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Description
Professional development (PD) plays a vital role in maintaining and developing teachers’ qualities and competences; however, how to make PD more effective in relation to EFL teachers’ expectations and examine their satisfaction levels of PD activities organized in a foreign language center have still been a matter of much concern by administrators, researchers, and teachers as well. This study therefore aims to investigate EFL teachers’ expectations and their satisfaction levels of the PD activities that they have attended. This study was conducted with both quantitative and qualitative methods of research using questionnaires and interviews, which were employed to give the answers to the mentioned research questions. The study involved 50 teachers at an English Language Center, in Soc Trang City, Vietnam. Results showed that EFL teachers have high expectations of (1) PD content which especially focuses on improving lesson planning and students’ outcomes, and learning how to create a supportive learning environment; (2) coherence of PD with teachers’ needs and students’ needs and interests; (3) opportunities for active learning such as observing more experienced teachers or being mentored by experts; and (4) duration of PD which should be on-going throughout the year and allow participants have more time to practice new skills. Findings also revealed that EFL teachers have been satisfied with (1) the PD content, (2) the coherence, and (3) the duration of PD. Based on the main findings, some recommendations are made for improving PD qualities.
