Where do we go now?

 

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

  

 

That was Bilbo Baggins' take on things, anyway...

As we approach the middle of 2010, I can't help but think of what ELT (English Language Teaching) was like in the middle of 2000. There have been developments, both good and bad, and while I do in many ways have faith that language learning and teaching has made progress overall, I'm not sure it has always represented a good return on investment (and not just investment of the time sort).

And what will ELT be like in 2020, then?

Beyond the safe predictions about things like the role(s) of technology in language teaching, what about things like teachers' professionalism, conditions, salaries and prospects?

Will there be the demand for English language classes we see today, or will it be even greater? (I've been reading a lot about boom and bust cycles in other industries recently, and have begun to wonder if ELT doesn't actually represent a sort of inflationary bubble that could pop at some point in spectacular fashion!). What sorts of people will be teaching the actual classes in 2010? Will the learners fit the same or similar demographics we see in most classes today?

Probably most importantly (for us - you and I): what role are we going to play in shaping what comes in the years ahead?

It may feel at times that we are pawns or relatively powerless players in this grand (and increasingly corporatised and/or politicised) game called variously TEFL, TESOL or ELT. A sense of powerlessness can make any career feel overcast with a long term forecast of more gloomy weather (even if we're lucky enough to catch the odd break in the clouds and some unexpected sunshine here or there).

But surely there are things we can do (however small) to advance our own prospects as language teachers, and the profession as a whole. There are times when we ought to be thinking less about what our profession can or should be doing for us, and what we could be doing to help ourselves.

And surely it must be only sensible at times to reflect on whether we think ELT is a field worth sticking around in...

  

:-)