A.

The Institution
Language teaching institutions have a wide range of perspectives on their educational
mission. Any campuses, ideally the lot, are dedicated to offering high-quality educational
facilities. They have a well defined goal. They take the implementation of a solid
curriculum and collection of services seriously, recruit the best possible instructors, and
offer professional teaching and the kinds of resources teachers need to perform at their
best. According to The qualities listed below are metrics of a school's or educational
institution's quality: 1. There are clearly stated educational goals.
2. There is a well-planned, balanced, and organized program that meets the needs of its
students.
3. Systematic and identifiable processes exist for determining educational needs in the
school and placing them in order of priority.
4. There is a commitment to learning, and an expectation that students will do well.
5. There is a high degree of staff involvement in developing goals and making decisions.
6. There is a motivated and cohesive teaching force with good team spirit.
7. Administrators are concerned with the teachers' professional development and are able
to make the best use of their skills and experience.
8. The school's programs are regularly reviewed and progress toward their goals is
evaluated.
In the following sections, we will examine some of the key dimensions of quality and how
quality can become a focus in a school or language program.
a) A sense of mission

What goals does the institution have? Does it exist to serve an important educational
purpose that provides the rationale for the range of courses and services it offers? A
useful format for articulating a school's sense mission is in the form of a mission
statement.

b) A strategic plan

A strategic plan is a description of the long-term vision and goals of an institution and
the means it undertakes for fulfilling them. Based on approaches used in successful
businesses and industries, the notion of strategic planning is now increasingly seen as
essential to the success of any organization, including schools. According to
Klinghammer (1997, 64) provides a useful overview of the function of strategic
planning in effective language programs, and identifies six elements of a good
strategic plan:

- vision: a statement of where a language program is going in the long term and
what its members hope to accomplish
- values: the principles that guide the conduct of a program, in terms of
responsibility to students, teachers, and other stakeholders
- purpose: the basic reasons for the institution's existence mission in a description of
the institution's vision in terms of specific goals that it seeks to achieve, usually
within a particular time period. This is expressed in the form of the mission
statement
- Soals: specific steps that relate to each aspect of the mission, such as increasing -
student enrollments, developing teaching materials, or providing an environment
in which teachers can carry out classroom research
- strategies: the methods and activities that will be used to attain the goals.

Quality assurance mechanisms

Quality assurance refers to systems a school has in place to ensure the quality of its
practices. For example, how does one ensure that the best-quality staff are employed?
Is there a transparent recruitment process or is staff recruitment made through
personal networks? What process is in place to select and review textbooks? Are
textbooks chosen by teachers on the basis of quality and relevance or because of other
factors? What systems are in place to ensure that tests and other forms of assessment
are sound and fair? Are grades sometimes adjusted up or down by the administration
based on unknown criteria? Factors relevant to creating a culture of quality assurance
in an institution are:
• A formulated policy on quality assurance has been articulated and is familiar to all
staff.
• Reasonable and acceptable standards have been determined for all aspects of quality,
such as employment publicity, materials, facilities, and teachers' dress codes.
• Systems are in place to ensure that quality is regularly assessed and corrections are
made where necessary. A reward system is in place to ensure that those who attain
high quality in their work are recognized.
A sound curriculum
A sound curriculum is reflected in the following features of a school's programs:
• The range of courses offered corresponds to the needs of learners.
The curriculum is coherent: The courses represent a rational approach to achieving the
school's mission.
• Courses have been developed based on sound educational principles with due
attention to recognized curriculum development processes.
• Course descriptions, including aims, goals, syllabuses, and course organization, have
been developed. Teaching materials and tests are of high quality, have been carefully
selected or developed, and are regularly reviewed and revised.
• Mechanisms are in place to monitor the quality of teaching and learning.
• The curriculum is subject to ongoing review and renewal. There is on-going interest
in identifying strengths and weaknesses and bringing about improvements in all
aspects of the curriculum.
Flexible organizational framework
We noted earlier that effective schools and language programs are characterized by
administrators who are open to change, flexible, and who encourage teachers to
innovate. There is an atmosphere of trust and support and staff are supported by
reasonable teaching loads, rewards, and opportunities for professional development.
The management style is participatory rather than top-down (Stoller 1997).
Good internal communications
Good internal communications depend on setting up systems that facilitate
communications among teachers and between teachers and administrators. Such
systems include:
• regular meetings and briefings that bring people up to date on important issues and
provide opportunities for input
• access to administrative leaders and visibility of administrators in the institutional
setting; in addition the administration is receptive to teachers' suggestions shared
decision making resulting from opportunities for multiple sources of input on key
decisions availability of relevant course documentation and information for those who
need it
• written guidance for staff on their different roles and job duties so that boundaries
and expectations are clear
• a system for collecting feedback on all aspects of the program and procedures for
making constructive use of feedback
Professional treatment of teachers
Language teachers often suffer from poor employment conditions. They are not
always recognized as trained professionals with specialized skills and knowledge.
Leung and Teasdale (1998, 5) point out that the status of ESL teachers in mainstream
education in many parts of the world is problematic and one of the major obstacles
teachers face. In the primary and secondary sectors ESL teachers work in mainstream
classrooms, often in highly varied and unpredictable situations. ESL is not a
curriculum subject and it has to be delivered through the content of other subjects.
ESL teachers do not generally have sole control of classroom management; they often
work as support or collaborative teachers and are with particular classes usually only
for a limited number of hours per week. The pupils can, and do, arrive at different
times of the year, their English language learning needs varying according to their
previous schooling and circumstances. There are no clearly established and widely
accepted disciplinary based teaching procedures (in the way that, for instance, science
or music may have) and no clearly defined outcomes which are tailored to the specific
needs of ESL pupils. The broader issue here is whether teachers are treated as
professionals or simply regarded as members of a workforce.
Opportunities for teacher development .
Teachers need to develop long-term career goals and expand their roles and
responsibilities over time if they are to continue to find teaching rewarding. A quality
institution provides opportunities for teachers to develop their careers. ESL/EFL is a
rapidly changing field, and teachers need regular opportunities to update their
professional knowledge and skills. Such opportunities may be provided for in a
number of ways. Conference participation: Teachers can participate in professional
conferences and seminars networking with other teachers and learning about trends,
issues, and practices.
• Workshops and in-service seminars: Specialists from outside the school or staff
from the school can offer workshops and seminars on topics of interest to the staff.
• Reading groups: Teachers can put together reading groups and read and discuss
articles or books of interest.
• Peer observation: Teachers can take turns observing each other's classes as a basis
for critical reflection and discussion about teaching approaches.
Size and staff structure
The size of a school and its administrative structure influences many aspects of a
teacher's work. Working in an institute with a staff of five teachers is very different
from working in one with a staff of one hundred. In the former case, the teachers are
likely to be a closely knit team whose members know each other well. In the latter
case, teachers may work more independently and may not feel that their individual
contribution is crucial to the success of the program. In this case, the school will need
to ask what can be done to enable teachers to get to know one another and to develop
a sense of collegiality: Options available include informal professional activities such
as "brown-bag lunches” as well as social activities. The administration will also need
to develop mechanisms for communicating with such a large group of teachers. a
large group of teachers.
Equipment
Schools vary greatly in the amount they have invested in equipment and technology.
Some schools make extensive investments in such things as computers, cassette and
CD players, video recorders, overhead transparency (OHT) machines, and
photocopiers, recognizing that these are essential tools for teachers and can have a
positive effect on teaching, staff workload, and morale. Where such investment is
lacking, there may be a negative impact on teachers' workload.
Support staff
Adequate support staff can also facilitate teachers' work. Is there secretarial or
administrative staff to help with typing, time-tabling, duplicating, and administration?
If not, what percentage of teachers' time is spent on non-instructional chores and at
what cost?
Teacher work space
One way of determining how seriously a school regards its teachers and the work they
do is the work space it provides for its teachers. Is there a staff room for teachers
where they can interact with colleagues, carry out lesson preparation, mark
assignments, and prepare teaching materials and handouts?
Teacher resource room
Teachers need access to a good range of current ESL textbooks, resource books,
materials, and magazines located in a resource room or similar facility in order to
update their professional knowledge and get new ideas to feed into their teaching.
Teaching facilities
Where does teaching take place and how adequate are teaching facilities? In addition
to classrooms, is there a multimedia lab or computer lab, language lab, self-access
center, and student reading room? What impact do these facilities have on the quality
of the program?
Class size
What is the size of classes? Current wisdom suggests that class size should not exceed
fifteen for most language classes, though in many contexts teachers have to work with
much larger groups. Sometimes class size is outside the control of language providers.
However, it should be made known to the client that class size affects the quality of
instruction. The optimal class-size needs for each type of course should be established
based on teacher, learner, and school factors, and when needed, the reasons for
standards set need to be explained to clients.
The Teachers
Many things can be done to create a context for good teaching, but it is teachers
themselves who ultimately determine the success of a program. Good teachers can
often compensate for deficiencies in the curriculum, the materials, or the resources
they make use of in their teaching. In this section, we will consider the teachers
themselves and how their role can be supported in a program.
Skills and qualifications
Language teaching institutions vary greatly in the type of teachers they employ. In
some situations, there may be a choice between native speakers of English and
nonnative speakers of English with varying levels of English language proficiency.
Within both groups there may be further choices possible based on teaching
experience and professional qualifications in TESL/TEFL. There is a much greater
awareness today that an expert language teacher is a highly skilled professional.
According to Lortie (1975), a profession is characterized by:
• a homogeneous consensual knowledge base
• restricted entry
• high social status
• self-regulation
• the legal right to govem daily work affairs
Core components of teacher knowledge include the following:
• practical knowledge: the teacher's repertoire of classroom techniques and strategies.
• content knowledge: the teacher's understanding of the subject of TESOL, e.g.,
pedagogical grammar, phonology, teaching theories, second language acquisition, as
well as the specialized discourse and terminology of language teaching
• contextual knowledge: familiarity with the school or institutional context, school
norms, and knowledge of the learners, including cultural and other relevant
information
• pedagogical knowledge: ability to restructure content knowledge for teaching
purposes, and to plan, adapt, and improvise
• personal knowledge: the teacher's personal beliefs and principles and his or her
individual approach to teaching reflective knowledge: the teacher's capacity to reflect
on and assess his or her own practice.
The UCLES Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) (UCLES 1996), a
widely taught initial qualification for language teachers, focuses on six areas of basic
teaching skills:
• language awareness
• the learner, the teacher, and the teaching/learning context
• planning for effective teaching of adult learners of English
• classroom management and teaching skills
• resources and materials for teaching
• professional development
If an institution recruits teachers with a good command of English (or who are native
speakers of English) but without a good command of basic teaching skills, then
opportunities for basic training will need to be provided. Roberts (1998, 67–68)
suggests that compared to experienced teachers, novice teachers tend to have the
following characteristics:
• They are less able to select which information is salient when planning a lesson.
• They tend to work from the textbook rather than in terms of pupil attainment levels.
• They lack practical classroom management routines to keep pupils on task.
• Their concern with control makes it difficult for them to focus on pupil learning
• They lack an established “pedagogic content knowledge."
Opportunities to develop these skills can be provided in the following ways:
• observation of experienced teachers
• observation of training videos
• short theory courses
• practice teaching under the supervision of experienced teachers
• working with a mentor teacher
Support for teachers
If teachers are expected to teach well and to develop their teaching skills and
knowledge over time, they need ongoing support. This may take a number of forms:
Orientation
New teachers need a careful orientation to teaching assignments in order to clarify the
goals of the program, teaching approaches, resources, problems to anticipate, and
solutions. Many programs use a "buddy system” for this purpose which links new
teachers with experienced teachers for mentoring and support as needed during their
first months in the program. New teachers need to feel that they are valued and their
concerns appreciated and responded to.
Adequate Materials
Teachers need good materials to teach from either in the form of commercial
textbooks or institutionally prepared materials. Nothing is more demotivating to
teachers than having to use a textbook that no one likes or materials that are poorly
prepared or presented. Teachers need to be involved in the choice of materials and
guidelines may be needed on the role of materials in the program.
Course Guides
Course guides should be provided for each course offered in the program with
information on the course, aims and objectives, recommended materials and methods,
suggested learning activities, and procedures for assessment.
Division Of Responsibilities
Teachers have many different responsibilities apart from teaching. They may be
involved in course planning, course coordination, testing, preparation of materials,
and mentoring. Deciding which members of a team are best suited to different tasks
and providing the support and training needed for specific roles is important. If a
senior teacher's responsibilities include writing progress reports on other teachers'
performance, training may be needed in how to prepare useful reports. Creating job
descriptions for different responsibilities can also establish clear lines of demarcation
and responsibility, which are important in strengthening staff morale.
Fuather Training
Teachers in an institution may not always have the particular knowledge and skills a
program needs, so it may be important to select staff for specialized training to meet
these needs. For example, a staff member may be sent to a workshop on using
multimedia resources in the classroom or on alternative assessment.
Teaching Release
If teachers are expected to play a key role in some aspect of the program such as
materials development or mentoring, they may need to be given release time from
teaching to enable them to devote time to this. This acknowledges the value with
which the institution regards such activities.
Mentors
A system of mentoring is often helpful in a school where there are teachers of
different levels of experience and training. The role of a mentor is to give teachers,
particularly less experienced teachers, someone with whom they can sound off ideas,
share problems, and get advice. Typically, this person is not a manager but another
teacher in whom the teacher has confidence and trust.
Feedback
Teachers need to be told when they are doing well and when there are problems with
their performance. Good teaching sometimes goes unnoticed. In the case of negative
feedback, ways need to be found for providing constructive and non-threatening
feedback. Feedback can be face-to-face, in writing, or on the telephone, depending on
the kind of feedback it is.
Rewards
Teachers who perform well should receive acknowledgment for good service. This
could include being sent to a conference or in-service course or having their name
listed in a staff newsletter.
Help Lines
Teachers often work for long periods in relative isolation. Whom should they turn to
when they have problems with student discipline, difficulties working with another
teacher, or difficulties in using course materials? Teachers should know exactly whom
to turn to for help in solving different kinds of problems.
Review
Time should be allocated for regular review of the program, problem solving, and
critical reflection. These activities help solve practical problems and also develop a
sense of collegiality among staff.