Focus on

MOVING INTO
ELT MANAGEMENT
1. What is management in ELT?
English language teaching management is the management of language teaching
products and services in a wide range of contexts. These products could include
publications, homestays, teacher training, and outreach programmes, but for the
majority of ELT managers, these products and services are purely the courses their
organization offers. Different contexts include university courses, such as those for
in-sessional/pre-sessional students, state and private mainstream schools, private
language schools, and other courses such as government-sponsored language
education. A further distinction in the private language school sector is onshore,
where students do not typically travel abroad to study, and offshore, where students
travel overseas to study English. And yet one further distinction in the different
contexts is that courses can be delivered face-to-face, remotely, or through a blend of
both (hybrid).
It is also important to distinguish between leadership and management when
individuals think about moving into senior roles. Management is often considered
to be the day-to-day tasks of planning and supervision, while leadership tends to
be more concerned with the direction of an institution and its long-term wellbeing
through execution of a strategic plan. The most common starting point into
management for teachers is academic management, but it is important for academic
managers to also understand other areas of the teaching business, such as sales
and marketing, customer service, operations, human resources (HR), and finance.
Understanding these areas is particularly important from a leadership perspective, as
it allows a manager to see how their department fits into the overall organization and
enables greater collaboration between different departments.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gerhard Erasmus has been managing language teaching organizations since
2006 and is co-owner of a language school and teacher training organization.
He is currently working towards an EdD in Organizational Leadership and is the
Coordinator of IATEFL LAMSIG.

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Moving into ELT management

in the early stages. But there is plenty that can be learnt from
2. What are the opportunities in management other managers or by undertaking a management course. The
in ELT? best learning, however, tends to happen on the job, and to
ensure that you can learn from your experience, you need to be
The biggest reason to move into ELT management is the
self-aware and able to reflect on both successes and failures.
opportunity to contribute to an institution and the ELT sector at
large. If a teacher has spent years developing their teaching skills Contributing to others’ development
and producing great outcomes for their students, they could One of the most rewarding aspects of management is the
increase that impact by moving into management and helping ability to contribute to the development of other teachers and
other teachers develop their skills. The other main reason is a greater number of students. Managers have the opportunity
career development and growth, and the satisfaction that comes to shape the developmental journey of the teachers in their
from that growth. By moving into management, many more team—and indirectly, the achievement of all those taught by
opportunities can arise, such as those presented here. that teaching team.
Harnessing transferable skills Optimizing the academic management process/cycle
Teachers have a number of skills that can transfer from teaching Considering a simple academic management cycle, such as the
into management. These include, but are not limited to: one outlined below, can help managers to effectively plan their
• Product skills – An experienced teacher understands the time over a semester or a year. This cycle will differ between
courses available in their context. Knowledge of and insight contexts and institutions and so may not include all of the
into the courses being offered are very important because stages presented here.
they are the main drivers of the institution.
• Curriculum development and assessment skills – Developing An academic management cycle
existing courses or new courses forms a large part of • Pre-course – Designing the course that will be offered to
an academic manager’s job. Teachers already perform prospective students.
comparable tasks when they develop supplementary and/or • Teacher recruitment and induction – While this is an
assessment materials. ongoing activity, there is often increased teacher
• Teacher development skills – Teachers who have managed recruitment just prior to course commencement. The
their own development can guide the development of other recruitment process includes writing role profiles,
teachers, and they probably have done so already in informal advertising, interviewing, and inducting new teachers.
training/workshop sessions. • Student on-boarding – Organizing placement or diagnostic
• Interpersonal skills – Most teachers already demonstrate testing, needs-analysis, and student induction prior to the
good interpersonal skills through their interactions with start of a course.
colleagues and students. This is a very easy transfer even if • Ongoing support – Supporting teachers and students
the relationship dynamic changes. throughout a course and dealing with problems,
• Organizational and planning skills – Teachers plan lessons and performance management, and student progress.
series of lessons, organize their classes and planning time, • Satisfaction feedback – Receiving and filtering feedback
and plan according to the curriculum. While the content of from staff and students about a course.
the planning changes, the skills involved are very similar. • Reflection and redesign – Looking at feedback and
Increased self-awareness reflecting on a course or courses in order to make
One challenging aspect of moving into a new role is the fear adjustments to the course, the recruitment process,
that you might not know everything you need to. This fear stops ongoing support, and feedback.
some people from moving into management. Very few, if any,
employees truly know everything about their job, particularly

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Moving into ELT management

Building knowledge in other teams’ areas Baccalaureate (IB) courses, then gaining a qualification related
While teachers mostly work only within the academic unit, it to IB courses might be more appropriate in the immediate
is important to be aware of the other departments and how future than any other qualification.
individuals can develop their skills through interacting with
them. For example, in a manager’s staff recruitment process, The marketing–sales–customer service cycle
they will need to work with HR. Through their interactions A further challenge for new managers is understanding the role
with HR, managers will likely gain further knowledge of the of non-academic management—roles often fulfilled by other
legal requirements for working in their country as well as managers, but which are not always present in smaller private
employment legislation in general. language schools. What further complicates understanding the
marketing–sales–customer service cycle is that it differs from
The courses academic teams design need to appeal to a organization to organization and across different contexts.
specific segment of the market. Understanding the size of Marketing and sales for a private school in Australia that offers
different target markets, their pain points (i.e. what they are English to students from overseas would differ from marketing
concerned about), and their gains (i.e. what they get from and sales in a school in, say, Argentina, where the students may
studying at your organization) means that collaboration with already live near the school. This is often a steep learning curve
marketing and sales teams not only affects course design but for new managers.
also how your courses are marketed. This in turn affects sales
and the customer experience—key goals include retaining Imposter syndrome
current students, attracting new ones, and turning happy New managers are bound to find themselves in difficult
customers into advocates for your institution. situations. These could relate to difficult conversations with
teachers, having to provide input to the marketing team, or
If teaching operations run at a loss, it puts the jobs and careers
dealing with a customer complaint in a completely unfamiliar
of others at risk. A basic understanding of how to cost a course
area. The feeling of not being adequately skilled or prepared
and what the financial requirements are for running new or
is almost inevitable, but it is important to remember that there
current courses allows for better strategic decision-making
are other transferable skills, and even dealing with mastering
when deciding which courses to spend more time on.
difficult skills does not mean you are an ‘imposter manager’.
All of this presents lots of learning and development The ability to learn from these situations is what makes a
opportunities for new managers, and at the same time it successful manager. There is no perfect manager, but a good
presents opportunities in which current teachers can strengthen manager should always be learning.
their knowledge before moving into management.
Increased/different workload and responsibilities
Some managers might feel their workload and responsibilities
3. What are the challenges? increase considerably when they transition into management.
If you find yourself in that situation, consider whether you can
The new manager’s friendship circle
delegate any of your tasks to the people you manage. Giving
It is almost inevitable that teachers moving into management
added responsibility to selected teachers can help with their
will experience a change in friendship dynamics. Many of a
professional development and in turn make them more ready
new manager’s friends are teachers, but now, with the title of
for management. Similarly, it is important to find ways to keep
‘manager’, the dynamic changes. There might be new feelings
aspects such as inspections and accreditation from becoming
of isolation. Teachers often want to speak to and discuss ideas
overwhelming. Set out action plans for any inspections well
specifically with other teachers, and if you have moved into
in advance of their occurrence and know what paperwork you
management, you are no longer ‘a teacher’. You might find it
need to submit and what criteria you need to fulfil. Consult with
difficult to socialize with former peers and/or new peers in the
others who have already been through the experience.
same way as you did before.
Making the transition
Management qualifications
Transitioning from teacher to manager can feel daunting. Just
There are a number of very good ELT management
making the decision to change roles can be difficult. There
qualifications, but knowing which one(s) to choose can be
is then the exit–entry stage between accepting the role and
difficult. The most well-known qualifications are the Cambridge
starting the role. You could use this period to start developing
DELTA Module 3 ELTM (Management option), IDLTM
skills in some of the areas you feel uncertain of. Next, there
(International Diploma in Language Teaching Management),
is the immersion stage, where it might feel like being thrown
DELTM (Diploma in English Language Teaching Management),
in the deep end. New managers usually find at first that there
management courses offered by the likes of NILE ELT and
is quite a lot of ambiguity in their role, until they gradually
International House, or an MA in ELT and/or ELT management.
become more familiar with it and feel there is more certainty.
An MBA is another option if you are considering growing into
Ideally, new managers will have a mentor, and work will become
a more senior management role. Selecting a qualification
more streamlined, effective, and efficient. Accepting that these
depends on a variety of factors, but it is often important to
stages exist and that going through them can be hard is very
consider what is most relevant to your context. For example,
much part of becoming a manager. Eventually, many managers
if you are working in a private school that offers International
will feel glad that they made the transition.

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Moving into ELT management

4. Implementation – taking the steps to become 5. Over to you

or grow as a manager Taking your first steps into management in ELT might seem
daunting initially, but there are many benefits to making this
Look at your current context move. As well as your transferable skills, you will gain new
The first step to becoming a manager is making the decision management skills and in time develop more experience to
to be one. This means undertaking a proper analysis of the move from a management role to one of leadership.
context you are in and the skills that you can transfer from
teacher to manager. You should also be identifying skills
needed that might not be so well-developed at present. Talking points

Learning about other contexts, courses, and countries Are you considering moving into managment? Is there
Even for experienced managers, a change of context can be anyone on your current management team you could
challenging. An academic manager at a private language ask for advice?
school would have to learn a lot about the courses on offer What area of management interests you particularly?
if they moved to a private school offering an IB course, for Try listing the skills you already have that would be
example. However, they would bring lots of other very valuable transferable into a management role. Aim to list as
management skills to their new role. Developing into a many as you can.
well‑rounded academic manager requires understanding other
How could you mitigate any knowledge gaps? Is there
contexts, courses, and countries. Connecting with managers
anyone you could ask for help?
in other schools, whether it be through online groups or face-
to-face networks, provides an opportunity for new managers How aware are you of other departments within your
to learn from experienced managers, and then, as experienced institution? Could you improve your knowledge in this
managers, to contribute to the development of new managers. area?
Have you considered taking a management
Developing management skills into leadership skills qualification? Make some notes about which one would
The temptation to change all the things you want changed in be most suitable for you.
your first year might be strong, but it is important to understand
Have you thought about finding a mentor? Make a
the cycles that occur in your organization. Managers need to be
shortlist of possible candidates and consider which skills
alert to drops in morale and productivity, particularly towards
you would like to focus on.
the end of a course or an academic year, when teachers can
feel overwhelmed with marking and report writing. Often, the
manager is very busy preparing for the next academic cycle at
that time, too. Strategically noticing and planning around these
cycles, and also understanding why certain processes might be
in place, means that managers can look at the bigger picture of
an academic year or a cycle and develop leadership skills that
allow them to offer better support and direction. This is one
way of incrementally developing leadership skills and being
available even in busy times.

Growing into your new role

Once you have started in your new role, there are things you
can do to grow. Try to recognize and accept your weaknesses,
but also aim to develop in those areas. Find a mentor to
support you and look for other ways to improve your skills. You
will discover that you learn more about yourself and your role
as you go through the process of actually managing. Always
reflect, be open to feedback, and trust in the skills that you
already have from your previous teacher role.

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Moving into ELT management

Further reading
Armstrong, D. E. (2009). Administrative passages: Navigating the
transition from teacher to assistant principal. Springer.
Clarkson, L., & Lodge, P. (1999). Transforming the wheel: From
teaching skills to management skills. LAMSIG Newsletter, 28,
23–25.
Fowle, C. (2000). The skills transfer process from EFL teacher to
educational manager. LAMSIG Newsletter, 29, 16–18.
Hockley, A. (2004). From language teacher to language teaching
manager. LAMSIG Newsletter, 35, 16–18.
McArdle, M. (2009). Developing a teacher appraisal system
through action research. LAMSIG Newsletter, 40, 24–27. www.oup.com/elt/teacher
McKeown, A. (1998). So you think you are a competent manager.
LAMSIG Newsletter, 26, 10–13.
Norbraten, T. A. (2020). The transition from teacher to
vice‑principal in international schools in China [Doctoral
Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University].
Quirke, P., & Allison, S. (2007). DREAM management: Involving
and motivating teachers. LAMSIG Newsletter, 38, 3–8.
White, R. V., Hockley, A., van der Horst Jansen, J., & Laughner, M.
(2008). From teacher to manager: Managing language teaching
organizations. Cambridge University Press.

ISBN: 978 0 19 440327 6 ISBN: 978 0 19 440328 3

To cite this paper:

Erasmus, G. (2023) Moving into ELT Management [PDF]. Oxford University
Press. www.oup.com/elt/expert

Acknowledgements
The publisher would like to thank the following for permission to reproduce
photographs: Shutterstock (Prostock-studio, VH-studio)

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