Following the state-of-the-art article on action research by Anne Burns in the last issue (Language Teaching 38.2, pp. 57–74), in the present issue, Steve Mann looks at the important reflective and developmental processes that need to be considered in the context of such research to help those who want to grow and develop as language teachers. Processes that have been identified as instrumental and supportive in teacher development, such as reflection, exploration and evaluation, are considered alongside tools such as journal writing, narrative enquiry and collaborative research to argue that sustaining teacher development is important for both the individual teacher and the school.