Cambridge launches unique online professional development site for English language teachers

A new professional development site for English language teachers has been launched by Cambridge University Press and Cambridge ESOL.

Cambridge English Teacher is an online environment that offers teachers the opportunity to become part of a community of peers across the world, undertaking flexible professional development courses and building an online presence that showcases their careers to date.

The community (www.CambridgeEnglishTeacher.org) also allows members to interact with fellow teachers, the authors who produce the materials they use in the classroom, and other leading names in the world of global English language teaching.

Teachers can check out what the site offers by registering as guests, and can immediately enrol on online self-study courses which include downloadable certificates of completion. Registering as a member opens up even more benefits, including an extensive library of Cambridge professional development resources, a digital subscription to English Teaching Professional magazine, and full access to topical articles and webinars.

Andrew Nye, Stakeholder Relations Manager at Cambridge ESOL, said:

"Cambridge English Teacher will build a unique online teaching community which will help boost the careers of English teachers around the globe. Members can connect with like-minded teachers around the world and get access to unique resources from Cambridge. Teachers can also showcase their qualifications and professional achievements on their profile which will help them steer their career paths in the right direction."

Eric Baber from Cambridge University Press predicts the site will become an important 'virtual space' for English language teachers, allowing them to connect with each other and helping them to develop themselves and their careers:

"Along with Cambridge ESOL, we felt there was a gap in the online support, development, and networking opportunities offered to both native and non-native English language teachers.  Such teachers are, by the very nature of what they do, scattered across the globe and don't often have chances to meet in a central place. Cambridge English Teacher offers exactly this: a virtual space where teachers can compare ideas and experiences, support each other, interact with the authors whose materials they use, and improve their skills with online, self-study courses. We are confident it will transform the lives of hard-working teachers of English everywhere."

To mark the launch of the site, new members are for a limited period being offered a 10-hour professional development course of their choice and special rates on further courses.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Upcoming articles and webinars by well-known names in the ELT world include:

Articles (all to be published before May 2nd):

• Tessa Woodward on Continuing Professional Development
• Eric Baber on How to Attend a Conference
• Kevin Westbrook on Professionalising the ELT Industry
• Barney Barrett on Using Webquests in ELT
• Ian McMaster on Should we be teaching British, American, or International
  English?
• Pete Sharma on Making a Success of Blended Learning

 Webinars (available between 28th March and 6th June)

• Herbert Puchta on Teaching Young Learners
• Nicky Hockly on Teaching the Net Generation
• Nik Peachey on What Social Networks can do for Teachers
• Evan Frendo on Business English as a Lingua Franca
• Russell Stannard on Using New Technologies for Teaching and Learning
• Judith Mader on Teaching English versus Teaching English to Pass an Exam
• Mike McCarthy on The Difference between Written Grammar and Spoken Grammar

For further information, please contact Hannah Gregory on +44 (0)1223 325544 or email press@cambridge.org 

Find out more about Cambridge English Teacher on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk30Ix8d8fA

About Cambridge English Teacher

Cambridge English Teacher has been developed by Cambridge University Press and Cambridge ESOL - not-for-profit departments of the University of Cambridge with a reputation for excellence in education and teacher development, including producing and supporting the CELTA, Delta and TKT qualifications.

For further information, go to: www.CambridgeEnglishTeacher.org

About Cambridge University Press English language teaching publishing

Cambridge University Press is one of the world's leading English language teaching publishers, and its products are used by people in nearly every country in the world to learn and teach the English language.

Cambridge works in partnership with Cambridge ESOL, the experts in language assessment, to provide courses that are tailored to students' exams, which are relied on by thousands of universities, employers and government ministries around the world as proof of English language ability.

English language courses and textbooks include 'Interchange', 'Grammar in Use' and 'English Grammar in Use', and Cambridge authors include Penny Ur, Professor Michael McCarthy, Dr Herbert Puchta and Raymond Murphy.

Many Cambridge English texts and courses are developed using the Cambridge English Corpus - a multi-billion word collection of written and spoken English, plus a unique bank of exam candidate papers. This helps students avoid mistakes, and means that the language taught from Cambridge English materials is useful, natural and fully up-to-date.

Cambridge English texts and courses are published without boundaries, and they are fully accessible to the modern learner in a range of different formats - from printed books, to apps and online dictionaries.

A team of experienced consultants and advisers, many of them with teaching experience themselves, provide ongoing support, training and guidance to teachers and schools all over the world.

For further information, go to: www.cambridge.org/elt

About Cambridge ESOL

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL) offers the world's most valuable range of English qualifications. Cambridge ESOL is part of Cambridge Assessment, a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge and Europe's largest educational assessment organisation.

Based in Cambridge and with around 400 permanent members of staff, Cambridge ESOL also works closely with tens of thousands of examiners, teachers and publishers around the world.

For further information, go to: www.cambridgeesol.org