One of the ongoing challenges international teacher educators face is how to introduce useful, relevant changes to the teaching practices of teacher learners yet be sensitive to the restrictions placed on the learners in their own cultural settings. How can teacher educators successfully integrate and combine different teaching practices from other cultures? A teacher educator arrives on the scene as an “outsider” and is responsible for setting the tone for time spent working/teaching in that setting. How you view yourself and how the local teacher learners view you will likely be influenced by how well you prepare before you go and your attempts to integrate yourself into the local culture once the teaching begins. Here are a few suggestions to help ease the transition:

1. Educate yourself about the country and region in which you will be working/teaching before you arrive on the scene. In addition to being knowledgeable about the educational system, also be aware of the political system and what is happening that might affect your students. It helps to be familiar with how teacher salaries and workload requirements compare with other professions in that city or country. If possible, find out what a typical work week is like for the teachers you will be working with in that location.
2. Discuss local teachers’ beliefs about themselves as teachers. Spend a few minutes one-on-one with your new students within the first two days of the course. Take notes so you can refer back to some of the information learned by asking individual teacher learners opinions about their own teaching styles and responsibilities as well as views on how teaching is regarded in their country based on their personal experience. Does the Ministry of Education in that country control the curriculum, or can teachers make changes as they see fit? Are teachers responsible for their students’ success or failure on examinations? It is important for you to know the answers to these questions if you are to help your teacher learners make changes in their teaching. It is important to be realistic and informed about how the system works.
3. Try to incorporate books or articles of local scholars into your assignments to show the work being done in the world of English Language Teaching (ELT) in the region and/or country in which you are presently located. It is interesting for the local teachers to find out how ELT in their country is presented and discussed in other parts of the world. It also may encourage them to write about ELT from their own perspective and experience.
4. Stay connected locally while you are there. Read the local newspapers, walk around by yourself, and be approachable so that others may learn from your encounters and experiences. Accept invitations to have lunch or dinner with your students so that they can share some of their ideas and experiences in a less formal setting than the classroom.
5. Set high standards, yet be flexible. Your teacher learners want to improve, and they desire honest feedback from you. If you are too hesitant to offer helpful suggestions for improvement and change, then your credibility will be suspect as someone who does not know how to help a teacher develop his or her skills. Often the teacher learners are hungry for more knowledge and will look to you for guidance.
6. Be prepared to teach using “old-fashioned” materials, such as a chalkboard/white board. If you arrive in the country with PowerPoint presentations and expect students to be able to do the same, think again. Depending on the country or region where you are working, the technology capability and/or availability may not be up to the latest standards to which you are accustomed. Until you can know for sure what technology is available for your teaching and whether it is in working order, come prepared to teach using basic materials and handouts when you first arrive. If you are equipped with basic materials and can easily adjust to less than ideal conditions, there is less risk of embarrassment on the part of your students that their school is not up to speed. Also, you will not waste valuable class time if you do not need to rely on technology which may or may not be available.
7. Practice what you teach. Be aware of the examples you set while teaching teachers. Set the standard for professionalism and model the habits you would like your teacher learners to follow. Although you may be teaching and working in a culture where lateness is sometimes accepted, do not be afraid to outline what you expect in regard to students being on time to class or accepting late assignments. Students are enrolled in your class because they want to learn from you and gain additional knowledge and expertise. Expect that they will appreciate your professional ways and will challenge themselves in order to continue their professional development.

These suggestions have proven to be worthwhile for teacher educators who strive for a collaborative, thoughtful approach when working and teaching with teacher learners internationally. The results may bring about exciting changes for the local teachers and a renewed interest in your own professional development as a teacher educator.

Rosemary Orlando, an associate professor at Southern New Hampshire University, in the United States, teaches in the MS-TEFL program in New Hampshire and in Hanoi at Vietnam National University. Dr. Orlando has trained teachers in various settings, including Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South America.

Andy Curtis, who was until recently the director of the English Language Teaching Unit and a professor in the Faculty of Education at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is now a professor in the Graduate School of Education at Anaheim University, in California. Before that, he was a professor in the Graduate Institute at the School for International Training, in Vermont, in the United States, then the executive director of the School of English at Queen’s University, in Ontario, Canada. Dr. Curtis has worked with language teachers and learners in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as North, South, and Central America.