translanguaging

PD in this area focuses on challenging monolingual assumptions (like English-only policies) and strategically and thoughtfully creating classrooms tapping into the research that shows that home languages are a powerful resource for learning content and developing English language skills.

To learn more, read:

4. Formative Assessment

PD in this area focuses on how to move away from a testing culture to one in which ongoing, low-stakes assessment informs teachers’ understanding of learners’ progress and the impact of their curriculum in order to make in-the-moment adjustments.

To learn more, read:

3. Creativity

PD in this area focuses on how to spark creativity in learners by making classroom activities more language-rich through setting up tasks that are high engagement, open ended, novel, and use approaches from theater education and the arts.

To learn more, read:

2. Technology for Communication

PD in this area focuses on using the availability and access of online conferencing and collaborative writing tools to connect English learners from different parts of the world.

To learn more, read:

1. Teaching in the Postpandemic Era

PD in this area focuses on changes in workplace environments, use of curriculum and technology, applicability of previously adapted learning frameworks, and how to reengage both students and teachers in face-to-face instruction as well as continuing to utilize distance learning.

To learn more, read:

Looking to 2023, which topics do you want to learn more about?  Which topic do you believe should be a focus of your institution’s PD agenda?

 In the comments, share PD topics you particularly enjoyed learning about in 2022!

About the author

Laura Baecher

Dr. Laura Baecher is professor of TESOL at Hunter College, City University of New York. Her research interests and publications relate to teacher education, including educational technology in teacher learning, observation and coaching for English language teaching, and professional development in TESOL. Her recent books are Using Video to Support Teacher Reflection and Development in ELT and Reflecting on Problems of Practice in TESOL. She has served as chair of TESOL International Association’s Teacher Education Interest Section, an English language specialist for the U.S. Department of State, and president of the New York State TESOL affiliate.

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