The Continuing Professional Development Experiences and Needs of English Language Teachers - China Japan and Korea 0

The continuing professional
development experiences and

needs of English language teachers
Countries: China, Japan and Korea
Simon Borg, Jason Anderson, Ben Beaumont,

Karin Xie, Lora Guo, Ross Thorburn,
Choi Tae-Hee, Hyun Jin Kim, Ikuya Aizawa
and Kiyono Fujinaga
The continuing professional development experiences and needs of English language teachers
ISBN 978-1-915280-11-4
© British Council 2022

1 Redman Place, Stratford
London E20 1JQ, UK
www.britishcouncil.org
Contents
Foreword 01
Acknowledgements 02
Abbreviations 03
Executive summary 04
1 Introduction 12
2 The ELT context 14
3 Literature review 16
3.1 Teacher professional development in China 17
3.2 Teacher professional development in Japan 18
3.3 Teacher professional development in South Korea 18
4 Methodology 19
4.1 Aims 20
4.2 Online teacher surveys 20
4.2.1 Survey design 20
4.2.2 Survey administration 21
4.2.3 Survey analysis 21
4.3 Teacher interviews 22
4.3.1 Sampling and conduct 22
4.3.2 Interview analysis 22
5 Results: China 23
5.1 Survey results: overall 24
5.1.1 Response rate 24
5.1.2 Geographical distribution 24
5.1.3 Respondent demographics 25
5.1.4 Awareness of providers of professional development 26
5.1.5 Professional development needs 28
5.1.6 Face-to-face professional development 28
5.1.7 Online professional development 30
5.1.8 Getting online 32
5.1.9 Views about professional development 33
5.1.10 Further professional development 34
5.1.11 Effective professional development 35
5.2 Survey results: disadvantaged teachers 38
5.2.1 Understanding the sample 38
5.2.2 Awareness of selected organisations 39
5.2.3 Prioritised professional development needs 40
5.2.4 Recent professional development activities 41
5.2.5 Factors influencing participation in online professional development 44
5.2.6 Online activity 45
5.2.7 Attitudes to professional development 46
5.3 Interview findings: teachers 47
5.3.2 Feelings about online professional development 50
5.3.3 Authorities’ attitudes to online professional development 51
5.3.4 Recent online professional development activities and preferences 52
5.3.5 Preferred forms of online professional development 53
5.3.6 Post-pandemic interest in online professional development 54
5.3.7 Low engagement in online professional development 54
5.4 Interview findings: professional development facilitators 56
5.4.1 Professional development interests 56
5.4.2 Face–to–face vs online professional development 58
5.4.3 Local vs international online resources 59
5.4.4 Materials in English or Chinese 59
5.5 China: conclusions and recommendations 60
5.5.1 China: key findings 60

5.5.2 China: recommendations 62
5.5.3 Limitations 63
6 Results: Japan 64
6.1 Survey results 65
6.1.2 Respondent profile 65
6.1.3 Providers of professional development 67
6.2 Interview results 78
6.2.2 Teachers’ attitudes to online professional development 79
6.2.3 Educational authorities and online professional development 80
6.2.4 Engagement in online professional development 81
6.2.5 Live vs recorded online sessions 82
6.2.6 The future of online professional development 82
6.3 Japan: conclusions and recommendations 83
6.3.1 Japan: key findings 83
6.3.2 Japan: recommendations 85
7 Results: South Korea 87
7.1 Survey results 88
7.1.2 Respondent profile 88
7.1.3 Providers of professional development 90
7.2 Interview results 99
7.2.2 Teachers’ attitudes to online professional development 100
7.2.3 Educational authorities and online professional development 101
7.2.4 Engagement in online professional development 103
7.2.5 Live vs recorded online sessions 104
7.2.6 The future of online professional development 104
7.3 Korea: conclusions and recommendations 105
7.3.1 Korea: key findings 105
7.3.2 Korea: recommendations 107
8 References 108
Author biographies 112
Report citation:
Borg, S., Anderson, J., Beaumont, B., Xie, K., Guo, Y., Thorburn, R., Choi, T., Kim, H. J., Aizawa, I., & Fujinaga, K. (2022).
The continuing professional development experiences and needs of English language teachers (Countries: China,
Japan and Korea). London, UK: British Council.
Foreword
English continues in its role as a global lingua offerings and resources, while also reacting to
franca and acts as a bridge between cultures the potential future trends and needs in specif-
across the world. As English language educa- ic country and demographic contexts with
tion continues to evolve through innovation, specific solutions that are relevant to local
or, as the past 3 years have shown, through teachers.
circumstance, so must the development and
access of teachers to appropriate resources This online CPD for teachers of English in
that support them in their work. China, Japan and Korea study, commissioned
by the British Council English Programmes
Digital engagement, both in teaching and team, China, and undertaken by a research
teacher development, has been gathering team brought together by Trinity College
pace for many years as technologies improve London, represents a significant step forward
and devices and connections become more in understanding the digital trends and needs
widespread, but the potential advantages of of English teachers in China, Japan and South
online development and teaching has not Korea, and offers insight into future develop-
always been fully recognised and has met ment directions. Where possible the research
with some understandable reluctance. How- focus has attempted to identify specific needs
ever, while the Covid-19 pandemic pushed based on urban and rural, or more disadvan-
many online without ideal preparation or taged contexts, to better understand local
tools it has also acted as a catalyst for wider needs.
acceptance of such mediums and accelerat-
ed their introduction into mainstream educa- Digital offers and resources are, of course,
tion systems. constantly updating and evolving, but the
snapshot presented by the study offers valu-
As the grip of the pandemic slowly resides, a able insight into how governments, local au-
waterline remains and teachers are now thorities and English teachers in local contexts
generally more accustomed to accessing can be supported in future. While much is still
online platforms and using them both for to be learned, I am confident that the content
teaching, and as a part of their Continuous within can act as a valuable foundation of
Professional Development (CPD) journey. But evidence for future strategy, programming and
challenges clearly remain in acceptance, offers of CPD that support English teachers
motivation and access to adequate resourc- digitally in the 3 targeted countries, I am
es. It is unlikely that education systems will likewise confident that its use will support
retreat away from the progress made in future opportunities for co-operation and
digital delivery of teaching and training and collaboration across a spectrum of stakehold-
therefore it is important for organisations that ers in the years to come.
support English teacher CPD to understand
where we now are, and where future need
may emerge. By extension, it is necessary to Fraser Bewick
understand what English teachers prefer, use Senior Academic Manager, China
and require in their contexts related to digital July, 2022
01 Foreword
Acknowledgments
The authors of this report would like to thank

the British Council and Trinity College London
for supporting this study. Within the British
Council, Fraser Bewick, Li Rui and Kathleen
Zhong were particularly supportive at all
stages of the process. At Trinity College
London we would like to thank Dr Jayanti
Banerjee, for her ongoing project support, and
Ruth Paul, who provided invaluable contractual
and legal advice. We are also grateful to all
those who helped us reach so many teachers
during the study. Finally, and perhaps most
importantly, we would like to thank the many
teachers who contributed to the project
through surveys and interviews.
02 Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
BA Bachelor of Arts degree

BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BCEAS British Council East Asia Study
BE Basic Education
B.Ed Bachelor of Education degree
CLIL Content and Language Integrated Learning
COVID Coronavirus Disease
EBS Educational Broadcasting System (Korea)
ELEC English Language Education Council (Japan)
ELT English Language Teaching
FLTRP Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (China)
ICT Information Communication Technology
JALT Japan Association for Language Teaching
M.Ed Master of Education degree
MEXT Japanese Ministry of Education
MoE Ministry of Education
NTTP National Teacher Training Program (China)
PD Professional Development
PLC Professional Learning Communities
SLA Second Language Acquisition
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences
UK United Kingdom
US United States
03 Abbreviations
Executive
summary
04 Executive summary
Introduction Respondents
The British Council commissioned Trinity The total number of valid questionnaire
College London to conduct a landscape respondents was 7259 (China: 6469; Japan:
review of online professional development 394; South Korea: 396), 106 of whom were
(PD) for teachers in basic education in China, interviewed (China: 74; Japan: 11; South
Japan and South Korea. Data was collected Korea: 20). Questionnaire data was analysed
from November 2021 to April 2022 through both quantitatively (using SPSS and Excel)
both quantitative (an online questionnaire) and qualitatively (using a general inductive
and qualitative (online or telephone inter- approach), for open response items. Chinese
views) tools used with teachers across prima- interviewees only were purposefully sampled,
ry and secondary education in the three stratified both to context (income level and
countries via varied gatekeepers and con- rurality) and engagement with CPD (high or
tacts; sampling was opportunistic, rather than low). Interview data was analysed using a
representative. Questionnaires were devel- general inductive approach to identify
oped initially in English and then localised for themes in the data of relevance to the study
each context and translated to the primary aims. While sample sizes in the three coun-
national language for online distribution after tries were satisfactory, the distribution of
piloting. A sub-sample of questionnaire re- Chinese respondents across provinces was
spondents was interviewed in each country. not representative, with 47.5 per cent of
In China, additionally, a small group of facilita- respondents coming from Sichuan (low-in-
tors of professional development was also come) and 25 per cent from Hubei (middle-in-
interviewed. come); as such, respondents from high-in-
come provinces were under-represented in
the sample and certain findings may reflect
characteristics and challenges specific to the
two dominant provinces. Primary and second-
ary contexts were both represented, although
there was a strong bias towards secondary
teachers in the Japanese sample (79 per
cent) and slight biases towards secondary in
China (59 per cent) and primary in South
Korea (57 per cent).
Key findings from China

Survey findings
The most highly prioritised PD needs of on balance, an expressed preference for the
Chinese respondents were ‘Teaching 21st former.
century skills and abilities’ (selected by 49
per cent of respondents), ‘Teaching reading’ Two open-ended survey items inquired about
(40 per cent) and ‘Motivating students’ (38 areas of their work where respondents felt
per cent); bottom of the list of 16 choices they needed more support and their sugges-
provided were, perhaps surprisingly, ‘Teach- tions for more effective PD in general. Once
ing English online’ (18 per cent) and ‘Prepar- more, respondents clearly prioritised PD
ing students for English examinations’ (19 per activities that are of direct use in their class-
cent). Respondents were asked to indicate rooms. In response to the first of these items,
their recent face-to-face and online PD activi- they indicated needs for a wider range of
ties. The two most frequently selected support resources (e.g. international resourc-
face-to-face activities were peer observation es, ‘authentic’ materials, etc.) and for practical
of colleagues (82 per cent) and participation teaching skills (e.g. methodology, classroom
in teacher professional development groups teaching skills). Their elicited suggestions for
(81 per cent); bottom of this list were formal improving PD indicated strongly that it
courses leading to certification (10 per cent). needed to be practical and based in current
Recent online activities included online (often less than ideal) classroom realities.
courses, seminars or workshops (69 per cent) There was a strong interest in online activi-
and watching online videos about teaching ties, particularly because of the convenience
(57 per cent); formal courses also ranked low and time flexibility these offered, and in video
online (13 per cent), as did listening to educa- observation and international collaboration
tional podcasts (12 per cent) and finding with colleagues in other countries.
teaching materials online (11 per cent). Con-
cerning factors that influenced respondents’ The Chinese sample was also stratified to
decision to participate in online PD, a clear identify 1233 ‘disadvantaged’ respondents,
trend was evident in the most highly priori- whose schools were located in villages or
tised factors: an interest in activities that have towns (i.e., rural) in low-income provinces.
direct, practical implications and use in one’s Their responses were compared with the
own classrooms (e.g. ‘It helps me to solve remainder of the sample (urban and middle-
problems I face in my teaching’). Respon- or high-income). Differences identified were
dents reported little difficulty getting online generally small, although this data should be
for PD, both at home and at work, and interpreted with particular caution, due to
through a range of platforms (especially significant biases in the sample (see 5.2.1).
WeChat, QQ and Ding Ding), although some Disadvantaged respondents were found to be
(45 per cent) felt that high data costs limit slightly more likely to prioritise PD needs in
their online activities. Responses to a range ‘motivating students’ and aspects of ELT
of Likert scale items eliciting their attitudes pedagogy (e.g. ‘teaching pronunciation’,
towards PD indicated high levels of interest in ‘teaching vocabulary’) than their peers. They
online PD, especially if free. There were also were also found to have slightly lower levels
generally high approval levels for current PD of participation in most PD activities, consis-
provision by authorities, although many feel tent with slightly lower levels of school-organ-
that they lack sufficient time to participate in ised PD activities available to them. They also
PD activities. With regard to languages, indicated less available time for PD and a
survey data indicated support for activities slightly higher preference for face-to-face PD.
taking place both in English and Chinese with,
Interview findings
Purposive sampling of interview respondents balance between use of Chinese and English
allowed us to include similar numbers of in PD, indicating Chinese may be better for
teachers from urban and rural contexts in more complex theoretical aspects of PD and
high-, low- and middle-income provinces, English for content related directly to class-
including both those who had and had not room practice. Those that had participated
engaged recently in PD. As such, the findings recently in online PD tended to report a
are likely to be more balanced between rather limited range of top-down activities,
different backgrounds, provinces and per- particularly lectures/webinars and remote
spectives than the survey data. lesson observations with some interactivity
(e.g. discussion afterwards). This contrasts
While survey respondents had indicated a somewhat with survey responses; other, more
clear preference for teaching 21st century teacher-led activities were only occasionally
skills in their self-evaluated PD needs, this discussed. Evaluations of online PD activities
was less evident among interviewees, who varied widely. Consistent with survey respons-
were more likely to identify needs related to es, there was nonetheless a strong belief that
motivating learners and engaging them in the activities should be practical, collaborative,
classroom. Support with differentiated and useful (particularly concerning content)
instruction was also often mentioned, particu- for their day-to-day teaching. For those
larly among rural respondents. Those who respondents who had not engaged in online
discussed demonstration lessons (popular in PD recently, causes for this varied, including a
Chinese PD) often indicated that these lack of opportunity (particularly in rural areas
needed to be more realistic and reflective of and sometimes for English subject only), a
their working contexts. Consistent with lack of time, or excessive workload, and, only
survey responses, plenty of interviewees occasionally, cost.
indicated a need for support with methodolo-
gy, use and adaptation of coursebooks, and Three PD facilitators who were also inter-
support with ‘core competencies’ ( 核心素养 ), viewed largely corroborated the above inter-
a recent policy initiative in China. A number view findings, indicating that teachers are
indicated a need for more help with speaking very much aware of their own PD needs,
skills, with several of these also discussing prioritising improvements in language profi-
falling motivation levels towards English ciency, help with learner motivation, exam
among both learners and parents, and others preparation and lesson planning, as well as
interested in improving their own proficiency developing learners’ critical thinking skills.
levels in English. They also identified a need for teachers to
understand principles rather than simply
The majority of interview respondents (43 per techniques, particularly from demonstration
cent) expressed generally positive opinions, lessons, indicating that PD activities were
although rarely strong enthusiasm, towards often based on a transmission of information,
online PD, often stressing its convenience, rather than reflective in orientation. They
flexibility and lower cost, and also indicating were also generally positive about online PD,
generally positive attitudes to online PD reflecting similar advantages and concerns to
among authorities. However, smaller numbers the teachers, and suggesting that while both
of respondents expressed preferences for international and more local themes were
face-to-face PD (20 per cent), with others useful, the latter was more likely to have
offering a more balanced discussion of rela- direct relevance for teachers’ classroom
tive merits of the two (21 per cent) or no practice.
clear preference for either (12 per cent).
Interviewees shed useful light onto how to
Recommendations for China

The following recommendations are offered respondents were ‘Motivating students’
for English teacher professional development (selected by 63 per cent of respondents),
in China: ‘Teaching speaking (60 per cent)’ and ‘Teach-
ing 21st century skills’ (44 per cent). Deemed
Practical, realistic materials and activi- least important were ‘How to find teaching
ties: In order to be perceived relevant, materials online’ (6 per cent), ‘Preparing
PD activities should be practical in students for exams’ (11 per cent) and ‘Teach-
orientation, including useful and even ing vocabulary’ (12 per cent). Most frequently
directly useable materials, recognising mentioned recent face-to-face professional
current realities in varied contexts development activities included peer obser-
across China at both secondary and vation of colleagues (60 per cent) and partic-
primary levels. ipation in courses, seminars and workshops
Supporting understandings of theory: (57 per cent). Teacher-led approaches were
Despite the need for a primary focus less often mentioned, with classroom action
on practical materials, there was also research (2 per cent) second bottom to
clear evidence of interest in, and a teaching competitions (0.3 per cent). Cours-
need for, deeper understandings of es, seminars and workshops were the most
aspects of teaching theories (e.g. core frequently mentioned recent online activities
competencies, deep learning) and (55 per cent), with online reading (22 per
particularly how these link to classroom cent) second; all other options were reported
practice. by less than 20 per cent of respondents, and
Support for current textbooks: Teach- it is notable that 25 per cent stated that they
ers express a strong need for materials had not participated in any online PD recent-
that support and link to their current ly. More respondents indicated that they had
curricula and textbook content; work- taken part in face-to-face PD (90 per cent)
ing together with relevant publishers is than online PD (75 per cent) over the past 12
likely to be effective to this end for PD months – perhaps surprising given the timing
providers. of data collection at the end of the COVID–19
Diversifying online professional devel- pandemic. Japanese respondents prioritised
opment activities: There is a need for a the same three factors as Chinese teachers
wider range of online PD activities to when making the decision to participate in
be explored and implemented, particu- online PD or not: ‘It helps me solve problems
larly those involving teacher-led and I face in my teaching’, ‘It provides activities
collaborative approaches. and materials that I can use in my own class-
Further research on recent policy room’ and ‘It keeps me up to date with new
changes: There is evidence that recent ideas and developments’. Least important for
policy initiatives (e.g. double reduction them were language choice, the providing
and core competencies) are influencing organisation and the opportunity for promo-
teachers’ needs and practices, warrant- tion or salary increase. Unsurprisingly, Japa-
ing future research into the impacts nese teachers indicated little difficulty
they are exerting. getting online, particularly at home, and few
cost-related issues, reporting a wide range of
online platforms (topped by Line, email and
Key findings from Japan YouTube) and devices (especially smart-
phones and laptops) used. Concerning Japa-
Survey findings nese teachers’ views about professional
development, the Likert scale items that
The most highly prioritised professional elicited the highest agreement rates from
development (PD) needs of Japanese respondents indicated strongly that they had
little time to take part in PD (90 per cent revealing that much provision is ‘generic’,
agreed), as well as clear interests in free ‘superficial’ and ‘mandatory’, indicating a
sources of online PD (90 per cent agreed) clear top-down emphasis. Examples given of
and new ways to continue their PD online (88 online activities that interviewees had partici-
per cent agreed). They also indicated very pated in were mainly short courses, seminars
low approval ratings of current PD provision and webinars/lectures (live webinars were
in Japan, with 61 per cent feeling that they preferred to recorded sessions), with occa-
are not satisfied with the quality of PD they sional reference to alternative formats (e.g.
have access to. interactive professional development groups).
The two open-ended items at the end of the

survey revealed an important finding not so Recommendations for Japan
apparent in the quantitative items – that many The following recommendations are offered
respondents (over 30 per cent) feel strongly for English teacher professional development
that they need to improve their own English in Japan:
proficiency. This was clearly corroborated by
Japanese teachers’ expressed need for
the most commonly mentioned suggestion
support in developing their own En-
for making PD more effective by far – to
glish, particularly to be able to teach in
improve teachers’ English proficiency, despite
English indicates that initiatives aiming
the fact that the question required respond-
to develop English proficiency, poten-
ents to focus on how effective professional
tially alongside building content under-
development can be provided. The second
standing, are likely to be useful and
most popular suggestion also related to
popular;
English proficiency, focusing on the need for
Further research into Japanese teach-
PD activities to be conducted entirely in
ers’ current dissatisfaction with PD
English. There was also evidence in these
provision will be useful. Our findings
open items that many respondents felt a
support a clear need for more teach-
need for support with their general pedagogi-
er-driven PD, rather than the top-down,
cal skills, such as classroom management and
accountability-oriented provision that
interpersonal practices, and interests in
seems to predominate;
lesson observation and locally contextualised
Further research into what may be
PD activities.
excessive workloads among Japanese
teachers is also required alongside
Interview findings initiatives that support and promote
Interviews were conducted with 11 Japanese teacher well-being and quality of life;
respondents (3 primary, 3 junior high and 5 International PD providers, in order to
senior high). Here again there was a regularly cater effectively for Japanese teachers’
indicated interest in improving English profi- needs, may benefit from partnering
ciency, particularly to facilitate teaching in with local organisations and authorities;
English. Peer observation and interest in new PD themes and offerings are likely to
methodological initiatives (e.g. assessment be most attractive to teachers if they
methods, interactive teaching) were also have immediate practical relevance or
mentioned. Interviewees expressed a range utility in the classroom and are tailored
of attitudes towards online PD, with most to Japanese contexts;
acknowledging both positive (e.g. conve- Concerning online PD, increasing
nience, cost) and negative (e.g. limited inter- interest among Japanese teachers
action with peers) aspects. Attitudes to suggests that this is likely to be a
current PD provision by educational authori- growth area, with teachers preferring
ties, including online, were generally rather free, live and interactive sessions.
negative (consistent with survey responses),
Key findings from Korea

Survey findings
The most highly prioritised professional other devices for online activities and two local
development (PD) needs of South Korean platforms (Kakaotalk and Naver Café/Band) were
respondents were ‘Teaching speaking’ (se- most popular. Concerning South Korean teach-
lected by 45 per cent of respondents) and ers’ views about professional development,
‘Teaching reading’ (45 per cent), closely similar to Chinese teachers, there was strongest
followed by ‘English assessment’ (44 per interest in online professional development,
cent), ‘Teaching 21st century skills’ (42 per particularly involving free resources and innova-
cent) and ‘Teaching writing’ (41 per cent), tive activities, with a preference for PD to be in
indicating a stronger skills interest than English rather than Korean. Despite this enthusi-
among Chinese or Japanese respondents. asm for online activities, a majority nonetheless
However, similar to those countries, ‘Prepar- indicated a preference for face-to-face PD (61
ing students for exams’ (8 per cent) and per cent).
‘Finding teaching materials online’ (11 per
cent) were ranked towards the bottom of the Responses to the two open-ended items at the
available options, along with ‘Lesson planning’ end of the survey indicated a clear interest in
(11 per cent). Most frequently mentioned more opportunities for teacher professional
recent face-to-face professional development development and a valuing of diversity and
activities included courses, seminars and variety in effective PD. A number of respon-
workshops (56 per cent), reading activities dents indicated an interest in PD activities
(48 per cent), informal discussions with involving overseas organisations such as the
colleagues (44 per cent) and peer-observa- British Council, while a smaller number indicat-
tions (43 per cent). As in Japan, teacher-led ed an interest in improving their own English.
approaches were less often mentioned, with Further suggestions for effective PD indicated a
classroom action research (7 per cent) need for collaborative, long-term, partici-
second bottom to teaching competitions (4 pant-oriented activities in response to the
per cent). Participation in courses, seminars current tendency for shorter-term top-down
and workshops was also the most frequently provision, similar to Japan.
mentioned recent online activity (66 per
cent), with watching online videos about Interview findings
teaching (53 per cent) also popular. South
Interviews were conducted with 20 South
Korean respondents prioritised the same
Korean teachers (9 primary, 6 junior high and 5
three factors as Chinese and Japanese teach-
senior high). Interviewees reiterated the inter-
ers when making the decision to participate
est in skills-oriented support evident in survey
in online PD or not: ‘It provides activities and
responses, particularly reading and writing
materials that I can use in my own classroom’,
(with some implying aspects of literacy), and
‘It keeps me up to date with new ideas and
there was also evidence of interest in develop-
developments’ and ‘It helps me solve prob-
ing, or keeping up, their own English proficien-
lems I face in my teaching’. Two of the least
cy. Interviewees were overwhelmingly positive
important factors were also consistent with
about the value of online PD, recognising its
Japanese and Chinese responses - language
advantages (e.g. convenience) and future
choice and the opportunity for promotion or
potential more than any potential drawbacks,
salary increase. South Korean teachers indi-
although barriers to accessing some online
cated almost no difficulty with getting online
(e.g. international) resources were also men-
and good stability and speed, although,
tioned. Concerning online provision by authori-
perhaps surprisingly, cost was a prohibitive
ties, while some teachers praised various
factor for 41 per cent of respondents spend-
aspects, such as the development of profes-
ing time online. Laptops were preferred over
sional learning communities (PLCs), others
levied specific criticisms, particularly that There is scope for long-term, teach-
authorities were not ensuring teachers were er-led, collaborative CPD among South
sufficiently informed of the range of opportu- Korean teachers of English, particularly
nities available, but also a lack of systemati- through formal and informal PLCs that
sation or practical utility of provision offered. are already beginning to develop;
Examples of online provision experienced
over the last 12 months included commer- PD opportunities that help teachers to
cially branded courses (e.g. ‘Teacherville’, develop their English proficiency, partic-
‘BBC’, etc.) and apps (e.g. Clubhouse) as well ularly their English for teaching would
as Zoom-delivered programmes and PLC likely be successful and are consistent
(formal and informal) activities. Similar to with current government policy.
Japanese respondents, there was a generally
stronger preference for live, rather than
recorded online sessions and an awareness Limitations
that blended PD involving online and
The following limitations to data collection
face-to-face elements may be the optimum
and timing of the study should be noted for all
combination.
three countries in addition to the provisos
Recommendations for South Korea
made concerning the Chinese sample above
The following recommendations are offered (see Respondents above):
for English teacher professional development
in South Korea: 1. Respondents to the survey were ac-
The evident interest in developing learn- cessed via online modalities only, and
ers’ language skills among teachers opportunistically, including through
suggests a focus on these in future PD British Council contacts and online
provision would be impactful; resources with only limited support from
PD resources and initiatives should have gatekeepers working within Chinese
practical relevance and classroom utility basic education. Teachers with lower
to appeal to teachers’ self-identified levels of digital activity are likely to be
needs; underrepresented, as are those with less
South Korean teachers’ enthusiasm interest in social media or international
towards online PD indicates that there are networks.
a range of opportunities in this area,
particularly through live, interactive 2. Some respondents may have declined to
sessions offering free, practical resourc- participate for political and/or cultural
es; reasons that are indicative of more
As online PD initiatives increase, there is a negative attitudes towards western
felt need among teachers for more organisations; their opinions will obvi-
systematic and clearer communication of ously be underrepresented in the
events and opportunities from authorities sample.
and PD providers;
International organisations with an inter- 3. The survey was conducted towards the
est in supporting South Korean teachers’ end of a period when the COVD-19
PD should exhibit sensitivity to the con- pandemic was exerting a clear influence
textual constraints and needs of local on the personal, academic and profes-
teachers; this may be done most effec- sional lives of teachers and their learn-
tively through partnership with local ers, and the findings, particularly with
organisations and materials developed regard to their professional develop-
with South Korean curricula and contexts ment habits in the previous 12 months,
in mind; are likely to reflect this.
Chapter-1
Introduction
© Christina Morillo/Pexels
12 Introduction
Trinity College London was commissioned by recommendations for how the professional
the British Council to conduct a landscape development of teachers of English in the
review of online professional development for three countries can be further supported.
teachers of English in basic education set-
tings (government primary and secondary The Trinity team included a central research
schools) in China, Japan, and South Korea. team consisting of Simon Borg, Jason Ander-
This report presents the outcomes of this son and Ben Beaumont, as well as three local
review. A brief discussion of literature on research teams. For China, the team mem-
teachers’ professional development is fol- bers were Karin Xie, Guo Yonghan and Ross
lowed by a summary of the research method- Thorburn, for Japan they were Ikuya Aizawa
ology for the study, then the results (based on and Kiyono Fujinaga, while the Korea team
surveys and interviews) for each country are consisted of Tae-Hee Choi and Hyun Jin Kim.
presented in turn. The report concludes with
The Trinity team
central research team

Simon Borg
Jason Anderson
Ben Beaumont
China Korea Japan

Karin Xie Tae-Hee Choi Ikuya Aizawa
Guo Yonghan Hyun Jin Kim Kiyono Fujinaga
Ross Thorburn
13 Introduction
Chapter-2
The ELT context
14 The ELT context

Three short overviews of English Education in textbook companies. The textbooks are
China, Japan and Korea are presented here. selected by Boards of Education for Elemen-
tary and junior high schools, whereas at
Mainland China is divided into 23 provinces senior high school level, the choice is handed
(each with its independent education bureau, to individual schools. Students in state
overseen by central Government), five auton- schools take high-stakes tests for entry into
omous regions (where there are minority/eth- the senior high school of their choice and for
nic groups with different languages and university entrance. A licence to teach En-
cultural backgrounds) and four municipalities glish is awarded to those who complete a
directly under the Central Government. There teacher training qualification, (which, depend-
is a national Ministry of Education, but coun- ing on the type of licence, can be a Master’s
ty-level governments have primary responsi- degree, four-year degree, or two-year com-
bility for the delivery of school education. munity college diploma) though in order to
Compulsory education lasts nine years and achieve full-status teachers must also pass an
consists of primary school (grades 1-6) and exam run by the Board of Education in each
middle school (grades 7-9). High school prefecture.
(grades 10-12) is not compulsory. English is
normally taught as a compulsory subject from Korea is divided into nine provinces and eight
Grade 3. English is also included as a subject special/metropolitan cities. Compulsory
in the national high school and university education lasts 12 years and is divided into
entrance examinations. Textbooks are chosen primary (grades 1-6), junior high (1-3) and
by schools from a list approved by the Minis- senior high (1-3). The ministry of education
try of Education. Public school teachers must has overall responsibility for education,
pass the National Teacher’s Certificate Exam- though specific decisions are delegated to
ination, which is available in four categories the 17 educational offices in the respective
(kindergarten, primary school, middle school administrative regions. In state schools,
and high school). Applicants need to be English is compulsory from primary grade 3
graduates of universities or normal colleges. onwards and is taught according to textbooks
chosen by schools. English is assessed at the
Japan is divided into 47 administrative/geo- national level through the Korean Scholastic
graphic units known as prefectures. Overall Ability Test at the end of year 9, which is used
responsibility for curricula and standards lies for college admission. There are three ways
with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, to obtain a teacher certificate: 1) graduating
Science and Technology (MEXT), but prefec- from a B.Ed. programme, 2) if on a BA pro-
tures and municipalities are responsible for gramme, doing a minor or a double degree to
the implementation of programmes. Compul- finish teacher training, 3) obtaining an M.Ed.
sory education lasts nine years and consists after getting a non-teaching degree. Follow-
of six years of Primary school and three of ing certification, graduates qualify to take an
Junior High school (over 98 per cent of annual teacher recruitment test conducted
students continue to Senior High school too). by the regional educational offices.
English classes typically start in the 3rd year
of primary school (though some schools start
earlier). The Ministry of Education provides all
schools with textbook materials for Grades 3
and 4 English lessons, which are treated as
‘foreign language activities’, rather than an
assessed school subject. From Grade 5,
English formally becomes a school subject
and is taught through Ministry-approved
English textbooks, produced by private
15 The ELT context

Chapter-3
Literature review
16 Literature review
The quality of any education system depends Importantly, all of these activities can be
in large part upon the quality of its teachers carried out either face-to-face or online, albeit
and their teaching (Hattie, 2012; OECD, 2005). with some modifications (e.g. observation
In order to maintain the knowledge, skills, visits may become either live or pre-recorded
awareness, attitudes, wellbeing and dedica- video observations).
tion that are often seen as important to
effective practice (e.g., Darling-Hammond, Because online PD opportunities have
2000; Day et al., 2007; Freeman, 1989), emerged recently and are rapidly evolving, in
teachers need not only a rounded pre-service part due to their potential for financial savings
education but also regular, varied and appro- and in part due to necessity (e.g. the Covid
priate opportunities for continuing their pandemic), comparatively little is known about
professional development (PD) throughout how teachers around the world are both
their career (Borg, 2018; Darling-Hammond et engaging with, and benefitting from, online
al., 2017). Since the turn of the 21st century, and blended PD (Education Endowment
we have seen substantial changes, both in Foundation, 2020); both of these are areas of
how PD is offered (particularly the move from particular interest in this report, which focus-
top-down initiatives to teacher-led approaches on three countries: China, Japan and South
es) and how it is delivered, with increasing Korea, each discussed briefly below.
numbers of PD programmes including online
elements, either blended with face-to-face 3.1 Teacher professional
(F2F) or wholly online (Powell & Bodur, 2019). development in China
Among the many typologies of teacher PD
China has a formally-structured professional
that exist, the seven elements proposed by
development framework that is strongly
the large-scale, international TALIS study
embedded in the state apparatus (Chen,
(OECD, 2009) have influenced a number of
2020; Ke et al., 2019; Yang & Rao, 2021). Each
subsequent studies and were employed as a
teacher is expected to take 360 hours of PD
starting point for this project. These are (p.
every five years (OECD, 2016b), with approxi-
50):
mately half of this school-based. While much
1. courses/workshops (e.g. on subject of this involves top-down training, it also
matter or methods and/or other educa- includes a number of teacher-led and collab-
tion-related topics); orative activities, including subject-specific
2. education conferences or seminars (at Teaching Research Groups ( 教研组 /jiaoy-
which teachers and/or researchers anzu), collaborative planning, open lessons
present their research results and discuss with peer evaluation, and action research
education problems); (Chen, 2020; Ke et al., 2019; OECD, 2016b;
3. qualification programmes (e.g. a degree Thomas, 2020; Wang & Lu, 2012). In order to
programme); improve the quality of teaching, particularly in
4. observation visits to other schools; rural areas, China launched the National
5. participation in a network of teachers Teacher Training Program (NTTP) in 2010,
(e.g. PLCs) formed specifically for profes- with a three-pronged focus on short-term
sional development; workshops, distance education and formal
6. individual or collaborative research on a university programmes (Lu et al., 2019; OECD,
topic of professional interest; and 2016b); by 2016 the NTTP was reported to
mentoring and/or peer observation and have reached over 9.5 million rural teachers
7.
coaching, as part of a formal school (Yang and Rao, 2020). Online PD has also
arrangement. expanded rapidly in recent years in China,
with evidence of both success and challenges
reported from various studies (e.g. Forrester
& Motteram, 2005; Robinson, 2008; Wang &
Lu, 2012).
3.2 Teacher professional

development in Japan
Japan has a highly structured professional In order to count towards teachers’ mandato-
development framework, involving extensive ry PD requirements, training programmes
mandatory activities during the first year of must be approved; these are most often
school placement (up to 300 hours over 90 delivered through education offices/centres,
days; Ahn et al., 2019; OECD, 2016a). After 10 affiliated universities and private sector
years, they undergo further training, which providers. Delivery modes have historically
they must repeat every 10 years in their been quite traditional, involving residential
career to maintain qualified status (Ahn et al., courses, workshops and lectures, distance
2019; Mullis et al., 2016), although there are learning courses and only limited in-class
regional variations in different prefectures. support (Lee et al., 2019; Mullis et al., 2016;
Yoo, 2018). While there is comparatively little
Professional development activities offered research on teacher PD in South Korea
by local boards of education include courses (Yoon, 2016), research eliciting teachers’
and workshops (Mullis et al., 2016), mentoring opinions on current PD provision generally
programmes (Tonga et al., 2022) and the now reports rather negative impressions, indicat-
internationally well-known lesson study ( 授業 ing it has little relevance or effectiveness for
研究 /jyugyou kenkyu), in which teachers teachers (Kim & Kim, 2014), is based on a
work in collaborative groups to develop transmission approach to PD and too repeti-
lesson plans and materials, try them out in tive (Lee et al., 2019), and often involves
class while peers observe, and then make excessive levels of accountability (Yoo,
further amendments as required (Rappleye & 2018). The South Korean Ministry of Educa-
Komatsu, 2017). Also noted as important by tion is currently attempting to modernise the
Ahn et al. (2019) is the more informal learning system, with recent policy edicts indicating
that occurs in the teacher’s staff room ( 職員 that PD programmes must be partici-
室 /shokuin shitsu), particularly valued by pant-centred, case-based and encourage
novice teachers. Topics for professional teachers to create rather than transmit
development include a strong focus on knowledge (MoE, 2018). Evidence from more
aspects of duty, ethics, responsibility and collaborative PD interventions that have
guidance for students (Orakçı 2015). proven to be successful (e.g. Park & So,
2014; Yoon, 2016) may offer useful guidance
3.3 Teacher professional for the changes currently being undertaken.
development in South Korea
Since the introduction of a new teacher edu-
cation system in South Korea in 2011 (Yoo,
2018), teacher professional development has
followed a comparatively top-down, evalua-
tion-based approach involving a credit system
with two grades of teaching certificate (Lee et
al., 2019; Mullis et al., 2016; Yoo, 2018). Teach-
ers who score low on their yearly appraisal
may be required to take over 200 hours of PD
each year, while those that score more highly
are rewarded with the opportunity to take
research-related sabbaticals (Yoo, 2018).
Chapter-4
Methodology
© Mat Wright
19 Methodology
4.1 Aims
The primary aim of this landscape review was best they felt this professional development
to provide insights into the professional could be provided. The final question invited
development of teachers of English in basic teachers to participate in a raffle prize draw
education in China, Japan and Korea. The and to volunteer for a follow-up interview.
following specific questions were addressed Most questions in the survey were mandatory,
in each country: though those on gender and disability and
1. What kinds of (especially free and open) the two final open questions were optional.
PD provision are available? On the basis of local advice in each country, it
2. Who provides it? was decided to use SurveyMonkey in Japan
3. What areas of their work do basic edu- and Korea and Survey Star in China as the
cation (BE) teachers of English want online survey platform.
support with (i.e. their PD interests and
needs)? The nature of this study amplified the com-
4. What kinds of online PD do BE teachers plexity inherent in designing surveys. One
engage with? challenge for the BCEAS team was ensuring
5. What factors motivate them to engage that the wide range of issues of interest (as
in online PD? indicated in the project objectives) were
6. What factors limit their engagement? sufficiently covered without, however, creat-
ing an instrument that was unfeasibly long.
The study consisted of two phases: an online Additionally, while the survey had core ques-
survey and interviews. Each phase is now tions that were repeated for each country,
described. The research tools are available each version had items that were localised
on request from the British Council. (such as, for example, questions asking
teachers about their knowledge of specific
4.2 Online teacher surveys
organisations offering PD in their country, or
4.2.1 Survey design which online platforms they used). Also, as we
shared drafts with the country teams it
The online survey for teachers was drafted in
became clear that the wording of statements
English, then localised and translated for
did not work equally well in all three countries
each country. Each version thus differed
and revisions were needed. The feedback
slightly, though all contained the same core
from the country teams and the British Coun-
sections: an eligibility question to confirm
cil was also extensive and not always easy to
respondents were basic education teachers
reconcile. And, of course, the final versions of
of English; an introduction providing informa-
the surveys were translated into the three
tion about the project; demographic ques-
national languages, placed on online plat-
tions about the respondents and their
forms, and piloted, including through ‘think
schools; questions about professional devel-
aloud’ supervised completion by trial respon-
opment provision and engagement in
dents. Piloting led to further revisions and
face-to-face and online professional develop-
more subtle localisation to reduce the danger
ment in the previous 12 months; questions
of misunderstanding and increase the rele-
about the factors that influence teachers’
vance and clarity of items (Anderson & Light-
decisions to do online professional develop-
foot, 2022).
ment and about how teachers get online.
Teachers were also asked a set of questions
to explore their attitudes to professional
development more generally. Two final open
questions asked teachers to comment further
on the areas of their work where they wanted
more professional development and on how
20 Methodology
4.2.2 Survey administration 4.2.3 Survey analysis
The process of administering the online The numerical survey data were analysed
survey varied from country to country de- using both EXCEL and the statistical analysis
pending on the relevant stakeholders and programme SPSS. While the survey platforms
gate-keepers who could be enlisted in each used did allow the data to be exported in
case. In all three cases, though, official sup- both EXCEL and SPSS formats, much addition-
port from national, provincial or district al work was required (especially in SPSS) to
educational authorities was not obtained and clean the resulting files, deal with missing
the research team thus relied on relevant data, define the variable names and labels in
contacts in each country. In all countries, the English, and define and assign values to
British Council disseminated the invitation to response options. Various checks were also
complete the online survey amongst existing carried out (comparing results generated by
networks of teachers; in Japan, a number of the survey platforms with those from the
school principals were also contacted and EXCEL and SPSS files) to confirm the accura-
invited to share the link with teachers in their cy of the final data files. The result of this
schools. In China, academics with access to process of data preparation was a set of
networks of teachers of English were also EXCEL and SPSS files for each country which
enlisted to support the project. In Korea, the then allowed the quantitative analysis to
primary source of support was a teachers’ proceed rapidly. Descriptive analyses were
association (KOSETA), which shared the utilized, with a focus on frequencies and
survey links with members and key teacher percentages, and these are presented below
education institutes. In addition, all members in both tables and charts. In the case of
of the research team drew on personal con- China, additional analyses were performed in
tacts in the target countries and used rele- order to compare the results of teachers from
vant social media in each context to reach as more and less advantaged contexts (consid-
many teachers as possible. The surveys were ering both province income level and rurality)
launched in the third week of December 2021 in the country.
and closed at the end of January 2022.
Open-ended survey responses were analysed
thematically; for example, where teachers
were asked to comment on the topics they
would like professional development to focus
on, the answers were reviewed and grouped
according to content; teachers’ comments
about how best they felt professional devel-
opment could be delivered were similarly
categorised.
21 Methodology
4.3 Teacher interviews

4.3.1 Sampling and conduct
At the end of the survey, teachers were
75 3
invited to volunteer for a follow-up interview.
China
The purpose of these semi-structured inter-
views was to explore in more detail some of
teachers teacher
the themes covered in the survey. Local researchers
11
research teams conducted the interviews in
the primary national language (Mandarin
Chinese, Japanese and Korean). An interview Japan
teachers
guidance document was provided to support
South
20
the process and this included general advice
on interview conduct as well as on the ques-
tions to be asked. Korea teachers
Once the surveys were closed, lists of inter-

viewees for each country were drawn up and
contacted using the details they had provid-
ed. For Japan (40 volunteers) and Korea (63), 4.3.2 Interview analysis
the process was straightforward and a target
The local teams conducting the interviews
of 15-20 interviews per country was set but
were provided with an interview summary
for China there were almost 3000 volunteers
sheet. This included a series of headings that
and a sampling strategy was devised to target
corresponded to the questions defined in the
a total of 75 teachers. For China only, sub-
interview guide and interviewers were asked
groups of respondents were identified based
to summarise, including direct quotations,
on their degree of engagement with online
what teachers said in relation to each of
professional development (engaged/not
these headings. The completed summary
engaged). Interviewees were purposively
sheets were then analysed thematically by
sampled in each of these subgroups to
the central research team using a general
ensure that each included a balance of teach-
inductive approach (Thomas, 2006). For the
ers from both rural and urban contexts
additional teacher researcher interviews,
across different income bands (high-, middle-
responses were also analysed thematically
and low-income provinces). Care was also
according to the key topics that were dis-
taken to ensure that a balance of respon-
cussed.
dents from primary, lower secondary (junior
high school) and upper secondary (senior
high school) levels were included in the
interview sample. With regard to gender, the
vast majority of interviewees were female, as
found in the general sample of survey respon-
dents.
In China, an additional set of interviews was

conducted with three teacher researchers
(who had some responsibility for co-ordinat-
ing teacher development activities).
The confirmed number of interviewees for

each country was as follows:
22 Methodology
Chapter-5
Results China
© Mat Wright
23 Results China
5.1 Survey results: overall 5.1.1 Response rate
The survey responses for the whole group As Figure 1 shows, of 6835 respondents who
are analysed first, then in Section 5.2 a started the survey, 6469 were eligible (i.e.,
sub-analysis is provided which compares the they were teachers of English working in
responses of teachers in disadvantaged and basic education) and completed the survey.
non-disadvantaged contexts.
Figure 1. Total number of valid respondents
366
Teacher in basic education
Disqualified
6469
5.1.2 Geographical distribution
The sample included respondents from all were also well represented. Four high-income
over China. However, the proportional distri- provinces, Beijing (4.0 per cent), Shanghai (3.4
bution of respondents between provinces is per cent), Shandong (1.7 per cent) and Jiang-
not representative of the country as a whole su (1.6 per cent), made up 10.7 per cent of
(see Figure 2). Seventy-three percent of total responses, and the remainder of provinc-
responses came from just two provinces, es contributed the remaining 3.1 per cent.
Sichuan (47.5 per cent, low-income1 ) and Any interpretation of the data here presented
Hubei (25.4 per cent, middle-income). should acknowledge this bias, specifically
Chongqing (7.4 per cent) and Yunnan (6.0 per towards two provinces, and, on balance,
cent) (middle- and low-income respectively) towards the lower end of the income scale
across China.
Figure 2. Responses per province
3070
1644
476
390
258
221
107 105 33 29 21 17 9 8 8 8 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 2 2 1
ng
Yu ng
g
Ji ong
g r
in a
an i
ilo g
G ing
Li ng
on
Hu n
G u
M a
Sh ha
Zh xi
on ne
an i
an
an
Ni ai
ao
Sh ng
i
n
jia
Q oli
jin
nx
xi
n
He ian
su
lin
gx
i
ua
on i
ui i
o
xi
gs
gq
Ch be
be
hu
ng
na
na
jia
gh
gd
ia
g
an
zh
ng
M In
n
nn
in
ng
ac
an
iji
aa
an
Ji
ch
an
an
ej
ao
nj
An
He
He
Hu
Fu
ua
an
Ha
Be
Sh
Ti
Sh
Xi
Ji
Si
G
u
G
Based on 2014 figures [here].

1
24 Results China
5.1.3 Respondent demographics
The vast majority of respondents were female Teaching experience varied widely, with 30
(88 per cent), noticeably higher than the per cent in the first five years of their career,
reported national balance in basic education and 24 per cent with over 20 years’ experi-
(67 per cent primary; 53 per cent secondary; ence (Figure 4). 98 per cent of respondents
Anderson, 2019), and 98 per cent reported no were full-time teachers, and 82 per cent
disability. With regard to age, almost half were indicated that their highest qualification was
between 31 and 40 and only 6 per cent were a bachelor’s degree (Figure 5). The vast
over 50, indicating a relatively young average majority were certified English teachers (88
age among respondents (see Figure 3). per cent), and most taught only English (81
per cent), indicating that even at primary
level many Chinese teachers are subject
specialists (see Table 1).
Figure 3. Respondent age Figure 4. Respondent experience
50% 50%
40% 45% 40%
30% 30%
30%
20% 24% 25% 20% 24%
16% 17%
10% 10% 13%
6% 0%
30 or under 31-40 41-50 51-60 over 60 Less than 6-10 11-15 16-20 over 20
6 years years years years years
Figure 5. Respondent highest qualification Figure 6. Respondent teaching level
100% 50%
80% 40% 44%

82% 41%
60% 30%
40% 20%
20% 15%
14% 10%
3% 0% 0%
College Bachelor's Master's PhD Other 390 Primary Junior high Senior high
graduate degree degree school school school
25 Results China
Table 1. Proportion of English language subject specialists by level
Specialists Non-specialists
N % N %
Primary school 1754 66.7 876 33.3
Junior high school 2543 88.4 333 11.6
Senior high school 941 97.7 22 2.3
The sample included a good balance between reasonably representative. With regard to
primary (41 per cent) and secondary teach- respondents’ school sizes, these ranged widely,
ers (59 per cent), although senior high school peaking in the 1000–2000 category, and with
teachers were less well represented (Figure only 18 per cent below 500, indicating most
6); government statistics indicate ratios of: 49 worked in large institutions (Figure 7). Data on
per cent primary, 29 per cent junior second- school location shows that the vast majority of
ary and 21 per cent senior secondary (Na- respondents work in urban environments, with
tional Bureau of Statistics of China, 20182 ), only 6 per cent indicating that their school was
suggesting our balance in this regard is located in a village (Figure 8).
Figure 7. No of pupils in respondent schools Figure 8. Respondent school location

30% 50%
27%
25% 40% 44%
20% 30%
18%
27%
15% 16% 20% 23%
15%
10% 10%
10% 7% 6%
3% 4%
City County Town Village

9
e
99
0
or
99
10
49
99
99
99
19
m
0-
0-
-2
-3
4
an
0-
or
50
10
00
00
00
th
0
10
00
20
30
40
er
50
w
Fe
5.1.4 Awareness of providers of

professional development
Respondents were asked to indicate aware- provided professional development to ap-

ness of six organisations providing profes- proximately half of all respondents, closely
sional development in China (Figure 9). Three followed by universities. In contrast to these,
seemed to be very well known and extensive only a minority indicated having participated
providers of professional development, in professional development offered by either
particularly the Institute of Education Scienc- national or international publishers, or other
es ( 教育科学研究院 ) and teacher training private organisations, although most indicat-
colleges ( 教师进修学院 ), both of which had ed awareness of such bodies.
2
http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2019/indexeh.htm
26 Results China
Figure 9. Respondent awareness of selected organisations (n = 6469)
Institute of Education Science

50% 40% 10%
( 教育科学研究院 )
Teacher training colleges 48% 39% 13%

( 教师进修学院 )
Local universities 42% 45% 14%
Chinese publishers 20% 53% 27%
Private training organisations 14% 55% 31%
International publishers 9% 53% 39%
I know about them and have participated in PD they provide

I know about them but have not participated in PD they provide
I am not familiar with them
Respondents also had the option to indicate regional level (over 100 mentions). Publishers,
whether they had attended professional devel- such as the Foreign Language Teaching and
opment offered by organisations not listed in Research Press (FLTRP), Pearson or People’s
the survey item; 17 per cent of them did. In Education Press were listed by 42 teachers.
many cases, though, their responses repeated Less frequently, various universities were also
categories already listed in the figure above. mentioned, along with some local private
Institutes of Education Science (national insti- organisations such as New Oriental who
tute under MOE and regional ones under sometimes work with schools on a project
education bureaus) were the organisations basis. The British Council was mentioned 10
mentioned most (122 times), followed by times in the additional professional develop-
teacher training colleges at national and ment providers named by the teachers.
© Mat Wrigh
27 Results China
5.1.5 Professional development needs

Respondents were asked to identify their speaking), while motivating students was
professional development needs by selecting also prioritised. Perhaps surprisingly for a
up to five topics from a list of 16 provided country where high-stakes exams play an
(Figure 10). While all topics garnered interest, important role in education, preparing
‘Teaching 21st century skills and abilities’ students for exams was near the bottom of
topped the list, with almost half of all respon- the list; also surprisingly in the current
dents choosing this topic. Teaching reading post-Covid climate, teaching English online
ranked highly, (higher even than teaching was the lowest ranked topic.
Figure 10. Prioritized professional development needs among respondents (n = 6469)
Teaching 21st century skills and abilities 49%
Teaching reading 40%
Motivating students 38%
Teaching speaking 36%
How to find teaching materials online 32%
Using technology in the classroom 31%
Teaching writing 28%
Designing/adapting teaching materials 28%
Teaching pronunciation 27%
English assessment 26%
Lesson planning 25%
Teaching vocabulary 24%
Teaching listening 23%
Teaching grammar 19%
Preparing students for English examinations 19%
Teaching English online 18%
None of the above 0.2%

% of respondents who selected an option
(each was allowed to choose up to 5)
5.1.6 Face-to-face professional development
Respondents were asked to indicate what learning community promoted in China; Chen,
face-to-face professional development activi- 2020) were by far the most frequently select-
ties they had participated in over the previous ed. As well as courses, seminars and work-
12 months, with 11 relevant activities present- shops, teaching competitions were also often
ed, and additional options to indicate other mentioned, and despite COVID-19 restric-
forms of professional development and ‘none tions, conferences ranked fairly highly. Formal
of the above’ 3 (Figure 11). Peer observation of qualification courses ranked lowest of the
colleagues and participation in teacher pro- available options with only 10 per cent of
fessional development groups (likely including teachers having completed any in the previ-
‘jiaoyanzu’, 教研组 , a type of professional ous 12 months.
3
‘None of the above’ corresponds to the option ‘I have not done any face-to-face professional development in the
previous 12 months’.
28 Results China
Figure 11. Recent face-to-face professional development activities (n = 6469)
Peer observation with colleagues in your school 82%
Teacher professional development groups

(including lesson study, planning groups) 81%
Courses, seminars or workshops 58%
Teaching competitions 49%
Conferences where teachers and/or researchers 42%

present research or discuss educational issues
Informal discussions about teaching with other 38%
teachers
Reading books and journals about teaching 36%
Attending lectures by guest speakers 35%
Mentoring or other 1-to-1 peer-support 24%
Classroom action research 23%
Formal courses to obtain a teaching certificate 10%
No face-to-face professional development in last 2%

12 months
Other forms of face-to-face professional 1%
development (please specify)
% respondents who indicated an activity
Respondents were also asked to indicate both always compulsory, there was a balance be-
who paid for these face-to-face professional tween always voluntary (49 per cent) and
development activities, and whether they sometimes voluntary (43 per cent) among
were voluntary. The vast majority indicated responses. They were also asked to indicate
that they had participated in free (to them) the provider of these activities (Figure 12); the
professional development (84 per cent), vast majority were provided by educational
although up to 30 per cent also indicated they authorities, either directly (80 per cent) or
had contributed to the cost on occasion. through the teacher’s own school (80 per
While only 9 per cent indicated that their cent). Private and international organisations
recent professional development had been were rarely chosen.
Figure 12. Recent face-to-face professional development: Provider (n = 6312)
Official education authority 80%
My school 80%
Local teacher association 11%

Local private organisation, such as a training institute
8%
or publishing house
Local university/college 7%
International organisation 3%
Others 1%
% of respondents who indicated a provider (tick any option)
29 Results China
5.1.7 Online professional development
Respondents’ online professional develop- making use of international websites to find

ment activities over the previous 12 months teaching materials.
were also investigated, with 11 options provid-
ed, some of which corresponded to equiva- Concerning sources of funding and whether
lent face-to-face options (Figure 13). Courses, participation was voluntary, responses con-
seminars and workshops were most frequent- cerning online professional development
ly mentioned (69 per cent), and online confer- were very similar to those for face-to-face
ences were also popular (44 per cent). Videos professional development (Figure 14).
both about teaching and for peer observation Eighty-six percent indicated it was free of
also both ranked highly. Relatively few teach- charge and 53 per cent indicated it was
ers had engaged in searching for teaching always voluntary. Likewise, providers of online
materials online, either on official websites or professional development reported were also
through other sources – in this regard it is very similar to those for face-to-face profes-
notable that the least frequently mentioned sional development.
online professional development activity was
Figure 13. Recent online professional development activities (n = 6469)
Online courses,seminars or workshops 69%
Watching online videos about teaching 57%

Online conferences where teachers and/or researchers
present research or discusseducational issues 44%
Reading online articles about teaching 43%
Peer observation through video 36%

Informal online professional groups (including through
social media) 28%
Finding teaching materials on official government
websites 22%
Finding teaching materials on local non-govemment
websites for teachers in my country 20%
Formal courses to obtain a teaching certificate,
delivered online 13%
Listening to educational podcasts
12%
Finding teaching materials on international websites
11%
In the last 12 months I have not taken part in any
online professional development activities 4%
Other forms of online professional
development (please specify) 1%
% respondents who indicated an activity
30 Results China
Figure 14. Recent online professional development provider (n = 6238)

My school 76%

Local private organisation, such as a training
11%
institute or publishing house
Others 1%
% of respondents who indicated a provider
(tick any option)
Respondents were offered 13 potential fac- use when teaching). However, for many, it was
tors that might influence decisions to partici- also important (40 per cent) or very import-
pate in online professional development, and ant (51 per cent) that their employer rec-
asked to indicate their importance (Figure 15). ognised the activity. It was also notable that
All factors offered were considered either the language used in the professional devel-
important or very important by over 60 per opment activity seemed to be less important
cent of respondents. However, the three most than any other factors, with a slight prefer-
highly ranked factors related specifically to ence for English over Chinese – although
the practical utility of professional develop- paradoxically, over 60 per cent of respon-
ment for the classroom (including whether it dents indicated a preference for both lan-
can solve problems they face, update them guages, suggesting an interest in multilingual
with new developments in the field, and professional development activities that was
provide activities and materials that they can supported by interview data (see 5.4.4).
Figure 15. Factors that influence decisions to participate in online professional development (n = 6469)
It helps me solve problems I face in my teaching 60% 38% 2%
It keeps me up to date with new ideas 57%

and developments 41% 2%
It provides activities and materials that I can use 55% 42% 2%
in my own classroom
The activity is officially recognised by my employer 51% 40% 9%
I do not have to pay myself to take part 50% 42% 8%
The organisation providing the professional

development is well-known 50% 43% 7%
It gives me flexibility in terms of when and 49% 46% 5%

where to study
The activity gives me the opportunity to 37% 51% 12%
interact with other teachers
It is not too time-consuming 37% 54% 10%
It uses familiar online tools and platforms 32% 52% 16%
Taking part will help me get a salary 31% 41% 28%

bonus or promotion
The activity takes place in English 23% 50% 27%
The activity takes place in Chinese 20% 44% 36%
Very important Quite important Not important % respondents who chose an option
31 Results China
Teachers also had the option of identifying help me better apply to my work’ and ‘provide
other factors that influenced their decision to practical teaching aids instead of traditional
do online professional development. Three theoretical learning’. While not an additional
hundred teachers did so, though the analysis factor itself (similar ideas were included in the
identified 117 that were either non-answers previous list teachers were asked to choose
(such as ‘nothing to add’ or ‘no’), unclear in from), these responses confirm teachers’
meaning (such as ‘life-long learning’) or not over-riding concern with professional develop-
relevant to the question (such as ‘the school's ment that is of direct use to them in the class-
teaching task is too heavy, which affects the room.
professional development activities participat-
ed in’). Another 53 answers also simply re- Another factor that was mentioned several
ferred to ‘improving professional develop- times (23 teachers) was the content of profes-
ment’, ‘self-improvement’ and similar ideas. sional development. ‘Interesting’ was a charac-
teristic that was mentioned regularly, in addi-
Amongst the responses that did identify tion to ‘informative’, ‘latest’ and ‘cutting-edge’.
factors that influence teachers’ decision to Several other factors mentioned less frequent-
engage in online professional development, ly included online professional development
one dominated and there were 62 references that was relevant to their professional needs,
to the importance of practical ideas and easy and convenient to participate in, having a
activities that improve teaching in the class- flexible schedule, free of charge and which
room. Some examples are ‘can improve teach- provided them with resources to use in class.
ing ability’, ‘practical, useful’, ‘can actually Some also mentioned certificates as a factor
promote the improvement of teaching ability’, that made online professional development
‘help yourself improve your teaching’, ‘can more attractive.
.
5.1.8 Getting online
One section of the survey investigated re- exploiting online resources to the full, particu-
spondents’ online access and preferred larly given that four of the five most popular
platforms. The vast majority indicated good online professional development activities
connectivity, with over 90 per cent judging (watching videos, peer observations and par-
that they can get online easily both at work ticipating in both conferences and workshops)
and home, although data costs are a limiting are all likely to require streaming capabilities.
factor for 55 per cent of respondents, and 24 Concerning a lack of internet access among
per cent cannot stream videos (Figure 16). respondents, this was rare; only 4 per cent
Both of these are likely to limit teachers from indicated that they cannot easily get online at
home, and 10 per cent at work.
.
Figure 16. Internet connectivity (n = 6469)
It is easy for me get online at home 96% 4%
It is easy for me to get online at work 90% 10%
I have access to a stable internet connection 83% 17%
My internet is fast enough to stream videos 76% 24%
High data costs limit the time I can spend online 55% 45%
Yes No
32 Results China
Among the varied online platforms that re- dents making use of them (Figure 17). Con-
spondents reported using, WeChat, QQ and cerning devices used, the majority of respon-
Ding Ding – all Chinese platforms – were all dents indicated that they had online access
very popular, with over 60 per cent of respon- via mobile phone (83 per cent) and/or laptop
(73 per cent).
Figure 17. Which online platforms/tools do you use (work or leisure)? (n = 6469)
WeChat 85%
QQ 74%
Ding Ding 61%
Email 43%
Bilibili 41%
Douyin/Tiktok 37%
Xiao Hong Shu 30%
Weibo 26%
Zhihu 25%
Kuai Shou 7%
Others 3%
None of the above 0.4%
5.1.9 Views about professional development
The final quantitative survey item elicited development provided by educational author-
respondents’ views in a number of areas ities (82 per cent agreed/strongly agreed).
relating to professional development, both With regard to language choice, 88 per cent
online and face-to-face (Figure 18). It is nota- agreed or strongly agreed with an item
ble that two of the most strongly-supported indicating a preference for professional
opinions indicated an interest in continuing development activities in English over their
professional development online, particularly first language. Evidence that Chinese teach-
through free sources (97 per cent ers feel they lack sufficient time for online
agreed/strongly agreed with this item), and professional development was also present in
while a majority indicated that they preferred the responses, with 63 per cent agreeing with
face-to-face professional development, this an item about this issue. Finally, while a
item elicited comparatively low levels of majority agreed that the UK is a source of
agreement (68.5 per cent) relative to most expertise in ELT (79 per cent), a majority also
other items. There was also evidence of felt that international organisations do not
general satisfaction with the professional fully understand the needs of Chinese teach-
ers (72 per cent).
33 Results China
Figure 18. Attitudes towards professional development (n = 6469)
I am interested in free sources of online

professional development for teachers of English 43% 54% 3%
The educational authorities in my country provide 31% 51% 15%

me with high quality professional development...
I am interested in finding new ways of continuing 30% 64% 5%
my professional development online
I would like more professional development
activities in English (not in my first language) 27% 61% 12%
I prefer face-to-face professional development

rather than doing it online 23% 45% 29%
I am satisfied with the quality of professional

development that I have access to 20% 63% 15%
The UK is a source of expertise in English language
teaching 19% 60% 20%
It is difficult to find the time to take part in
professional development activities 16% 47% 34%
International organisations do not fully understand 15% 57% 26%

the needs of teachers in my country
Agree strongly Agree Disagree Disagree strongly
5.1.10 Further professional development
There were two optional open-ended ques- ‘international English teaching resources’
tions at the end of the survey. The first was: ‘need more authentic material’
‘free online resources’
Please write one or two sentences to tell us ‘have better resources’
about areas of your work as a teacher of ‘Hope to find more free and good re-
English that you would like to receive more source platforms to share’
professional development support for. ‘free online practice resources’
‘how to obtain high-quality teaching
There were 4951 responses to this question. resources’
Sample size calculators indicated that analys- ‘we need reasonable, rich and free teach-
ing a random selection of 350 would provide ing resources’
representative conclusions and this analysis is ‘how to find more free teaching resourc-
presented here. es online’
‘have more and richer free teaching
Chinese teachers’ responses to the first resources’.
open-ended item were characterised by
substantial variety, with a very wide range of
ideas being mentioned infrequently. Two The second major category in this question,
particular themes did, though, dominate. The with 38 mentions, was teaching skills; teachers
first, with 44 responses (12.6 per cent of the were interested, as part of their professional
350 randomly chosen for analysis) highlighted development, in learning about practical skills
an interest in having access to a wider range and activities they could use to improve the
of resources to support teaching and learn- quality of teaching and learning. Examples of
ing. Examples of comments in this category comments in this category were:
were:
34 Results China
‘training of English teaching methods’ 5.1.11 Effective professional development

‘classroom teaching skills’
‘practical teaching methods in the class- The second optional open-ended question was:
room’
‘teaching skills and methods’ If you would like to make any suggestions for
‘improve teaching skills’ how effective professional development can be
‘effective teaching methods’ made available to teachers of English in primary
‘teaching skills and methods’ and secondary schools in China please use this
‘teaching activities’ space.
Teachers did sometimes refer to the teaching

There were 3217 responses to this question
of specific skills, such as speaking or reading,
and, once again, a random sample of 350 was
but they typically expressed an interest in
analysed.
teaching methods generally.
Open-ended Item 2 elicited respondents’ sug-

Beyond these two dominant categories, there
gestions for how to provide effective profes-
were some others which were highlighted
sional development to Chinese primary and
several times without exceeding 10 mentions.
secondary teachers. The sample was analysed
These were:
both for most commonly mentioned themes
(coded and then quantified), and for how these
EdTech (10), such as ‘smooth use of themes were often linked together. As Figure 19
technology in the classroom’ and ‘the below shows, by far the most commonly men-
integration of English teaching and tioned theme was reference to practical profes-
information technology’ sional development that is useful in the class-
Observation (7), such as ‘hope to ob- room. With regard to preferences for online,
serve the public classes of students of face-to-face or hybrid delivery, while online
all levels’ and ‘go to other schools to professional development ranked higher, this
listen to regular lessons instead of may be influenced by the overall survey focus
model lessons’. (and delivery online), and it is important to
Lesson preparation (7), such as ‘how to notice that interest in both face-to-face and
better prepare for lessons’ hybrid modalities was also high. Consistent with
Motivating students (6), such as ‘stimu- the practical focus, a number of respondents
late students' interest in learning’ and indicated that professional development should
‘how to arouse students' interest’. involve opportunities for lesson observation
Assessment (5), such as ‘match the (including demonstration lessons), both
current educational examination system face-to-face and online. A number also indicat-
in China with relevant foreign research ed an interest in greater international interac-
or advanced theories and methods of tion, including collaboration with colleagues in
education and teaching’. other countries, as well as professional devel-
opment support and input from ‘experts’ (ex-
plored further below). Also frequently men-
tioned — to some extent in tension with the
previous theme — was an interest in profes-
sional development being localised, specific or
relevant to teachers’ current contexts of prac-
tice and classroom realities, sometimes with
critical reference to past professional develop-
ment events. The two most commonly men-
tioned topic foci for such professional develop-
ment were speaking and teaching methodology.
35 Results China
Figure 19. Provision of effective professional development
Professional development should…
be practical
be online
include lesson observation
be localised
involve international collaboration
increase
be face-to-face
include speaking focus
include methodology focus
be hybrid (online & face-to-face)
address time concerns
support collaboration
offer resources/materials
be flexible
address theory & practice
be realistic
consider rural contexts
be systematic
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10% 12%
% of respondents who mentioned the theme
While the proportional balance of these Personally think that online training can
individual themes among responses is inter- be more, because the time is flexible.
esting, potentially more insightful is how they
were often linked together, offering visions for An optional online learning menu is
how the respondents felt different elements provided every semester. Each learning
could be combined in professional develop- menu training focuses on a small practi-
ment delivery, content and organisation. The cal problem. The menu training cycle is
interest in online learning was often linked to about a week, and the duration of each
interest in practical ideas, the flexibility that class is no more than half an hour.
online learning offers, and the possibility of
examples or lesson demonstrations through,
for example, video observation. The following
two quotes are representative, the second
also interestingly proposing a means for
organising such professional development –
this interest in more systematically organised
learning was also common in the dataset:
36 Results China
The strong interest in a practical focus for room observation and training.’
professional development activities, was often
linked to reference to classroom realities, with Concerning professional development topics,
a number of respondents also implying a while frequent, references to aspects of
theory-practice disconnect in current profes- methodology (e.g., ‘latest’ or ‘most advanced
sional development delivery, as implied in the methods’) were not generally insightful,
following response: regularly expressed interest in aspects of
speaking most often implied an interest in
The teaching difficulties of front-line developing aspects of pronunciation or
teachers should be collected first, and sub-skills of speaking (both for themselves
then answered in a more targeted and their learners), rather than how to facili-
manner, so that theory and practice can tate speaking opportunities for learners.
truly be connected.
Voice, especially oral expression at
Respondents’ suggestions for more interna- normal speaking speed.
tional collaboration regularly included propos-
als both for collaboration with, or observa- Provide … practical help, such as profes-
tions of, colleagues in other countries, and sional training in speech and language.
invited lectures/webinars from international
speakers; among these comments, an under- Finally, while the majority of survey respon-
tone of being disconnected from the wider dents worked in urban environments, it was
ELT community was sometimes detectable: noticeable that a number of those who re-
quested more needs-oriented, bespoke or
Hope to have the opportunity to commu- localised professional development support
nicate with foreign primary and second- also made reference to rural environments,
ary school teachers. summarised well in the following quotes:
Regularly hold international exchange Carry out more instructive trainings that
lectures to bring us a vision of the world. are really suitable for practical teaching
in rural schools.
A large number of respondents who made
reference to lesson observations (including Conduct more online and especially
others observing their own lessons) also offline training activities, especially
mentioned both demonstration lessons and training activities suitable for rural
direct in-school training support and asked schools.
for, as in this example, ‘more quality class-
37 Results China
5.2 Survey results:

disadvantaged teachers
In order to understand the extent to which respondents, all of whom indicated that their
more disadvantaged teachers may have schools were located either in villages or
different professional development experi- towns in low-income provinces. They are
ences and needs, a subset of the data was compared to ‘non-disadvantaged’ respon-
analysed both separately and comparatively dents, which includes all other participants
to the wider cohort. Two demographic factors (i.e., all urban respondents, and respondents
were combined to do this: province income from middle and high income provinces work-
band and rurality, offering a stratified subsam- ing in villages or towns).
ple of reasonable size: 1233 ‘disadvantaged’
5.2.1 Understanding the sample
Because the dataset is not representative of spondents, the proportion is higher here, and
Chinese teachers as a whole, the sample this should be kept in mind in the analysis
analysed here captures only part of the below. For example, educational practices or
already biased dataset, predominantly from policies that are specific to Sichuan are likely
one province (Sichuan; 89 per cent). While to influence the findings more.
this is also the majority province for all re-
Figure 20. Responses per province: disadvantaged respondents
Sichuan 1094
Yunnan 124
Henan 12
Guizhou 2
1
Shaanxi
It should also be noted that because second- meaning that there are simply fewer second-
ary schools, particularly upper secondary ary learners in such areas (Qian & Smyth,
(senior high) schools are more likely to be 2008). Thus, the lower percentage of ELT
located in urban centres, with at least some specialists found in disadvantaged contexts
rural learners commuting to these, respon- (73 per cent vs 83 per cent) will be influ-
dents working in villages are more likely to be enced by the fact that rural respondents are
primary school teachers. This bias towards more likely to be primary teachers, who are
primary schools is further compounded by less likely to be subject specialists (Figure 21).
higher dropout rates in disadvantaged areas,
38 Results China
Figure 21. Percentage of ELT specialists by level of disadvantage
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Urban high-income Urban mid-income Urban low-income Rural high-income Rural mid-income Rural low-income
province province province province province province
Are you an ELT specialist? Yes No
Additional so-called “lurking variables” may be than from Sichuan (low-income) (see Figure
important explanatory factors behind differ- 22), which clearly influences the higher propor-
ences here presented, such as the much tion of non-subject specialists in both urban
higher proportion of respondents from Hubei and rural mid-income provinces seen above.
(middle-income) working in primary education
Figure 22. Respondents per province by school type (frequency).

Note. Only provinces with >100 respondents are shown here.
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Sichuan Hubei Chongqing Yunnan Beijing Shanghai Shandong Jiangsu
Primary n Junior high school n Senior high school n
5.2.2 Awareness of selected organisations

Concerning awareness of providers of profes- taged teachers had participated in profes-
sional development, there were similar levels sional development provided by the Institute
of awareness of the six organisations in the of Education, compared to 50 per cent of
question, although somewhat lower levels of non-disadvantaged respondents, and only 29
participation in professional development per cent had participated in professional
offered by them (compare Figures 9 and 23). development offered by local universities,
For example, only 40 per cent of disadvan- compared to 42 per cent of non-disadvan-
taged respondents.
39 Results China
Figure 23. Awareness of selected organisations (Disadvantaged only: n = 1233).
Institute of Education Science

40% 46% 14%
( 教育科学研究院 )
Teacher training colleges 43% 43% 14%
( 教师进修学院 )
Local universities 29% 52% 19%
Chinese publishers 11% 55% 34%
Private training organisations 9% 55% 36%
International publishers 5% 50% 46%

5.2.3 Prioritised professional
development needs
Perhaps the most noticeable differences teaching speaking, pronunciation, vocabulary

between disadvantaged and non-disadvan- and listening (i.e. skills and systems). Over 10
taged respondents concerned their self-re- per cent less popular was the topic of teaching
ported professional development needs 21st-century skills and abilities, possibly sug-
(Figure 24). For disadvantaged respondents gesting that some of these teachers still feel a
the most frequently selected topic was “moti- need for fundamental training in language
vating students”. Also slightly more popular teaching (likely influenced in part by the higher
were certain basic aspects of ELT pedagogy: likelihood of their being primary school teach-
ers).
Figure 24. Respondents’ prioritized professional development needs by disadvantage level
Teaching 21st century skills and abilities

Teaching reading
Motivating students
Teaching speaking
Finding teaching materials online
Using technology in the classroom
Teaching writing
Designing/adapting teaching materials
Teaching pronunciation
English assessment
Lesson planning
Teaching vocabulary
Teaching listening
Teaching grammar
Preparing students for English exams
Teaching English online
None of the above
Disadvantaged Non-disadvantaged 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
40 Results China
The following comparison of the top and in both groups may also be useful for noticing
bottom five professional development needs broad similarities and several key differences:
Top 5 professional development needs

Disadvantaged Non-disadvantaged
Motivating students 42% Teaching 21st century skills 51%
Teaching 21st century skills 40% Teaching reading 40%
Teaching reading 40% Motivating students 38%
Teaching speaking 37% Teaching speaking 35%
Teaching pronunciation 31% Finding teaching materials online 33%
Bottom 5 professional development needs

Designing/adapting TLMs 23% Teaching vocabulary 23%

English assessment 23% Teaching listening 22%
Preparing students for exams 20% Teaching grammar 19%
Teaching grammar 19% Preparing students for exams 18%
Teaching English online 17% Teaching English online 18%
5.2.4 Recent professional development activities
Concerning recent professional development ment providers to the wider cohort, although
activities, the most important difference to one detectable difference was the reporting of
notice is that disadvantaged respondents, on less professional development activity organ-
average, nearly always indicated lower en- ised by respondents’ schools (70 per cent
gagement with each of the activities offered, face-to-face; 66 per cent online) when com-
both face-to-face and online (see Figures 25 pared to the wider dataset (80 per cent
and 26). Differences were slightly greater face-to-face; 78 per cent online). Concerning
concerning online activities, reflecting slightly issues of payment for professional develop-
greater challenges getting online for disad- ment, non-disadvantaged respondents were
vantaged respondents. However, other, some- slightly more likely to report having participat-
what more surprising differences are also ed in professional development that was free
noticeable. For example, peer observation of charge, both face-to-face (85 per cent vs 78
through video was only slightly less popular per cent for disadvantaged) and online (88 per
among disadvantaged respondents, while cent vs 80 per cent for disadvantaged); other
reading activities (both face-to-face and differences were smaller. And concerning
online) seem to be significantly less popular whether recent professional development was
among them, suggesting that differences voluntary or compulsory, it was noticeable that
observed are not simply to do with connec- disadvantaged respondents were less likely to
tion speeds or costs. Disadvantaged respon- report “always voluntary”, and more likely to
dents reported similar professional develop- report “always compulsory”, both face-to-face
and online (Figure 27).
41 Results China
Figure 25. Recent face-to-face professional development activities by disadvantage level

82%
Teacher professional development groups 78%

81%
50%
Courses, seminars or workshops
58%

49%
Conferences to present and discuss educational issues 35%

42%
Informal discussions about teaching with 33%
other teachers 38%
28%
Reading books and journals about teaching
36%
Attending lectures by guest speakers 29%

35%

24%
19%
Classroom action research
23%

10%
None 3%
2%
Other forms of face-to-face professional development 1%

1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Disadvantaged Non-disadvantaged % respondents who indicated an activity
42 Results China
Figure 26. Recent online professional development activities by disadvantage level
64%
Online courses, seminars or workshops 70%
58%
Online conferences to present research or discuss 38%
educational issues 46%
34%

36%
Informal online professional groups (including 25%
through social media) 28%
Finding teaching materials on official 18%
government websites 23%
Finding teaching materials on local non-gov.websites 14%
for teachers in my country 21%
Formal courses to obtain a teaching 13%
certificate, delivered online 13%
Listening to educational podcasts 7%
13%
Finding teaching materials on international websites 6%
12%
None 5%
3%
Other forms of online professional development 0%
1%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Disadvantaged Non-disadvantaged % respondents who indicated an activity
Figure 27. Recent online professional development: Voluntary, compulsory or varied, by disadvantage level
50%
54%
48%
40% 44%
41%
30%
20%
10%
5% 8%
Always voluntary Always compulsory Sometimes voluntary and

sometimes compulsory
Non-disadvantaged Disadvantaged
43 Results China
5.2.5 Factors influencing participation in

online professional development
Broadly similar patterns were found between the importance of different factors when
disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged re- deciding whether to participate in online
spondents with regard to their assessment of professional development (Figure 28).
Figure 28. Importance of factors influencing participation in online professional development by disadvan-
tage level
How important are the following

factors when deciding
Disadvantaged whether to participate in online PD? Non-disadvantaged
It helps me solve problems I face

50% 48% 2% in my teaching 62% 36% 2%
47% It keeps me up to date with new 59%

50% 3% ideas and developments 39% 2%
It provides activities materials

45% 52% 3% I can use in my own classroom 58% 40% 2%
46% 45% 9% The activity is officially recognised 52% 39% 9%

by my employer
51% 41% 8% I do not have to pay myself to 50% 42% 8%

take part
41% 50% 9% The organisation providing the PD 52% 42% 6%

is well-known
53% It gives me flexibility in terms of 45% 5%

41% 6% when and where to study 50%
33% 56% 12% The activity gives me the chance 38% 49% 12%
to interact with other teachers
31% 59% 10% It uses familiar online tools and 38% 53% 10%
platforms
26% 60% 14% It is not too time-consuming 34% 50% 16%
Taking part will help me get a

25% 45% 30% salary bonus or promotion 32% 40% 28%
18% 56% 26% The activity takes place in English 24% 49% 27%
16% 50% 34% The activity takes place in Chinese 21% 42% 37%
Very important Quite important Not important
44 Results China
5.2.6 Online activity
One area where noticeable differences might ence), more popular. Concerning devices
reasonably be expected is online activity. used, mobile phones were equally popular
However, with regard to online platforms/tools among disadvantaged and advantaged re-
that respondents used, the most popular ones spondents, although disadvantaged respon-
were the same (We Chat, QQ and Ding Ding), dents were less likely to report use of laptops
although Bilibili, Xiao Hong Shu, Weibo and or tablets and more likely to report use of
Zhihu were all less popular among disadvan- desktop PCs – another potential indicator of
taged respondents, and both QQ (5 per cent expendable income (Figure 29).
difference) and Ding Ding (9 per cent differ-
Figure 29. Devices used by disadvantage level
Mobile phone 83%

83%
63%
Laptop
76%
48%
Desktop PC
43%
Tablet 16%
24%
1%
Other
0%
% respondents reporting use
Disadvantaged
Non-disadvantaged
Differences in internet connectivity were also seemed to relate to connection stability,

fairly minimal, although difficulties were speed, and unsurprisingly, cost: 61 per cent
greater for disadvantaged respondents, as of disadvantaged respondents found this a
would be expected. The greatest differences prohibitive factor in their online activity
(Figure 30).
Figure 30. Internet connectivity by disadvantage level
Disadvantaged Internet connectivity Non-disadvantaged
93% 7% It is easy for me get online at home 97% 3%
It is easy for me to get online

86% 14% 91% 9%
at work
I have access to a stable internet

75% 25% 85% 15%
connection
My internet is fast enough to

65% 35% stream videos 78% 22%
High data costs limit the time I can

61% 39% spend online
54% 46%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Yes No
45 Results China
5.2.7 Attitudes to professional development
Finally, responses to the opinion items at the motivation for professional development, as
end of the questionnaire were fairly similar to well as indicating greater likelihood of inter-
those of non-disadvantaged respondents, net connection challenges, and a need for a
although once again, they were less likely to focus on more basic professional develop-
indicate strong agreement with any of the ment topics (possibly influenced by the larger
options offered (Figure 31). The largest differ- number of primary teachers in the sub-sam-
ences were disadvantaged respondents ple). However, perhaps the most important
indicating less time for professional develop- finding of this comparative analysis is that,
ment activities and slightly greater preference despite large differences in income levels
for face-to-face development. across China, particularly between rural and
urban areas (Qian & Smyth, 2008), we find
These differences between disadvantaged relatively small differences in the professional
and non-disadvantaged respondents are development needs, interests and experienc-
largely consistent with what might be expect- es of teachers working in the most disadvan-
ed. Disadvantaged respondents were more taged circumstances, or at least among those
likely to indicate less disposable income, less available within the respondent cohort.
time, fewer opportunities and possibly less
Figure 31. Attitudes to professional development: More and less-disadvantaged respondents
I am interested in free sources of online
33% 63% 3% professional development for teachers 45% 52% 2%
of English
The education authorities in my

24% 57% 16% 3% country provide me with high 33% 50% 15% 2%
quality professional development opportunities
I am interested in finding new ways of

21% 70% 8% continuing my professional development online 32% 63% 4%
I would like more professional development

18% 66% 15% activities in English (not in my first language) 29% 60% 11%
21% 51% 25% 2% I prefer face-to-face professional development

rather than doing it online
24% 44% 30% 3%
15% 68% 16% 2% I am satisfied with the quality of professional

development that I have access to
22% 62% 15%
13% 61% 24% 2% The UK is a source of expertise in English

language teaching
20% 60% 19%
14% 54% 29% 3% It is difficult to find the time to take part in

professional development activities
16% 45% 35% 3%
International organisations do not fully

14% 64% 21% understand the needs of teachers in my country 15% 56% 28% 2%
46 Results China
5.3 Interview findings: teachers Demonstration lessons
As explained earlier, as a supplement to the Eleven teachers made reference to demon-

main survey data and to build a more detailed stration lessons, some requesting more of
understanding of the online professional these, but others critiquing the somewhat
development activities, needs and preferenc- unrealistic, often rehearsed, ‘model’ lessons
es of Chinese teachers in basic education, by ‘expert’ teachers that they observed. Of
seventy-five of the survey respondents were those that critiqued these, some mentioned
interviewed via phone or video call by the the fact that they weren’t really reflective of
local research team. their own contexts, learners and challenges;
this was particularly evident among teachers
working in more disadvantaged (rural, low-
er-income) contexts. Thus, many of those who
All interviewees were first asked about their made specific requests in this area indicated
general professional development needs to a need for more realistic/real lessons or
supplement insights gained from the survey direct observational support in their own
item on this topic (see 5.1.5). An important classrooms:
initial observation is that comparatively few of
the interviewees in their responses to this
question prioritised the most frequently What I really want is coaching from an
selected professional development topic from expert who can help show me how to
the survey itself, ‘Teaching 21st century skills better teach children from the country-
and abilities’ – only four references to ‘core side. (primary, rural; Hubei)
competencies’ and single references to
critical thinking and Bloom’s Taxonomy could I want to observe real teachers teaching
be linked to these; however, evidence for real students. (junior high, urban; Hubei)
most other topics prioritised in survey re-
sponses was clear in the interview data. New ideas and methods
Motivation, differentiation and planning A large number of interviewees (n = 16)

expressed an interest in new ideas and ‘theo-
One of the most commonly mentioned profes- ries’ for teaching, particularly concerning
sional development needs related to learner methodology, but also how to teach ‘core
motivation (n = 13; including ‘interest’ and competencies’ ( 核心素养 ; see Wang & Luo,
‘engagement’ in English, and student ‘confi- 2019) as well as activities and techniques that
dence’), sometimes linked to the declining they could use in their class. While some
status of English in schools. As one teacher references to ‘new directions’ and ‘interna-
put it: “If the activities aren’t interesting the tional cutting-edge methods’ were rather
students go to sleep” (senior high, urban; vague, others requested ideas to help keep
Beijing). Also common was mention of differ- their learners engaged in lesson activities.
ing abilities among groups (n = 9), including Several specifically requested some kind of
reference to lower achieving learners, mixed injection of ideas from beyond their contexts,
abilities and a need for support on how to including other parts of China and insights
provide effective differentiated instruction, into the practices (including use of English) of
particularly from teachers in rural areas. A ‘foreign teachers’.
number of teachers also mentioned lesson
and curriculum planning/design ( 课程 or 课堂 Textbooks and teaching
设计 ) (n = 9). resource materials
Numerous interviewees discussed challenges
47 Results China
they faced with regard to their textbooks (n = Parents are not serious about getting
14). For several, these challenges related to a their kids to learn English, because they
need to adapt or supplement them with think China is becoming a stronger
appropriate alternative material, also often country so the world should start learn-
mentioning that such material was not easily ing Chinese instead of us learning En-
available online. There was indication among glish. We think it’s an international lan-
responses from several provinces that new guage, but parents think differently about
textbooks had been introduced recently, and this. (primary, urban; Hubei)
while several who had received training on
However, other teachers prioritised reading
how to use these felt that this had helped,
skills, some even commenting on a recent,
others were struggling to prepare lessons
gradual shift in focus away from oracy (see
with these and meet ambitious curriculum
demands. Wang & Luo, 2019). Several mentioned a need
to make textbook content interesting, but
EdTech others linked this to high school exams and
recent curriculum changes that have made
Nine interviewees mentioned the fact that reading more challenging for learners, particu-
they would value more professional develop- larly in high schools.
ment support for aspects of educational
technology, including the use of hardware Awareness of own English
(e.g. projectors) and design tools (e.g. Power- proficiency needs
Point), but also the potential for online and
hybrid learning. For example, one teacher The most commonly perceived personal need
wanted to know more about using online related to teachers’ own English proficiency (n
tools to conduct formative assessment of = 22), particularly speaking skills and pronunci-
learners. ation. A number of the respondents who indi-
cated this did not teach solely English – it was
Discussion of the four skills more common among primary school teach-
ers. It was notable that a number of these
Concerning discussion of the four skills, interviewees, including one who had done an
speaking (n = 11), reading (n = 6) and listening MA TESOL in the UK, felt that their speaking
(n = 4) were most frequently mentioned. Many skills had got worse over the years, and ex-
teachers mentioned a lack of awareness of pressed a desire to improve this (evidence,
how to ‘teach’ speaking skills, with some perhaps, that these interviewees were not
specifically referencing and presuming that a teaching primarily in English):
knowledge of phonetics/phonology, including
When I was a student, my English was
‘authentic pronunciation’, was useful here.
quite good. But since becoming a
This was often linked to certain classroom
teacher I’ve found my English getting
challenges, particularly the low motivation of
worse. I’ve forgotten a lot. (primary,
learners to speak, challenges with using
rural; Hubei)
English in the classroom, and the current
declining status of English relative to other
subjects:
48 Results China
Bottom-up teacher development
Four teachers made reference to bottom-up Only four of the 75 interviewees felt that they
approaches to teacher development, includ- did not have any pressing professional devel-
ing teacher research groups and action opment needs.
research, with somewhat mixed evaluations,
including two indications that these weren’t While Word Clouds cannot convey respondent
very productive: narratives and neglect themes that are con-
veyed through a number of synonyms, the
I really want to discuss my ideas with following Word Cloud, sensitive to colloca-
other teachers. We have meetings in our tions, provides a pictorial impression of many
school with all the teachers together, but of the key topics interviewees discussed:
we never talk about teaching! (senior
high, urban; Yunnan)
49 Results China
5.3.2 Feelings about online

From this point onwards, all interviews Sixteen interviewees (21 per cent) offered
focused on online professional development. more detailed comments on the relative
Interviewees were first asked an open ques- advantages of face-to-face and online profes-
tion to elicit how they felt about doing professional development. Several of these indicated
sional development online and responses that while online professional development
varied. The largest group (43 per cent) indi- may be convenient, there is also the challenge
cated a positive opinion towards online of being distracted by other things at home, or
professional development, although there was lacking self-discipline or free time. Several
rarely strong enthusiasm for it. Many of these mentioned simply that it had been necessitat-
teachers emphasised its convenience, while ed by the pandemic, and two felt that webinars
smaller numbers stressed its flexibility and particularly needed to be watched live, other-
the fact that it was often free: wise they never got round to viewing them.
Two interviewees indicated that it depends,
I think it’s fine. You can share more either on the individual or the activity type.
online. You can learn more online, lower
costs, less time (no travel) and you can Nine interviewees (12 per cent) indicated no
meet great teachers you wouldn’t meet clear preference for either online or
otherwise. (senior high, urban; Anhui) face-to-face professional development, and
only three recognised that the combination of
I think this has advantages, you can both might be the most useful:
study and work at the same time. (junior
high, rural; Sichuan) I think [online professional development]
has to exist, but isn’t the only way. It's
Twenty percent of interviewees indicated good to have both online and offline.
either that they preferred face-to-face or Discussion and research is more conve-
expressed a generally negative opinion of nient offline. Sometimes speaking online
online professional development. The most is more convenient. Online professional
common reason for preferring face-to-face development can’t replace offline profes-
professional development among this group sional development. It has to exist as an
was the opportunity it provided for interaction extra. (senior high, rural; Zhejiang)
with colleagues and trainers/experts; one
teacher also observed that training was likely
to be contextualised to local conditions when
delivered face-to-face. Smaller numbers cited
the challenge of self-discipline relating to
online professional development, particularly
in the face of distractions:
I prefer face-to-face. It’s very obvious.

On the internet, there are many inter-
esting things to look at. It's easy to get
distracted. There’s an atmosphere
face-to-face, when you’re sitting togeth-
er with colleagues, that atmosphere is
irreplaceable. Online I can’t share with
the trainer in a detailed way. There’s
just less interaction online. (senior high,
urban; Sichuan)
50 Results China
5.3.3 Authorities’ attitudes to online

The final item addressed to all four groups of A relatively small number (9), mainly from
interviewees investigated their impressions of those respondents who themselves indicated
the attitudes of education authorities towards low engagement in online professional devel-
the online professional development of opment, felt that the authorities were doing
teachers. The majority (64 per cent) felt that little or no online professional development. A
their local or school authorities were support- small number indicated concern with the
ive of online professional development. efficacy of online professional development
Several noticed that they had become offered by the authorities, two specifically
increasingly so during the COVID pandemic, mentioning that teachers tend to just “put the
mainly due to necessity, and four respon- video on” to prove they’ve watched it, then do
dents indicated that they also tried to bal- something else:
ance this with face-to-face professional
development. Thirteen respondents provided I feel that the time of the training ses-
concrete recent examples, including online sions are too long and only pay attention
videos of lessons or lectures and specific to courses that I'm interested in, if not I
websites for online professional develop- just leave the videos on. (primary, rural;
ment4. Two detailed examples offer a flavour Zhejiang)
of some of the activities involved:
Because of COVID and we’ve got too

many teachers to fit into one room, one
time we watched a class together online
– this was broadcast live. Afterwards we
talked about it together in groups, then
heard the opinions of some experienced
teachers. The most useful parts were
watching the class and listening to the
experienced teachers. They noticed
some things that we didn’t notice.
(junior high, urban; Hubei)
I think they support it, because they put

on events. They get us to do competi-
tions to make us reflect, think and
create an environment of professional
development. However, these don't
happen very frequently. The online
competition is at the national level. We
had to prepare lessons, upload these to
an online platform, then get feedback
from others. This used to be offline, but
now it's online. (senior high, rural; Zheji-
ang)
e.g., http://www.bcvet.cn
4
51 Results China
5.3.4 Recent online professional

development activities and preferences
Of those teachers who had indicated in their ment body (n = 22); smaller numbers of
survey responses that they had participated respondents indicated universities, national
in online professional development of some publishers (particularly the Foreign Language
type, a sample were interviewed (n = 57) to Teaching and Research Press; FLTRP5), inter-
elicit further details. The most striking finding national publishers, or self-initiated attempts
that emerges from this data is that the majori- to find materials or content online. Five
ty of online professional development seems respondents mentioned specific independent
to have involved only two activity types. The companies that provided training for the
first of these were ‘lectures’ ( 讲座 ), also educational authorities (e.g. Aopeng Edk, Elite
translatable as ‘webinars’; mentioned by 27), Teachers International Education). Consistent
usually delivered live by ‘experts’ or ‘profes- with survey data, the vast majority indicated
sors’ to large numbers of teachers, and that the professional development in question
sometimes involving a degree of interactivity had been free for them (n = 21) rather than
(e.g. through subsequent smaller discussion paid for (n = 4), with local authorities typically
groups, chat modalities). The second involved funding activities. A number of hosting/con-
remote lesson observation, nearly always ferencing platforms for professional develop-
‘open door’ observations ( 公开课 ; mentioned ment were mentioned frequently, including
by 18) in which either an expert teacher Ding Ding and Tencent Meeting; bespoke
provided a model lesson (sometimes re- platforms of training organisations were also
hearsed, making it less realistic), or (less mentioned by several.
often) a lesson that is subsequently analysed
by an expert; several respondents indicated The most frequently mentioned topics for
that these professional development sessions online professional development were as-
were sometimes collaborative, with a small pects of methodology (7) or skills and sys-
group discussion after the lesson. This con- tems foci (7). Lesson planning/preparation
trasts somewhat with the impression offered was also common (6), as were lectures that
by Figure 13 from the survey data, where the focused on using either a current or new
two most frequently selected responses were textbook (often delivered by FLTRP; 6). Both
‘Online courses, seminars or workshops’ and subject-specific (i.e., English) and non-sub-
‘Watching online videos about teaching’. In ject-specific topics seem to be fairly common.
reality, it seems, the former are more likely to Less common topics mentioned included
have been more one-way lectures/webinars core competencies, using picture books,
than ‘courses’ or ‘seminars’, and the latter to training in EdTech, designing homework and
have been videos of lessons (although the motivating learners.
latter was also offered, as ‘Peer observation
through video’, ranking fifth). Much less Evaluations of online professional develop-
frequently mentioned were research group ment varied quite widely. While the most
activities, online discussion groups, or oppor- commonly voiced evaluation was that an
tunities for teachers to record, share and activity was ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ (n = 14),
discuss their own lessons (each mentioned many felt that it depended on the activity
by three or four teachers only). type and content. There were also critical
voices, with six respondents indicating that
The most commonly mentioned professional they were only sometimes interesting or
development provider by far was either the useful, and four that they generally were not
local education authority or a related govern- useful. Respondents were more likely to
https://www.fltrp.com/en/
5
52 Results China
evaluate them as useful if they were specifi- I prefer videos on YouTube to watch
cally targeted at challenges, content and what I want. I look for classes, for exam-
activities that the teachers dealt with on a ple, I'll search for the topic I'm going to
daily basis, illustrated in the following two teach, like, the first class of the year or a
contrastive quotes: question I have, like how to write a
teaching plan. (junior high, urban; Bei-
The first winter holiday … they held live jing)
webinars on how to design homework. I
learned their way of designing home- One teacher was happy to pay to observe
work for this winter holiday and it was competition-winning lessons on Taobao,
effective. (primary, rural; Zhejiang) where she was also able to download the
materials to use for her own lessons.
I didn't find it very useful as I don't
teach textbooks by Oxford University Also popular were online webinars/lectures.
Press, so I still don't know how to teach Many interviewees specifically mentioned that
textbooks by FLTRP. (primary, rural; they wanted them to be live and interactive,
Hubei) so that they could ask questions, prepare in
advance or respond to ‘expert’ suggestions in
Several of those who were more critical some way:
mentioned the issue of idealised or overly
theoretical content that did not really relate I think webinars are much better. But we
to real classrooms or their contexts. Five need to prepare for the webinar, do
interviewees specifically mentioned that some pre-tasks. In the webinar it should
subject-specific activities were more useful be more interactive. They need to do
than non-subject-specific ones. something (active). The problem with
webinars is the participants are usually
Finally, and unsurprisingly, a large number (n passive. (senior high, urban; Anhui)
= 17) indicated that the online professional
development interventions that they had Despite many mentioning that they enjoyed
experienced were either forced online due to such live events, eight interviewees also
COVID pandemic restrictions, or the choice to indicated that having access to the webinars
provide them online had been influenced by afterwards was useful for follow-up viewing,
this. and that downloadable materials were also
useful. Several indicated that they were often
busy when live events took place.
5.3.5 Preferred forms of online The only other responses that were fairly
professional development common were requests for useful apps (n = 6),
relevant WeChat posts (n = 5) and websites (n
Interviewees were asked about their prefer- = 4). Details on these three were sparse,
ences for online professional development. although several mentioned that particularly
Unsurprisingly, the same two activity types websites need to be well designed and easily
dominated this discussion. Observing videos navigable. Once more, three themes were
of lessons was popular (11 mentions), includ- detectable in more evaluative comments
ing observation before group discussion, (apart from the need for interactive webinars):
lessons taught by ‘foreigners’, and videos the professional development should be
self-accessed according to need, although the relevant, convenient and practical.
resourcefulness of the following teacher was
generally rare among interviewees:
53 Results China
5.3.6 Post-pandemic interest in online 5.3.7 Low engagement in online

professional development professional development
Finally, those 57 interviewees who had en- From the few teachers who indicated in their
gaged in online professional development survey responses that they had experienced
were asked if they were still interested in no online professional development in the
doing online professional development previous 12 months (n = 231; 3.4 per cent),
post-COVID, and if so, what types. The majori- 18 were interviewed to understand both the
ty (n = 37) indicated clearly that they were. reasons for this lack of engagement and what
Only a minority (n = 4) felt that face-to-face factors would increase their engagement
professional development is better, and eight further6. During the interviews, six respon-
indicated that both are potentially important dents indicated that they actually had partici-
or useful, being able to identify pros and cons, pated in some kind of online professional
depending on the situation or topic: development, often self-initiated after (re-
porting that) their authorities had provided
Online is more convenient. You can no professional development for them. Some
study and learn anywhere. If you have of these interviewees did not perceive that
to sit and pay attention and learn, that’s their own attempts to access resources that
okay too. But offline, you have to pay help them to do their job more effectively
attention. But online you might get constituted professional development, as the
distracted more easily. The value really Open Language app anecdote (below) illus-
depends on the specifics. (senior high, trates.
rural; Zhejiang)
Reasons for not engaging in online
A number of respondents indicated that, to
maintain their interest, online professional
development had to be practical or collabora-
Five of the 18 respondents indicated that
tive, providing opportunities to interact with
there was no, or almost no, professional
others. But most importantly, interviewees
development of any type in their school. Most
stressed that it was the content that was most
of these respondents said simply that the
important, and this had to be useful; a wide
management do not organise it, with several
range of topics was mentioned in passing,
mentioning apathy among school leaders,
similar to those previously discussed (e.g.
and one that the authorities preferred
methodology, planning, core competencies,
face-to-face professional development. Three
developing oral English, written skills), howev-
respondents specifically indicated that pro-
er, one addition was that of material from high
fessional development was rare in rural areas:
school teachers to help them prepare learn-
ers for assessment, particularly for Gaokao Teacher development is rare in the
exams. countryside. I’ve been teaching here for
three years. I've only been to training
Once more, convenience was mentioned as twice. Once I observed teachers teaching
the biggest advantage of online professional in another school. Nothing else. (primary,
development, with smaller numbers also rural; Hubei)
mentioning that it was time-saving and flexi-
ble. Only one respondent mentioned connec-
tion issues as a prohibitive factor to her
engaging in online professional development.
Note that 13 of these 18 were primary teachers, partly reflecting the higher proportion of primary teachers overall
6
in this group. While stratified sample sizes were small, teachers in rural areas (who were more likely to be primary) in
mid- and low-income provinces were much more likely to report no online professional development (5.9%) com-
pared to other, less disadvantaged groups (2.6%).
54 Results China
Several respondents indicated that while and/or needs (eight respondents); practical
professional development opportunities do themes and student background were often
exist, these are fewer for English language mentioned in relation to these needs:
teaching, which has become less important
recently, with two specifically mentioning If it’s useful for my students, I’d love to
‘double reduction policy’ ( 双减 ) as an influ- join. If the school tells us to go, all the
ence in this change7. For those respondents teachers will attend. I think it also de-
who teach multiple subjects, it seems that pends on the trainer and the topic and
they have a greater priority for professional the platform. Practical topics, like how to
development in subjects other than English. make classes more interesting, how to
make classes more effective are best.
Time was the most frequently mentioned (junior high, urban; Hubei)
basis for a lack of engagement in professional
development, with 11 of the respondents The above respondent’s reference to school
mentioning it in different ways. Seven indicat- authorities was also quite common, with
ed that their current workload was prohibitive, several mentioning that they would participate
and four mentioned that responsibilities or if they received more encouragement to do
interests beyond school left little time for so, and (for three respondents) if it were made
self-initiated professional development. Only obligatory.
two respondents indicated that cost was a
prohibitive factor, and one of these indicated Time was also mentioned, although not as
that she had even personally paid for an app, frequently as in responses to the previous
‘Open Language’ ( 开言英语 ), out of her own question; four indicated that they would par-
pocket – anecdotal evidence that if resources ticipate in online professional development if
are directly relevant to teachers’ personal they had more time, and three if the times
challenges, even those least interested in offered were more convenient for them. Three
professional development will invest in tools mentioned that lower costs would encourage
that help them to do their job more easily. them to participate.
Just two respondents indicated that online
professional development is not convenient
for them, both perceiving that they needed to
attend live online webinars, which usually
took place during the day. This tendency to
view online professional development primari-
ly as live events was evident among a number
of interviewees.
Factors that would increase engage-

ment with online professional development
When asked what factors would increase their

engagement with online professional develop-
ment, a majority of respondents indicated that
they would be more enthusiastic to partici-
pate if they felt it were more useful for them,
either mentioning this directly (six respon-
dents) or through reference to their interests
Double reduction is a recent educational policy change. See Li et al. (2021) and Xue & Li (2022); also here.
7
55 Results China
5.4 Interview findings: professional

development facilitators
Online interviews were also conducted with most of the members in my workshop
three Chinese professional development want to improve their language ability
facilitators (two female and one male) from first. So how to improve language
two provinces (Hubei and Sichuan). Their roles proficiency is what they want to do first.
and official titles varied (such as ‘teacher That's the first one. And second, the
researcher’ or ‘teacher workshop leader’), but teachers in my context are interested in
in all cases they co-ordinated and facilitated everything about teaching, and that
activities to support the professional develop- means they want to know how to plan
ment of teachers of English (one each at lessons, how to motivate the learners,
primary, junior middle school and junior high how to assess the learners, or some-
school level). The numbers of teachers they thing like that. Especially they want to
were responsible for also varied; in the small- know some practical classroom activi-
est group, which had a core membership of ties which can help them to help the
eight teachers, the facilitator noted that these students learn better..
were mostly young teachers
The second facilitator identified six areas for
because the younger teachers are more professional development for middle school
interested in professional development … teachers:
and because they are more interested in
the new ideas and they're open to the The first one is how to prepare students
others, and they want to share the ideas for English examinations. And then how
of their own, with the others. do you involve critical thinking in English
language teaching. A lot of teachers are
The interviewees received the interview concerned about this task. Next is how
questions in advance and were able to discuss to improve students’ proficiency of
these with teachers in their groups. During the language ability, such as reading, writing,
interview they often reported their teachers’ speaking and listening. And then how to
views in addition to explaining their own. Key motivate students. What kind of activity
themes covered in the interviews are now and teaching content can attract and
summarised in turn. motivate their students. And the fifth one
is how to do teaching research work. The
5.4.1 Professional development interests teachers want to involve this kind of
work, but they maybe don't know how to
start. And the last one, how to find
One facilitator felt that:
English resources online, they want to
the majority of primary teachers have a know where to find and how to use these
strong need for professional develop- kinds of resources.
ment, they are not satisfied with the
current situation of their own profession-
al development. And they are eager to
change the current situation. And they
want very much to develop on them-
selves.
Each respondent provided a clear explanation

of their teachers’ professional needs. The first
facilitator stated that:
56 Results China
‘Teaching research’ is the activity teachers in Teachers of English in China have many oppor-
China are encouraged to do to seek solutions tunities to see demonstration lessons by
to problems they face in the classroom. It ‘excellent’ teachers, but it was felt that the
involves reading journals as well as conduct- principles behind such lessons was often not
ing small-scale classroom inquiry (such as addressed during professional development:
action research).
we have different kinds of demonstra-
With reference to primary school teachers, the tion classes every year and many En-
third facilitator also mentioned teaching glish teachers attend these events. And
research as well as other professional needs: they observe the demo lessons and they
can copy lots of teaching techniques
I think there are three kinds of things I'd from these demo lessons, but they don't
like to stress and the first one is for know why the lessons can be designed
English teachers’ own English ability. The like this. So most primary school teach-
speaking ability is the number one need. ers in Hubei need the ability to integrate
And we have to do some teaching all kinds of teaching methods and to be
methodology and the method of doing reflective, to teach by principles, and
research. eventually to form the teaching style
with their own characteristics.
Primary school teachers were in particular
need of support to improve their English:
English teachers’ speaking ability de-

clines most quickly after their gradua-
tion, because they almost have no
chances to practise spoken English at
appropriate level. Yeah, if I teach prima-
ry English class, I only have the chance
to practise primary English. You know …
and the more years, the poorer his
speaking ability.
57 Results China
5.4.2 Face–to–face vs online

All three respondents felt that educational If they work in the same class, we have
authorities were generally positive about peer pressure, they have to listen to the
online professional development and were teacher carefully … The teachers told
providing teachers with various kinds of me that when they take part in the
online courses. For example, one explained offline training they have to sit in place
that ‘‘Chinese educational authority strongly just like students, to listen carefully, to
support and encourage online professional, take notes … that environment helps
development activities’ and said there were them to concentrate on the training
around 120 online courses for teachers (of all itself. … some teachers told me that they
subjects) to choose from. These included would like to do the training face to face
‘lectures, and there are some videos. So some because in that environment they are
excellent teachers they present class demon- more likely to concentrate on the train-
stration’. However, face–to–face professional ing itself. And sometimes they can
development remained the preferred ap- discuss with the colleagues or some
proach due to concerns from the education other people, and sometimes they take
authorities that ‘the front line teachers have notes and then they can learn more
lots and lots of ways to just sit in front of the from this kind of training.
screen pretending to learn’.
In addition to online courses, finding teaching
According to the facilitators, the teachers resources (especially through mobile phones)
they worked with had similarly mixed feelings was one of the areas of online professional
about online professional development. One development teachers were most interested in:
facilitator reported that ‘nearly 60 per cent of
teachers have a positive attitude towards They're more likely to be interested in
online meetings’ and gave three reasons for resources, which related to their teach-
this: ‘it's convenient without time and place ing, you know, they can download differ-
requirements … it can maximize the personal- ent kinds of resources from the internet
ized needs of teachers. And it costs less’. At … each one has a mobile phone at the
the same time, the other 40 per cent pre- moment. And it's easier for us to down-
ferred face–to–face professional development load the resources from the mobile
because ‘they can get involved and have phone than from the computer … they
more interaction with each other so that they use their computer to download the
can express their ideas’. Another facilitator download report resources. But you
also felt that face–to–face training allowed know that the mobile phone is more
teachers to concentrate more: convenient.
Platforms such as WeChat were also widely

used as a source of online resources for
teachers along with Chinese search engines
such as Baidu. Online meetings were also
commonly held using the TenCent platform.
58 Results China
5.4.3 Local vs international online resources
The facilitators did not feel that the teachers online resources provided by interna-
they worked with had strong preferences tional organizations, we are sure to
about whether online resources should be encounter these concepts, but the
local or international in origin and advantages question is, are we talking exactly about
of both were noted: the same thing? The same idea? Yeah,
Some teachers think it doesn't affect this is quite a problem. So, some philos-
their interests, they think any resources ophies, some methods, some tech-
available are valuable … Most teachers niques valued by these international
will enjoy resources presented by En- organizations may not be so suitable in
glish [sic] because they think they are the Chinese context.
teaching English. When they are more
exposed in the target language they 5.4.4 Materials in English or Chinese
themselves will improve faster in both
their language proficiency and their As noted above, online resources in English
professional development. were sometimes preferred because they
increase teachers’ exposure to the language
According to another facilitator: and contribute to developments in their
They think it has nothing to do with local English proficiency. No arguments were made
organisations or international organisa- for materials solely in Chinese but the poten-
tions but it has something to do with the tial of a bilingual approach was raised:
resource itself. That means if the online For the language, I think that it does
resources are free, and suitable for their matter. It definitely matters. And I think
teaching, the teachers would be glad to that the teachers here prefer to choose
use them, they will be glad to download the kinds of bilingual one. What I mean
them and use them in the teaching. But I is, the website has a kind of English and
also find the teachers who are not Chinese.
familiar with the newest methodologies Content in Chinese also has the advantage of
prefer resources that are provided appearing in local search engines such as Baidu.
locally because these resources can be
adapted by them properly and easily.
This point about the added relevance of local

materials was also made by another facilitator:
Generally speaking, I personally think

that the Chinese English teachers we
prefer online resources provided by
local authorities … a large number of
new concepts emerged in the literature
or in China, for example, we are now
having such concepts as core compe-
tences and we have incorporation of
traditional Chinese culture into English
classroom teaching. And we have con-
cepts like deep learning … some of
these, I think, are directly borrowed from
the West, but undoubtedly they have
been localized …when browsing the
59 Results China
5.5 China: conclusions

and recommendations
This report presents the findings of a com- peer observation) (see Figure 11), both survey
bined survey and interview study into aspects and interview data revealed that online pro-
of the professional development of Chinese fessional development currently seems to be
teachers in basic education, with a specific dominated by top-down interventions and
focus on online professional development. We activities,8 typically offered by education
collected data from 6469 teachers in the authorities, and sometimes in collaboration
initial survey phase, although 73 per cent of with universities and publishers of school
respondents came from just two provinces textbooks. Interviewees indicated that it was
(Sichuan and Hubei). Interviews were conduct- dominated by two types of activity:
ed with 75 teachers, purposively sampled
from the survey respondents, to offer a range Lectures and webinars delivered by
of perspectives across different income levels, ‘experts’ to large numbers of teachers
degrees of rurality and school types to under- live with comparatively little opportuni-
stand their professional development experi- ty for interaction, either with the ex-
ences and needs, and particularly their en- perts or each other. There is some
gagement with online professional develop- evidence in the data that these webi-
ment. Three Chinese professional develop- nars are often overly theoretical, with
ment facilitators were also interviewed. A insufficient links to practice to be useful
subset of the survey data was also analysed to teachers.
comparatively to offer insights into the extent
to which more disadvantaged teachers (those Demonstration or model lessons, also
working in rural areas in lower income provinc- often delivered by ‘experts’, with some
es) differ in their responses when compared opportunities for discussion or interac-
with less-disadvantaged respondents. tion afterwards. However, there was a
feeling amongst many interviewees that
5.5.1 China: key findings these demonstration lessons were, at
least in part, staged, and unreflective of
Overall, the report indicates that Chinese the challenges in their contexts.
teachers working in basic education are
accessing professional development opportu-
nities, both face-to-face and online, and that
internet connection challenges are not pre-
senting serious difficulties with the latter for
the vast majority of respondents, even in rural
areas in low-income provinces, although high
data costs limit the time many can spend
online. These professional development
opportunities seem to be varied and useful,
and are invariably free to the teachers. While
there is evidence in the survey responses of
varied professional development opportuni-
ties, including participant-centred activities
that are less top-down in their nature (e.g.
teacher research groups, action research,
A number of interviewees did not view their self-initiated efforts to find useful materials and ideas online as profes-
8
sional development activities; this may have influenced this finding somewhat.
60 Results China
On the whole, respondents were positive Differences between the survey responses of
about online professional development (at more disadvantaged respondents (those
times, more than face-to-face professional working in towns and villages in low-income
development) and recognised its advantages provinces), when compared with less disad-
(e.g. convenience, flexibility, free resources), vantaged peers, were generally small. Aside
although interviewees also cautioned that from the difference in professional develop-
distraction, self-motivation and false engagement topics mentioned above, disadvantaged
ment (e.g. playing a video without actually respondents were more likely to indicate less
watching it) may be emerging issues. Among disposable income, less time, fewer opportu-
interviewees there was some recognition that nities and possibly less motivation for profes-
combining online and face-to-face (i.e. blend- sional development, as well as indicating
ed) professional development was optimal. greater likelihood of internet connection
challenges, and a need for a focus on more
Probably the strongest trends in both survey basic professional development topics (possi-
and interview data were respondents’ prioriti- bly influenced by the larger number of prima-
sation of professional development activities ry teachers in the sub-sample). Overall, they
that are practical, directly related to the consistently reported less engagement with
challenges they face in their own classrooms, professional development activities over the
and offering new ideas, skills and methods. previous 12 months than their peers.
Concerning topics for professional develop-
ment, survey responses were varied, topped With regard to languages, survey data indi-
by interests in learning more about 21st cated support for activities taking place both
century skills, how to teach reading and in English and Chinese with, on balance, an
speaking, and also how to motivate learners – expressed preference for the former9. Inter-
this latter topic became the most important viewees shed useful light onto how to bal-
one for teachers working in more disadvan- ance the two, recommending Chinese for
taged contexts. Interview respondents more complex theoretical aspects of profes-
echoed most of these findings, although sional development and English when it
discussion of 21st century skills was much relates more to classroom practice.
more limited and they also prioritised needs
related to differentiation, lesson planning, use Only 11 per cent of survey respondents
of textbooks and teaching resources, EdTech, indicated that they used international web-
and support for their own English proficiency sites when looking for materials online, and
(an issue that the professional development while only a very small number of respon-
facilitators stressed). Interestingly, despite dents had negative attitudes towards interna-
frequent discussion in academic literature of tional organisations,10 a large number none-
the negative washback of high stakes exams theless felt that such international organisa-
on classroom practices in China (e.g. Kirkpat- tions may not understand the needs of Chi-
rick & Zang, 2011), there was little evidence of nese teachers.
interest in professional development focusing
on exam preparation among respondents and
interviewees. There was also comparatively
little interest in professional development
focusing on teaching online (see Figure 10).
9
This expressed preference may be influenced by social-desirability bias.
10
It should, of course, be borne in mind that those who have such negative attitudes are less likely to participate
in this study.
61 Results China
5.5.2 China: recommendations
Considering the above findings, we make the

following recommendations for meeting the
PD needs of Chinese teachers of English in
basic education.
1. Practical, realistic materials and activi- beyond mimicking such lessons and
ties: Chinese teachers of English understanding the principles that
working in basic education frequently underpin their design.
express a clear preference for materi-
als and activities that are practical in 3. Support for current textbooks: There is
their orientation (rather than theoreti- repeated evidence in the data that
cal), and easy to find, download and many Chinese teachers of English in
use. These materials and activities basic education need more easily
need to recognise the current realities accessible materials (e.g. reading texts
and challenges of teachers, where for use in class, PowerPoint presenta-
possible reflecting real classroom tions) that support and supplement
conditions and issues. Because chal- content in their current textbooks
lenges vary between more- and directly; these materials may need to be
less-disadvantaged contexts, these textbook-specific to be most effective,
materials may need to be differentiat- and their development is likely to be
ed by context type. Materials and most impactful if conducted in collabo-
professional development support ration with the textbook publishers (e.g.
should also consider the needs of FLTRP, OUP), some of whom have pro-
primary teachers who are not subject vided such support directly to teachers
specialists and often, as a result, have in the past.
lower levels of English proficiency and
less confidence in their own English. 4. Diversifying online professional devel-
opment activities: Because online
2. Supporting understandings of theory: professional development in China is
Despite the strong focus on the value still at a nascent stage, there is a
of professional development that has danger that it may currently be too
practical utility, teachers also referred top-down and repetitive in its nature.
many times to various concepts that Exploring and promoting ways to
had been introduced to their curricula ensure that teacher research groups,
and to the need to keep up-to-date dialogic peer-observation (rather than
with current theoretical ideas in the online observation of model lessons)
field. ‘Core competences’ and ‘deep and informal discussion opportunities
learning’ were two examples. Thus (all of which seem to be happening in
there is also scope for professional face-to-face professional development)
development support that focuses on can be conducted or supplemented
such issues, helps teachers under- online, which may increase the variety
stand what they mean, and illustrates and usefulness of online professional
how they can be translated into class- development, particularly in the event
room practice. Similarly, while a strong of further pandemic restrictions. Even
tradition of demonstration or model those top-down activities such as
lessons exists in China, teachers may ‘lectures’ and observation of demon-
value professional development re- stration lessons can be made more
sources which allow them to go interactive through the inclusion of
62 Results China
carefully-designed before and after that are indicative of more negative attitudes
activities that engage teachers in towards such western organisations; their
online collaborative discussion and opinions will obviously be underrepresented
reflection. There are also opportunities in the sample. Further, because of the oppor-
for more structured, self-accessed tunistic sampling approach adopted, the
online courses that include a range of sample should not be seen as representative
these activities and can be differentiat- of teachers in China as a whole. While inter-
ed to participant needs. viewees were purposefully sampled to elicit
experiences and opinions from a range of
5. Further research on recent policy income levels, because of the overall limita-
changes: There is evidence from a tions in the sample, the stories of opportuni-
variety of sources in the data that ties and challenges that they tell are likely to
many teachers of English in China are only be reflective of experiences in a small
experiencing novel challenges as a number of provinces. There may be other
result of two recent policy changes experiences and alternative opinions from
(‘double reduction’ and the introduc- other parts of China that are not represented
tion of ‘core competencies’11) that have here.
implications for the status, role and
aims of English language teaching. The Secondly, it should be noted that the survey
impact of both of these should be was conducted towards the end of a period
investigated and assessed through when the COVD-19 pandemic was exerting a
further research, which itself would clear influence on the personal, academic
need to lead to specific recommenda- and professional lives of Chinese teachers
tions to support Chinese teachers to and their learners, and the findings, particu-
meet these new demands effectively. larly with regard to their professional devel-
opment habits in the previous 12 months, are
likely to reflect this.
5.5.3 Limitations
The following two limitations to data collection

and timing of the study should be noted:
Firstly, it should be noted that respondents to

the survey were accessed via online modali-
ties only, and opportunistically, using a range
of modes, including British Council contacts
and channels, and with only limited support
from gatekeepers working within Chinese
basic education. Teachers who make less use
of the internet are likely to be underrepre-
sented in the sample, as are those with lower
levels of digital literacy, and these factors may
correlate with other profile characteristics
(e.g. age). Further, potential respondents were
made aware that the survey was being con-
ducted by the British Council and Trinity
College London before deciding whether to
participate. Some respondents may have
declined for political and/or cultural reasons
See Xue & Li (2022) and Li et al. (2021) for double reduction, and Wang & Luo (2019) for core competencies.
11
63 Results China
Chapter-6
Results Japan
64 Results Japan
6.1 Survey results
6.1.1 Response rate
A total of 518 respondents started the survey. 394 respondents. The number of teachers
Of these, 124 were disqualified for not being completing items, though, decreased progres-
English teachers in government primary or sively and individual figures are provided for
high schools or for being assistant language each question below.
teachers (ALTs). This left an eligible sample of
6.1.2 Respondent profile

Figure 32 shows that the sample of respon- range of age brackets was represented12,
dents from Japan was 58 per cent female and though almost 55 per cent were over 40. Of
40 per cent male, with 2 per cent not identify- 391 respondents, 378 (96.7 per cent) report-
ing a gender. Figure 33 shows that the full ed having no disability.
Figure 32: Japan survey sample by gender (n = 391) Figure 33: Japan survey sample by age (n = 397)
30%
1% 1%
32.5%
25%
58% 24.4%
20%
20.7% 22.4%
40% 15%
10%
30 or under 31-40 41-50 51-60

Male Female Other Prefer not to say
Over 96 per cent of respondents were Figure 35 shows the distribution of respon-
full-time teachers. Their teaching experience dents according to the level they taught
(Figure 34) varied, though the largest group English at (just over half worked in senior high
were the most experienced and accounted for schools).
almost 35 per cent of respondents.
Figure 34: Japan survey sample Figure 35: Japan survey sample by
by experience (n = 397) level of school (n = 397)
30%
34.8%
21%
25%
51%
23.2%
20%
18.4%
15%
28%
12.1%
10% 11.6% Primary
Junior high school
less than 6-10 11-15 16-20 over 20
6 years years years years years Senior high school
12
Retirement age for government school teachers in Japan is 60.
65 Results Japan
Respondents were also asked about their Geographically, respondents worked in nine
highest qualifications and for the vast majori- regions, as shown in Figure 36, though, Kyushu
ty (78.8 per cent) this was a Bachelor’s (34.5 per cent), Kanto (18.4 per cent) and
degree; 14.1 per cent said they held a Mas- Tohoku (16.4 per cent) together accounted for
ter’s degree. The majority (81.6 per cent) also almost 70 per cent of the total. School location
said they were specialist English teachers (i.e. was also biased towards cities (85.1 per cent);
they did not teach other subjects). just under 13 per cent said their school was in
a town and only 2 per cent in a village.
Figure 36: Japan survey sample by region (n = 397)
Okinawa 0.8%
Kyushu 34.5%
Shikoku 11.8%
Chugoku 3.0%
Kinki 9.1%
Chubu 4.8%
Kanto 18.4%
Tohoku 16.4%
Hokkaido 1.3%
Figure 37 shows the distribution of respon-

dents’ school sizes (in terms of student num-
bers), which was mostly evenly split between
the two middle categories.
Figure 37: Japan survey sample by school size (n = 395)
50%
40%
42.8% 42.0%
30%
20%
10% 11.6% 3.5%
Fewer than 100 100-499 500-999 1000 or more
66 Results Japan
6.1.3 Providers of professional development

Respondents were asked about their familiari- almost 63 per cent said they knew about it
ty with various providers of teacher profes- but had not participated in their professional
sional development in Japan. Table 2 sum- development activities (the equivalent figure
marises their responses. The Board of Educa- for the British Council was 39 per cent).
tion is, unsurprisingly, the provider for whom Finally, almost 63 per cent said they were not
levels of awareness and participation are familiar with the Japan Association for Lan-
highest (92.2 per cent). The British Council guage Teaching (JALT), followed by 55.3 per
ranks second (38.2 per cent) and Eiken13 third cent for the English Language Education
(28.8 per cent). Eiken also stands out, as Council (ELEC) and just under 23 per cent for
the British Council.
Table 2: Awareness of providers of teacher professional development (n = 385)
I know about them and I know about them but I am not

have participated in have not participated familiar with
PD they provide in PD they provide them
Prefecture Board of Education 92.2 7.5 0.3

Eiken Foundation of Japan 28.8 62.6 8.6
English Language Education 8.6 36.1 55.3
Council (ELEC) Training Center
British Council 38.2 29.0 22.9
Japan Association for Language 10.4 26.8 62.9
Teaching (JALT)
A total of 175 respondents said they had publishers, non-profit organisations, prepara-
participated in professional development tory schools, universities (both domestic and
provided by organisations not listed in Table overseas), prefectural board of educa-
2 and Figure 38 summarises their responses. tion/Ministry of Education (MEXT), and study
These organisations (which in some cases groups organised by volunteer teachers.
were already covered in Table 2) can be ‘Other’ organisations such as foreign embas-
grouped into the following six categories in sies (e.g. the US Embassy) and second lan-
order of how often they were mentioned: guage acquisition (SLA) research groups were
also mentioned.
Figure 38: Other providers of CPD in Japan (n = 175)
Publishers (e.g. ALC, Oxford University Press) 57
NPO (e.g. Japan Society of English Language Education) 32
Preparatory schools (e.g. Sundai Preparatory School) 24
Universities (e.g. domestic and overseas) 20
Prefectural board of Education/Ministry of Education (MEXT) 18
Volunteer study groups (e.g. with teachers
11
from other schools within the same prefectures)
Others 7
Invalid responses 6
Number of respondents
13
According to https://www.eiken.or.jp/eiken/en/association/, ‘Eiken produces and administers English-proficiency
tests with the backing of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and
in cooperation with Japanese prefectural and local boards of education, public and private schools, and other
leading testing bodies’.
67 Results Japan
Respondents were asked to identify, from a most popular choices were motivating stu-
list provided, up to five aspects of teaching dents, teaching speaking and teaching 21st
English they were interested in learning more century skills. How to find materials online
about. Table 3 summarises their choices, in was the lowest ranked item, chosen by only
descending order of frequency. The three 5.9 per cent of respondents.
Table 3: Topics for teacher professional development (n = 376)
Topic N %
Motivating students 236 62.8

Teaching speaking 224 59.6
Teaching 21st century skills 166 44.1
English assessment 122 32.4
Teaching writing 114 30.3
Teaching listening 112 29.8
Using technology in the classroom 109 29.0
Lesson planning 106 28.2
Teaching reading 94 25.0
Designing/adapting teaching materials 93 24.7
Teaching English online 69 18.4
Teaching pronunciation 69 18.4
Teaching grammar 61 16.2
Teaching vocabulary 44 11.7
Preparing students for English examinations 42 11.2
How to find teaching materials online 22 5.9
68 Results Japan
Teachers were asked about their participation observation visits to other schools, and read-
in face–to–face professional development in ing about teaching were the four most
the previous 12 months.14 Table 4 presents common activities. In contrast, the bottom four
their responses. Just over 10 per cent report- were formal courses, attending conferences,
ed doing no face–to–face professional devel- classroom action research and teaching com-
opment. Amongst the rest, peer observation, petitions.
attending courses, seminars and workshops,
Table 4: Face–to–face professional development in Japan (n = 375)
Face–to–face professional development activity N %

Peer observation with colleagues in your school 225 60.0
Courses, seminars, workshops 215 57.3
Observation visits to other schools 140 37.3
Reading books and journals about teaching 140 37.3
Informal discussions about teaching with other teachers 118 31.5
Teacher professional development groups 64 17.1
(including lesson study, planning groups)
Mentoring or other 1-to-1 peer-support 40 10.7
None 39 10.4
Attending lectures by guest speakers 30 8.0
Formal courses to obtain a teaching certificate 26 6.9
Conferences 23 6.1
Classroom action research 9 2.4
Teaching competitions 1 0.3
In terms of cost, over 75 per cent of teachers The extent to which face–to–face professional
(n = 338) said the face–to–face professional development was compulsory, according to
development they did in the previous 12 the teachers, is shown in Figure 39. Almost half
months was free. Just over 14 per cent said the respondents said it was always voluntary,
they paid in full, while 18 per cent paid in part while just over a quarter said it was always
(teachers could choose more than one compulsory. According to the remainder, the
answer). degree of choice they were given varied.
Figure 39: Choice in face–to–face professional development in Japan (n = 338)
47.6%
26.6%
25.7%
Always voluntary
Always compulsory
Sometimes voluntary and sometimes compulsory
COVID–19 will have impacted on levels of face–to–face professional development in 2020-2021.

14
69 Results Japan
Teachers were also asked to comment on and teachers’ schools were the main provid-
who organised the face–to–face professional ers, with limited reference to international
development they engaged in; Table 5 shows organisations.
their responses. Local education authorities
Table 5: Providers of face–to–face professional development for English teachers in Japan (n = 332)
Provider N %
Official education authority 205 61.7

My school 172 51.8
Local private organisation 59 17.8
Local teacher association 53 16.0
Local university/college 29 8.7
International organization 9 2.7
Various ‘other’ providers of face–to–face Study Group’), and individual schools (for
professional development were also identi- example, ‘Sundai Preparatory School’ or
fied. These included various kinds of study ‘Yoyogi Preparatory School’).
groups (for example, ‘High School Education
Table 6 summarises what teachers said about by far the most common choice, followed by
their participation in online professional reading online articles and peer observation
development in the previous 12 months. Over via video. The least common choices were
25 per cent said they had not participated in formal courses, educational podcasts and
such development at all. For those who had, attending conferences.
online courses, webinars and workshops were
Table 6: Online professional development in Japan (n = 375)
Face–to–face professional development activity N %

Courses, seminars or workshops 203 54.7
None 93 25.1
Reading online articles about teaching 82 22.1
Peer observation through video 74 19.9
Watching online videos about teaching 66 17.8
Finding teaching materials on local non-government 63 17.0
websites for teachers in my country
Finding teaching materials on official government websites 59 15.9
Informal online professional groups (including through 54 14.6
social media)
Finding teaching materials on international websites 40 10.8
Formal courses to obtain a teaching certificate 36 9.7
Listening to educational podcasts 25 6.7
Conferences 21 5.7
70 Results Japan
In terms of the cost of online professional saying it was always compulsory and almost 21
development (n = 279), 76.3 per cent said it per cent saying it varied.
was free, 20.8 per cent said they paid in full
while 11.5 per cent paid in part (teachers The providers of the online professional devel-
could choose more than one answer). opment taken by respondents are listed in Table
7. The local educational authority is again the
Once again, for the majority of the teachers main provider, though local private organisa-
(62.5 per cent), online professional develop- tions are second and teachers’ schools third.
ment was always voluntary, with 16.6 per cent International organisations remain the provider
mentioned least often.
Table 7: Providers of online professional development for English teachers in Japan (n = 265)
Provider N %
Local education authority 157 59.2

Local private organisation 90 34.0
My school 58 21.9
Local teacher association 37 14.0
Local university/college 31 11.7
International organization 22 8.3
Respondents also identified various ‘other’ figures are percentages) and the three fac-
providers of online professional development tors most often rated as very important were
for teachers of English. These included volun- helping them solve problems in their teach-
teer teacher study groups and various indi- ing, providing activities and materials they
vidual schools. can use and keeping up to date with new
ideas. Factors such as career advancement,
Teachers were additionally asked about the the reputation of the provider and whether
importance of various factors in their deci- the activity was in the native language were,
sion to take part in online professional devel- in contrast, very important for low percentag-
opment. Table 8 presents their responses (all es of teachers.
Table 8: Factors influencing decision to do online professional development: Japan (n = 363)
Very Quite Not

important important important
It helps me solve problems I face in my teaching 64.4 34.1 1.5

It provides activities and materials that I can use in my own classroom 54.1 41.5 4.4
It keeps me up to date with new ideas and developments 47.3 45.4 7.3
It gives me flexibility in terms of when and where to study 43.9 45.9 10.2
I do not have to pay myself to take part 43.9 41.5 14.6
It is not too time-consuming 29.8 54.6 15.6
The activity gives me the opportunity to interact with other teachers 25.9 44.9 29.3
The activity is officially recognised by my employer 23.9 31.7 44.4
The activity takes place in English 22.0 44.4 33.7
It uses familiar online tools and platforms 20.0 45.4 34.6
Taking part will help me get a salary bonus or promotion (to a higher 11.7 17.6 70.7
position such as senior teacher or vice-principal)
The organisation providing the professional development is well-known 10.7 33.2 56.1
The activity takes place in my native language 8.8 29.3 62.0
71 Results Japan
Teachers were asked three questions about e-mail and YouTube are the three online
their online activities more generally. The first platforms most widely used (by upwards of
was about the online platforms they used (for 75 per cent respondents in each case).
work or pleasure). As Figure 40 shows, Line,
Figure 40: Online platforms used by Japanese teachers of English (n = 362)
Line 82.6%
Email 79.3%
YouTube 76.0%
Facebook 51.4%
Instagram 47.5%
Twitter 42.0%
Tiktok 8.3%
WhatsApp 5.8%
Others 3.3%
Linkedin 3.0%
None 1.1%
Viber 0.3%
The second question in this section asked chosen by anyone). Smartphones and laptops
teachers about the devices they used to get were the options most commonly chosen
online. Figure 41 summarises what they said here.
(‘other’ was also an option but was not
Figure 41: How Japanese teachers of English get online (n = 362)
Smartphone 86.7%
Tablet 62.2%
Desktop 20.7%
Laptop 86.5%
72 Results Japan
Finally, teachers were asked some questions have access to fast and stable internet at
about access to the internet and their an- home and work and that data costs do not
swers are summarised in Figure 42. Overall, limit their time online.
these figures indicate that in Japan teachers
Figure 42: How Japanese teachers of English get online (n = 361)
High data costs limit the time I can spend online 11.6% 88.4%
My internet is fast enough to stream videos 87.8% 12.2%
I have access to a stable internet connection 87.3% 12.7%
It is easy for me to get online at work 86.1% 13.9%
It is easy for me get online at home 97.8% 2.2%
Yes No
73 Results Japan
The final major section of the questionnaire ment. Table 9 summarises their responses
asked teachers for their views on a number of (figures in percentages).
statements related to professional develop-
Table 9: Views about professional development: Japan (n = 360)
Agree Disagree
strongly Agree Disagree strongly
It is difficult to find the time to take part in professional 43.9 46.1 9.4 0.6
development activities
I am interested in free sources of online professional develop- 42.5 47.2 9.2 1.1
ment for teachers of English
I prefer face–to–face professional development rather than 25.0 48.9 24.7 1.4
doing it online
The UK is a source of expertise in English language teaching 19.2 42.2 36.1 2.5
I am interested in finding new ways of continuing my profes- 16.7 70.8 12.2 0.3
sional development online
I would like more professional development activities in 16.7 55.8 24.7 2.8
English (not in my first language)
The educational authorities in my country provide me with 10.3 45 36.7 8.1
high quality professional development opportunities
International organisations do not fully understand the needs 5.0 54.4 38.6 1.9
of teachers in my country
I am satisfied with the quality of professional development 2.8 36.4 50.8 10.0
that I have access to
These results indicate that:
90 per cent of respondents believe it just over 55 per cent said the local
is difficult to find the time to take part educational authorities provide high
in professional development quality professional development for
almost 90 per cent are interested in teachers
free sources of online professional fewer than 40 per cent said they are
development satisfied with the quality of profession-
over 87 per cent are interested in al development they have access to.
finding new ways of continuing their
almost 74 per cent prefer
face–to–face professional develop-
ment rather than online
over 72 per cent would prefer more
professional development in English
just over 64 per cent feel the UK is a
source of expertise in ELT
almost 60 per cent believe that
international organisations do not
understand the needs of teachers in
Japan
74 Results Japan
There were two optional open-ended ques- English that you would like to receive more
tions at the end of the survey. The first was: professional development support for.
Please write one or two sentences to tell us There were 321 responses to this question
about areas of your work as a teacher of and Figure 43 summarises these.
Figure 43: Further professional development support (n = 321)
Teachers' English proficiency 110
General pedagogical skills 71
ICT competence 41
Curriculum and resource development 32
Task based instruction 24
Assessment 10
Time and budget for professional development 6
Others 27
Improving teachers’ own English was by far The third theme, mentioned by 41 teachers
the most common theme here (mentioned by (12.8 per cent of the respondents) was “ICT
110 teachers – over 30 per cent of all respon- competence”, exemplified in responses, such
dents). Some of the examples regarding this as “how to use tablets effectively in class-
particular theme included “an ability to con- room” and “how to conduct effective online
duct lessons entirely in English”, “an ability to lessons”.
pronounce English words as accurately as a
native speaker” and “opportunities to improve A total of 32 teachers (10 per cent of the
my own vocabulary knowledge”. Many re- respondents) gave answers related to curric-
spondents saw the improvement of their ulum and resource development. Their com-
English proficiency as a key area for profes- ments included “an ability to design speaking
sional development. materials that promote communication
focused learning” and “materials that are in
The second theme was “general pedagogical line with the new national curriculum which is
skills” and accounted for 22.1 per cent (71 focused on the development of critical think-
responses) of the participants who responded ing and active learning”.
to this question. Some of the recurring re-
sponses included “classroom management Various ‘other’ areas for professional devel-
skills”, “an ability to create cohesive group opment were also mentioned, such as “knowl-
norms”, “an ability to increase students’ edge about inclusive and diverse learning
motivation to learn foreign languages” and environments”, “opportunities to study
“an ability to act as a facilitator in communi- abroad as part of professional development”
cation focused English lessons”. and “regular opportunities to attend academ-
ic conferences to keep updated with theoreti-
cal knowledge of SLA”.
75 Results Japan
6.1.10 Effective professional development
The second optional open-ended question be made available to teachers of English in

was: primary and secondary schools in Japan
please use this space.
If you would like to make any suggestions for
how effective professional development can There were 310 responses to this question
and Figure 44 summarises these.
Figure 44: Features of effective professional development (n = 310)
Improve teachers' English proficiency 92
Be conducted entirely in English 25
Include lesson observations 24
Be localised 22
Teach how to conduct communication focused lessons 21
Teach effective ICT use 19
Not be top down 17
Encourage collaboration with ALTs 16
Be practical rather than theoretical 14
Have opportunities to interact with native speakers 12
Be conducted overseas 12
Be long-term training 11
Teach specific pedagogical skills 6
Be mainly catered for less experienced teachers 5
Involve team teaching 4
Others 10
76 Results Japan
Reinforcing the point made in the first The value of lesson observations as a profes-
open-ended questions, the predominant sional development strategy was noted by 24
category here (92 teachers) was once again teachers, as shown in comments such as
teachers’ own English proficiency (even “professional development should include
though this second question was more about opportunities to observe other teachers’
how professional development can be provid- lessons” and it “should focus on interaction
ed). Some examples related to this theme with other teachers for feedback”.
included “professional development should
help teachers conduct lessons entirely in A total of 24 teachers also suggested that
English”, and “teachers should improve their professional development will be more effec-
own speaking skills through professional tive when it is localised to the context. Exam-
development courses”. ples included “professional development
should reflect local needs” and it “should be
The second most frequently cited theme was designed based on specific textbooks and
also related to English proficiency and materials we use at school”.
focused on “the exclusive use of English to
provide professional development”. This Amongst the points noted in the ‘other’
theme accounted for 8.1 per cent (n = 25) of category was the suggestion that “profes-
the participants who responded to this ques- sional development should be free of charge
tion. An illustrative response here was that for any teachers, whether it be full-time or
“professional development should be offered part-time status”.
entirely in English, so teachers can improve
their communication skills in English”.
77 Results Japan
6.2 Interview results

Survey respondents from Japan were invited A few themes, though, were highlighted by more
to volunteer for a follow-up interview and 40 than one teacher. Improving teachers’ English
teachers of English did so and provided their proficiency was a particular concern that re-
details. Of these, 11 responded positively to a curred and which reflected the increasing
follow-up message and were interviewed expectation in Japan that English lessons be
online in Japanese. Their responses are taught in English:
summarised below. The interviewees were
English specialists (10/11), over 30 years old I want to improve my own English profi-
(10/11), female (9/11) and working in cities ciency, especially speaking as I now have
(11/11). They taught in primary (3), junior high to conduct my lessons in English.
(3) and senior high (5) schools and covered
the full range of experience (less than six Some of my colleagues can't even speak
years to over 20 years). English well. They have never been
abroad. They are now having to teach
classes in English.
6.2.1 Professional development needs A desire to make English lessons more interac-
tive was also noted a few times, for example:
Responses to this question covered several
aspects of their work that teachers felt they I want to learn how to make my tasks
needed more support for. These included: more relevant, genuine and meaningful to
learners. I also want to learn how to
• designing materials incorporate group work and group
• how to teach vocabulary projects. I feel like the traditional way of
• making lessons interactive teaching (teacher centred approach) is
• doing peer observation not working anymore. Students need to
• inclusive teaching be motivated to learn English themselves.
• improving their own English proficiency I want to learn new teaching skills to
• use of ICT change how I teach.
• classroom management skills
• teaching grammar in a motivating way Such concerns were also expressed with
• using communication activities reference to the new high school curriculum
• support for the new High School curriculum that was being introduced:
• CLIL.
Next year at high school a new curricu-
lum will be introduced which changes the
Across the 11 respondents, most of these
assessment methods (kanten-betsu)
issues were mentioned only once. For exam-
including knowledge, skills, critical think-
ple, regarding classroom management, one
ing, active participation. I need to learn
teacher explained that
how to teach following this new system.
I want to learn more about classroom
management skills. I teach a group of up Some responses here also expressed an
to 40 high school students. Some of interest in peer observation as a way of
them are not well disciplined. I want to helping teachers develop professionally. One
take training that focuses on how to teacher stated that “I want to have opportu-
create cohesive group norms and nities where I can observe other teachers'
manage students well in large class size lessons and I also want others to come and
settings. observe my own lessons for feedback”, while
another noted that
78 Results Japan
I also want younger teachers to observe resources easily with participants. I can
each other's lessons more regularly and attend professional development
learn to give each other feedback. I like courses overseas. But I also like
the idea of introducing micro teaching. face-to-face where I can see facial
Younger teachers might be good at expressions of other participants.
English but are still not good at teaching
English. I prefer face-to-face because we learn
not only content (knowledge) but also
teaching techniques from professional
development seminars. I would like to
6.2.2 Teachers’ attitudes to online be in the actual classroom to experi-
ence different teaching techniques.
That being said, online is also good
During the interviews, teachers were asked
because I can save money and time. I
for their views about online professional
can also attend seminars outside
development. One respondent was very
Osaka. I can also watch seminars
negative, explaining that “I don't like doing
whenever I have time while doing
professional development online because the
something else”.
whole point of attending professional devel-
opment seminars is to meet other teachers
I attend training sessions because I can
from other schools within/outside the prefec-
network with other teachers so online
ture. I miss attending in-person professional
has not been my favourite way to
development seminars”. Another, in contrast,
attend professional development
was very positive, and felt that “during the
courses. But I still see lots of benefits
pandemic I have been able to attend more
such as convenience, free of charge
professional development seminars than
attendance, opportunities to speak to
previous years because everything is avail-
people abroad”.
able online. I want to keep this way”. The
majority of interviewees, though, recognised
I like online professional development. I
some advantages of online professional
can attend anytime. But I also less
development, despite reservations, as these
value them because there's not pres-
illustrative quotes show:
sure or obligation”.
I can save time without commuting. But I
also don't take online professional
development seriously.
I have very positive attitudes towards

online professional development but I
want to return to face-to-face. I miss the
interactive aspect of training. I like
online because I can join and leave
meetings depending on my own sched-
ule, but I don't often engage in sessions
because I often join these sessions
when I do other things (eating dinner
etc).
With a small group, online professional

development is effective and conve-
nient. Instructors can share digital
79 Results Japan
6.2.3 Educational authorities and online

The general view expressed by interviewees Our prefecture has mandatory training
was that, while the education authorities in at the start, 5th year and 10th year …
Japan have provided access to (often manda- They now have external organisation
tory) online professional development for [Eiken] to run professional development
teachers, the quality of this provision was not courses where teachers just watch
very high: recorded videos on the internet.
I just often have to watch a recorded There are several professional develop-
video and write essays when I attend ment opportunities organised by the
professional development courses run prefectural board of education including
by the government. the mandatory training for new teachers
which I did three years ago when I
Their professional development is often joined my school. But these were not
superficial and unhelpful. The content of very useful.
their professional development can be
too generic and not confined to English It was also noted that, while the official online
teaching. We need more training oppor- training provided focuses on teaching skills,
tunities focusing on the teaching of what many teachers wanted support with was
specific subjects. the improvement of their own English profi-
ciency.
80 Results Japan
6.2.4 Engagement in online

All interviewees said they had taken part in details. The various initiatives they mentioned
online professional development in the previ- are listed in Box 1 below.
ous 12 months and were asked to provide
Box 1: Online professional development by English teachers in Japan
I attended five-day online professional Two-hour sessions ‘general education

development courses organised by academ- training’ by an organisation called TOSS
ics at the University of Hong Kong. It was which is a very popular course among many
about how English language teachers should school teachers not only English teachers
conduct CLIL lessons at junior and high but also other subjects.
school level. The course was expensive but
I'd be happy to pay for training opportunities We have a professional development group
like this. called TOSS in Osaka. They organise interest-
ing sessions where teachers can share their
Professional development course organised own teaching ideas with the rest of the
by Oxford University Press in Japan about group.
online teaching and learning during the
pandemic. One was organised by Eiken about active
learning and curriculum development, three
Two-hour session on teaching (in general) sessions over a period of three weeks, each
by Eiken. session two hours.
A five-day course organised by a publisher I attended a lot of online professional devel-

called ALC in Japan. It was about E-Learning opment training. One was a half day session
in ELT. with a professor at University of Tokyo who
discussed the purpose of English education
A two-hour seminar organised by Eiken and teaching methods.
about assessment in ELT.
I also attend lots of online training that I find
A one-hour seminar organised by Rikkyo on Twitter (e.g. assessment). I also attend
University about internationalisation and English classes to improve my own English
ELT. skills.
81 Results Japan
6.2.5 Live vs recorded online sessions 6.2.6 The future of online

There was a clear preference among the
interviewees for live sessions on Zoom: Interviewees agreed that some element of
online professional development would
Zoom is my favourite platform because I continue to be offered after the pandemic,
can interact with other teachers. and teachers’ opinions were mixed regarding
whether they would persist with online offer-
I prefer Zoom rather than YouTube ings or return to more face–to–face options:
because I don't engage if it's not inter-
active. I want to keep the online mode of
delivery because it's more convenient.
I prefer live interactive sessions where I I'm often too busy to physically attend
can speak to other teachers from other PD seminars.
prefectures or even overseas.
I believe that online format will remain
I prefer live sessions where I can inter- and is useful to reach out to teachers
act with other participants. who live outside my prefecture (Okaya-
ma) but I want to return to face-to-face
Some, though, did prefer recorded formats: format as soon as permitted.
I like recorded sessions because I can Both will remain because I can see pros
skip irrelevant sections. and cons of both online and
face-to-face training.
I prefer YouTube or similar recorded
format that I can return to and resume Online professional development will
when I have time. remain but I personally want to return
to face-to-face.
It will be more face-to-face but I would

like more online professional develop-
ment because it's convenient. I live so
far away from school, so I don't have
time to attend professional develop-
ment courses.
82 Results Japan
6.3 Japan: conclusions 6.3.1 Japan: key findings

and recommendations
The conclusions for Japan are based on The following key findings have emerged from
responses to an online survey provided by this study.
329 teachers15 and online interviews with 11
teachers selected randomly from a volunteer Teachers of English in Japan have
sample of 40 survey respondents. Overall, the access to a wide range of professional
sample was balanced in gender, spread development opportunities, online and
across the full range of age (under 30 years face–to–face, provided largely by local
to 60) and experience (less than six years to organisations and, in particular, by
over 20) and qualified at BA level. Participat- education authorities and schools.
ing teachers taught largely in junior and
senior high schools (79 per cent) in urban Teachers identified a wide range of
areas of nine regions of Japan (most com- areas they wanted to focus on for
monly Kyushu) and were specialist English professional development purposes;
teachers. recurrent themes were motivating
students, teaching speaking and 21st
It needs to be acknowledged that the online century skills; many teachers were also
nature of the study may have encouraged keen to improve their own English
particular groups of teachers to participate proficiency.
more than others (though the age range of
the respondents does not suggest any bias to Almost 90 per cent of respondents said
younger teachers). In Japan, widespread they had taken part in face–to–face
access to and use of the internet and associ- professional development in the previ-
ated technologies also make it less likely that ous 12 months; the equivalent figure
the respondent profile was severely skewed for online professional development
by the online methods used in the study. In was just under 75 per cent.
national terms16, though, the response rate
was not high and the primary reason for this For both face–to–face and online
was lack of official support. Prefectural and professional development, the majority
district education did not promote the re- of respondents (around 75 per cent in
search and access to teachers was obtained both cases) indicated that their partici-
through a range of personal contacts and pation was free. There was, though, a
direct requests (with varying success) to considerable element of compulsory
teacher associations and selected school participation too, especially for
principals. Further research into the profes- face–to–face professional development
sional development needs and practices of (almost 48 per cent said it was always
government school teachers of English in compulsory) and to a lesser extent for
Japan will benefit significantly from engage- online development activity (almost 17
ment with local education authorities who per cent).
control access to teachers and who can, in
particular, officially invite large numbers of For face–to–face professional develop-
teachers to contribute to online surveys. ment, official education authorities and
schools were the main providers, with
peer observation (including in other
This is the number who answered all questions.

15
Figures for the number of government school teachers of English in Japan are not included in the statistics
16
published by MEXT – see https://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/002/002b/1417059_00006.htm.
83 Results Japan
schools), courses, seminars and work- face–to–face professional develop-

shops and reading about teaching ment, most were, nonetheless, interest-
being the activities most frequently ed in finding new (especially free) ways
cited by respondents. of doing professional development
online. Live interactive sessions were
For online professional development, clearly preferred to recorded online
official education authorities were sessions.
again the main provider cited, and
courses, seminars and workshops were Only two-thirds of respondents saw the
once more the predominant activity, UK as a source of expertise in ELT and
followed by reading online articles almost 60 per cent also felt that inter-
about teaching, peer observation national organisations do not fully
through video, and watching online understand Japanese teachers’ needs.
videos about teaching. International organisations seem to
contribute in a minor way to both
Overall, fewer than 40 per cent of the face–to–face and online professional
teachers were satisfied with the quality development for teachers in Japan.
of professional development they have
access to. In the interviews, teachers While the language used was not
were generally critical of the quality of reported by teachers to be a major
the official online professional develop- factor in their decisions to do online
ment provided. It was, in particular, not professional development, the use of
seen to address the need teachers felt English was seen to be very important
to improve their own English proficien- by 22 per cent compared to almost 9
cy. per cent who said the use of Japanese
was a factor in their decisions. Over 72
The main factors that influence Japa- per cent, though, did say they would
nese teachers’ decisions to engage in like more professional development
online professional development are activities in English, a point also high-
whether it helps them solve problems lighted in the interviews.
in their teaching, provides activities
and materials they can use and keeps In explaining how professional devel-
them up to date with new ideas. Flexi- opment could be effectively provided
bility of when and where to study and for them, respondents again highlight-
cost were also important factors for ed the importance of opportunities to
almost 44 per cent of respondents. improve their English proficiency. Peer
observation was also seen to be effec-
Japanese teachers of English have tive, along with professional develop-
good access to stable internet and the ment content that was closely aligned
costs of data do not limit the time they with teachers’ curricula and textbooks.
spend online; smartphones and laptops
are the devices most widely used by According to the interviewees, online
teachers to get online. resources that appeal to Japanese
teachers will be closely linked to their
YouTube, e-mail and Line are the online curricula and textbooks and easily
platforms most commonly used by this adaptable for use.
sample of teachers of English in Japan.
While a majority (almost 74 per cent)

of survey respondents said they prefer
84 Results Japan
6.3.2 Japan: recommendations
To conclude this section, we present some nese teachers were even more likely to
recommendations for the professional devel- indicate excessive workload and related
opment of basic education for Japanese fatigue that are likely to be having detri-
teachers of English. mental effects on their mental health and
classroom practice. As well as recom-
1. Respondents’ clear interest in developing mending further research into these
their own English language proficiency, issues, initiatives that support and pro-
particularly for practical purposes, such mote teacher well-being and quality of
as use in the classroom and use in PD life are likely to be of great use to Japa-
initiatives, indicates strongly that appro- nese teachers.
priate PD support needs to focus on this,
and include an element of “English for 4. International PD providers interested in
teaching” (e.g. Freeman, 2017), potential- increasing their appeal and reach in
ly alongside bilingual support resources, Japanese basic education should take
particularly for teachers with lower levels note of Japanese teachers’ concerns
of proficiency. that foreign organisations often do not
understand their needs and challenges.
2. When compared with respondents from By partnering with local organisations,
China and South Korea, Japanese teach- international providers may be better
ers were significantly more dissatisfied able to understand these needs and
with current professional development provide for them appropriately.
provision. This indicates a clear need to
investigate the sources of this dissatisfac- 5. Japanese teachers’ expressed need for
tion, and how it can be rectified. Particu- resources which have immediate practi-
larly, qualitative data in this study sup- cal relevance or utility implies that pro-
ports the introduction of more teach- fessional development resources that are
er-driven activities, which contrast mark- easily transferrable to the classroom
edly with the current top-down, account- and/or provide concrete illustrations on
ability-oriented provision available. Initia- what teachers can do in their own work
tives that are collaborative, exploratory are likely to be well received. To be most
and longer-term are likely to be more effective, such concrete illustrations
effective in this regard, including poten- should involve Japanese classrooms (e.g.
tially peer observation programmes (both videos of lessons) and curricular content.
face-to-face and online), the promotion of
professional learning communities, and 6. The study has highlighted features of
support for teacher research initiatives online professional development that
such as action research and lesson study. Japanese teachers appreciate. Attempts
However, conventional forms of profes- to provide online material should take
sional development, such as training note of these, including their preference
courses, workshops and webinars remain for live interactive sessions over record-
very widespread in Japan and new pro- ed material and their interest in accom-
fessional development offers also should panying resources that are free and not
seek to tap into this well-established too time-consuming to engage with.
tradition.
3. Even when compared with South Korean

and Chinese teachers, who also regularly
indicate that they feel overworked, Japa-
85 Results Japan
7. While teachers’ individual preference will 8. Line and YouTube are the leading online
vary (for example, depending on the grades platforms for teachers in Japan (and for
they teach), this study highlighted key the Japanese generally) and these
general interest among teachers in improv- platforms should be exploited as part of
ing both specific (such as teaching speak- any strategy which seeks to promote
ing) and general (such as motivating stu- new online professional development
dents or 21st century competences) peda- services in the country.
gogical skills. Professional development
products and resources which connect with
such themes are more likely to be seen as
relevant by teachers of English in Japan.
86 Results Japan
Chapter-7
Results South Korea
87 Results South Korea

7.1 Survey results
7.1.1 Response rate
As Figure 45 shows, of 396 respondents who numbers of teachers responding to each

met the inclusion criteria (i.e., they were survey item are provided for each question
teaching English in basic education), 312 below.
started the survey, and 252 completed it. The
Figure 45: Korea survey response rate
396
312
252
57
Completed survey Started survey Basic education Did not meet

teacher of English inclusion criteria
7.1.2 Respondent profile

Figures 46-49 below provide further informa- cent), similar to the reported national balance
tion about the Korea sample (the response in basic education (77 per cent in 201417), with
rate here was 312 throughout). The vast a majority in the 31-40 (almost 42 per cent)
majority of respondents were female (80 per and 41-50 (just over 31 per cent) age groups.
Figure 46: Korea respondents by age Figure 47: Korea respondents by experience
50% 30%
40% 25%
41.7% 26%
30% 20% 22.1%

31.1%
19.9%
20% 15% 16.7%

15.4%
16%
10%
10% 10.3%
1%
Less than 6-10 11-15 16-20 over 20

30 or under 31-40 41-50 51-60 over 60 6 years years years years years
The teaching experience of respondents was slightly more considered themselves special-
well-distributed, from novice to highly experi- ist English teachers (61 per cent). The sample
enced teachers, the vast majority of whom included a good balance between primary
(89 per cent) teach full-time. Most had either (57.4 per cent) and secondary (42.6 per cent)
a Bachelor’s (54 per cent) or Master’s (41 per teachers, although the cohort included
cent) degree, although only 46 per cent noticeably fewer junior high school teachers
indicated that they had ELT certification; than senior.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20141216000856
17

Figure 48: Korea respondents by level Figure 49: Korea respondents by location
50% 50%
57.4% 53.4%
40% 40%
30% 30%
29.4%
25.6%
20% 20%
17%
10% 14.2%
10%
2.9%
Primary Junior high Senior high Island& Rural/village Small City

school school mountainous town
area
As Figure 50 shows, there was a strong bias Consistent with this regional representation,
towards the capital city, Seoul, and its sur- the vast majority of respondents stated that
rounding province (Gyeonggi-do), with just they worked in cities (53.4 per cent) or small
over half of the respondents (53.2 per cent) towns (29.4 per cent). School sizes ranged
coming from these highly populated areas. fairly evenly across the categories, with most
having between 100-499 (37 per cent) or
500-999 (35 per cent) pupils.
Figure 50: Respondents by area
Seoul 34
Gyeonggi-do 19.2
Chungcheongbuk-do 9.3
Chungcheongnam-do 7.7
Gyeongsangnam-do 5.1
Gyeongsangbuk-do 4.5
Incheon Met. City 4.5
Daejeon 4.2
Busan 3.2
Gangwon-do 2.2
Dageu Met. City 2.2
Ulsan Met. City 1.3
Gwangju 1.3
Sejong Special SG City 0.6
Jeollanam-do 0.3
Jeollabuk-do 0.3
% respondents

7.1.3 Providers of professional development
Respondents were asked to indicate their followed by the National Education Training
awareness of six organisations providing Institute (49 per cent).
professional development in South Korea (see
Figure 51). While the vast majority of respon- One-hundred and ten teachers reported that
dents indicated awareness of all six, notice- they attended professional development
ably fewer said that they had participated in programmes offered by other institutes, with
their professional development services. For 91 naming the providers. The providers
example, almost 80 per cent of respondents mentioned most frequently were YBM (21
indicated that they had heard of the British times) and I-Scream (16), followed by the
Council, but only 19 per cent stated that they Korean Teachers' Union (7) and the Korea
had participated in British Council profession- Educational Broadcasting System (6). A wide
al development. The most widely known and range of additional institutes were also listed
used professional development providers less frequently, including the Gyeonggi-do
were the Education Training Institute of the Institute for Language Education (4), Sook-
District Office of Education (79 per cent had myung Women's University (4), and Teacher
engaged with its professional development), Ville (3).
Figure 51: Awareness of selected providers of professional development (n = 290)
British Council in Korea 18.6% 60.3% 21%
Education Training Institute attached to a university 33.1% 55.2% 11.7%
KERIS Education Training Center 17.6% 67.6% 14.8%
English Teachers' Associations (eg. KOSETA) 34.8% 45.5% 19.7%
Education Training Institute of District Office 79% 18.3% 2.8%

of Education
National Education Training Institute 48.6% 41.4% 10%


Respondents were asked to self-evaluate teaching reading, writing and speaking in the
their professional development needs by top five along with assessment and 21st
selecting up to five topics from a list of 16 century skills. Online teaching and use of
provided, covering both skills (such as teach- technology also ranked highly. Systems-fo-
ing reading and speaking) and systems (gram- cused professional development came to-
mar, lexis and pronunciation) foci, as well as wards the bottom of the list, just above the
aspects of classroom management, learner fourth skill (listening) and aspects of lesson
support and lesson and materials prepara- and exam preparation.
tion. Figure 52 shows the responses, with

Figure 52: Professional development needs of Korean teachers of English (n = 273)
Teaching speaking 45%

Teaching reading 45%
English assessment 44%
Teaching 21st century skills and abilities 42%
Teaching writing 41%
Using technology in the classroom 38%
Teaching English online 37%
Motivating students 37%
Designing/adapting teaching materials 29%
Teaching vocabulary 19%
Teaching pronunciation 15%
Teaching grammar 14%
Teaching listening 12%
How to find teaching materials online 11%
Lesson planning 11%
Preparing students for English examinations 8%
None of the above 0%
% of respondents who selected an option 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Respondents were asked to indicate what informal activities (reading and discussions
face-to-face professional development activi- with colleagues). Low on the list were partici-
ties they had participated in during the previ- pation in conferences (13 per cent) and
ous 12 months, with 12 relevant activities classroom action research (7 per cent). Five
presented, and additional options to indicate per cent indicated other forms of profession-
other forms of professional development and al development and 10 per cent indicated
‘none of the above’. As Figure 53 shows, four they had not done any face-to-face profes-
activities were chosen by over 40 per cent of sional development activities. The impact of
respondents, with ‘Courses, seminars or COVID–19 on teachers’ responses here must
workshops’ ranking highest (56 per cent). It is be acknowledged (for example, conferences
noticeable that two of these top four are would have been much less available).
Figure 53: Face–to–face professional development in previous 12 months (n = 272)18
Courses, seminars, workshops 56%

Reading books and journals about teaching 48%
Informal discussions about teaching with other teachers 44%
Teacher professional development groups
(including lesson study, planning groups) 29%
Conferences 13%
Observation visits to other schools 10%
Classroom action research 7%
Other forms of PD 5%
18
‘None of the above’ here means no face–to–face professional development in the last 12 months.

Respondents were also asked (see Figure 54) official education authorities (60 per cent)
to indicate both who paid for these and the teacher’s school (35 per cent) were
face-to-face professional development activi- the two most commonly selected providers. It
ties and whether they were voluntary; the is notable that, according to these responses,
vast majority indicated that these activities international organisations only provided 2
were free of charge (79 per cent) and always per cent of the face-to-face professional
voluntary (80 per cent). They were also asked development referred to here.
to indicate the provider of these activities;
Figure 54: Providers of face–to–face professional development (n = 240)
My school 35%
Local private organisation, such as a training 22%

Local teacher associaton 19%
International organisationI 2%
Others 6%

Respondents’ online professional develop- vided, some of which corresponded to equiv-
ment activities over the previous 12 months alent face-to-face options. Figure 55 sum-
were also investigated, with 11 options pro- marises the responses.
Figure 55: Online professional development in previous 12 months (n = 263)19
Courses, seminars, workshops 66%

Finding teaching materials on local non-government websites 36%
for teachers in my country
Finding teaching materials on international websites 25%
Finding teaching materials on official government websites 25%
Informal online professional groups
(including through social media)
25%
Conferences 16%
Listening to educational podcasts 11%
Others 5%
19
‘None of the above’ here means no online professional development in the last 12 months.

Participation in courses, seminars and work- Concerning sources of funding and whether
shops again topped the list (66 per cent). The participation was voluntary, responses con-
only other high ranking response was watch- cerning online professional development
ing online videos about teaching (53 per were almost identical to those for
cent). Among the 11 options offered, three face-to-face professional development.
related to where teachers find teaching However, differences were notable with
materials; local, non-government websites regard to providers of online professional
ranked noticeably higher (36 per cent) than development (Figure 56); while official educa-
the other two (international websites and tion authorities were once again dominant
official government websites; both 25 per (54 per cent), local organisations (e.g. train-
cent). It is notable that online reading seems ing institutions, publishing houses, etc.) and
to be significantly less popular than reading teacher associations both ranked higher than
printed materials (see face-to-face responses the teacher’s own school. Also, as might be
above), and that, while participation in online expected, the share of international organisa-
conferences might have been expected to tions providing online professional develop-
increase during the Covid-19 pandemic, only ment is slightly higher than for face-to-face,
16 per cent indicated that they had done this at 6 per cent.
in the previous 12 months.
Figure 56: Providers of online professional development (n = 245)
Local private or ganisation, such as a training

35%
My school 23%
Others 9%
Respondents were asked to rank the impor- pects of convenience (time, cost, flexibility),
tance of 13 potential factors that might and interaction with other teachers. Interest-
influence their decision to participate in ingly, language choice does not seem to be
online professional development. As Figure an influential factor either way, although a
57 shows, the three most highly ranked slight preference for activities in English over
factors related specifically to their practical native languages is notable. Consistent with
utility in the classroom (including activities their primary interest in practical issues, also
and materials they can use, how they can low ranking was what might be called instru-
solve problems they face, and updates on mental motivation to participate in profes-
new developments in the field). Most other sional development (e.g., for salary bonus or
factors were deemed either very or quite promotion).20
important, including factors relating to as-
This, of course, may reflect promotion policies in Korea – i.e. these may not be linked to teachers’ engagement in
20
professional development.

Figure 57: Factors influencing decisions to do online professional development (n = 257)
It provides activities and materials that I can use in my own classroom
It keeps me up to date with new ideas and developments
It helps me solve problems I face in my teaching
It is not too time-consuming
It gives me flexibility in terms of when and where to study
The activity is officially recognised by my employer
I do not have to pay myself to take part
The activity gives me the opportunity to interact with other teachers
It uses familiar online tools and platforms
The organisation providing the professional development is well-known
The activity takes place in English
Taking part will help me get a salary bonus or promotion
The activity takes place in my native language

0 20 40 60 80 100
Very important Quite important Not important

Figure 58 shows the results of five questions ported by respondents, although the one
Korean teachers were asked about getting inhibiting factor of note, interestingly, was
and being online. As might be expected for a high data costs, found to limit just over 41
world leading country with regard to technol- per cent of respondents’ time online.
ogy, few difficulties getting online were re-
Figure 58: Internet access for teachers of English in Korea (n = 255)
It is easy for me get online at home 96.5%
It is easy for me to get online at work 97.3%
I have access to a stable internet connection 92.5%
My internet is fast enough to stream videos 95.7%
High data costs limit the time I can spend online 41.2%
no yes

The majority of respondents made use of phones, desktop computers and tablets were
laptops (75%) to get online, while smart also fairly commonly used (Figure 59).
Figure 59: How Korean teachers get online (n = 255)
Laptop 75%
Smartphone 43%
Desktop 39%
Tablet 30%
Other 0%
With regard to online platforms (Figure 60), it Naver Café search portal and Band, a social
is notable that, alongside email, South Korean media platform. International platforms such
teachers make frequent use (for leisure as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are
and/or work) of several national platforms noticeably less popular.
such as the KakaoTalk messaging app, the
Figure 60: Online platforms used by Korean teachers (n = 255)
Kakaotalk 84%
Naver Café/Band 62%
Email 61%
Instagram 35%
Facebook 22%
Twitter 4%
Line 3%
Tiktok 1%
Others 18%
I do not use online platforms 2%

The final quantitative survey items (Figure 61) while 98 per cent were interested in free
elicited respondents’ views on a number of online professional development resources.
issues relating to professional development, The UK was recognised by 87 per cent as a
both online and face-to-face. Although 61 per source of expertise in ELT, although 62 per
cent expressed a preference for face–to–face cent also agreed that international organisa-
professional development, respondents were, tions do not fully understand Korean teach-
on the whole, positive about making use of ers’ needs. The vast majority (84 per cent)
online professional development. Thus, 95 also indicated that they would like more
per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they professional development activities in En-
were interested in finding new ways of con- glish, rather than Korean.
tinuing their professional development online
Figure 61: Views about professional development (n = 252)
I am interested in free sources of online profes-

59% 39% 2%
sional development for teachers of English
I am interested in finding new ways of continuing

my professional development online 48% 47% 4%
I would like more professional development activi-

ties in English (not in my first language) 35% 49% 14%
The UK is a source of expertise in English

language teaching 33% 54% 12%
I prefer face-to-face professional development

26% 35% 35%
rather than doing it online
It is difficult to find the time to take part in profes-

sional development activities 18% 50% 25%
I am satisfied with the quality of professional

development that I have access to 16% 71% 12%
The educational authorities in my country provide

me with high quality professional development 15% 64% 19%
opportunities
International organisations do not fully understand

13% 49% 35%
the needs of teachers in my country

There were two optional open-ended ques- referred to overseas training, British Council
tions at the end of the survey. The first was: courses or training provided by native English
speakers did not specify what areas of their
Please write one or two sentences to tell us work teachers wanted them to focus on.
about areas of your work as a teacher of
English that you would like to receive more Those who did specify topics for professional
professional development support for. development emphasised an interest in
learning about teaching methods (26 men-
There were 211 responses to the first questions), teaching materials (26) and English
tion and Figure 62 summarises these. A conversation (16 – this refers to teachers’
number of teachers did not, as requested, own spoken proficiency). All of the other
specify topics they wanted to focus on in issues listed here were mentioned fewer than
their professional development but rather 10 times. Combined references to pronuncia-
reaffirmed the need they felt for further tion training, conversation and classroom
development opportunities, including online English suggest an interest among teachers
training courses. Similarly, responses which in improving their own English skills.
Figure 62: Areas for further professional development (n = 211)
More chances for Teacher professional developement 31
New teaching method 26
Teaching materials 26
English conversation 16
Online teacher training programme 13
Assessment 9
Overseas training 6
Professional development programmes for NETs 5
BC training course 4
Prounciation training 3
Certificate course 3
Curriculum development and assessment 2
Co-teaching with NET 2
Classroom English 2
Classroom observation 2

7.1.10 Effective professional development
The second optional open-ended question features that were mentioned several times
was: were opportunities to exchange experiences
and knowledge (including via online plat-
If you would like to make any suggestions for forms), long-term (rather than short and
how effective professional development can intensive) professional development, and
be made available to teachers of English in provision that was participant-focused - i.e.
primary and secondary schools in Korea based on their needs. Several additional
please use this space. items listed in Figure 63 were listed infre-
quently, but combined to highlight more
There were 76 valid responses to this ques- general concerns. For example, references to
tion and Figure 63 summarises these. In workloads, certification, recognition and
different ways, teachers emphasised the financial support all point towards conditions
value of diversity and variety as features of which teachers feel would facilitate their
effective professional development. Other participation in professional development.
Figure 63: Features of effective professional development (n = 76)
Diversity and variety 15
Opportunities to exchange experiences and knowledge 11
Long-term/continuous PD provision 8
Participant-orientated 7
Mandatory English subject teacher system for the primary 6
Online platform for exchanges 6
More opportunities for PD 6
Reducing workload (e.g- administrative support) 4
Active promotion of the BC programmes 3
Intensive training 3
Easiness of the navigation for online programmes 2
Involves self-reflection 2
Programmes being recognised by the Korean MoE 1
Programmes resulting in certification 1
Providing financial support 1

7.2 Interview results
There were 63 survey respondents from eme correspondences and how to read
Korea who volunteered for a follow-up inter- words, but in fact there are a consider-
view and provided contact details. Names able number of underachievers. In
were randomized and contacted in order and addition, secondary school teachers
20 interviews were completed. Responses are may not have been trained enough to
summarised here under headings that reflect teach for those areas.
the themes covered in the interviews. The
interviewees worked in primary (9), junior This year I was assigned to teach
high (6) and senior high (5) schools and came students of lower levels, especially
from nine different regions. The majority (16) students with reading difficulty. So I’m
had 15 years’ experience or less and 75 per interested in teaching basic reading
cent were also English specialists. skills, reading picture books, and read-
ing fluency.
I am teaching English at middle school,
Respondents highlighted several aspects of so I am always concerned that my
English teaching and learning they wanted English skills may decrease every year.
more professional development on. Those So, I want to maintain my English skills.
mentioned by several teachers were: Also I want to use English as a medium
of instruction in my classes as much as
• teaching reading skills
possible. I don’t want myself to be a
• teaching writing skills
bad model as an English teacher.
• teaching students of different levels, espe-
cially lower levels
Before pandemic era, I had taken PD
• improving teachers’ own proficiency in
programs to learn various activities for
English.
my English classes. But during
COVID-19 I couldn’t find opportunities
These points are illustrated in the quotations
for communicate in English, so I mainly
below:
took English conversation courses.
In primary school English classes, while Besides, since we expect similar situa-
speaking and listening are emphasized, tions like COVID-19 will take place
opportunities to develop reading and again, I believe PD programs like En-
wiring [sic] skills are not much available glish conversation courses should be
… I found out that teaching reading and more provided.
writing to my students is very difficult.
In 5th and 6th grades, as students
should learn longer sentences, the ratio Other topics that were mentioned less fre-
of underachievers in reading and quently (twice at most) were:
writing increases. So I think the PD • online teaching tools
should be more focused on teaching • project work
reading and writing skills. • teaching speaking
• English culture.
I [junior high school teacher] want to
develop skills to teach students with
difficulty in basic reading skills. National
English curriculum assumes that sec-
ondary school students have already
acquired awareness of phoneme-graph-
99 Results Japan
7.2.2 Teachers’ attitudes to online

The Korean interviewees were overwhelming- Teachers have a very limited access to
ly positive about the value of online profes- international websites at school.
sional development, focusing in particular on Schools do not provide teachers
the following advantages: enough support necessary to use many
• it is efficient and you can save time useful international websites at school.
• it is easy to access anytime and anywhere To use those websites like Kahoot and
• it does not require travel many others, teachers have to create
• a range of programmes are available their own personal accounts since they
• it gives teachers access to different lecturers. are not allowed to use school official
accounts. We have to sign up for our
One teacher, for example, explained that
personal accounts and pay with school
I always found various PD programs credit cards. International websites
available from the official notices by usually run on the yearly base. If we do
educational authorities, but I couldn’t not cancel at the right time before the
take the sessions that I wanted, such as extension for another year and we
using multimedia in English classes or transfer to other schools [public school
teaching English through drama. I teachers transfer regularly to other
missed those sessions because they schools], it causes complex administra-
were provided offline. These days it is tive problems. For this reason, schools
very difficult to travel safe and not are not willing to support us for using
desirable, especially, for us teachers to international websites.
travel long distance for PD when con-
sidering our young students. So I hope
educational authorities keep providing
online PD sessions rather than offline
sessions.
Another added:
I prefer teaching online as a teacher
and taking online courses as a partici-
pant. As for online teaching and
learning, we don’t need to move, and
it is very convenient to share data and
run classroom rules. Besides I can
easily watch video clips on my own
computer.
Some noted that the quality of online profes-
sional development was better when the
lecturers were effective and sessions were
interactive.
One respondent explained barriers she had

faced to online professional development:

7.2.3 Educational authorities and online

Interviewees provided a mixture of positive Several more critical comments were also
and more critical comments on the online made and one that recurred was that, while
professional development provided by online professional development opportunities
education authorities in Korea. One teacher are provided by the education authorities,
felt that teachers were not sufficiently informed about
them. The interviewees noted that one-time
educational authorities provide very official notices that teachers received were
well-organized PD programs. They not an effective way to encourage teachers to
provide very practical contents which I participate. As one teacher noted, ‘just send-
can easily apply to my classes. They ing official documents does not guarantee
plan what teachers need in advance that all teachers are well informed of pro-
and continuously provide training grams’. Others made similar points:
opportunities so that teachers can take
them whenever they want. So I think During COVID-19, many teachers asked
Korean government is doing very good for technology-based learning and
job for that matter. using ZOOM for real time classes, and
the offices of education reacted imme-
In particular, various positive comments were diately and arranged PD sessions. But I
made about professional learning communi- think those PD programs were not
ties organised by the education authorities: enough promoted. Various practical
sessions were available at e-learning
Project learning is recommended at centres, but many teachers were not
school now. Learning communities for well aware of it. Overall, PD programs
project learning are organized and have now improved a lot to a very
supported by offices of education. satisfactory level. But the problem is
the lack of promotion. I think other
Offices of education arrange communi- ways of promotion except routine
ties lead by head teachers. Head teach- official notice should be activated.
ers open a community and select
topics. For example, there was a com- Educational authorities notify available
munity for teaching reading picture PD programs through official notices,
books. Each teacher there shared their so I can learn what is available and can
teaching practices such as how to use choose what I want to take because my
picture books in class and recommend school well runs regular curriculum
good books and teaching ideas to each meetings, and at the meetings we can
other. I could learn a lot. share and view those official notices.
But not every teacher is well informed
I found [online] PD programs offered by of available PD programs. Just sending
the office of education very useful. official documents does not guarantee
Since 2020, they provided PD pro- that all teachers are well informed of
grams like professional learning com- programs.
munities where actual classroom
practices were shared. For example,
head teachers or lead teachers shared
their teaching practices.

A second observation made by several In addition to these two recurrent criticisms,

teachers was that the official online profes- teachers also highlighted other less positive
sional development available was not suffi- views about the Ministry of Education online
ciently practical: professional development they had access
to: it was ‘unsystematic’, with overlap be-
PD programs offered by offices of
tween different courses; there was insuffi-
education do not contribute to devel-
cient focus on the development of teachers’
opment. When I took those sessions, I
educational technology skills; the quality of
thought the teachers as lecturers
trainers varied (they are often teachers); and
worked hard and tried efforts but they
the feedback participants provided does not
just displayed their teaching skills and
seem to be used to improve subsequent
showed how they themselves were
training programmes:
doing a great job. Of course I could get
some teaching materials for my classes Despite benefits of online PD and
but I didn’t find the programs useful for educational authorities’ efforts and
developing my practical teaching skills. support, some courses overlapped in
contents because the pool of lecturers
As far as I know, I think PD offered by is limited. Since usually they use the
offices of education is rather formal professors or teachers in the local
and perfunctory and not practical. areas as lecturers, it happens that the
Teachers may feel the same way, I same lecturers frequently teach similar
guess. I’m afraid I may not understand sessions. … Besides, I found out that
the situation so well, though. I think PD very basic contents that teachers
programs should be classroom-based already know were taught in some
and practical. courses, so I think contents need to be
screened in advance. … I know educa-
tional authorities’ efforts, but they just
arrange PD programs and provide
opportunities, but that’s it. I do not
know what they do after running the
programs. That is what I am sorry
about.

7.2.4 Engagement in online

All 20 interviewees said they had engaged in vide details of this. Box 2 below highlights the
online professional development in the previ- range of activities they mentioned.
ous 12 months and they were asked to pro-
Box 2: Korean Interviewees; online professional

development
• online professional development by Office media sites such as Naver blogs and cafes
of Education, via Zoom • online British Council course on teaching
• online courses at several private profession- the four skills
al development websites such as • British Council global teaching website
Teacherville, Yanadoo, I-scream media • recorded News listening course at YBM
• Zoom programmes regarding teaching basic websites
skills provided by offices of education in • EBS online courses
cooperation with KICE (Korea Institute of • online programmes provided by institutes
Curriculum and Evaluation) (such as Chungbuk and Chungnam)
• professional learning community activities • online courses to improve teachers’ own
• informal teacher communities on social speaking skills
media (for example, Kakao) are a useful • training about mobile app called PengTalk,
source of information and materials developed for primary school students
• websites (for example, BBC) and social • mobile apps such as Clubhouse.
Overall, interviewees noted that they ob- Online English courses at private
tained useful ideas from these sources, but providers are not targeted just for
some also commented less positively on the teachers of English but for teachers of
quality of the online professional develop- all subjects. The number of these
ment they had taken part in. Three observa- courses is decreasing. These courses
tions were that are easy for teachers of English and
• online professional development provision by challenging for teachers of other
commercial providers was often not suitable subjects.
for teachers of English and focused more on
developing basic English skills • some online courses for teachers were lack-
ing in interactivity among participants.
Some courses from the private provid-
ers, for example I-scream, were not In online sessions, participants are less
taught by English teachers. Because active. They are not willing to ask
the courses were taught by those who questions or respond. Koreans tend to
are not teachers but just persons with be less active in classrooms and this
good English skills, the contents were tendency increases in online class-
not appropriate for teaching students. I rooms. For example, in Zoom confer-
felt the target was not the teachers but ences, people usually turn off the mics,
anyone who wants to develop English so we cannot hear other participants’
skills. responses or reactions to the instruc-
tor. Eye contact is difficult and immedi-
• provision was often not specific to English
ate response is not easy to be noticed.
and was designed for teachers generally
Instructors get passive and defensive in
teaching online.

7.2.5 Live vs recorded online sessions 7.2.6 The future of online

Respondents were asked whether they pre- The Korean teachers interviewed were unani-
ferred online training to be live or recorded. mous in the view that there would continue to
be a demand for online professional develop-
A few teachers were in favour of recorded ment even post-COVID–19. They felt that, due
online professional development because it to the pandemic, many teachers had now
can be watched any time; (‘I prefer recorded experienced the benefits (including conve-
webinar since I can watch it anytime. On the nience) of learning online and they would be
contrary [sic], in the case of live webinar, I keen to continue doing so. It was also felt that
can miss part of it when unexpected things because the Ministry of Education is placing
occur’). Also, if teachers had other matters to greater emphasis on online learning for
attend to, they could pause recorded ses- students, this would also fuel teachers’ inter-
sions and return to them later. Most teachers, est in online professional development. Some
though, expressed a clear preference for live teachers noted that a blended approach that
online sessions, largely because they provide combined face–to–face professional develop-
opportunities for real-time interaction and ment and online professional development
communication: would be effective:
Two-way interactive online sessions are Even though the pandemic is over, I think
not available right now. I prefer interac- teachers will demand online PD. As for
tive live online sessions if available. online programs, you can take the cours-
es at school after work or at home,
Live webinar is effective. Interaction can anytime you want. There will be needs
occur and engagement will increase for online sessions where the benefits
even though it depends on how the from online sessions are expected but at
instructor runs sessions. the same time there will also be de-
mands for offline where close interaction
I prefer live sessions where real-time is essential.
interaction can occur. Also, I think the
number of the participants is important. Teachers faced situations where they
In small-sized sessions, we can practice had to use online tools during the pan-
teaching activities in online sessions. demic era. They went through online
teaching experiences and acquired
One teacher noted they did not mind whether
relevant skills. So they want to make the
the online professional development was live
best use of those experience and skills
or recorded as long it was recognised by the
even after the pandemic. I think PD
Ministry and teachers received credit for
programs are improving and evolving in
taking part. Another felt that, while they did
a way that can integrate benefits from
not mind doing recorded online professional
online, for example, developing to a
development for the purposes of gaining
blended approach to PD.
credits, real-time interactive courses provided
a more authentic professional development
experience.

7.3 Korea; conclusions and 7.3.1 Korea: key findings

recommendations
The conclusions for Korea are based on The main findings to emerge from the Korea
responses to an online survey provided by study were the following:
252 teachers21 and online interviews with 20 • Teachers of English in Korea have access
teachers selected randomly from a volunteer to a wide range of professional develop-
sample of 63 survey respondents. Overall, the ment opportunities, online and
sample was female, 31-50 years old, qualified face–to–face, provided by educational
at BA and (for just over 40 per cent) MA level, authorities, local education institutes, and
and teaching in both primary (57 per cent) private organisations.
and secondary schools (43 per cent) in cities
(especially the capital) or small towns. Less • In terms of topic for professional develop-
than 40 per cent of primary school teachers ment purposes, there was a clear interest
described themselves as ELT specialist teach- among Korean teachers in teaching
ers (for junior and senior high schools the reading, writing and speaking, along with
corresponding figures were 92.5 per cent and assessment and 21st century skills. Teach-
88.8 per cent respectively). ers’ interest in improving their own En-
glish proficiency also emerged clearly
It needs to be acknowledged that the online during the interviews. A concern for how
nature of the study may have encouraged to teach students of different levels was
particular groups of teachers to participate also evident.
more than others (though the age range of
the respondents does not suggest any bias to • Almost 90 per cent of respondents said
younger teachers). In Korea, widespread they had taken part in face–to–face pro-
access to and use of the internet and associ- fessional development in the previous 12
ated technologies also make it less likely that months; the equivalent figure for online
the respondent profile was severely skewed professional development was just under
by the online methods used in the study. In 95 per cent.
national terms22, though, the response rate
was not high and the primary reason for this • For both face–to–face and online profes-
was lack of official support. Regional educa- sional development, the majority of re-
tion offices were not able to promote the spondents indicated that their participa-
research (they required letters of support tion was free of charge and voluntary.
from central educational authorities which we
were not able to obtain in the timeframes for • For face–to–face professional develop-
the study) and access to teachers was ob- ment, official education authorities (such
tained mainly through associations for English as National Training Institutes) and
teachers who agreed to promote the study schools were the main providers, with
among their members. Further research into courses, seminars and workshops being
the professional development needs and the activity most frequently cited by
practices of government school teachers of respondents. Reading about teaching,
English in Korea will benefit significantly from informal discussions and peer observation
engagement with local education authorities were also common activities.
who control access to teachers and who can,
in particular, officially invite large numbers of • For online professional development,
teachers to contribute to online surveys. official education authorities were again
This is the number who answered all questions.
21
Figures in various official reports (such as those produced by the Korea Educational Development Institute)
22
suggest there are c. 40,000 teachers of English in Korean primary and high schools.

the main provider cited, and courses, tise in ELT were positive, although it was
seminars and workshops were once more also felt by a majority that international
the predominant activity, followed by organisations do not fully understand
watching online videos about teaching and Korean teachers’ needs. International
finding teaching materials online. organisations seem to contribute in a
minor way to both face–to–face and online
• Although over 87 per cent were satisfied professional development for teachers in
with the professional development they Korea.
had access to, in the interviews, teachers
expressed varying views about the quality • While the language used was not reported
of the official professional development by teachers to be a major factor in their
that was provided in Korea; its relevance to decisions to do online professional devel-
the local context was valued but teachers opment, the vast majority of survey re-
also wanted to be informed more effective- spondents (84 per cent) did indicate that
ly about what was available; some also felt they would like more professional develop-
that official professional development was ment activities in English, rather than
not sufficiently co-ordinated or practical. Korean. Insights from the interviews sug-
gested that language preferences also
• The main factor that influences Korean depended on whether the professional
teachers’ decisions to engage in online development focused on language im-
CPD is its practical utility; teachers were provement (in which case English was
also interested in online professional preferred) or teaching skills (where Korean
development that keeps them up-to-date might be preferable).
with new ideas and considerations of time
(duration of activities) and flexibility (when • In explaining how professional develop-
and where to study) also influenced deci- ment could be effectively provided for
sions about whether to participate. them, respondents highlighted the impor-
tance of a having access to a variety of
• Korean teachers of English have good options, including opportunities to ex-
access to stable internet, though for over change experiences with other teachers,
40 per cent of respondents the costs of as well as longer-term activities that ad-
data limit the time they spend online; dressed their needs. Professional learning
laptops are the devices most widely used communities, both formal and informal,
by teachers to get online. were noted by teachers as a valuable
approach to professional development.
• Kakaotalk and Naver Café/Band are, along
with e-mail, the online platforms most • Workloads and the lack of certification,
commonly used by this sample of teachers recognition and financial support were
of English in Korea. noted as factors that hindered Korean
teachers’ efforts to engage in professional
• While a majority (61 per cent) of survey development.
respondents said they prefer face–to–face
professional development, most (and the • According to the interviewees, online
majority of interview respondents) were resources that appeal to Korean teachers
nonetheless positive about the value of would have a practical orientation and be
doing professional development online. available as PDFs and useable without
Live interactive sessions were generally major adaptations. Interviewees felt that
preferred to recorded online sessions. social network services would be an
effective way for the British Council to
• Attitudes to the UK as a source of exper- promote its online resources.

7.3.2 Korea: recommendations

To conclude this section, we present some 4. A number of qualitative responses indicat-
recommendations for the professional devel- ed that opportunities to participate in
opment of basic education for Korean teach- online PD are sometimes compromised or
ers of English. lost due to poor administration of initia-
1. While teachers’ preferences will vary tives, particularly notification of events
depending on the grades they teach (e.g. and systematic planning of online opportu-
whether they are subject specialists or nities. Educational organisations and
not), this study highlighted general interest authorities in Korea may benefit from
among teachers in improving their ability developing more appropriate and effective
to develop learners’ language skills, partic- means to communicate such activities.
ularly reading, writing and speaking (includ-
ing catering for the needs of varying levels 5. As in Japan, international providers offer-
of students in skills development). Profes- ing professional development support in
sional development offers which target Korea should be cognisant of local norms
these areas have the potential to appeal to and constraints influencing teachers’
a wide range of teachers. practices and needs in basic education.
Partnerships with local organisations that
2. Korean teachers are interested in keeping are experienced in providing for these
up to date with new ideas relevant to the needs would likely offer much more poten-
teaching of English, but they are more tial for success than exclusively individual
likely to be attracted to resources which efforts involving globalised materials.
have immediate practical relevance or Through such partnerships, PD resources
utility; this implies that professional devel- can be tailored to Korean contexts (e.g.
opment resources should be easily trans- use of curricular content and classroom
ferrable to the classroom and/or provide videos) more effectively.
concrete illustrations (including through
demonstration videos) on what teachers 6. There is evidence in the data that PD
can do in their own work. Lack of focus on approaches that are more teacher-driven,
practical teaching skills was a common collaborative and longer-term are having a
criticism of the official professional devel- positive impact among Korean teachers,
opment available to respondents in this such as teacher professional communities
study. (including online) as well as collaborative
initiatives (e.g. collaborative research,
3. While teachers in Korea still prefer instructional rounds). Innovative ways of
face–to–face professional development, developing such approaches using both
this study suggests that attitudes to online online and hybrid modalities can be ex-
professional development in the country plored further.
are positive (more so even than in China
and Japan) and that teachers appreciate 7. Korean teachers place clear value in their
the benefits that learning online provides, own English language proficiency, in line
indicating clear opportunities for growth in with official policy for English to be taught
this area. Their preferences for live interac- through English. However, there is evi-
tive sessions over recorded material are dence of challenges in this area, indicating
dominant (though the convenience of that, similarly to Japanese teachers, many
asynchronous resources was also acknowl- need support with their English skills for
edged). A preference for downloadable classroom teaching through, for example,
PDFs rather than documents in MS Word ‘English for teaching’ type courses (e.g.
and resources that are free and time-eco- Freeman, 2017).
nomical should also be noted.

Chapter-8
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Author biographies
Central team China team
Simon Borg Karin Xie
Simon Borg has been involved in language Based in Shenzhen, China, Karin Xie is an
teaching and teacher education for over academic manager providing teacher
30 years. He specialises in the design, support for Trinity GESE Exams and a
implementation and evaluation of profes- course tutor and director for Trinity Cert-
sional development programmes and TESOL courses.
policies and has completed assignments
related to English language teacher educa-
tion in over 20 countries. Details of his
work and his blog are available at http://si-
mon–borg.co.uk/.
Lora Guo
Experienced in teacher training and
course management, Lora Guo is working
as an examinations manager for Trinity
GESE exams and an internal assessor for
Dr Jason Anderson the Trinity Certificate for Practising Teach-
ers in China.
Dr Jason Anderson is a teacher educator,
researcher and award-winning author of
books for language teachers. He has
experience working in over 30 countries
worldwide for UNICEF, British Council and
national ministries of education.
Ross Thorburn
Ross Thorburn is a teacher trainer and

materials writer. Ross has published
research on teaching young learners,
teacher motivation, and racism in lan-
Dr Ben Beaumont guage teaching. He is the host of the TEFL
Dr Ben Beaumont is Head of Teacher Training Institute Podcast.
Education at Trinity College, London, and
oversees pedagogical support and teacher
qualifications offered to teachers across a
range of localised teaching contexts.
112 Author biographies

Author biographies
South Korea team Japan team
Dr Ikuya Aizawa
Dr Choi Tae-Hee
Dr Ikuya Aizawa is lecturing and supervis-
Dr Choi Tae-Hee was Associate Professor ing on the BA and MA Applied Linguistics
and Leader of the Education Policy Re- programmes at the University of Notting-
search Cluster at The Education University ham. His research focuses on the effective-
of Hong Kong and from September 2022, ness of English Medium Instruction (EMI) in
will be at University of Southampton. She higher education.
has provided English teacher education
and/or policy advice in twelve countries
and published widely on these topics.
Dr Kiyono
Fujinaga-Gordon
Dr Kiyono Fujinaga-Gordon is a lecturer of

Dr Hyun Jin Kim Japanese at Ursinus College/Middleburry
Dr Hyun Jin Kim is a professor at Cheongju College in the U.S. She has worked as a
National University of Education, Korea. She researcher for the University of Tokyo and
has experience educating primary school the National Institute of Japanese Lan-
English teachers, publishing English text- guage and Linguistics.
books, and developing national English
tests.
113 Author biographies

This landscape report on the digital CPD

needs of teachers of English in basic educa-
tion in China, Japan and South Korea is the
result of comprehensive research that took
place in 2021 and 2022. Using questionnaires
and interviews, over 7,000 teachers working
at primary and secondary levels across China,
Japan and South Korea gave information
about their professional development experi-
ences and preferences for future PD. The
resultant findings and recommendations
contained in this report will therefore be
invaluable reading for policy makers, provid-
ers of teacher education and other stakehold-
ers involved in the professional development
of state sector English teachers.
ISBN 978-1-915280-11-4
© British Council 2022

The British Council is the United Kingdom’s interna-
tional organisation for cultural relations and educa-
tional opportunities.

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The continuing professional

development experiences and

Simon Borg, Jason Anderson, Ben Beaumont,

© British Council 2022

5.5.1 China: key ﬁndings 60

The authors of this report would like to thank

BA Bachelor of Arts degree

Key ﬁndings from China

Recommendations for China

The two open-ended items at the end of the

Key ﬁndings from Korea

The Trinity team

central research team

China Korea Japan

14 The ELT context

15 The ELT context

3.2 Teacher professional

4.2.2 Survey administration 4.2.3 Survey analysis

4.3 Teacher interviews

Once the surveys were closed, lists of inter-

In China, an additional set of interviews was

The conﬁrmed number of interviewees for

5.1 Survey results: overall 5.1.1 Response rate

Figure 1. Total number of valid respondents

Teacher in basic education

Figure 2. Responses per province

Based on 2014 ﬁgures [here].

5.1.3 Respondent demographics

Figure 3. Respondent age Figure 4. Respondent experience

40% 45% 40%

Figure 5. Respondent highest qualiﬁcation Figure 6. Respondent teaching level

80% 40% 44%

Table 1. Proportion of English language subject specialists by level

Primary school 1754 66.7 876 33.3

Junior high school 2543 88.4 333 11.6

Senior high school 941 97.7 22 2.3

Figure 7. No of pupils in respondent schools Figure 8. Respondent school location

City County Town Village

5.1.4 Awareness of providers of

Respondents were asked to indicate aware- provided professional development to ap-

Figure 9. Respondent awareness of selected organisations (n = 6469)

Institute of Education Science

Teacher training colleges 48% 39% 13%

Chinese publishers 20% 53% 27%

Private training organisations 14% 55% 31%

International publishers 9% 53% 39%

I know about them and have participated in PD they provide

5.1.5 Professional development needs

Teaching 21st century skills and abilities 49%

Teaching reading 40%

Motivating students 38%

Teaching speaking 36%

How to ﬁnd teaching materials online 32%

Using technology in the classroom 31%

Teaching writing 28%

Designing/adapting teaching materials 28%

Teaching pronunciation 27%

English assessment 26%

Lesson planning 25%

Teaching vocabulary 24%

Teaching listening 23%

Teaching grammar 19%