PPE1B – Spring 2009

Lucie Leidolfová


                Institutional support of teacher development in the Czech Republic


            This essay is focussed on four prestigious institutions in the Czech Republic,
providing many courses, conferences and methodological seminars for practicing, qualified teachers.

            I am convinced that being a good teacher is not an easy task nowadays. However, good
teachers must be aware of the necessity of their continual professional development. This would not
only help them to explore different ways and methods of teaching but also contribute to their
feeling of notable satisfaction and effectiveness in their career.

            I chose this topic as I would like to inspire my colleagues with some possibilities and
opportunities for their professional development in our country.

            Firstly, I would like to introduce British Council, an international organization
operating in 109 countries (British Council). The British Council runs many projects and programmes
in education and teaching the English language as well as many methodology seminars for teachers.
Moreover, it organizes various types of internationally accepted exams. The British Council runs
its own literary club and libraries in Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava and other large cities where teachers
can loan for use the whole range of methodological books, class books, dictionaries, DVDs, CDs and
materials suitable for passing Cambridge exams. The British Council web pages are certainly a great
inspiration for creative and keen teachers.

Secondly, the National Agency for European Educational Programmes (NAEP) should be mentioned. This
institution provides many educational programmes and a lifelong learning programme consisting of
four sectoral programmes – Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Grundtvig (NAEP). The Comenius
provides grants for teachers willing to work on their teacher development. If their application
form for a grant is successful they get the chance to participate in one of the training courses,
seminars, internships or conferences abroad. In my opinion, this is a great opportunity for us,
teachers of English, to get some ideas on how to make our teaching more effective.

            The third institution which I find very beneficial is The Association of Teacher
Educators (AMATE). They try to contribute to the foreign language teaching improvement in all types
of schools in the Czech Republic (AMATE). The directors of this association are our university
teachers Mrs. Naďa Vojtková and Mrs. Světlana Hanušová. The members of AMATE offer useful tips for
teachers´ teaching practice, such as tips for choosing a suitable class book for young learners or
supporting materials, documents and presentations for an effective school education programme
production and others. Furthermore, these qualified teacher educators provide various conferences,
seminars, projects and other activities in our country for teachers of foreign languages (AMATE).

            The last institution I would like to inform my colleagues about is The Association of
Teachers of English of the Czech Republic (ATECR) which tries to:

“Improve the cooperation of English teaching in Czech schools, offer professional cooperation with
TV and radio in the design and production of teaching programmes for schools at both teacher and
pupil level, promote exchange visits, working parties and study exchanges between Czech teachers of
English and teachers of English from other countries, support members´ participation in
international conferences and professional meetings” and others (ATECR).

Moreover, the ATECR web page provides teachers of English with many useful links presenting various
teaching materials and lesson plans or information about exams, bookshops, dictionaries and other
useful links for teachers (ATECR).

            Finally, it is important to bear in mind that Oxford, Cambridge, Fraus and other
publishing houses give teachers of English a great opportunity to participate in their practical
seminars and conferences too. These are held around the Czech Republic through the whole year.


Online Sources



AMATE Asociace metodiků [AMATE Association of Teacher Educators]. 11 Nov. 2008.

     Jiří Šádek. 28 Mar. 2009 <http://www.amate.cz/>.


Asociace učitelů angličtiny České Republiky [Association of Teachers of English of the Czech

     Republic]. 2009. 28 Mar. 2009 <http://www.atecr.cz/>.


British Council Czech Republic. 2009. The United Kingdom’s International Organisation for

     Cultural Relations and Educational Opportunities. 28 Mar. 2009

     <http://www.britishcouncil.org/czechrepublic.htm>.


Cambridge - English Language Teaching. 2009. Cambridge University Press 2005. 28 Mar.

     2009 <http://www.cambridge.org/elt/cz/>.

     Fraus. 2009. Nakladatelství Fraus s.r.o. 28 Mar. 2009 <http://www.fraus.cz/>.


Národní agentura pro evropské vzdělávací programy [National Agency for European

     Educational Programmes]. 2009. NAEP 2007-2009. 28 Mar. 2009

     <http://www.naep.cz/>.


Oxford University Press. 2009. 2006 Megabooks CZ spol. s.r.o. 28 Mar. 2009

     <http://www.oup.cz/>.