Bridging the Challenges and Opportunities of EFL Teachers’ Professional Development through Digital Competencies

This paper presents issues about Indonesian EFL teachers' competencies and their challenges in developing them through professional development (PD). This study was library research in which the researcher constructed her perspectives on the issues by studying the existing literature on the discussed areas. The previous studies confirmed that EFL teachers are typically challenged by the unavailability of effective professional development that meets their personal and contextual needs. Teachers are then encouraged to engage in professional learning as one of the most flexible professional development programs. Instead of being externally designed, professional education helps teachers personalize their professional development needs. Therefore, utilizing online instructional resources is at the heart of professional learning. However, several studies confirmed that most teachers lack digital competencies and must be professionally assisted to participate in this professional development opportunity. Those studies also demonstrated that digital competencies afford teachers essential benefits. As for English teachers, adequate digital skills will enable them to personalize their professional development in a way that is not remote from their classroom needs. In light of this, digital competencies will facilitate teachers' professional learning and extend their professional practices to be more effective and innovative, improving learning outcomes.