This free online course is for English language teachers around the world. It will help you develop the skills and practices you need for your continuing professional development (CPD).

This course is part of our Teaching for Success: Practices for English Language Teaching program. In the program we will look at the 12 professional practices for CPD on the British Council’s teacher development framework.

In this course you will look at four professional practices:

Integrating ICT
Promoting 21st-century skills
Using multilingual approaches
Understanding educational policies and practice.

Learn with English language teachers worldwide

Each week will focus on one of these practices. Short video interviews with experienced teachers will be combined with classroom films from around the world to illustrate the main points.

Video tutors, Suzanne and Claire, will guide you through each week’s content, offering tips, advice and downloadable resources at every stage.

You will be asked to share your own experiences and opinions as you become part of a global community of English language teachers discussing what leads to success.

The course draws on the British Council’s many years of expertise in teacher training and development around the world. It will be useful for teachers of English at primary, secondary or higher levels.

What topics will you cover?

Promoting 21st century skills
- Understanding 21st century skills
- Critical thinking
- Collaboration and communication
- Fostering creativity

Integrating ICT
- How does technology affect the way we teach
- Evaluating technology
- Technology, autonomy and collaboration

Understanding educational policies and practice
- How educational policy affects teachers
- Child protection
- Internet safety
- Applying policy

Using multilingual approaches
- Your classroom linguistic context
- The impact of other languages on learning
- Multilingual teaching approaches
- World Englishes and the future of English

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Compare teaching approaches and experience with others from around the world.
Assess the relevance of 21st century skills for English language learners.
Discuss the impact that technology has had on what and how we teach.
Evaluate a range of learning technologies and their usefulness.
Explore the impact that national policies have on classroom practice.
Reflect on the importance of child protection and consider whose role its implementation should be.
Assess the importance and influence of learners' L1 in their language learning.

Who is the course for?

The course is aimed at teachers of English as a foreign language at all levels. Intermediate level English (around B1 on the CEFR) is required.

What do people say about this course?

"I've been teaching for over 30 years and have recently changed from teaching French to teaching English. I have found that these courses have refreshed me as a teacher and made me determined to do as good a job as possible in my new role. I'd like to apply as much of what I've learned on these courses as is possible so the students get more out of my lessons. I'm getting a new classroom tomorrow so a fresh start in January will enable me to get some of these ideas into practice."

Jane Hughes

"I don't know what to say. Literally. It has been truly wonderful. This course has succeeded in making me a better teacher. I know I can do more. My learners need more and I will go out of my way to make sure I impart what I have learnt. I intend to apply what I have learnt in my classroom this new year. Padlet-here I come! I can't wait to recommend my colleagues for the course to help broaden their scope. Thanks again."

Evelyn Effiong

Who will you learn with?

Claire Ross

I'm an English teacher and teacher trainer. I'm interested in online learning/teaching and pluralistic approaches to languages and cultures particularly in refugee/immigrant contexts

Who developed the course?

British Council

The British Council builds connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and other countries through arts and culture, education and the English language.

We work on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2019-20 we connected with 80 million people directly and with 791 million people overall, including online and through our broadcasts and publications.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

Want to know more about learning on FutureLearn? Using FutureLearn