The Need for Professional Growth of ELT Teachers in Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper presents the need for professional growth of English language teachers in Ethiopia. It indicates that English language teachers teach what they know, what they have, what they think, and what they believe. They cannot give beyond what they have and what they know. It argues that the poor competence and proficiency in English language can be addressed by improving the quality of English language teachers. Therefore, it emphasizes that the collaborative effort of teachers, schools/institutions and teacher training institutions can make a difference in improving the quality of English language teachers by designing different sustainable professional development strategies which address the subject matter content, language skills, language pedagogy and the curriculum that teachers currently teach.