Choosing between beach or classroom

For those teachers whose New Year is ushered in with winter's chill, any thoughts of the summer to come will probably be of warm sun and a time to relax. Far from their minds will be summer-season teacher training. But this is the time of year to start planning ahead. EU citizens can access financial support for in-service teacher training in Europe from the European commission's Comenius and Grundtvig funding schemes, with but the deadline for applications for courses starting from September 2010 falls in April. Teachers who are looking to their school to help pay for training will need to set aside time to gather information about courses and to make their case to directors of studies. There is a diverse range of one- and two-week training courses on offer in the UK during the summer. Many of the leading EFL teaching institutions organise intensive programmes aimed at teachers who want to use their time as productively as possible by learning new classroom methodology and refreshing their own English language in a native-speaker environment. Teacher refresher courses, as they have come to be known, now respond to a wide range of needs and interests. At one end of the spectrum are courses that provide teachers with the opportunity to review or catch up on recent ideas and developments in teaching practice and theory, which perhaps predate their own initial teacher training. Other programmes focus on specific skills or areas of ­expertise. Of the specialist courses on offer in the UK this year, some of the most widely available focus on teaching young learners, using ICT in the classroom and developing learning materials. An increasing number of courses highlight Content and Language Integrated Learning (Clil), reflecting the spread of combined language and subject teaching in primary and secondary classrooms. There are also courses for people who want to develop English for academic purposes and business teaching skills. Courses are usually designed for small groups with a careful balance struck between intensive study and some social and cultural relief, in the form of out-of-class activities, such as visits to must-see tourist attractions. Up to 200 teachers a year enrol on Oxford House's two-week summer courses in Oxford and London, and marketing director Jeremy Bull says that the diversity of the trainees is both a strength and challenge of this type of training. Candidates come from different countries and teaching contexts, which means they have a wealth of experiences to share so long as they don't feel intimidated. Trainers have to be skilled at encouraging participants who are more used to the role of pedagogue to contribute ideas and opinions and get involved in role-plays and group learning. Bull recommends that would-be trainees ask questions before they consider this type of training. "Ask yourself: 'Do I want to get involved in a communicative-style training?'. There is a lot of group work on our courses and individual teacher input," he said. "Ask yourself: 'Am I interested in observing classes [one of the options offered by Oxford House] and seeing ideas being put into practice?'" Another leading UK provider is Bell, where Jim Scrivener is head of teacher development. He emphasises the opportunities that trainers have to develop participants' language alongside delivery of new knowledge and skills. "In demonstrating new techniques it is often most effective if the demonstration involves language that is itself useful for the participants. This allows them to see the real technique at work rather than just as a theoretical proposition. "Similarly, in some courses where the language points are the main focus, this still allows the trainer to draw attention to the teaching techniques used in the language work. In this way the participants get double value from the work: new teaching ideas and new language." But as Bull advises, new skills are only of value if teachers have an opportunity to put them into practice in their school or institution. "It is worth teachers asking, before they enroll on this type of course, whether they will be given the freedom to adapt or change their methodology when they return." There was nothing worse than coming back into class enthused and refreshed with new ideas only to find that the syllabus demanded the same old teaching, he said. • More information about EC in-service teacher training funding.