USING THE INTERNET FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Teachers are a professional category who needs constant and continuous learning and development in order to adapt to the new generations’ learning needs and styles. Teachers’ knowledge, skills and attitude are very important for the education process. Even if they are no longer the perceived authorities but their role has changed into a facilitator and guide, the teacher remains a mentor in learners’ lives as long as he/she is concerned with continuous professional and personal development. The difference between training and development is that the latter offers the possibility of choosing one’s path to develop the needed knowledge, skills and attitudes according to one’s own personal choice and interests. If training is provided for teachers according to a certain curriculum which doesn’t necessarily fit their interests the teacher trainers may encounter reluctance and even resistance to their courses. On the other hand, professional development is seen as a personal choice to fill the gaps in one’s professional development which leads to the creation of a development plan. The present article asks the question of how important the internet tools and resources are in order to meet teachers’ needs for professional development and what tools and resources are used by the language teachers in a Romanian technical university to enhance their specialized knowledge, to develop their teaching skills and to exchange information with their learning communities. Our expectations are that the language teachers are open to learning with technology and that the internet deserves to be explored from the professional development point of view. It is an available resource for everyone and can offer tools for reflection, peer enquiry and collaboration. We have to be aware, though, that not all the internet resources are valid and have to be trusted. The teachers show prudence at using internet resources as a means of professional development. Face to face interaction in workshops, conferences and round tables are still important for the academic community, which gives teachers opportunities of interaction and exchange of professional ideas which can help their members reflect on their own experiences and develop personally, but a viable alternative which offers anyone thinking time over a specific issue and provides opportunities of learning are the Web tools such as social networks, blogs, webinars and all virtual learning platforms.