ABSTRACT
The topic of professional development programs for non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in inner-circle English-speaking countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States, including their issues and needed changes to the programs, has become the focus of critiques. In 1998, George Braine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong established the first-ever Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Nonnative Speaker Caucus, specifically to give voice to NNESTs in the flagship organization for English language teachers. Many have called for professional development to include English-language improvement classes as part of their offerings for NNESTs. The English-language improvement classes were conducted for NNESTs to improve their proficiency for professional development programs because a major reason why teachers study in an English-speaking country is to sharpen language skills and gain teaching confidence.
