Implementation of neuro linguistic programming NLP into personal and professional development programs of English language teachers

In the field of teaching, the importance of change and/or development İs undeniable. At any stage of teacher development, it is essential to take a more humanistic point of view; that is to take into account the "whole teacher", which covers the teacher's personal and professional life: his/her beliefs, values, emotional states, interpersonal world as well as knowledge, skills, and roles in the society. Hence, within the close relationship of personal and professional life, uncovering one's constructs in accordance is of utmost importance to achieve change and/or development. In this respect, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) seemed to be promising to contribute to the personal and professional development of teachers. NLP with its underlying techniques and principles tries to explain how a person structures his/her thoughts, and how this affects his/her behavior. Applying NLP techniques enables the teacher to control mental, emotional and physical resources so that a person can reach his/her potentials. Drawing on the argument above, this qualitative study aimed to design a new teacher development program to support both personal and professional development of EFL teachers, implementing NLP techniques. This study also aimed to investigate the effects of NLP techniques on the personal and professional development of EFL teachers and to see whether NLP techniques enable teachers to develop a system to support for themselves to cope with problems related to their not only professional but also personal life. This qualitative study included six non-native, experienced EFL teachers from various Turkish state schools who participated in the NLP-TD program for over threemonths (12 sessions). In order to see the impact of the NLP-TD program, Repertory Grids, follow-up interviews, questionnaires and reflection sheets were employed in the study. Repertory Grids and follow-up interviews were administered at the beginning and end of the study to observe the changes in the structure and content of the participant teachers' personal theories regarding the personal and professional features of an effective teacher. We also searched into the nature of participant teachers' construction of "self ' as teacher and "ideal" teacher in relation to those features. With the help of the questionnaires and reflection sheets, participant teachers' reactions regarding their experiences of the NLP-TD program were obtained to illuminate teacher educators and INSET providers for future implementations of the NLP-TD program. Preliminary data indicated that the current teacher development opportunities in Turkey are very limited and fall short of meeting the needs and interests of experienced EFL teachers. Accordingly, these teachers claimed to be left on their own in regards to their development. Findings of this study maintain overwhelming positive responses to the effectiveness of the NLP-TD program. This program helped participant teachers to support themselves discovering their subjective world within their personal and/or professional life. Findings especially note that the NLP-TD program was different from other INSET programs as to its emphasizing and connecting both personal and professional theories. As regards to the Repertory Grid, findings suggest that participant teachers' personal theories displayed significant change both in content and structure at the end of the study. In conclusion, the NLP-TD program may be an important example for a successful INSET program that supports life-long learning of EFL teachers through school-university collaboration. KEY WORDS Teacher Development Personal Development Professional Development Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Repertory Grid Technique INSET Constructivism