What does the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language Do?

There used to be a time when the only requirement to teach English was to actually speak it. In some countries this is still the case however in most the standards have gotten much higher. A big part of the reason for this is the growth of groups like the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. This is a professional organization that is dedicated to improving the quality of English teachers. They do this in a number of ways but the most important revolve around providing teachers with the resources that they need for professional development.

The mission of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language is to help support English teachers from around the world. They are basically a professional organization for people who teach English. A big part of the way that they do this is by providing publications to its members. This is just like any other trade journal they publish new techniques for teaching English so that the teachers can stay on top of what is going on in the profession.

The other big thing that they do is to hold Vegas conferences and workshops that bring teachers from all over the world together to discuss the profession of teaching English. This allows them to learn new things as well as to discuss better ways of doing things. These conferences are important because with English teachers spread so far around the world usually working in small groups it is difficult for them to learn about what other teachers in other locations are doing. Obviously this limits the development of the profession which is why the conferences are so useful; it is one of the few chances that teachers have to get together.

Another valuable service that International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language does is provide the opportunity for organizations in various countries to be linked together. There are English teachers all over the world and in most cases the teachers in one country will form a professional group to deal with the issues that they face. However in most cases there is little contact with groups in other countries. Obviously this is missing an excellent opportunity to move the profession forward. By linking the various groups together it helps to resolve this issue.

For most people the biggest thing that the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language does is maintain a job board. Really this is the reason that most people join, to help them find work. One of the great things about being an English teacher is that you can work in almost any country in the world but finding those jobs can be a challenge. By having a board that allows jobs from all over the world to be listed it makes the whole process of finding a job much easier.