Professional Pathways for Schools and Teachers for Learning Languages

Enabling schools and teachers to offer effective and sustainable languages programmes for all students 

ILEP supports schools and teachers to implement the Learning Languages curriculum area through the promotion of a five-stage professional learning pathway for schools and teachers in years 7-13. The pathway has been designed to ensure that support and resources offered through Ministry of Education initiatives and programmes are targeted in a coherent and sustainable manner. Our goal is to consolidate the professional learning and development offered at various stages of the pathway to help schools achieve sustainable learning languages programmes.  

Five-stage PLD pathway for schools and teachers in Learning Languages

 Support available at each stage of the pathway 

Initiation Stage 

At this stage ILEP works with principals and senior management, heads of departments, senior teachers and teachers of years 7 -13 to establish a learning languages strategy and framework and to prepare teachers for participation in intensive stage professional learning opportunities such as Teacher Professional Development Languages (TPDL). 

Intensive Stage

At this stage of the pathway teachers engage in more intensive professional learning in order to develop their language teaching pedagogy and to improve their linguistic and cultural knowledge of the target language.

Consolidation Stage

At this stage of the pathway the learning of teachers is consolidated through the targeted support of language specific advisers and language assistants. Priority for the allocation of support at this stage is given to schools and teachers who have already engaged in the initiation and intensive stages of the pathway or who can demonstrate a strong commitment to prior professional learning and development in learning languages and who have a clear curriculum based focus to their professional learning requirements. 

Sustainability Stage

At this stage of the pathway language teachers are offered the opportunity to improve their intercultural communicative competence through the opportunity to apply for international immersion experiences and scholarships to countries in which the target language is used. Priority for the allocation of support at this stage is given to schools and teachers who have already engaged in preceding stages of the pathway or who can demonstrate a strong commitment to prior professional learning and development in learning languages and who have a clear student-outcomes focused goal  for the relevant programme.  

Future Opportunities Stage

At this stage of the pathway language teachers are encouraged and supported to undertake leadership in the learning languages community of practice to further enhance the sustainability of Learning Languages in New Zealand. 

For detailed information on each stage read more.