Professional Standards for English Teachers

Standards for English teachers were outlined in the publication Professional Standards for English Teachers (Ministry of Education, 2003). To keep up with the rapid changes that characterize today’s society, and align with contemporary research in language education, a decision was made to revisit and revise this document. The Professional Teaching Framework for English Teachers in Israel is based on contemporary research and understandings of language teaching and learning. It includes clear descriptions of knowledge, insights and competences for language teachers at three levels of professional growth: basic, skilled and expert. Though based on the original document from 2003, this Framework constitutes a re-conceptualization of the domains and standards. Additionally, it includes extensive additional content such as descriptors of levels of performance, examples of evidence to determine teacher achievement, suggestions for teacher reflection, and a checklist for self-evaluation. The document has undergone extensive review by researchers and practitioners in the field and the final version will soon be released.