Self-Development of Language Teaching Staff as a Factor of Increasing Their Professional Competence in the Modern World

The paper discusses the issues of a language teacher professional growth and improvement and increasing his/her competence in line with modern trends in education. It addresses the topic of self-development and its impact on the quality of teaching foreign languages. Self-development of language teaching staff is shown to be the main factor of their professional competence. The work provides a rationale for the relevance of the chosen topic and discusses the significance of teacher self-development in the modern world. Possible ways to improve his/her professional skills are considered. They involve a critical reflective analysis by the teacher of his/her professional competencies, the quality of teaching students a foreign language and prospects for personal growth. It is shown that the process of professional development should be ever-lasting, assume collegiality and provide mentoring within a single educational organization. Self-development and improvement of professional competence implies collaboration with foreign colleagues and experts in the professional field. The paper proposes a scheme of self-development for a language teacher, based on a reflective analysis of his/her professional competence and place in the profession.