The Importance Of Teacher Training And Teacher Education

Teacher training and teacher education has attracted considerable attention during the last two decades. In fact the idea that teachers can play a leading role in the quality of L2 learning has always been important, i.e. improving teachers’ skills can exert a large positive influence on the progress rate of English learners. Recent research especially suggests that there has been growing recognition of teachers as the most important criteria in studentsoverall achievement (Carey, 2004; Haycock,1998). In this regard, most teachers try to build upon their knowledge of teaching and learning both in practical and theoretical terms. Training courses focus more specifically on the practical and real class situations and is aimed at providing teachers with techniques, strategies and skills on how to teach languages effectively. On a broader scope, however, teacher education and development go beyond this and get English teachers to reflect and theorize based on their extensive experience. In this vein, professional development models have gained significance over the years. According to some recent research, there is a strong correlation between teachers’ teaching and students’ school success (Diaz-Maggioli, 2004; Sparks, 2002). In other words, different teachers adopt various teaching models or practices in order to improve and enhance their professional skills in the field of EFL. In this sense, Huber-man (1989), believes that teachers’ careers include cycles of conflict or