Professional Development Models for Vietnamese Foreign Language Teachers

Professional Development (PD) for teachers is one of the key tasks for any educational institution. Through this activity, schools can afford their teachers the opportunities to expand their knowledge, hone their skills and foster other qualities to become effective teachers (OECD, 2009). However, one must admit the fact that Vietnamese teachers are not interested in participating in PD activities. One of the underlying roots for teachers’ indifference to professional development is that these activities are still not diversely, attractively and practically implemented. So the question is, in what ways can PD activities be designed to enhance teacher engagement? In response to that question, probing different models over the globe and learning how they conduct professional development programs for teachers seems to be an appropriate approach. By identifying, analyzing and evaluating existing models, the authors propose a number of possible PD models for foreign language teachers development in Vietnam. The proposal is expected to act as a good source of reference for any educational institutions, on the journey to develop a learning teacher community.