A STUDY ON PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF EFL TEACHERS AT SOME HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE CENTRAL AREA OF VIETNAM

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the needs of professional development (PD) of EFL teachers at some high schools inthe central area of Vietnam and the ways they would like to carry out their professional development acitivities. The partiticipants included sixty EFL high school teachers who had teaching experience ranging from 2-30 yearsand their ages from 23 to over 50. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and an interview protocol.The findings show that most of high school EFL teachers perceived PD as the process that helped teachers todevelop new skills, stay up-to-date on current trends, and advance their career. In particular, participation in a network of teachers was considered to be the most common PD activity needed by all the participants. They also stated that taking part in PD activities served the need of understanding more about the cultures of English - speaking countries in order to convey the lessons to students more accurately and lively. Besides, the results indicate that the need to know how to select appropriate materials and the ways to adapt them contributed to EFL teachers’ PD. From the findings, implications for administrators and teachers are put foward for EFL teachers torealize their needs for improvement.