ПУТИ ОПТИМИЗАЦИИ ПОДГОТОВКИ УЧИТЕЛЯ В ОБЛАСТИ ИНОЯЗЫЧНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

120 tion. When we asked our colleagues about their experience when they came to schools as teachers and who were helping them, the answers were predictable 99% of them told that the people were their colleagues. We must admit that a piece of advice or evaluation from administrators or col- leagues is the easiest way to get proper and up-to-date information. Administrators by nature should be excellent resources of advice for teachers. Teachers should not be afraid to seek help from an administrator or a more experienced colleague. Through teacher evaluations and observation our colleagues can help us to identify strengths and weaknesses, and offer suggestions that will lead to improvement. The evaluation process provides natural collaboration where the teacher and administrator can ask questions, exchange ideas, and offer suggestions for improvement. Each school has teacher activity groups, where teachers can find ideas and help for their professional development. Especially it’s important for the First-year teach- ers. They need more support and this way mentoring can be an invaluable tool for professional growth and development. Courses, workshops and seminars is the second main way of self-education or self- development. Professional development is a mandatory component of being a teacher. In our country teachers have to earn a certain number of professional development hours every three year. Usually these courses are face-to-face and free. In Belarus teachers can participate in courses that are provided by The Regional Institutes of Post-Graduating Education, Minsk State Linguistic University, The Academy of Post-Graduating Educa- tion, The National Institute of Education. There they can find a lot of useful face-to-face seminars and courses, and of course there are a lot of on-line events are provided. Espe- cially we recommend to pay attention on the workshops that are organized by Minsk State Linguistic University. Some of them require payment, but there are also some free courses, that teachers can join. Further information can be found on their websites or so- cial media, all necessary information will be given up-to-date. Great teachers recognize their weaknesses and attend professional development workshops and conferences to improve these areas. And one of the most helpful tool for doing it is modern technology. The Internet is one of the most powerful tool for self-education and professional development. The Internet is changing the face of education inside and outside of the class- room. What is moreover, never before have teachers been able to make the global connections that they are able to make now, especially last year. Social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, Google, and Pinterest have created a global ex- change of ideas and best practices among teachers. The Internet provides unlimited resources to teachers. There teachers can find mil- lions of lesson plans, activities, and information available online for teachers. Sometimes you have to filter everything to find the highest quality content or adapt materials to your needs, but if you search long enough, you will find what you are looking for. Sites like YouTube, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Teaching Channel offer quality educational content that can improve teachers and their classrooms. If we speak about on-line courses, there are a lot of platforms for doing this. There are some of them.