COP Handbook School Teacher Latest Version _5.2021 (1) (1)

Developing our Profession Together: A Community of Practice
Handbook for School Teachers of English in Vietnam
Betsy Parrish
Nguyễn Hữu Quyết
Nguyễn Thị Hằng Nga
Trần Thị Ngọc Yến
Nguyễn Thị Minh Hạnh
Khoa Anh Việt
Trần Phước Lĩnh
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Table of Contents
(pages added after final review)
Preface
Meet the Authors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 An Overview of a Community of Practice
Definition of a CoP
Features of a CoP
Benefits of a CoP
Rationale
How to Establish a CoP
Chapter 2 Getting Started with your CoP
Creating interest
Recruiting participants
The role of school leadership and management
Getting organized: roles, responsibilities, and communication plans
Determining needs and choosing a focus
Creating the vision, mission, and goals of your CoP
Reflective practice
Being an active listener
Chapter 3 Growing with your CoP
Peer-mentoring and support

Introduction: What is peer mentoring and why is it so important?
Peer observation and reflection
Self-observation and reflection
Lesson study
Teacher-led activities
School-based CoP meetings
Peer-led workshops
Swap shop: Sharing expertise and promising practices
Study circles
Collaborative action research

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Coaching
Broadening your community
Chapter 4 Assessing and Sustaining Growth
Assessing in the success of a CoP

Self-Assessment
Sustaining Growth
Chapter 5 Sharing and Celebrating your Growth
Developing a social media presence

Celebrating your growth with a school-based mini conference
Sharing beyond your school
Appendices A-X
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PREFACE
In Vietnam, foreign language education is drawing more and more attention from
both citizens and the government, which also means that the number of foreign
language teachers is increasing (currently about 90.000 teachers). In addition, the
National Foreign Language Project of the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and
Training has the goal of supporting foreign language teacher practice and innovation.
Language teachers in Vietnam are encouraged to connect with professional networks
and to take part in meaningful professional development. A Community of Practice
(CoP) is a professional development approach that is both collaborative and responsive
to teachers’ immediate needs.
Building a Community of Practice to improve the quantity and quality of

professional development is the goal of this project. Aimed at providing support for
step-by-step implementation of the CoP model, the handbook Developing our
Profession Together: A Community of Practice Handbook for School Teachers of
English in Vietnam has been developed by an experienced dedicated team of experts
and lecturers from Vietnam and America. The team who wrote this handbook worked
over several months to research best practices in a CoP specifically for English
teachers in Vietnam.
This handbook provides a foundation for professional activities that are easy to
implement among practitioners at schools. It provides support for strengthening
common understanding between the teaching staff and managers of all school levels. In
addition, CoPs can grow both in quantity and quality, encouraging colleagues to share
challenges, achievements, have fun, and support each other in many ways. With the
clear steps and language supports provided, teachers can also engage in practicing
their own English language skills through meaningful interactions with their colleagues.
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This handbook consists of 5 chapters:

Chapter 1: An Overview of a Community of Practice
Chapter 2: Getting started with your CoP
Chapter 3: Growing with your CoP
Chapter 4: Assessing and Sustaining Growth
Chapter 5: Sharing and Celebrating your Growth
The central chapter, Growing with your CoP, highlights 12 activities for career
improvement that can be used in a CoP. Each activity is presented through 5 main
sections: DESCRIPTION, OBJECTIVE, STEPS, RESOURCES & TOOLS,
CONSIDERATIONS.
In terms of implementation, the handbook is offered to users in print or PDF

format. It will be most actionable if leaders of institutions take the charge of launching,
encouraging, and supporting school engagement. We hope implications from the
handbook will be continuous teacher improvement, creativity, and collaboration, in
accordance with the needs of each school and each locality.
We look forward to receiving your valuable feedback and contributions so that

our handbook can be further improved, and become a reliable companion for all foreign
language teachers in their personal and professional development journey.
Please send all feedback and contributions to

National Foreign Language Program at dean2080@moet.gov.vn
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Meet the Authors
Nguyễn Hữu Quyết, Vice Dean, Foreign Languages Department, Vinh University
Nguyễn Thị Hằng Nga, Lecturer of English Teaching, University of Language and
International Studies (VNU_ULIS)
Trần Thị Ngọc Yến, TESOL Master Program Director, Foreign Languages Department,
Vinh University
Nguyễn Thị Minh Hạnh, Lecturer of English Teaching, Hanoi University of Industry
Khoa Anh Việt, Lecturer of The University of Language and International Studies
(VNU_ULIS)
Trần Phước Lĩnh, Head of Department of Research and Project Development,
SEAMEO RETRAC
Betsy Parrish is Professor of TESOL at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN and US
Department of State English Language Specialist.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the National Foreign Language Project of the Vietnamese
Ministry of Education and Training for supporting this project. This project was
developed through a United States Department of State English Language Specialist
Grant and with the support of the US Department of State Regional English Language
Office in Hanoi. We would also like to acknowledge Dr. Diana Dudzik for her
foundational work on the English Teaching Competencies Framework, which defines
what effective teaching looks like. These competencies provide a guide for establishing
meaningful professional development goals in a Community or Practice.
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CHAPTER 1
An Overview of a Community of Practice
Introduction
Teachers can develop professionally in different ways. The most common of all is
participating in training courses provided by Departments of Education and Training
(DOETs) or teacher training colleges. However, this kind of professional development is
often either ineffective for sustained growth or unsatisfactory if not related to a teacher's
very specific needs. The most effective professional development includes teacher
choice and collaboration with others. Professional development that happens in our own
classrooms is most effective as well (Darling-Hammond et al. 2017). That is why we
created this handbook on creating a Community of Practice with other teachers.
A Community of Practice (CoP) represents a form of professional development in
which teachers have more autonomy and interest to learn with their colleagues either in
school contexts or in wider contexts of local, national and international networks of
teachers. Brinton et al.’s (2019) successes with CoPs in the Lower Mekong Initiative
show the promise of CoPs for teachers in Vietnam. Developing and sustaining your
growth through CoPs is the focus of this handbook. We start this handbook by
presenting what a CoP is and why they are effective for teacher growth.
Definition of a CoP
A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a concern or a
passion for something they do and learn how to do it better when they interact with each
other regularly (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015).
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Related to teachers, a Community of Practice is a group of teachers working

together for an extended period of time. This group has shared knowledge, values, and
beliefs. They share common goals for improving their classroom practice and to serve
learners better (Wenger, 1998). In this chapter and from this point forward, the term
“Community of Practice” (CoP) is related to teachers.
Features of a CoP
Not everything called a “community” is a CoP. For example, a group of teachers
who work in the same school or in a locality may be seen as a community, but not
necessarily a CoP if teachers do not share with one another their problems,
experiences, methods, tools, and resources in order to improve their teaching practice.
Therefore, a CoP needs to have three key elements: domain, community, and practice.
Domain: The domain is the area of knowledge, such as a concern, a set of

problems, or a passion about a topic that interests the community members.
Community: The community is a group of people who have a common concern or
passion about the domain and give their own time to participate in joint activities
and discussions, help each other, and share information.
Practice: The practice is the whole body of resources, such as experiences, stories,
ideas, documents, tools, ways of solving problems that the community members
share to address or improve the domain.
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(Adapted from Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner (2015).
Benefits of a CoP
As a form of teachers’ professional development, CoPs can bring about many
benefits for team members in the community. Members can develop meaningful and
professional relationships in a specific and personalized setting. As a community, they
collaborate in a supportive environment to share and discover best practice and support
sustainable changes. Besides, they can develop leadership skills and build confidence
by taking different roles as team leaders or activity facilitators. The best benefit is that
they will gain a positive outlook towards professional development.
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Building
relationships
Bringing
positive Enhancing
attitude collaboration
towards PD
Benefits
of a CoP
Developing
Building
leadership
confidence
skills
RATIONALE
Today, CoPs have become important in teachers’ professional development for a
number of reasons. First, CoPs connect teachers who may never come into contact
otherwise. Second, they provide a friendly environment for teachers to communicate
and share information, thus they enable learning common knowledge and skills in
teaching. Third, CoPs are serving as a channel for communication, mentoring, coaching
and self-reflection so as to help teachers have deeper insights on existing knowledge
and generate new knowledge at the same time. TESOL International (2018) recognizes
this, too, in their 6 Principles of Exemplary Teaching of English learners with Principle
#6: Engage and collaborate within a community of practice.
For all the reasons above, CoPs can be the answer for quality professional
development in which less experienced teachers can advance professionally while
experienced teachers can find solutions for certain teaching strategies that they may
find challenging.
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HOW TO ESTABLISH A CoP

These are five basic steps in establishing CoPs among teachers:
Establish a Establish the Identify Get Learn to

group purpose objectives organized collaborate
1. Establish the group: Groups can be from a school, from a town or from a conference.
2. Establish the purpose: Groups members have to agree upon the goals and are
conscious of the benefits that they will have by joining the community.
3. Identify objectives: Objectives must be very clear, concise and “SMART” (Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound).
4. Get organized: Community members have to identify things to get organized, such as
logistics (how? where? when? how often?), leadership (who are leaders, facilitators),
expectation (what to learn, to achieve?)
5. Learn to collaborate: Community members have to identify effective ways of
collaboration by setting community principles and rules and creating platforms for
effective communication.
(Lupton et al., 2017)
Conclusion
In Chapter 1, we explored the benefits of Community of Practice as a professional

development model for English language teachers in Vietnam. This teacher-driven
model allows for meaningful collaboration among teachers, focused on shared
knowledge and professional development goals. We briefly presented concrete steps
for getting your CoP off the ground. In Chapter 2, we explore how to start working
together in your CoP.
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CHAPTER 2
Getting started with your CoP
Introduction
In Chapter 1, the definition, features, and benefits of CoPs were presented. Now we
turn to the steps needed to establish a CoP. Chapter 2 includes ideas for creating
interest, recruiting members, establishing roles, assessing needs, and, finally, creating a
vision and goals for a CoP. A key component of any CoP is reflective practice, so this
chapter also defines the many models of reflective practice. Finally, active listening is
critical in a successful CoP, so we end Chapter 2 with an overview of principles of active
listening.
Creating Interest
There are a number of ways to engage school teachers in a CoP. The first one
is to carry out needs assessment through informal meetings, interviews, and surveys.
Second, you need to define the purposes and benefits of your CoP for all people
involved, including individual community members and school leaders. To do this, you
need to keep in mind the following questions that help create their interest in your CoP:
 What are the primary purposes of your CoP?

 What are teachers’ specific needs that the CoP aims to meet?
 What are the benefits the CoP can bring to teachers’ professional
development and school development?
Once everyone understands the purposes and benefits of your CoP, you need to
identify key practice problems that need to be achieved to meet your goals. In the
beginning of your CoP, you can develop a timeline and focus on how problems will be
solved within that first year. It is also necessary to create an estimate of the cost for
facilities, resources and support for participants. The collaboration among the CoP
members can be developed through both face-to-face meetings and online
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communication. In addition, learning and developing practice should be encouraged to
support sustainable changes. For example, teachers can regularly share and expand
best practices to improve their instruction in the classroom. Such activities provide a
framework for your CoP to understand, and progress in achieving the purpose, meeting
goals, responding to needs as well as making decisions about future actions.
Recruiting Participants
To recruit participants, you need to identify teachers working with common

interests and concerns and invite them to participate in your CoP. To put it simply, you
need to consider the following tasks:
● Ensure that all participants have an opportunity to engage actively in the CoP.
● Choose topics that are useful for all participants and focused on their daily
work/practice.
● Give them a big picture of how their participation will make a difference.
● Create joy and fun about working together to find new solutions to their
problems.
When providing an invitation to join your CoP, you need to consider things below:
● Describe the structure and work of your CoP.
● Get community members to confirm their commitment to your CoP’s goals.
● Ensure support and commitment of your school leaders or managers to
provide funding and to encourage teachers to engage in such a professional
learning environment.
The Role of School Leadership and Management
There is no doubt that school leadership and management play a vital role in
developing the community where the teachers are allowed for a greater access to more
educational practices. Therefore, school leaders or managers need to do the following
for the school CoP:
● Enable a friendly and supportive environment for teachers to grow and
improve their learning and teaching.
● Provide financial support for such things as materials, meetings, and the
community expenses such as refreshments.
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● Listen, understand and encourage teachers to experience new changes and
practices.
● Facilitate school CoP vision and future direction.
● Support a school's CoP by coordinating professional development activities,
scheduling time and space for the teachers to work and learn together, or
even visit classrooms.
● Participate in the CoP activities as an active member to inspire the school
teachers.
● Recognize teachers’ contributions and commitment to the CoP operation as
well as their professional development.
To build and sustain a CoP, it is essential for school leaders and teachers to
enhance their role in and impact on the CoP in their own school.
Getting Organized: Roles, Responsibilities, and Communication Plans
The next consideration is agreeing on roles and responsibilities for your CoP.
Who will set meeting times? Who will reserve space? Who will send reminders to the
team? Who will facilitate the meetings? These roles can be decided at the first meeting
of the CoP and be taken on by core members. Later on, clear roles and responsibilities
can be gradually assigned to members that have expressed their interest and can
commit to doing so on a common basis. As participants become more and more
comfortable within the CoP, roles among members can be rotated. This means you can
take turns in these roles, and it is important that everyone has a role in the CoP. In the
other words, all CoP members must join hands to do so for the sake of not only
themselves, but also the community as a whole.
Then, agree on your communication plans. To put the CoP into operation, it’s
important to establish a reliable means of communication for all members within the
CoP. A great number of options for means of CoP communication can be found, based
on certain circumstances. In fact, both face-to-face communities and virtual ones have
to be taken into account. For face-to-face communities, CoP leaders/ organisers need
to determine how they will share information about meeting times/places, and how the
team will connect between meetings. For online communities, choosing an appropriate
learning management system (LMS) is a must. Will you create a system of shared
electronic folders for storing materials? Will you have a Google or WhatsApp Group?
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Will you start a Facebook page right away? This can be a place to make
announcements and share any materials you develop or want to share. Therefore,
make sure to agree on the communication plan that will work for everyone.
Determining Needs and Choosing a Focus
A CoP will grow if there is a clear focus. A clear focus helps CoP members
design or select suitable activities and create the right environment and culture. This
starts by doing a needs assessment. For teachers of English, needs assessment
involves identifying areas where they may be lacking in their skills or knowledge. They
can then develop an action plan to address any gaps they find. There are plenty of
needs assessment tools that teachers of English can employ. Here are some of the
most teacher-friendly ways to complete a needs assessment.
Using the English Language Teacher Competency Self-Assessment

The English Language Teacher Competency (ELTC) Framework (NFL2020
Project, VNIES, MOET, 2013) was designed and put forward by the Foreign Language
National Project 2020. The framework describes the skills and knowledge Vietnamese
teachers of English need for the 21 st century (see Appendix A for an overview of the
framework). It includes an ETCF teacher strengths and needs assessment, which
teachers can use to identify their strengths and areas for growth (See Appendix B).
CoPs may want to adapt and simplify the sheet, or use it as models with different
content.
Using open-ended tools focused on general teaching principles

Open-ended needs assessment tools can take different forms. One example is
the Learner-Centered Teaching Task (See Appendix C). This template includes
characteristics of a learner-centered classroom. Teachers have to write down what they
are including in their teaching and what areas are missing in their own practice; this
helps them find out what they still lack or wish to learn more about in their CoP.
Creating the Vision, Mission and Goals for your CoP
Once teachers have determined a focus, they can start creating the vision,
mission and goals for their CoP. The vision, mission and goals will steer major decisions
that teachers make in their CoP.
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- Creating CoP vision

A CoP should have a vision statement. Briefly speaking, a vision statement
describes what a CoP desires to achieve. It looks for the future and anticipates the
ultimate outcomes. It should also reflect the CoP’s core values and aim at offering
benefits to the CoP members. A good vision statement should be:
● Concise
● Clear
● Forward looking
● Inspirational
● Motivating
● Stable
CoP members can work together and go through the following steps to create a
vision statement for their CoP:
● Identify keywords: Make a list of keywords that are central to the CoP. These
can be words that are related to the teachers’ values, educational philosophy,
career direction and ambitions.
● Answer foundational questions: CoP members should hold a brainstorm
session to answer the following questions: What are the CoP’s values? In the
best condition, how would these values be shown by each of the CoP
members? What are our most ambitious goals? What impact do we want to
make on student learning? What are our strengths? Why does our CoP
matter?
● Sort the answers by importance: Decide which of the above elements are
most important to the CoP
● Craft a vision statement: Make sure the vision statement is not too ambitious
● Put it all together: Highlight the truly important things and revise the draft
accordingly
Here is an example of a CoP’s vision:

Our vision is to help the teacher members learn from one another through the sharing
of issues, ideas, and other relevant areas of English language teaching.
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Creating CoP mission

A mission of an organization is a brief description of why it exists. The mission of
a particular CoP depends upon its vision and focus. A CoP mission statement should
concisely explain the purpose of the CoP.
While a vision statement focuses on aspirations and is future-oriented, a mission
statement tends to focus on purposes and primary objectives and is action-oriented.
CoP members can work together and go through the following steps to create a
vision statement for their CoP:
● Describe what the CoP does: e.g. to provide a place for community members
to help each other, to develop and share practices, to support teachers in
building their competencies
● Describe how the CoP does what it does: Think of the core values or
competencies of the CoP and note them down. For example, to share best
practices, to innovate and create ideas, to ensure equal access to resources,
and so on.
● Add why the CoP does what it does: Think about the passion behind the
CoP’s actions. Why does it do what it does? Who would benefit from it? For
example, what a CoP does is to provide a place for community members, but
the reason behind it is to help each other solve everyday problems in our
English language classroom.
● Craft a mission statement: Make sure it is short, concise, and not too limiting
● Revise the draft
In order to do the first three steps, teachers should answer the following
questions:
● Why should this CoP exist?
● What are the problems/issues/goals that the CoP may address?
● What will members achieve by joining this CoP?
Here is example of a CoP’s mission:
Our mission is to: provide a place for community members to help each other solve
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everyday problems in our English language classroom; develop and share best
practices, guidelines and procedures for the members to use; and innovate and
create ideas, knowledge and practice in English language teaching.
Creating CoP goals

In order to create goals for a CoP, it is advisable that teachers break its vision
and mission into more specific actions. As you do this, keep in mind the SMART
principles for goals (See Appendix D). A good way to form goals for a CoP is to identify
an issue, then try to turn it into an essential question or goal. Table 2.1 shows a sample
of this.
Table 2.1: Turning a Concern into a Question - Sample 1
Problem/Concern Question
Our classes are so multilevel. We How can we differentiate tasks to meet

need to try to meet the needs of the needs of learners with different
learners with so many different profiles?
backgrounds.
We know critical thinking is so What instructional strategies prompt

important. Students don’t expand critical thinking?
on their thinking. They also reply
with really short responses.
Here is an example of a CoP’s goals related to the first issue in Table 2:
Our goals are:

- Improve practice by organizing workshops focused on multilevel teaching
techniques.
- learn from colleagues by doing peer observations
-set up an online platform to share lesson plans and ideas on multilevel teaching
techniques.
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Table 2.2: Turning a Concern into a Question - Sample 2
Problem/Concern Question
There are things about the new What in the new program is new and
general educational program that challenging?
we still need to learn.
The new national educational How can we perform integrated teaching

program has required us to equip effectively?
ourselves with the competency for
integrated teaching.
Here is an example of a CoP’s goals workshop focused on the new general educational
program.
Our goals are:

- extend our knowledge of the new general educational program by attending training
sessions and talks about the topic.
- learn about integrated teaching from colleagues and experts
- organize workshops and seminars about how to teach the program effectively
Reflective Practice
To put it simply, reflective practice is thinking about what we do in order to improve the
quality of our performance. The term reflective practice is closely linked to the concept
of learning from experience and continuous learning. When reflecting, we think about
what and how we did and determine what and how we would do it next time.
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For teachers, reflective practice involves reviewing systematically what we do in class
and finding solutions to maximize our students' learning progress.
There are many approaches to reflective practice. Schön (1983), for example, proposed
two types of reflection: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Reflection-in-action
happens during the lesson. We think about what we are doing and decide how to act at
the time. Reflection-on-action happens after the lesson. We think about what we did and
decide how we would do differently the next time.
A more recently proposed type of reflection is reflection-for-action (Farrell, 2013).

Reflection-for-action happens before a lesson. It involves teachers thinking about what
they will do during the lesson to improve student learning.
Why is Reflective Practice Important?
Reflective practice is considered a basic part of teaching and learning and beneficial to
teachers in different ways.
First, through reflection, teachers become more aware of their students' preferences
and strengths. This allows teachers to adapt lessons to suit the students. Therefore,
they will be more engaged in the classroom.
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Second, reflective practice encourages innovation. Once teachers have started to think
systematically about their teaching, they will be more eager to try new ideas and vary
the classroom activities. This makes the learning experience richer for the students.
Third, reflective practice gives teachers a chance to share best practice and support
each other.
Finally, reflective practice helps to raise teachers' awareness of their own professional
knowledge and strengths. Through this process, teachers will understand what areas
they still need to work on, and then make proper decisions of how to effectively facilitate
student learning.
Being an Active Listener
Listening actively to colleagues plays a crucial role in CoPs.

Listening actively impacts your understanding of the issues and
improves relationships among CoP members. Therefore, being an
active listener in a CoP is a decisive factor to the success of any CoP
activities. Active listening means observing with both our head and our
heart. An active listener in a CoP should have these qualities:
1. Pay attention. Let Your partner do most of the talking; stay focused on what the
speaker is saying.
2. Never interrupt. Let the speaker finish each point before asking questions or
giving any comments. Allow for silence.
3. Show your involvement. You can use your own body language, gestures, facial
expressions to show that you are interested. Sometimes, you can ask an
encouraging question like “And what else?”.
4. Ask for clarification when uncertain. Ask questions to clarify certain points such
as “What do you mean when you say…”, “I’m sorry but I’m not clear on the point
that….”, “…..is what you mean?”.
5. Be curious. Good listeners are interested in what the speaker has to say.
6. Avoid giving advice unless it’s asked for. Don’t rush to add in your own ideas,
thoughts or don’t try to correct the speaker immediately.
7. Avoid judgment. Don’t judge what the speaker says as right or wrong. Listen and
give constructive feedback when or if appropriate as part of your CoP activities.
(Adapted from Knight, 2018, p. 75, p. 82)

In short, to make CoP activities successful and to grow as a teacher, everyone should
listen actively to one another.
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Conclusion
In this chapter, we have presented the steps teachers should follow to set up a
CoP. These include creating interests, recruiting participants, determining needs and
choosing a focus; and creating the vision, mission and goals. The Chapter 2
Appendices provide tools and templates for teachers to use as they get started with
their COP. We also explored the principles of reflective practice and active listening;
these are key components of a successful CoP.
Once a CoP has been established, there are many types of activities that
teachers can engage in together. These fall under the categories of peer mentoring,
teacher-led activities, and collaborative action research. Step-by-step procedures for
these activities are presented in Chapter 3 along with guidelines for coaching.
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CHAPTER 3
Growing with your CoP
Introduction
In Chapter 2, we provided guidance for starting a CoP. In this chapter, we

present the many types of activities teachers can use in their CoP in order to improve
their practice together. These fall under the broad categories of peer-mentoring,
teacher-led activities, and collaborative action research. Each one includes a
description, objectives, procedures, and necessary tools and resources. All of these
tools can be used in a CoP and, more generally, for supporting any new teacher at a
school. Therefore, we start with a brief overview of mentoring in general.
The Importance of Mentoring

Mentoring is a process in which a mentor (an experienced teacher) trains a
mentee (usually a new or less experienced teacher) to know how to do a specific task,
e.g. how to apply some technology applications into language teaching; how best to
implement the curriculum at the school. While mentoring, the mentee is guided step by
step and provided with the knowledge, tools and experience to do the work on his/her
own. Mentoring is central to a CoP and it is through peer-to-peer interactions. Many of
the activities in the handbook can be used for mentoring new teachers, but the focus of
most of the activities in Chapter 3 is on peer-mentoring. That means teachers learning
from other teachers. Before turning to peer-mentoring activities, our first activity in
Chapter 3 provides ideas for mentoring school teachers at your school. Then we turn to
many ways peers can support peers,
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Mentoring New Teachers
DESCRIPTION
Mentoring new teachers is an interactive process in which a mentor (an experienced
teacher) guides a mentee (usually a new or less experienced teacher) to know how to
work well in a new school. While mentoring, the mentee is guided step by step and
provided with the knowledge, skills and experience to work on his/her own properly. The
mentor and mentee are colleagues, partners so the mentoring process needs to be built
upon the relationship of trust, understanding and sharing.
OBJECTIVES
● Familiarize a new teacher with the new working environment
● Build up the partnership and cooperation with colleagues
● Develop professions among teachers in the same teaching context.
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Before mentoring
● Find a mentor who can best fit with the new teacher. School leaders/ supervisors
can find a suitable one for the mentee.
● Have an open and friendly talk/ discussion between the mentor and mentee to
find out goals and needs.
● Welcome the new teacher and make him/her be a member of the school family.
● Decide on a mentoring plan, including the time, place, ways to do the work
together.
While-mentoring
● Show the new teacher the school rules, working procedures, facilities, etc.
● Provide the new teacher with knowledge, tools, materials, resources;
● Model a lesson plan or a lesson teaching for the new teacher;
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● Offer the new teacher a chance to involve in authentic teaching practices;
● Let the new teacher manage problems on his/ her own;
● Observe, take notes and guide step by step with constructive feedback;
● Encourage the new teacher to do the teaching practice again. (This process can
be repeated many times)
After mentoring
● The new teacher self-reflects on the mentoring process, goals met and
successes;
● Both the mentor and mentee agree on the follow-up activities, e.g., more
observation, further discussions;
● The mentor continues to provide support and guidance until the new teacher can
work confidently.
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix H Useful Language for Giving Peer Feedback
CONSIDERATIONS
This is an interactive process, so be open and willing to learn from each other. Keep a
friendly and supportive working atmosphere and give the new teacher chances to self-
experience the new teaching environment. The process described here is intended for
teachers new to a school at all levels. See the section on Coaching to learn about giving
expert support to a teacher on a more specific area of teaching.
Peer Observation and Reflection

27
DESCRIPTION
Peer observation means teachers observing each other’s lesson in order to improve
their teaching practice. The goal of peer observation is for teachers to learn from each
other and share ideas. Your peer can be any colleague who is willing to work with you.
OBJECTIVES
● Gain understanding of certain aspects in teaching practice
● Learn from each other in a safe, friendly and supportive environment
● Create an an atmosphere of trust and support between colleagues
● Create opportunities for experienced teachers to share good practice with less
experienced teachers.
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Step 1: Pre-observation
● Find a partner who is willing to collaborate with you
● Agree on a focus for observation (e.g. giving feedback to students, promoting
critical thinking) (see Appendices D and F)
● Choose the tools to use in the observation (see Appendix G)
● Decide on observation procedures and arrange a schedule for the observations
Step 2: While observing
● Observe the lesson without interrupting
● Keep notes using the observation sheet
Step 3: Post-observation
● Meet as soon as possible after the observations are completed
● Discuss the area of focus using information from the observation sheet
● Identify possible new practices
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix D SMART Goals
Appendix F Peer-observation Planning Tool
Appendix G Classroom Observation Tasks/Tools
28
For additional ideas, see: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/peer-observation
CONSIDERATIONS
The sample tools in the appendix are for ideas. Secondary and high school teachers
may want to make a set of questions for peer observation based on needs assessment
results. School leaders need to give teachers time for peer-observation. Sometimes it is
difficult for teachers to conduct peer observation because of schedule conflicts. The
next activity, self observation, may be a good option in this case. However, teachers
should share their videos and reflections with others. They can form a team with local
teachers and create a virtual meeting place.
Self-Observation and Reflection
DESCRIPTION
29
Self observation means teachers writing notes about or recording their own teaching in
order to improve student learning. It provides teachers with opportunities to reflect on
the teaching techniques and activities they used in class. By doing that, teachers
discover what works best in their situation. There are many tools for self-observation
such as journals, learning logs, video or audio recording, and taking notes.
OBJECTIVES
● Gain awareness of teachers’ strengths and weaknesses

● Collect information about both the teacher and the learners
● Decide on what works and what does not work for the learners
● Make adjustments and changes to improve student learning
PROCEDURES/STEPS
● Choose a focus to self observe

● Make a self-observation plan: Set goals and develop questions for observation or
choose an observation task (Use Appendix D and F)
● Video record a lesson (You can use other methods such as audio recording,
writing journals, learning logs, or taking notes) (Use Appendix L)
● Observe and collect evidence of student learning
● Reflect on what has been observed
● Make changes based on the reflection
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix L Prompts for Journaling and Learning Logs
CONSIDERATIONS
Sometimes it is difficult for teachers to conduct peer observation because of schedule

conflicts. Self observation may be a good option in this case. However, teachers should
30
share their videos and reflections with others. They can form a team with local teachers
and create a virtual meeting place. Video-recording and observing your own lessons is
ideal for working on issues such as clarity of instructions, questioning techniques, or
your teacher presence overall.
Lesson Study
DESCRIPTION
31
Lesson Study is an exploration cycle that allows teachers to experiment, observe and
improve their practice. Small teams of teachers (usually in teams of 3) examine the
impact their teaching practices have on student learning. The team members co-plan
and teach the same lesson while the others observe how learners react.
OBJECTIVES
● Explore a topic in depth with colleagues
● Learn from each other by teaching the same lessons to help improve student
outcomes
● Find out solutions for improving learner outcomes through intensive study of a
lesson
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Step 1: Study
A team of teachers collaborates to:
● Discuss long-term goals for students and identify the issue/problem/concern (Use
Appendix D)
● Choose the subject and unit to investigate
● Study previous research related to the issue and curricula
Step 2: Plan
Using the information from the Study phase, the team:
● Examine the unit and choose one lesson to plan in depth
● Write the lesson goals and objectives
● Develop the lesson plan and anticipate student outcomes (See Appendix I)
● Identify data to be collected during the lesson by peer observers (See Appendix
M for ideas)
Step 4: Teach and Observe
● One team member teaches the lesson
● Other team members observe (Use Appendix G) and record student learning
Step 5: Reflect
The team meet to:
● Reflect on the lesson and learning outcomes
● Discuss the data about student learning
● Reflect on what they learned during the cycle as a whole.
Step 6: Revise
32
The team collaborates to:
● Rethink the lesson in response to what they learned
● Revise elements of the lesson to promote more student learning
● Consider additional study needed
● Replan the lesson
Step 7: Re-teach
The team puts the revised lesson into action:
● Another team member teaches the lesson with his or her own class.
● Other team members observe and record student learning
Repeat the cycle until all the team members have taught the lesson.
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix I Sample lesson plan.
Appendix M Tips and Tools for Checking Student Learning
CONSIDERATIONS
Lesson study requires that the team of teachers are teaching from the same curriculum.
Teacher-led activities
Introduction
Teachers can make the best leaders! All teachers possess knowledge and skills from
which others can learn. In this section, we explore many ways that teachers can lead
CoP activities at their schools. These activities are particularly well suited for high
school teachers and they require direct engagement of school leadership to assure that
time and space are provided to support these efforts. These include:
33
● School-based CoP meetings

● Peer-led workshops
● Swap shop: Sharing expertise and promising practices
● Learning walks
● Study circles
Any of these activities can provide a focus for regular school-based CoP meetings.
These activities can take place at a regularly determined time for CoP activities and
professional development, or during designated staff meetings. As you’ll see, Learning
Walks need to happen during the school day, while Swap Shop can be part of a variety
of professional development events or CoP meetings. What they all have in common is
that they celebrate teachers’ expertise and allow them to showcase their knowledge and
skills.
Think about it…
What expertise can

you bring to a CoP?
School-based CoP Meetings
DESCRIPTION
34
A school-based community of practice is a group of teachers that meets regularly over a
period of weeks or months to exchange ideas and learn from one another. Groups can
participate in readings and reflection, video observations, role-playing of classroom
practices, or develop materials or resources as a team.
OBJECTIVES
● Build community among school colleagues
● Share common experiences, knowledge, and concerns
● Learn new practices to improve student learning
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Step 1: Pre-meeting
● Assign roles and responsibilities among CoP members (who will be meeting
chair, recorder, ...)
● At an initial meeting, conduct a brainstorming session to determine areas of
interest
● Determine goals/lines of inquiry of the meeting and anticipate expected
outcomes (See Appendix D)
● Create a detailed agenda including the time, date, place of the regular meeting
● Determine the activity for the meeting (for example, Jigsaw reading, video
observations with a task- See Appendices J and K)
● Send information to meeting participants
● Prepare for the equipment, and materials for the meeting
Step 2: During meeting

● Choose a facilitator for the meeting (this role can rotate)
● Share goals and expected outcomes of the meeting
● Participants take turns sharing reactions to activities, their experiences, and
concerns
● Other participants respond to mentioned issues and give comments and
suggestions (if any)
Step 3: Post-meeting
● Q & A session
● Summarize knowledge, experience, issues shared in the meeting
● Synthesize common issues that most participants agree and other controversial
issues will need further study.
35
● Plan content for the next meetings.
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix J List of Resources for School-based Meetings, Study Circles and Peer-led
Workshops
Appendix K Sample Video Observation Tasks
CONSIDERATIONS
It can be necessary to set a regular meeting time of school-based meetings that should
be organized at least one or two times per month over the course of a school year.
Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, the meeting format can be flexible (online
or offline meetings)
Peer-led Workshops
DESCRIPTION
A peer-led workshop is a friendly and supportive place where a group of school
teachers meet weekly or monthly to exchange ideas and learn from each other.
Teachers can join many activities such as demonstrations, role-plays, case studies,
36
discussions, follow-up activities, and action plans.
OBJECTIVES
● Give chances for teachers to share their good teaching practices with others
● Gain new ideas/ new practices that teachers can apply in their own classrooms
to improve student learning
● Share examples of learning and teaching outcomes from different classrooms
● Practice presenting workshops to others in a safe, familiar environment
PROCEDURES/STEPS (see also Appendix N)
Step 1: Pre-workshop
● Form a group of school teachers who can participate in organizing the workshop
● Identify a colleague who is willing to lead the workshop
● Agree on a focus/ topic/ theme for the workshop (e.g. how to give supportive
feedback to students in class, developing students’ reading habits)
● List clear objectives for the workshop
● Decide on the agenda, participants and plan for the workshop
● Prepare for the equipment and materials for the workshop
● Send information to workshop participants
Step 2: While-workshop
● Warm-up the workshop with a task/ question/game to lead in the topic

● Show teaching practices (with your actions, don’t explain or lecture), new
teaching and learning ideas
● Guide school teachers how to apply new ideas or teaching techniques into
practice
● Interact with participants to draw their attention and awareness to the topic
● Follow the model: Think-pair-share; move among participants and talk to them.
Step 3: Post-workshop
● Q & A session
● Keep notes about questions/ concerns/ ideas related to the topic
● Identify possible new practices/ ideas/ teaching techniques
● Summarize the main points and close the workshop
● Conduct a survey to get more comments/ feedback from participants (if possible)
37
RESOURCES & TOOLS
Workshops
Appendix N Planning Tool for Peer Led Workshops
CONSIDERATIONS
A peer-led workshop should be ideally done by secondary and high school teachers in
the same school. In addition, consider organizing the workshop on a larger scale by
inviting teachers from outside your school to join in. For example, this activity can be
organized by a group of teachers from different schools in the same locality. By doing
this, the peer-led workshop can be appropriate for primary school teachers, as well.
You could also create an online presentation and offer it as a webinar. It’s advisable to
always think of ways to sustain the learning as well, so end your workshops with action
planning and follow-up steps for participants.
Swap Shop
DESCRIPTION
“Swap shop” is an organized way for colleagues to exchange or swap
ideas around a particular teaching topic. They can be used during site-
based CoP meetings, at regular faculty meetings, or integrated into mini-conferences or
school professional development events.
OBJECTIVE
38
● Gain practical ideas from colleagues
● Share collective insights around a theme
● Build teachers’ repertoire (toolkit) of classroom practices
PROCEDURES/STEPS
Step 1: Announce plan for the Swap Shop when teachers will share their ideas on a
topic.
Step 2: Provide a specific prompt around your topic and give teachers time to collect
their example, for example:
Choose:
● a favorite technique for presenting new vocabulary to students

● a favorite strategy for previewing a topic in a reading lesson
● a successful strategy for promoting critical thinking
● a successful strategy for multilevel classes
● a successful strategy for assessing learner needs
Step 3: Hold the Swap Shop Event
● Provide copies of the Swap Shop handout (Appendix O) or provide an electronic

version for teachers to use on their devices for note-taking. Ask teachers to be
prepared to share their idea (activity, technique, strategy) with the others at the
Swap Shop. Teachers should be prepared to share any handouts they use
(either copies or shared electronically). How do they implement the idea? Why
did you choose to share this activity? For what level(s) does it work well?
● Every 10 minutes, ring a bell or provide a signal to switch to new partners.
● Repeat as many times as needed so that teachers have met up and swapped
(exchanged) their idea with several others at the event.
Step 4: Reflection
Create groups of 3-4 teachers to reflect on what they gathered:
Which ideas are most promising for your setting?
What adjustments would you need to make for your students?
RESOURCES & TOOLS

39
Appendix O Swap Shop Handout
CONSIDERATIONS
Have a plan for sharing materials electronically and for housing them in a shared
electronic folder. If this is used at an event with over 15 people, electronic sharing will
be very important. Swap Shop can be used as a final activity to celebrate work in a
CoP. This activity is best suited for high school teachers.
Study Circles
DESCRIPTION
A study circle consists of a group of teachers who meet regularly over a period of weeks
or months to address a critical issue at their school or district. This activity is ideal for a
virtual CoP where teachers are working in different parts of the country, but have similar
interests. Participants examine the issue through readings, observation of teaching
videos, or educational resources. The result is recommendations for action in their
practice that will benefit each of their school communities.
OBJECTIVES
40
● Examine a teaching issue in depth
● Share understandings with others
● Find out possible solutions to the issue
● Apply ideas learned from outside resources to your practice
PROCEDURES/STEPS
● Form a group with teachers from any school or district with common interests
and concerns about their teaching. You may find one another through a
Facebook group, at a conference, or through common trainings you attend.
● Identify the issue or topic for exploration (See Appendices A-C)
● Make a plan for the study process: timeframe, tools and resources, assign tasks
to participants
● Choose an online platform for sharing ideas and materials (A learning
management system, a shared drive, or a Facebook page)
● Choose a virtual meeting tools for live meetings
● Follow the plan: During this process, teachers study the resources (see Appendix
J for possible sources) and share with the members in the group via an online
platform
● Identify solutions to the issue
● Apply the solutions into practice
● Collect feedback, reflect, and share the results
● Share learning and results at regular virtual meetings
RESOURCES & TOOLS
Appendix A The English Language Teaching Competencies (ELTC)Framework

Appendix B ETCF Teacher Strengths and Needs Assessment
Appendix C Needs Assessment Checklist of Learner-centered Practices
Workshops
CONSIDERATIONS
Study circles take commitment from all participants. Be sure to commit to regular
meeting times over an extended period of time (at least 2 months is recommended).
Some people may prefer viewing video examples of practices and some people may
41
prefer reading. It is all right to take on different tasks. As you apply your learning in the
Study Circle, you could add peer observation by video recording and sharing lessons
with your CoP.
Collaborative Action Research
DESCRIPTION
Collaborative action research (CAR) involves a group of teachers working closely with
each other to carry out a systematic study to solve classroom problems or to present
change and improvement in the teaching and learning process. Teachers follow a
dynamic process of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting on the outcomes of the
plan/the action.
OBJECTIVE
● Give teachers a chance to do research on their teaching practice;
● Enable teachers to reflect on ideas in practice and explore the impact of different
42
methods and approaches in classrooms;
● Help teachers make positive changes in their own classrooms to improve the
teaching and learning process;
● Create a friendly and supportive environment for teachers to collaborate and

learn from each other.
PROCEDURES/STEPS (See also Appendices P and Q)
Step 1: Exploring the issue and planning for instruction
● Find at least one teacher-partner who is willing to

collaborate with you
● Analyze the current situation and find a focus area for

research
● Agree on research questions and purposes.
● Plan for instruction/teaching (e.g. specific teaching

methods, data collection methods, resources needed to collect data)
Step 2: Implementing new teaching techniques
● Implement the plan with new teaching techniques
● Collect the data about learner outcomes as a result of changes in practice
Step 3: Observing the results of the plan
● Discuss within the group of teachers how to organize and analyze the data
● Interpret the data

43
Step 4: Reflection and reporting
● Reflect on your teaching practice and changes to learner outcomes
● Report the outcomes of the plan
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix P Finding an Area for Research for CAR
Appendix Q Collecting the data during CAR
See this free resource: Smith, R. & Rebolledo, P. (2018) A Handbook on Exploratory
Action Research. British Council.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/pub_30510_BC%20Explore
%20Actions%20Handbook%20ONLINE%20AW.pdf
CONSIDERATIONS
Teachers can work with those from other schools who have similar research interests.
Collaborative Action Research is a great way for teachers to build their skills as
researchers and to prepare for participation at local, regional, or national conferences.
Coaching
DESCRIPTION
Coaching is a process in which a coach (an experienced teacher) guides and supports
a coachee (a less experienced teacher) to achieve a clear goal, e.g. to solve a problem
in their teaching practice. During the process, the coachee is equipped with the tools,
knowledge, and opportunities to develop themselves. The key to coaching is a
relationship of trust. The coach listens well and is open to learning from the coachee as
well.
44
OBJECTIVES
● Apply new tools, knowledge and skills in a specific teaching practice
● Reflect on the teaching practice and grow more professional
● Build relationships with colleagues, especially with coaches
PROCEDURES/STEPS/PRACTICES
Pre-coaching
● Choose a coach; sometimes their school finds Listen-
one for them (Coaches can be classroom Ask-
Feedback
teachers with experience as instructional
leaders. Coaches should be open to Explain Celebrate
Teaching the
challenges and knowledgeable about current Practices milestones
teaching methods. They must listen carefully Effective
coaches
to the coachee and ask good questions to
encourage his/her understanding and
Focus Identify
performance) Teachers'
on a priority
● Build a positive, trust-based relationship Goals
(Adapted from Knight, 2011,

p. 20, p. 21)
While-coaching
● Identify a goal (See Appendix D)

● Make a coaching plan: when and how often to observe (1-2 months minimum is
ideal, with 3-4 class visits); decide on times for pre- and post- class visit
conversations (see Appendix E Action Planning Tool).
● Conduct class visits
- Coach collects example of student earning related to goals
- Coach may assist/co-teach short parts of the lesson to model a practice
● Discuss after class visits
- Teacher first shares perspectives on the lesson: Successes, where
she/he struggled.
- Coach shares ideas based what she/he saw during the class visit (see
Appendices I and R)
45
- Coach asks questions to lead the teacher to new teaching options: What if you
tried ____? What would happen then?
- Coach provides examples/models of possible changes to practices
- Coach provides resources for new ideas
Post-Coaching
● Teacher reflects on personal goals
● Agree on next steps, for example, more coaching; further research; on-going
personal reflections (see Self- and Peer-observation as follow-up activities)
● Share the results: See Chapter 5 for ideas
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix E Action Planning Template
Appendix R Coaching Feedback Strategies
CONSIDERATIONS
● Avoid judgment. “...judgment destroys equality and creates unsafe environments

for conversation” (Knight, 2016 p. 33).
● Coaches don't know everything! Be humble and open to learning from the
teacher.
● Make sure the feedback you give as a coach is actionable (something the
teacher can act on easily in their practice
● Coaches need to focus on what is important for the teacher; recognize the talents
of the teacher and their efforts when teaching. They both should remember to
have fun and to celebrate successes. They practice mutual respect, support, and
exchange of ideas (Finn Miller, 2020).
46
Broadening your Community
DESCRIPTION
A community of practice does not necessarily take place in a school or local context.
Teachers can broaden their community by joining either face-to-face or online national
and international events. Besides, thanks to the advanced technologies in the modern
world, teachers can also broaden their community by joining virtual personal learning
47
network. These forms of Community of Practice will bring teachers out of their comfort
zones to explore new insights and connect with broader networks for personal
development goals. Ideally, teachers should get 2 or 3 other colleagues from their
school involved in the same network.
Benefits of broadening your community:
By joining a broadened community of practice, teachers can:
● have more opportunities to reflect, share expertise and ideas with others;
● find information or support related to their teaching interests;
● model how to be a lifelong learner;
● and develop their professional reputation and identity.
● connect anytime, anywhere, with anyone.
OBJECTIVES
A broadened community aims to:
● broaden teachers’ networks for their own personal development;
● create opportunities for continuing and lifelong learning upon teacher’s choice.
● create opportunities to learn and share information and knowledge that does not
often occur in daily teaching.
PROCEDURES FOR BROADENING YOUR COMMUNITY

Setting your goals / targets
Ideally, a teacher needs to join at least a face-to-face and an online course, seminar,
conference or network every academic year. The reason for joining these activities can
be general, that is to broaden your own network, or can be specific, that is to gain
knowledge or learn a skill that a teacher needs to improve in his/her own teaching.
Searching for your events of interest

Teachers can search for information from different sources. The information ranges
from:
● Training courses provided by Departments of Education and Training.
● Regional, national or international events (training workshops, seminars, TESOL
conferences, etc…)
● Online activities (webinars, virtual conferences, online courses, etc…)
● Virtual CoPs
48
Training
courses
Regional,
Virtual CoPs Broaden your national or
opportunities international
events
Online
activities
The activities can be with a charge or free. There are many activities in which teachers
can apply for awards and scholarships to participate. See Appendices T and U for a list
of options teachers can consider)
Getting organized
Once having the activity that meets the set goals, teachers begin to get things
organized by:
● Registering or applying for the activities;
● Inviting colleagues at school to join if needed;
● Planning for the event: time to join, budgets to cover the expenses, other
logistical preparation;
● Identifying the role: Are you an audience, a facilitator or a presenter?
● Identifying expectations for personal development: what to learn from the
activities, how the broadened network serves the personal development. (See
Appendix S)
Learning to collaborate
49
Unlike other forms of community of practice, which often take place in the school
contexts with familiar colleagues, when teachers join a broadened community such as a
conference or a virtual CoP, they need to learn to be active, open-minded, and sociable.
Additionally, teachers must get acquainted with Learning Management Systems (LMS)
required by organizers and/or providers, especially to virtual CoPs, to make best use of
the collaboration for learning purposes.
RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix S Action Plan Template to Broaden your Community
Appendix T The U.S. Department of State’s Online Professional English Network
(OPEN) Program
Appendix U Options for Broadening your Community
Conclusion
Chapter 3 provided teachers with many activities to use in a CoP. These activities
included ideas and tools for everything from peer-observation to collaborative action
research. Ideas for coaching teachers on a specific topic were provided as well. Finally,
recommendations for broadening your CoP were given. In Chapter 4 we look at how to
assess and sustain your growth in a CoP.
Chapter 4
Assessing and Sustaining Growth
Introduction
50
In Chapter 3, many activities for teachers to use in a CoP were presented. A CoP is not
complete without careful assessment of your growth as teachers. Additionally, teachers
need to find ways to sustain their growth after a CoP comes to a close. In this chapter,
we present recommendations for assessing the success of a CoP and for continuing
your growth in the future.
Assessing the Success of a CoP
During and after CoP activities, it is important to continuously assess the CoP’s
outcomes and learning. These are some key questions to consider:
How do we determine the success of our CoP?

How is success measured?
How well are we meeting the goals we set?
What more do we need to do?
(Lupton et al., 2017)
Each CoP has different goals so your measure of success will be your own. Let’s return
to the goals shared in Chapter 2. These goals relate to the need to address multilevel
classes. The teachers in the CoP wanted to do a better job of addressing varying
learner needs.
Table 4.1 Measuring Success of a CoP
Sample Goals Measures of success Our Outcomes
Improve practice by Number of teacher-led We offered one workshop

organizing workshops workshops offered. each term (3 for the school
focused on multilevel year).
Attendance by colleagues.
teaching techniques.
We added a Swap Shop to
the last workshop.
51
15 teachers on average
joined the workshops.
Learn from colleagues by Number of teachers who 12 teachers completed

doing peer observations completed peer peer observations.
observations.
Teachers presented
Changes in learner outcomes/learning at staff
outcomes assessed using meetings.
exit tickets.
All teachers started using
exit tickets for on-going
assessment of learning.
Adjustments to teaching
showed higher levels of
student engagement,
shown by quality of exit
ticket replies.
Set up an online platform Sharing platform created. Set up a Facebook page

to share lesson plans and and shared with teachers
ideas on multilevel in the region. Shared our
resources and video
teaching techniques.
recordings of workshops.
Used the Facebook page
for a virtual Swap Shop.
As shown in Table 4.1, the team decides what success looks like, for example, how
many workshops did we offer? How many teachers attended? More importantly, how
did this help our students? Notice that the teachers started using exit tickets (see
Appendix: Tips and Tools for Assessing Learning) as a way to measure any changes to
learner outcomes.
Self-assessment
The success of a CoP depends on each member's full participation. So, each member
can assess their participation and contributions using the Self-assessment of
Participation in the Community of Practice (see Appendix V). Teachers should reflect on
52
changes in their practice and the effects on student learning. This self-assessment
invites teachers to give specific examples of changes in their practice.
Another way for all members to assess the success of their CoP is to return to the
needs assessment they completed before their CoP. What has changed? Where have
your knowledge and skills grown?
Taking New Directions
These assessments should happen as you go along in your CoP, not

only at the end. As you assess your CoP, see what changes you need to
make. What activities do you need to add? What new resources do you
need to explore? Are there other teachers you need to invite? Have
some teachers met their needs? If so, some people may move to a different CoP. Your
CoP can grow in many different directions!
Sustaining Growth
After all the hard work of your CoP, you need to find ways to keep growing as a team
and as an individual. Stay connected with your CoP team with regular check-ins. Find
ways to share what you learned with others (see Chapter 5). Now that you have
participated in a CoP, use the same processes as part of an individual professional
development plan. Each time you attend an event or view a webinar, have a clear goal
in mind. Try to find teachers at your school with similar interests and attend these
events with them. Build a mindset of continuous growth!
Conclusion
Central to a CoP is assessing your successes and finding ways to apply learning in the
future. The assessment tools described in this chapter will help you to do that. One
important way to sustain growth is to make it public and share it with others. Now we
turn to ideas for sharing and celebrating your growth in the CoP with others.
Chapter 5
Sharing and Celebrating your Growth
Introduction
53
As noted in Chapter 4, we need to find ways to assess and sustain our growth. After
you start a CoP, you should create engaging activities with the goal of sustaining a
cycle of participation and contributions from the members of the CoP. This chapter
provides ideas for doing that with activities to engage your CoP’s members and to let
others know about your work.
Conclusion
We concluded this handbook with suggestions for sharing your growth from your CoP.
We hope that the ideas in this handbook have inspired you to establish CoPs in your
setting. Many of the ideas can become part of your regular reflective practice. The key
is that you are focused on your goals for improvement and that you are always watching
for the effects your practice has on student learning. Let’s all work together to build a
mindset of continuous growth among all teachers in Vietnam and beyond!
54
APPENDICES
Appendix I Sample Lesson Plan
Workshops

(OPEN) Program
Appendix V Self-assessment of Participation in the Community of Practice
Appendix W Useful Language for Productive CoP Discussions

The ELTC Framework represents what Vietnam’s English teachers need to
55
know and be able to do in order to equip language learners with the skills
and competencies they need for the 21st Century (MOET/NFL2020, 2013)
(Dudzik, 2008, adapted from Bransford, Darling- Hammond et al, 2005, and Ball and
Cohen, 1999)
There are five domains. As you explore topics for exploration in your CoP, consider the
areas of most need for you and your learners. Use the Self-Assessment from the
Framework (Appendix B) to guide you.
Domain 1 Knowledge of Language, Language Learning, & Curricular Content
This represents the subject matter knowledge for English teaching. This domain
includes teachers’ language proficiency, knowledge of the language system,
understanding of how languages are learned, content and curriculum. Curricular content
knowledge includes cultures of English-speaking countries, basic academic content in
English, and knowledge of locally-used English curriculum.
Domain 2 Knowledge of Language Teaching
This represents pedagogical content knowledge, including teaching the four skills,
planning and conducting effective lessons, creating supportive learning environments,
assessing students’ progress and proficiency, and using resources and technology
effectively to support student learning.
Domain 3 Knowledge of Language Learners
This relates to the knowledge of language learners. Teachers’ understanding of

56
students’ development, stages of learner language, and prior learning experiences
contribute to successful student learning. Understanding their students is also
necessary as teachers help to develop students’ creativity and critical thinking -
essential 21st Century skills.
Domain 4 Professional Attitudes and Values in Language Teaching
Professional attitudes and values are part of all the other knowledge domains, as
indicated by Domain 4. These attitudes and values include promoting and modeling
language learning; practicing cooperation, collaboration and teamwork; demonstrating
lifelong learning and participating in professional development activities
Domain 5 Practice and Context of Language Teaching
This represents teachers’ understanding of the context in which English is being taught,
and connecting language learning to real uses of English in Vietnam. This
understanding involves connections to other subjects, relevant contextual issues, and
other English users. It also involves teachers’ reflection on their practice.

57
From: NFL2020 Project, VNIES, MOET (2013)
Use this assessment to determine a Domain for exploration.
Teacher Strengths and Needs Assessment
Please read through the guidelines below and rate yourself as follows:
Rating 1. I am not very confident in this area and need to learn more
Rating 2. I am somewhat confident, but would like to learn more
Rating 3. I am very confident
DOMAIN 1 KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE, LANGUAGE LEARNING & LANGUAGE

CONTENT AND CURRICULUM
Competency 1.1a Teacher’s Language Proficiency
I can use English at the level required for my teaching (B2 or C1) I can 1 2 3
find opportunities to strengthen my English proficiency 1 2 3
Competency 1.1b Working Knowledge of Common European Framework (CEF)
I understand the CEF / KNLNN proficiency descriptors at the levels that apply to my 1 2 3
students
I can apply that understanding to my teaching practice 1 2 3
Competency 1.2 Language as a System
I understand English sounds, word parts, word meanings, and word order I can 1 2 3
teach these things at the primary or secondary level 1 2 3
Competency 1.3 Understanding How Languages are Learned
I know how languages are learned 1 2 3

I can apply this knowledge to my own language learning 1 2 3
I can apply this knowledge to my teaching 1 2 3
Competency 1.4 Cultures of English-speaking Countries
I know about English-speaking cultures 1 2 3

I can include this cultural knowledge in my teaching 1 2 3
I can use this cultural knowledge to build understanding and empathy 1 2 3
Competency 1.5 Academic Content in English
I can use English literature to teach language and content 1 2 3

I can use cultural texts (websites, songs, TV etc) to teach language and content I can 1 2 3
use English academic texts to teach language and content 1 2 3
58
Competency 1.6 Language curriculum
I understand the English curriculum I’m required to use 1 2 3

I can use textbooks and required curriculum objectives when planning lessons 1 2 3
POINTS FOR DOMAIN 1 / 51
DOMAIN 2 KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE TEACHING
Competency 2.1 Language Teaching Methodology
I know many strategies and techniques to integrate the 4 skills 1 2 3
I can use many strategies and techniques to integrate 4 skills 1 2 3
I can use this methodology to integrate the 4 skills for authentic communication I can 1 2 3
use this methodology to integrate 4 skills to teach different kinds of learners
1 2 3
Competency 2.2 Lesson Planning
I understand what kinds of lessons, assignments and activities teach content, 1 2 3

integrate skills, and help students learn English
I can plan effective lessons and design assignments and activities to teach
content, integrate skills and help students learn English 1 2 3
Competency 2.3 Conducting a Lesson
I know how to create a supportive, meaningful learning environment 1 2 3
I can use the lesson plan to teach students, and give them meaningful 1 2 3
opportunities to communicate
I can manage classroom activities to teach students, and give them meaningful
opportunities to communicate 1 2 3
Competency 2.4 Assessment of Language Learning
I know about formative (ongoing) and summative (progress) assessment tools and 1 2 3
techniques
I can design and use age-appropriate assessment tools to guide my teaching and
measure student progress 1 2 3
Competency 2.5 Resources
I can use and adapt textbooks effectively for my teaching 1 2 3
I can find and adapt materials and resources that are suitable for students’ age and 1 2 3
English level
59
Competency 2.6 Technology for Language Teaching
I have basic computer skills and can use basic computer programs 1 2 3
I can use technology for language teaching and learning 1 2 3
DOMAIN 3 KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Competency 3.1 Understand Learners’ Development to Motivate Them.
I understand learners’ intellectual and emotional development 1 2 3
I know about different learning styles 1 2 3
I can develop lessons that motivate different kinds of learners 1 2 3
Competency 3.2 Recognize Learner Language to inform instruction
I know about different stages of language development 1 2 3
I can adapt my teaching and give feedback on students’ errors in ways that are 1 2 3
suitable to their language level
Competency 3.3 Reflecting on Learners’ Values and Prior Learning
I can reflect on my cultural values and learning experiences and how these affect my 1 2 3
learning and teaching
I can reflect on my students’ cultural values and prior learning experiences and how
they affect students’ learning and behavior 1 2 3
Competency 3.4 Developing learners’ creativity and critical thinking
I can practice creativity and critical thinking in my learning and teaching 1 2 3
I can help my students develop creativity and critical thinking appropriate for their age 1 2 3
DOMAIN 4 PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDES & VALUES IN LANGUAGE

TEACHING
60
Competency 4.1 Demonstrating Professionalism in Language Teaching
I value and can promote the importance of learning English 1 2 3
I can teach and behave professionally 1 2 3
Competency 4.2 Practicing Cooperation, Collaboration, & Teamwork in Language

Teaching
I can collaborate with others in teams to accomplish tasks 1 2 3
I can teach students cooperation and collaboration skills 1 2 3
Competency 4.3 Professional Development and Life-long Learning
I can learn new information about language teaching and research on my own I 1 2 3
can develop teaching skills on my own 1 2 3
Competency 4.4 Contributing to the Language Teaching Profession
I can find ongoing professional development opportunities 1 2 3
I can contribute to the exchange of ideas in my teaching community to benefit 1 2 3

other teachers
POINTS DOMAIN 4 / 24
DOMAIN 5 PRACTICE & CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE TEACHING
Competency 5.1 Connecting Learning Beyond the Language Classroom
I can continue to learn about current topics that are important for English teaching 1 2 3
I can connect my students’ English learning to other students, classes, school,

and topics 1 2 3
Sample ETCF Primary Teacher Self-Assessment for DOMAIN 2 KNOWLEDGE OF

LANGUAGE TEACHING
61
Please read through the guidelines below and give yourself a rating
as follows:
Rating 3 I am very confident and I can mentor other teachers

Rating 2 I am somewhat confident, but would like to learn more
Rating 1 I am not very confident and need to learn more
2.1. Language Teaching Methodology
Role of teacher & teacher talk: 1 2 3
I can equip children with language learning strategies so that they can become more
autonomous learners. 1 3
2
I can promote children’s understanding of the value of language learning in context. 1 3
I can prioritize the importance of developing children’s language skills for communication 2
purposes. 1 3
I can start lessons in an engaging way (e.g. warm-up games) and finish them in a
focused way (e.g. reinforcement, recap) 1 3
2
I can act as a facilitator, resource and guide in addition to an organizer of children’s
lesson participation. 1 3
I can limit the amount of “teacher talk” to encourage children’s interaction and language 2
use.
Teaching Listening: 1 2 3
I can create interest in the subject (setting, context, characters) and provide language
support to prepare children for listening. 1 3
2
I can develop children's listening comprehension (through songs, chants, stories, etc.) with
support (miming, pictures, etc). 1 3
I can help children to link listening with other skills. 1 2 3
I can develop the skills of discriminating between and recognising different sounds and
words.
2
43
Teaching Speaking: 1 2 3
I can create a supportive learning environment which promotes children’s

spoken interaction through repetition (games, songs, multi-sensory activities) 1 3
62
I can reduce children’s anxiety and encourage them to speak confidently.

1 2 3
I can select and use techniques to help children develop and improve their
pronunciation (sounds, stress, rhythm, and intonation).
1 3
2
I can help children to understand and use practical classroom language
(simple instructions and requests). 1 3
I can encourage children to listen and respond to each other to develop personal
and social skills (e.g. turn-taking, working together as a team, respecting and 2
1 3
helping other students).
I can select or create activities that encourage all children to participate, taking
into account children’s characteristics (imaginative, creative, etc.) and learning 2
styles
Teaching Reading: 1 2 3
I can evaluate and select reading texts appropriate to children’s interests and
local context. 1 3
2
I can select or create motivating activities and provides support (e.g. brainstorming,
pre teaching vocabulary) that prepare children for reading. 1 3
I can begin to develop the skills of reading for the main idea and for 1 2 3
detail. I can train children to be able to link reading with other skills.
1 3
I can encourage children to read for pleasure taking into account their individual 2
interests and language level.
1 3
I can develop children’s reading comprehension (e.g. through using songs,
chants, stories.) with meaning support (e.g. miming, pictures) 2
Teaching Writing: 1 2 3
I can create a supportive learning environment that combines children’s speaking 1 3

& writing. 2
1 3
I can select or create activities that stimulate children’s creative writing at
sentence levels.
2
I can use activities to promote writing at paragraph level using templates.
Curriculum & Objectives 1 2 3

63
I can identify English curriculum requirements and set learning aims and objectives
(e.g. for a school year, term) accordingly. 1 2 3
I can write general goals and specific measurable learning objectives for a unit
and lessons, and lesson components 1 2 3
I can set objectives which help children to reach their full potential, taking into
account their needs, abilities, and interests.
Variety 1 2 3
I can vary and balance lesson steps to enhance and sustain children’s motivation
and interest and respond to individual learning styles.
Time 1 2 3
I can identify the time needed for specific topics and activities and plan accordingly.
Instructions 1 2 3
I can plan and use classroom language (e.g. instructions, concept checking) in a
way necessary to carry out the lesson at children’s level of instruction.
Content 1 2 3
I can integrate relevant topics (e.g. Science, Maths, PE, Art & Craft etc.) using English.
1 2 3
I can ensure appropriate content that is relevant to children’s abilities, needs,
and interests.
Activities 1 2 3
I can maximize children’s interaction with activities that cater to a range of

learning styles (e.g. songs, games, pair work, group work)
Supportive, meaningful classroom 1 2 3
I can create a child-friendly learning environment, including the use of

praise, encouragement, problem-solving and fun classroom activities
Using lesson plans
I can start lessons in an engaging way (e.g. warm-up games) and finishes them 1 2 3
in a focused way (e.g. reinforcement, recap)
1 2 3
I can carry out the lesson plans, making smooth transitions between activities. I am
flexible and can change lesson plans to respond to children’s needs and interests. 1 2 3
I can make note of successes and difficulties (e.g. on the lesson plan) during the
lesson and adjust future lessons accordingly. 1 2 3
Classroom management
64
I can arrange the classroom for individual, pair, group and whole-class work 1 2 3
according to the lesson objectives.
I can give clear and simple instructions in English (or Vietnamese where
1 2 3
appropriate). I can display learners’ work to celebrate their achievements (e.g.
1 2 3
mini-books). I can establish classroom routines (e.g. time limits for work, raising
1 2 3
hands, etc.). I can use and manage resources efficiently and train learners to do
1 2 3
the same.
Design assessment tools 1 2 3
I can design age-appropriate assessment tasks relevant to the objectives and

content of the curriculum.
Ongoing assessment
I can use continuous assessment that allows all children to demonstrate their 1 2 3
knowledge and skills (e.g., assessing in-class reading and listening
comprehension activities/tasks).
I can use in-class activities to monitor and assess children’s participation 1 2 3

and performance.
2 3
I can assess children’s ability to work independently and collaboratively.
1
Select assessments
I can evaluate and choose valid assessment procedures (quizzes, portfolios, 1 2 3

self-assessment, etc.) appropriate to learning aims, objectives and content.
Use assessment information
I can identify strengths and areas for improvement in children’s performance 1 2 3

(e.g. through role plays, storytelling, quizzes and mini tests), using them to
inform future planning.
I can use assessment materials to write a report on children’s progress 1 2 3

and achievement.
Select & adapt materials 1 2 3

I can select appropriate textbooks & materials & adapt the contents of the
available resources (e.g. textbooks, flash cards, pictures, websites, etc.) so that
they are appropriate for children.
Resources
I know about & have access to the resources available in school (OHP, 1 2 3
computers, library, etc.).
65
I can overcome the organizational constraints and resource limitations that exist 1 2 3
at school and adapt my teaching accordingly.
Make materials
I can make teaching aids and materials from available resources if needed. 1 2 3
(e.g. flashcards, posters)
1 2 3
I can teach and encourage children to produce materials for themselves and
other learners (e.g. picture dictionaries, posters, personal books, etc.).
Reference materials 1 2 3
I can recommend dictionaries (e.g. picture dictionaries) and other reference
books useful to learners.
Use technology in teaching

1 2 3
I can promote the use of technology to assist learning wherever possible
I can select and use available ICT materials & activities in the classroom appropriate 1 2 3
for children including presentation tools, educational websites, blogs, social networks
to assist learning (where applicable).
Teach learners to use technology 1 2 3
I can teach children to use available ICT (e.g. computers, CD players, tape
recorders, etc. for learning).
Provide examples of things you are doing in your classes that correspond to each of these
characteristics of a learner-centered classroom. In what areas are you most responsive to your
learners’ needs? What are some areas that would benefit from further research and
experimentation in your classroom? Use this checklist as you observe classes or view videos of
classroom teaching. Take note of where you see these principles applied.
Learner-centered teaching practices How is this evident in my practice?
1. Activate learners’ knowledge and

experiences.
66
2. Make instruction relevant to learners’

needs and interests.
3. View learners’ first language and

culture as resources for learning.
4. Give learners choices and active roles

in the classroom.
5. Make classroom interactions and

tasks authentic.
6. Challenge learners to employ higher-

order and critical thinking skills.
7. Choose materials (visuals, readings,

etc.) that are reflective of learners in
my classes.
8. Listen for themes that emerge from

learners and integrate those into
instruction.
Adapted from Parrish (2019)
What are SMART Goals?
What is the defined end-result of this goal? What steps are required to
Specific
accomplish this goal?
How will you measure your success? How will you know if you’ve completed
Measurable
your goal?
67
Attainable Is this an achievable goal? Are you being realistic?
Does it make sense in your context? Do you have the resources you need to
Relevant
accomplish the goal?
When do you want to reach your goal? After three units of instruction? Over
Time-Bound
a longer period of time?
SMART Goals Planning Worksheet
What is our specific

goal
What measures of
success will we use?
What will make it

attainable?
How is it relevant to
our context?
When will we reach

our goal?
68
This tool can be used for many of our CoP activities: coaching, study circles, at the close of peer-led workshops or CoP meetings.
Instructional Goal:
Action Step Resources Target date Measure of Success Status
From Finn Miller, S. (2020) Teaching the Skills that Matter in Adult Education Strategic Coaching Guide.
https://lincs.ed.gov/sites/default/files/Coaching-Guide-Rev-508.pdf
Sample Completed Action Plan
Instructional Goal: Promote more practice with critical thinking skills

69
Action Step Resources Target date Measure of Success Status
Script question prompts in We Are Teachers site- CT questions Oct. 15 2021 Learner reply with
my lesson plans. Use more https://www.weareteachers.com/ complete ideas; they
open-ended wh-questions.
critical-thinking-questions/ provide original ideas in
their responses
Provide language frames for Zeff Zwiers Academic Conversations Nov. 1, 2021 Learners sustain
students (Analysis: It seems tools discussions with others;
that… The reading suggests..
This is evidence of…) https://jeffzwiers.org/tools they expand on ideas
and give examples to
support claims.
Create activities that prompt New American Horizons video: Nov. 15, 2021 Learners engage deeply
critical thinking (e.g. ranking, Critical Thinking and Learning from with tasks, coming to a
categorizing, problem
solving) the Start. solution to a problem,
newamericanhorizons.org justifying their choices.
Shaping the Way we Teach English:

Critical and Creative Thinking
70
Issue
Goal
Key Question
Observation
Task/Tool
Outcomes
A sample tool completed by a teacher:
This teacher wants to try line dialogues, which is when students stand facing one another in two
lines and have a set time to respond to a conversation prompt, as a way to increase the amount
of student talking time. When the teacher claps, one student moves to the end of the other line
so everyone has a new partner. This is repeated several times.
Issue Students are hesitant to speak up in my beginning-level

conversation class.
Goal Students will participate more fully in the conversation practice I

include in my lessons.
Key Question What happens when I try line dialogues instead of paired
practice?
Observation Task/Tool Observer and teacher have a list of student names. They listen in
and note examples of the language students use.
Outcomes The line dialogue proved more engaging and active. Because
students move down the line and talk to multiple partners, each
exchange is new and interesting! I noted that 6 of my students
who normally say very little in class were practicing the whole
time while doing the line dialogue.
71
(These are examples to inspire you)

Peer Observation Task 1: Spot the Difference
Purpose: Build awareness of varying approaches to teaching.

Before: The teacher gives the peer observer an outline of their lesson with the learning
objectives and plans for the day.
During: The observer notes down the practices they don’t normally apply to their own
classes. These could be teaching routines, questioning techniques, order of activities,
ways of giving feedback. They also note evidence of student learning in relation to the
lesson objectives.
After: The teacher and the observer analyze the information using questions like these:
1. What are differences in the ways you two would approach the same lesson?
2. How could you categorize the differences? For example, are they related to
teaching methods/approach, classroom interactions, class routines?
3. What are your reasons for choosing a particular practice?
4. How successful were learners at meeting the lesson objectives?
5. What insights did the observer have about what could lead to even more
success?
Adapted from
( https://oupeltglobalblog.com/2017/03/09/5-activities-for-peer-observation/)
72
Sample Observation Task 2: Group Work and Student Behavior
Task 1: During a lesson in which the teacher asks the students to complete a task as a
group, notice how the students participate and interact within the group. Focus on one
group of students and make notes using the chart below.
Group context Learner behaviors

Make notes as you observe. Consider the following questions:
● How does the teacher
group the students? ● Are all of the students participating equally?
● How many students? ● What is the level of interest within the group?
● What is the task? ● How well do students work together to complete the task?
● What does the teacher do while the group is working?
Reflection and Discussion
Share the information you collected about student behaviors during group work.
Describe the dynamics of the group: How well did they work together? Were there any
students who dominated? Were there any students who did not participate? Why do
you think that might be? How well did students stay on task?
What is the teacher’s role before, during, and following a group activity?
73
In your view, how valuable was the group work? Would similar group activities work in
your classes? Why or why not?
74
Sample Observation Task 3: Instructions, Modeling and Checking for Understanding
Write down what the teacher says to give directions for class activities. How do students’
respond (e.g. they begin to work; they look puzzled, etc.)? What does the teacher do to model
an activity (e.g. T asks volunteer to help, etc.)? What is the students’ response to the
modeling?
T’s instructions Ss’ response T’s modeling Ss’ response
How does the teacher check for understanding? Write down what the teacher says (probably a
question), and what the students’ response is.
T’s checking Ss’ response
Reflection and Discussion
Share with the teacher the information you gathered about instructions, modeling, and
questions. What questions promote a productive student response? Brainstorm together
alternative wording or ways of giving instructions, modeling and asking questions. What do you
75
want to try in your own classes?
76
When giving feedback, it should be Formative, Actionable, Clear, Timely, and

Supportive (Wiggins 2012).
Here is useful language for giving feedback to a colleague after peer-observations:
I noticed learners concentrated better when you_________.
It is great that you allowed learners_________.
_________really worked well because learners could_________.
________ really helped learners meet the objectives more effectively _________.”
I’d say your greatest support for students in today's class was _________.
Can you picture what the learners would have done if you had ________________?
I noticed students were __________. Could you try __________ when you teach a
similar lesson again?
It was effective when you______________, I noticed the students were _________.
I really appreciate how you _____________ because it allowed students to

______________.
I noticed that students ______________ when you ___________________.
I thought it was wonderful how you____________ because this supported students in
______________.
(Adapted from Kevin Feldman, 2016, p.2, p3)

77
Appendix I Sample Lesson Plan
Preparing date:
Teaching date:
LESSON PLAN
Lesson Title Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ - The Legend of Ancient Vietnam
Topic Legends - Sequencing events
Level Grade 8 / A2-B1 Lesson Duration 90 minutes

78
Instructors Pre-Planning: What are the performance outcomes for this

lesson?
After learning this lesson, students will be able to:
A. Knowledge:
● be reinforced with the use and the pronunciation of the verbs in the
simple past tense;
● understand and remember the origin of the Vietnamese people in the
legend;
● draw a flow chart showing the sequence of the story;
● understand, remember, apply and create a story in a logical sequence.
B. Skills:
● improve 4 language skills through reading, drawing the flowchart,

retelling the story and listening to their friends and creating their own
story;
● cooperate with peers;
● practice leadership when working in pairs/teams;
● practice problem-solving skills.
C. Behaviours:
● be nurtured with the love and respect for the country;

● be aware of their own origin.
Materials needed:
79
1. The story: Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ - The Legend of Ancient Vietnam
2. Photos from google search.
3. The song “Legend never dies” (by Against the Current).
For the W.I.P.P.E.A boxes below, identify what skills are being used. (Identify
speaking, listening, reading, & writing skills for each of the numbers below)
1) Warm up/Review—Review previously learned content.Create an environment

for learning. (10 minutes)
● Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students.

● Ask Ss to listen to a song "Legends Never Die" (by Against the Current)
once and fill in its chorus with 10 missing words.
Chorus:
Legends Never Die (1) __________ the (2) __________ is calling you
Can you (3) __________ them (4) _________ out your (5) __________?
Legends Never Die they (6) ____________ a (7) ____________ of you
Every time you (8) ________ for (9) _________ (10) ____________
Legends Never Die
● Give feedback. The group with the most correct answers is the winner.
Chorus:
Legends Never Die (1) when the (2) world is calling you
Can you (3) hear them (4) screaming out your (5) name?
Legends Never Die they (6) become a (7) part of you
Every time you (8) bleed for (9) reaching (10) greatness
Legends Never Die
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● Elicit meaning of the word “LEGEND” from students by asking the following
questions:
+ Have you ever heard this song?
+ What’s its title? (Expected answer: Legends Never Die)
+ What does the word LEGEND mean? (Expected answer: a story from
ancient times about people and events, that may or may not be true)
Link:https://www.nhaccuatui.com/bai-hat/legends-never-die-nightcore.yFzOcZYYC9Y6.html
2) Introduction—Create motivation for the new topic. Don’t start teaching your
lesson yet, just create interest in it. (5 minutes)
● Ask students to look at the photos and name the legends.

81
(Sơn Tinh-Thủy Tinh)

82
(Trưng Trắc-Trưng Nhị)
(Thánh Gióng)
● Have students brainstorm about the origin of Vietnamese people.

● Ask students to guess the name of the legend in the lesson through the picture.
83
● Ask them to recall some main points of the legend.

● Ask them when they tell a story, what tense they will need to use.
84
3) Presentation/Instruction—Teach the new information or skill (15 minutes)
1. Reinforce the use and the pronunciation of the simple past tense.
Swat game:
● Write simple verbs from the lesson on the board. The words include
“married, believed, developed, succeeded, governed, agreed,
celebrated, decided, trained, promised”.
● Put students in teams, give each team a fly swatter.
● Read aloud the verbs randomly, sts listen and swat the word they hear.
The fastest is the winner.
● Erase the verbs, and draw two circles.
● Write “Past actions” in one circle and “Habits/facts” in the other.
● Read out the sentences:
○ Vietnamese people celebrate Tet in late January or February.
○ I decided to work harder to pass the coming exam.
○ My friend succeeded in persuading his girlfriend.
○ Most young people marry someone they love.
● Sts listen and swat the correct circle.
2. Task delivery and explanation:
● Tell sts that they are going to read the legend and complete a flowchart
representing the main events of the story.
● Group sts and deliver the handout (attached at the end of this lesson
plan) to each group. In the handout there is a flowchart with some
prompts.
85
● Have sts read and complete it.
4) Practice/Student Engagement—Let the students practice the skill. Make it safe

for them to make mistakes. Remember that the best lessons have more practice
than presentation. (30 minutes)
● Sts read the story, discuss the answers and fill in the gaps.
● Teacher walks around and gives help when sts need it.
● Helps sts solve any problems which they cannot work them out by themselves.
● When sts are finished, T checks the answers.
● Teacher tells them that they are going to have a competition about telling the
story.
● Have them practice reading aloud and try to remember the events from the
flowchart together.
5) Evaluation/Assessment—Evaluate the students to see if they can perform the

skill they just practiced. You can use a checklist, a quiz, a report-back session or
other means of assessment (formative or summative). (15 minutes)
1. Play a game: Lucky number (to evaluate what Ss have learnt with the
vocabulary, the grammar point – simple past, some information of the
reading text) – 5 mins
● Have students choose a number and answer the question followed.
● Divide the class into 2 groups: Red and Blue.
● Explain the rule: “Each group takes turns to choose a number, answer
the question followed and get 10 points for each correct answer. The
86
group which can’t give the correct answer will lose their turn and the
other can take that turn. There are 2 lucky numbers, the group which can
choose these numbers can get 20 points without answering the
questions. At the end, the group which has more points will be the
winner.”
● Give comments.
2. Play a game: Chain speaking (to evaluate what Ss have learnt about the
story of the reading text) – 5 mins
● Have students recall some information of the story: Lạc Long Quân and
Âu Cơ - The Legend of Ancient Vietnam.
● Divide the class into 2 groups: Red and Blue.
● Explain the rule: “Each group takes turns to say an event in the sequence
of the story: Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ - The Legend of Ancient
Vietnam. A ball will be thrown to students of each group. The student
who catches the ball will have a chance to say. The group which can’t
say will lose their turn and the other can take that turn. In the end, the
group which can remember more events will be the winner.”
● Give comments.
3. Retell the whole story (to evaluate what Ss can remember about the story
of the reading text and check the flow charts) – 5 mins
● Ask students to retell the whole story based on the events in their
flowchart.
● Ask other sts to vote for their favourite speaker/the most fluent
speaker/the most confident speaker/the funniest speaker.
6) Application – What are some follow-up activities for this lesson? (15 minutes)
● Group 4 new groups of 4.

● Have sts discuss and draw the flowchart of a new story (a story they have read,
87
or a story in their imagination).

● Have sts take turns to tell the story together. Each will choose to tell one event
in the sequence. The others will have to listen, ask questions for clarification and
take notes.
● Divide work for each member to type the story down at home and submit in the
following lesson.
Adapted from the WIPPEA model of lesson planning by Madeline Hunter. Learn more about the WIPPEA model here
Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ-The Legend of Ancient Vietnam

1.
88
 Sung Lam, also called  Au Co was the daughter of

………………….., was the son of ……………………
……………………  She was …………………..
 He was very ………………….. and
……………………
2.
Au Co’s father, the King of ………………….., wanted to ………………….. …………………..

…………………..…………………..………………….. so he helped her marry Lac Long Quâ n.
3.
They had ………………….. children who were …………………..………………….. the same as Lac
Long Quan and …………………..………………….. the same as Au Co.
4.
Lac Long Quan and Au Co were not …………………… ; therefore, they decided to
…………………..…………………..
5.
50 children followed Lac Long Quan to …………………… He taught them how to

…………………..………………….., …………………..………………….., …………………..,
……………………………………....and ……………………………… .
The other 50 followed Â u Cơ to …………………… She taught them …………………..

………………….., …………………..………………….., …………………..………………….., and …………………..
…………………..
89
Appendix J List of Resources for Study Circles and Peer-led Workshops
When engaging in study circles, collaborative action research, or peer-led workshops,

teachers can consult print resources, articles, and websites. The resources provided
here are all free of charge and research-based, making them ideal for those not
affiliated with a higher-education institution with access to peer-reviewed journals.
● Video-based resources
o Shaping the Way we Teach English
https://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/shaping-way-we-teach-english-
successful-practices-around-world
● These videos show adult English learners, but many of the ideas are suitable for
your young students.
o New American Horizons
https://www.newamericanhorizons.org/training-videos
o Literacy Minnesota Teacher Training Videos
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-NrZkT8VAsZ2zlH6oCnfxlIMZ-
_NkSnJ
Free online readings
English Teaching Forum (https://americanenglish.state.gov/forum) is a quarterly journal

supporting the teaching of English around the world through the publication of
innovative, practical ideas.
Cambridge Papers in ELT are research-based articles with very practical classroom
suggestions. https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/campaign_page/cambridge-papers-elt/
Cambridge World of Better Learning Blog contains short articles, blog posts, videos and
more on a whole array of topics related to English language teaching globally.
https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/
ELT Journal: ELT Journal is a quarterly publication from Oxford Academic for all those
involved in English Language Teaching (ELT), whether as a second, additional, or
foreign language, or as an international Lingua Franca. The Journal links the everyday
concerns of practitioners with insights gained from relevant academic disciplines such
90
as applied linguistics, education, psychology, and sociology.
https://academic.oup.com/eltj

During school-based meetings, teacher-led workshops, and in study circles, videos of classroom
practices are a good resource. It is important to have a task while viewing classroom videos.
Sample 1 Tasks To Promote Critical Thinking and Learning Skills, New American Horizons
(https://www.newamericanhorizons.org/training-videos)
As you observe the video, note the activities presented and the critical thinking skills practiced. How can
you apply the same types of activities in your lessons? This video is with adult English learners, but the
activities can be used with younger learners, especially with secondary students.
Activities Critical Thinking Skills Practiced
Categorizing Categorizing
1. Enter critical thinking skills practiced
Using Grid Activities Using Grid Activities
Using Graphic Organizers Using Graphic Organizers

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Developed by Betsy Parrish for LINCS ESL Pro: Module 1: Meeting the Language Needs of Today’s Adult English Language Learner; Unit 4
Incorporating Instruction in Critical Thinking at All Levels of Adult English Language Acquisition
Available at LINCS Learning Portal, Adult English Language Learners: https://lincs.ed.gov/learning-portal
92
Sample 2 Shaping the Way We Teach English
Engaging Young Learners

Video Viewing Guide
Video 1 Video 2
Using Songs and Interactive Tasks Pair and Group Work
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AW- https://www.youtube.com/watch?
9bTZ7Tk v=woNZzjJL9bQ
What are the
practices?
How do the
English
learners react
to the
activities?
How can you
apply these
ideas in your
classes?
93
Possible reflection prompts
• How successful were the learners at meeting the objectives? Provide specific
evidence.
• When did learning take place? Provide specific evidence.
• What planning and classroom management steps helped with this lesson? What
would you like to do differently the next time?
• When did you see varying learner backgrounds affecting learning? Give
examples.
• If working with a peer observer, what feedback did you find particularly useful
and what questions, if any, do you have?
(Prompts from the TEFL Program at Hamline University)
At the moment reflection
Observations, reflections, insights, or questions about the teaching and learning can
occur during a lesson. Make notes on the margin of your lessons like these:
I wonder what would happen if I tried….
That jigsaw activity worked well today- need to use that more often.
Parrish (2019)
94
Learning log form

Use a Learning Log form like this one to track student learning. Use exit tickets or any
number of formative assessments (see Appendix ____). What activities seemed to
promote the most success with the lesson objectives that day?
Date Evidence of learning during the lesson Exit ticket responses

95
So what’s the next step? In any interaction, ask students what they need to do next in a
process.
3-2-1 3 things you learned, 2 things you have a question about, 1 thing you want the teacher to
know – This can be done in English or Vietnamese, written or spoken.
Think-Stand-Share Think about 1 key idea from the day; stand and share; change partners a
few times. Variation is to have students Think-Write-Pair-Share.
Line-conversation Revisit the learning objectives for the day (Can-do statements); create two
lines facing one another and set 3 minutes for students to share what they learned in relation to
one learning objective. Send one person at the end of one line to the other end and repeat with
a new partner. Repeat as time allows.
Summary paragraph What was learned today – be specific with examples. Students write a
summary of what they learned.
One-word stories Students create a summary of learning by creating a story. Each student or
group calls out a word to create the story to answer a prompt or to summarize learning. Whole
group reflects on the response created and changes as needed.
Exit pass (with smaller classes) Students reflect in some way (provide a prompt) about the
learning and share one idea verbally with the teacher before leaving the room.
Numbered heads together Students in groups of up to five are numbered sequentially. As a

group, they create a list of 3-5 things learned in the lesson, or reflect on a prompt from the
teacher. The teacher calls out one number and that group member reports for the group.
Whip around Students quickly and verbally share one thing they learned in the class that day.
Betsy Parrish 2019; Some ideas adapted from Sipe, A. (N.D.) 40 Ways to Leave a Lesson; One-word Stories from Andy
Rundquist

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You’re the Expert! Essentials of Peer-led Workshops
Clear objectives What will participants be able to do as a result of your workshop? Use
action verbs and focus on 2-3 objectives in your session.
Agenda Provide a clear agenda of the activities in your workshop. Have a clear
plan for the timing of each activity/stage in your plan.
Opening Have an attention-getter. This can be a short warm-up,an ice-breaker,

or image to engage the audience. Elicit audience input right from the
start!
Audience Consider your audience and their background. Include opportunities for
awareness them to share their expertise.
Demonstrations Show, don’t tell people about promising instructional practices.
Interaction Have plenty of interaction among participants.
Application End with an activity where participants can apply their learning to their
own context.
Closure Provide a quick assessment of learning, for example, “fist to five” or exit
tickets. See Appendix___ Tips and Tools for Assessing Student
Learning.
Questions If possible, welcome questions throughout and always leave time for
questions at the end.
Resources Share resources and handouts or links.
Planning tool
You’re the Expert! Essentials of Peer-led Workshops
Are my objectives
clear?
What is the
agenda?
What is my
opening?
Who’s my
97
audience?
What techniques
will I
demonstrate?
What interactions
among
participants are
planned?
What is the
application
activity?
How am I closing
the workshop?
How will I handle

questions from
the audience?
What resources
will I need to
prepare and
share?
98
Swap Shop Theme or Focus___________________________________________________
Date: _________________________________________________________
Teaching ideas: Name of colleague Context/level for Reflection

Strategies who shared the idea which it was
Techniques (contact information designed Which ideas are most
Activities if want to stay promising for your
connected) setting?
What adjustments
would you need to
make for your
students?
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1. Identifying a general area for research
Identifying your general area to carry out Collaborative Action Research (CAR) is the
usual starting point. These kinds of questions/areas can help guide your thinking in the
early stages. You and your teacher-partner(s) can choose one of the options below to
identify areas of interest for CAR.
a) Use questions below to share information about your teaching practice with your
teacher- partner(s) at the first meeting.
Questions Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3
What do you feel passionate about?
What do you feel curious about?
What new approaches to learning or

teaching would you like to try?
What student needs are not being met?
What do you want your students to know,

understand, or do better than they
currently do?
100
b) Discuss these areas with your teacher partner(s) at the first meeting of your group
and put a ✔ in areas of interest to each teacher. Circle those you that you all finally
agree on.
Areas Teacher 1 Teacher 2 Teacher 3

Increasing learner autonomy
Integrating language skills

Focusing on language form
Understanding student
motivation
Developing writing skills
Developing group work
Making classrooms more

communicative
Trying out new materials
Finding new ways to do
assessment
Using technology into class
activities
Other?
Adapted from Anne Burns. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language
Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. Routledge, p.27-28
101
a) Look at the information below and discuss with your teacher partner(s) the main
methods of collecting data in your classroom.
Main ways of collecting data Aim Materials/equipment

needed
b) Work with your teacher-partner(s) to decide which of the following tips are
Observation or Non-observation methods*. Put an X in the column for your answer.
102
Tips for collecting data in your classroom Observation Non-observation

method method
Brief notes or recorded comments made by the teacher

while the class is in progress
Transcripts of classroom interactions between teacher
and students or students and students
Interviews
Audio- or video-recordings of classroom interactions
Questionnaires and surveys
Exit ticket at the end of a lesson/a unit
Diaries, journals and logs kept by teacher or learners
Observation by teacher or colleague on particular

aspects of classroom action
Map of the classroom that trace the interactions between
students and teacher
Classroom documents, such as teacher-made or

textbook materials used, samples of student work,
speaking tests, assessment portfolios, or self-
evaluations
Adapted from Anne Burns. (2010).
* Observation method is what teachers need to see. Non-observation method is what

teachers need to know. (non-observation).
Observation tools to collect the data on your teaching practice
Discuss with your teacher-partner(s) to give questions that help collect useful data by
using diaries/journals in your action research. The first is given as an example.
Type of Aim Timing of entry Question(s) addressed

journal
Daily/ To make an ongoing At the end of the What happened in

record of daily or
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Weekly log weekly period of time when sequence over my

the events took place teaching day/week?
events
Descriptive To note factual events As soon as possible

journal and personal reactions after the lesson/ events
to them
Reflective To note ideas, Shortly after the

journal thoughts, reflections, lesson/events, and
insights, feelings, after thinking about
and processing what
reactions to occurred
lesson/events
Factual To record observations, Immediately after the

journal incidents or events in a lesson/events
factual way
Adapted from Anne Burns. (2010). Doing Action Research in English Language
Teaching: A Guide for Practitioners. Routledge.
Combining classroom activities and data collection
Discuss with your teacher-partner(s) and decide which of the following data collection
methods for the classroom activities can or cannot be used for your action research and
give reasons.
Regular classroom Data collection Yes/No. Why?

activities
• Teaching new grammar • Audio-record classroom

104
items interaction or students’

group work responses to see
how students are using them
• Teaching aspects of • Collect students’ texts over

writing a set period of time and
monitor the improvements
and gaps in their writing
• Using different materials • Discuss with students their

reactions to new materials
compared with previous
materials
• Teaching vocabulary • Give students a survey

asking them for their
responses to different
vocabulary activities
• Encouraging students to • Ask students to write a

share learning methods letter to a class partner to
explain their most effective
methods for learning English
• Increasing students’ • Get students to interview

motivation each other about what they
like/dislike about various
activities and ask them to
record their responses
(Adapted from Anne Burns, 2010)
Let’s make feedback “the most sincere melody”!

“Sincerity drives coaches to become the best versions of themselves and encourages
teachers to do the same by illuminating teacher voice and supporting teacher
innovation and creativity.”
(Lang-Raad (2018) as cited in Finn Miller, 2020 p. 9)
Giving feedback is an essential strategy in coaching. The coachee needs his/her

coach’s feedback on the pace of progress, recognizing achievements, overcoming
105
difficulties, solving problems, or more specific tasks such as lesson planning,
approaches applied, or use of class language.
The feedback can be most positive when it is specific, attainable enough to take action,
and timely. In the longer term, let’s hope feedback is “the most sincere melody” from
a positive- minded coach who shows the following traits (Lang-Raad 2018):
Kindness and Respect: In all interactions, coaches show respect for teachers being
coached. They show appreciation for working with the coachee, not arrogance.
Open-hearted and cooperative: Openness allows us to concentrate better, thus building

a two-sided interaction, which is completely favorable for working and thriving together.
Calm and patient: Nobody knows everything, but anyone can improve through time
thanks to guidance.
Feedback is more meaningful when it clearly states the close connection between the
teacher's intentions, efforts and happenings in the class. Coaches turn coachee’s
failures into learning opportunities through positive feedback approaches. Effective
coaches don’t put teachers on the defensive; they make them feel part of a safe, even
supportive process that is favorable for his/her further growth. Examples below:
1. “I discovered learners concentrated better when you_________.”

2. “It is amazing that you allowed learners_________.”
3. “_________really worked because learners could_________.”
4. “_________ obviously helped learners memorize more effectively _________.”
5. “I see your greatest support for students in today's class could be _________.”
6. “Can you visualize what the learners would have done if you had
________________?”
7. “I noticed students were __________. To make a change in the similar future
contexts could you try __________?”
8. “Maybe the activity_________hasn’t brought expected results. What do you think

are the causes?”
9. “Maybe the activity_________hasn’t brought expected results. If it had been my
class, I would have _________.”
10. “Maybe the activity_________which have brought achievements in many other
classes didn’t really work out in yours because _________.”
11. “I’ve found it provides more students a chance to speak if you let them spend
more time reading and listening the same topic until they feel familiar enough
before speaking activity”
12. “I have noticed silence is not always something disappointing in classes of
beginners, therefore you can look into other aspects to find more encouraging
106
outcomes like learners’ engagement, vocabulary memorization, grammar
accuracy,... ”
(Adapted from Kevin Feldman, 2016, p.2, p3)
PLAN TO BROADEN MY COMMUNITY
Name:
Academic year:
Instructional goal(s): (What knowledge/skills I need to improve?)
Targets: (How many activities I want to attend? Face-to-face? Online?)
No. Available activities Activity information Activity focus My goals and

areas expectations
(format,
registration, time, (what knowledge
venue, fee, etc…) or skills to be
delivered)
107
SELECTED ACTIVITIES:
1.
2.

(OPEN) Program
The U.S. Department of State’s Online Professional English Network (OPEN) Program
is an online professional development community for English teachers outside the
United States. It includes 8-week online courses, 5-week self-paced and facilitated
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCSs) webinars, and Open Educational Resources
for English language teachers, professionals, and learners.
Find more information about the OPEN Program here:

https://www.openenglishprograms.org/
The OPEN Program is part of the Office of English Language Programs (OELP) in the
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The Office of English Language
Programs designs and manages programs to promote language learning and support
the teaching of English in countries around the world. These programs are administered
through local American Embassies and Consulates and are overseen by Regional
English Language Officers. The Office of English Language Programs also provides
108
academic expertise and develops English teaching and learning resources for use
worldwide.
The U.S. Department of State Office of English Language Programs is represented by

the OPEN Program and English Language Programs. Take a look at this guide to the
conference, which you can also see in our Documents tab:
http://bit.ly/elpguidetesol2021
Take a look at the variety of opportunities for U.S. institutions and TESOL professionals
in the latest issue of the U.S. Department of State’s Office of English Language
Programs newsletter: http://bit.ly/OELPMarchNews
Find more information about OELP here:

https://eca.state.gov/about-bureau/organizational-structure/office-english-language-
programs
Find resources for teaching and learning on the American English website or on one of
our social media platforms!
https://americanenglish.state.gov/
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEnglishatState
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEnglishforEducators
109
MOET/DOET Events, National/Regional Events, Virtual CoPs you know and Online Conferences, webinars,
seminars, conferences, etc. seminars, conferences, etc. recommend free online courses
(e.g. VietTESOL, CAMTESOL)
- Giáo viên chúng tôi đã thay - VietTESOL English Educators in Vietnam American English webinars
đổi (We, teachers, have - SEAMEO RETRAC
changed): A television show conferences American English for Cambridge Online ELT
- ThaiTESOL Educators Conferences (eg. 2019
- Training workshop on - KOREATESOL Academic ELT webinars)
testing and assessment - RELC in Singapore LINCS.gov- US based but
- Training workshops on - CAMTESOL many international Free MOOCs (Massive Open
methodology - TESPA conference participants. Online CoPs on a Online Course)
- Training Workshops on - Conference held by variety of topics
ICT RELO
- Training workshops on - VinhTESOL Cambridge World of Better
Future Learns
building an active Foreign experts from Learning (blogs, videos, and
https://
language learning universities can help with the online chat functions)
environment for list too www.futurelearn.com/
learners. TESOL (requires membership)
Facebook Groups: EdCamps (online)

- Extensive reading
foundation friends National Geographic free
- English teachers in webinars
Vietnam
- MIE experts Webinars held by RELO
- ELT in Vietnam
- English Teachers E-Teachers held by RELO
- Teachers of English
110
KHAN Academy
Appendix V Self-assessment of Participation in the Community of Practice
Name of CoP: ______________________________________________________
How has your participation in the CoP impacted your work? 5 4 3 2 1

Strongly Agree Somewhat Somewhat Disagree
Agree Agree Disagree
My knowledge about _________ increased.
I am able to apply new practices in my context.
My new practices impacted student learning.
My learning expectations were met.
My future work is likely to change as a result of my

experience with the CoP.
I established a new professional network in this CoP.
I will take action on ideas that were generated as a result of my

work with the CoP.
I met at least one new person that I intend to collaborate with

sometime in the next 6 months.
I would recommend a CoP like this one to others in my school.

111
Adapted from Mabery, M. (2009). Communities of practice approach for PHIN. 7th Annual Public Health Informatics Conference. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Now, meet with members of your CoP and share evidence of your outcomes here:
Provide concrete examples of what you achieved through participating in your CoP.
My knowledge about
_________ increased.
I am able to apply new practices in

my context.
My new practices impacted

student learning.
My learning expectations were met.
My future work is likely to change

as a result of my experience with
the CoP.
I established a new
professional network in this
CoP.
I will take action on ideas that

were generated as a result of my
work with the CoP.
I met at least one new person that

I intend to collaborate with
sometime in the next 6 months.
112
Appendix W Useful Language for Productive CoP Discussions
These phrases help to start and sustain productive discussions with your colleagues.
Asking for opinions
● What do you think about ...?

● What are your views on ...?
● What do you feel about ...?
● What's your opinion of ...?
● What are your feelings about ...?
● Do you have any particular views on ...?
● Don't you agree, ...?
● I think X knows more about this than I do.
● I expect X will agree with me when I say ....
Giving opinions.
● I definitely think that....

● I'm sure that....
● I'm convinced that....
● I really do think that....
● As I see it, ....
● I think ....
● I consider ....
● I feel ....
● Personally, I believe ...
● In my opinion/view, ....
● It seems to me ....
● I'm inclined to think that ...
● I tend to think that ....
Agreeing
● I couldn't agree more.

● On the whole, I think the speaker's arguments are fair.
● I (quite) agree.
● I think you're absolutely right.
● That's a very good point.
● You've got a very good point there.
● I fully support what you say.
● I totally agree.
● Exactly!
113
Asking for clarification/more information
● I didn't understand what you said about…

● I'm sorry, I didn't catch what you said about …
● I'm sorry, could you repeat what you said about…
● I'd like to ask you about…
● I'm not sure what you mean.
● Could we come back to that?
● Could you explain that again, please?
● What did you mean when you said …?
● Could you be more specific about …?
● Could you give an example of …?
● So what you're saying is that…?
● So you mean that …
● Are you saying that …?
● If I have understood you correctly, your point is that …
Challenging an Opinion
● Well. Maybe, possibly

● Yes, but don't you think.?
● I can see your point, but ..
● Perhaps, but don't you think that ...
● I see what you mean, but …
● But isn't it really a question of ..
● But what about…?
● But don't you think that ..?
● I take your point, but …
● It seems to me ...
● I tend to think ...
● I don't think I'd say that.
● I'm not so sure about that.
● You may be right.
● But all the evidence suggests that ...
● I wouldn't say that.
● I don't agree at all.
Encouraging
● That's a good idea.

● Good.
● Why don't you ...?
● Go on.
114
Giving examples
● For example, …
● For instance, …
● Remember, …
● To illustrate my/our point …
Following up a question
● That's not really what I was asking. My question is about …

● Perhaps I didn't make my question clear. In fact what I asked was…
● Sorry, I'm still not clear about…
115
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Developing our Profession Together: A Community of Practice

Handbook for School Teachers of English in Vietnam

Meet the Authors

Chapter 1 An Overview of a Community of Practice

Chapter 2 Getting Started with your CoP

Chapter 3 Growing with your CoP

Peer-mentoring and support

Collaborative action research

Broadening your community

Chapter 4 Assessing and Sustaining Growth

Assessing in the success of a CoP

Chapter 5 Sharing and Celebrating your Growth

Developing a social media presence

Building a Community of Practice to improve the quantity and quality of

This handbook consists of 5 chapters:

In terms of implementation, the handbook is offered to users in print or PDF

We look forward to receiving your valuable feedback and contributions so that

Please send all feedback and contributions to

Meet the Authors

Related to teachers, a Community of Practice is a group of teachers working

Domain: The domain is the area of knowledge, such as a concern, a set of

(Adapted from Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner (2015).

HOW TO ESTABLISH A CoP

Establish a Establish the Identify Get Learn to

In Chapter 1, we explored the benefits of Community of Practice as a professional

 What are the primary purposes of your CoP?

To recruit participants, you need to identify teachers working with common

The Role of School Leadership and Management

Getting Organized: Roles, Responsibilities, and Communication Plans

Determining Needs and Choosing a Focus

Using the English Language Teacher Competency Self-Assessment

Using open-ended tools focused on general teaching principles

Creating the Vision, Mission and Goals for your CoP

- Creating CoP vision

Here is an example of a CoP’s vision:

Creating CoP mission

Here is example of a CoP’s mission:

Creating CoP goals

Table 2.1: Turning a Concern into a Question - Sample 1

Our classes are so multilevel. We How can we differentiate tasks to meet

We know critical thinking is so What instructional strategies prompt

Here is an example of a CoP’s goals related to the first issue in Table 2:

Our goals are:

Table 2.2: Turning a Concern into a Question - Sample 2

The new national educational How can we perform integrated teaching

Our goals are:

A more recently proposed type of reflection is reflection-for-action (Farrell, 2013).

Why is Reflective Practice Important?

Being an Active Listener

Listening actively to colleagues plays a crucial role in CoPs.

(Adapted from Knight, 2018, p. 75, p. 82)

In Chapter 2, we provided guidance for starting a CoP. In this chapter, we

The Importance of Mentoring

Mentoring New Teachers

RESOURCES & TOOLS

Peer Observation and Reflection

RESOURCES & TOOLS

Self-Observation and Reflection

● Gain awareness of teachers’ strengths and weaknesses

● Choose a focus to self observe

RESOURCES & TOOLS

Appendix L Prompts for Journaling and Learning Logs

Sometimes it is difficult for teachers to conduct peer observation because of schedule

RESOURCES & TOOLS