Building Mentoring Relationships that Support English Language Teacher Learning

Mentoring English language teachers (ELTs) is a crucial aspect of our work as TESOL teacher educators. In practicum settings, mentoring involves both guiding instructional practice and building relationships that support teachers’ growth, confidence, and sense of belonging. Drawing on findings from several studies of mentoring in language teacher education contexts, this presentation explores how mentor teachers and teacher educators can create relational and interactional conditions that support teacher learning and agency. I highlight practical features of mentoring that shape these relationships, including open communication, opportunities for informal interaction, and relational moments that foster positive emotions. The session invites participants to reflect on mentoring practices that support teacher development across both practicum settings and everyday language teaching contexts.

Amber N. Warren, PhD is Associate Professor of Multilingual Education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University, USA. She has taught English in Thailand, South Korea, and Tennessee. Her research explores language teacher construction of professional knowledge and agency for action and intersections of media and policy in the lives of educators and language learners. Her work can be found in numerous journals including Teaching and Teacher Education, Language and Education, Linguistics and Education, TESOL Journal, and Journal of Education Policy. She is co-editor of Activism in Language Teaching and Language Teacher Education (Bloomsbury, 2024), Criticality, Dialogism, and Advocacy in Online Language Teacher Education (de Gruyter, forthcoming), and Language Teacher Educators at a Crossroads: Exploring the Intersections of Identity, Emotions, and Agency (Routledge, forthcoming).