The Meaning and Practice of Professionalism of EFL Teachers in the Saudi Context

During the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) year, the English Language Institute (ELI) concentrates on raising the level of English of new students so that they are able to adequately cope with studying in their desired department in the following years. Such a drastic change in the institution’s goals has led to some changes in the professional development programme in order to handle these new changes. For the first part of this research study, a review of the past and current research studies on professional development and professional identity issues will be presented. The second part of this paper will report on a small-based inquiry conducted with four (two male and two female) ELI teachers aiming to explore two important and related issues. First, there is the issue concerning the role of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in planning and structuring the professional development programmes offered by the ELI, while the second looks to examine the professional identity of the teachers as sensed by the teachers themselves. In the third and final section, a reflection on how this inquiry can lead to the awareness of the teachers’ role (male and female) in training and professional development programmes as well as professional identity perceived by the teachers, which ultimately, should lead to a much deeper interpretation of the status of the English language teacher profession.