Conference Networking for the Professional Development of English Language Teachers

Abstract

This research work entitled Conference Networking for the Professional Development of English Language Teachers has aimed to study the role of conference networking for the English language teacher’s professional development. Both primary and secondary sources of data were utilized in the study. Narrative inquiry was adopted as a research design and it is based on descriptive or qualitative data. The data were collected from four English language teachers teaching up to college level from Kanchanpur district. The four participants were selected purposively to meet the objectives of the study. Moreover, the data was collected from in-depth discussion and written narratives. Thematic approach was utilized for analysis and interpretation of data. Generated themes were more elaborated with supporting statement of participants. In this research it was found that teachers participated or attended English language conferences for updating their knowledge and skills, professional qualities. Similarly, building confidence and pedagogical expertise, rapport building, professional development and building network with the people from home and abroad are some other secondary reasons of attending conferences. After the participation, participants might get very attracted and motivated to what they see, hear, and experience or they may gain a deeper appreciation of the situation. In contrast to this, it was also found that participants do not take part in the conference because of limited time (many participants prefer to visit different places), lack of information and limitation of certain amount of money. This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitations of the study and operational definition of the key terms. The second chapter includes review of related theoretical literature; review of related empirical literature; Implications of the review of the study and conceptual framework. Likewise, the third chapter includes all the areas of research methodology. In the same way, the fourth chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of the results and the ultimately, the fifth chapter includes findings, conclusion and recommendations at three different areas (policy related, practice related and further research related) followed by references and appendices.