Mentoring teachers to research their practice
This is the website for MenTRnet – an international network / community of practice of mentors of teacher-research in the field of English language teaching for speakers of other languages.
We are an active international community of over 250 mentors dedicated to supporting English language teachers to research their practice. Whether you’re actively engaged in mentoring teacher-research or simply curious about the process, MenTRnet offers a collaborative space for sharing insights, resources, and good practice. We run regular events, including an annual conference, and an online support group. Anyone involved or just interested in mentoring teachers to research their classrooms can, with no fee, join this community of practice by clicking on the button top right here. Alternatively, to just receve news of our public activities, you can join our Facebook group.
Latest Updates
Open-access resources
Resources for teacher-researchers and mentors which are freely available online This list of links to online resources was originally compiled…
Festival
The International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research in ELT (2024–25) Organized by MenTRnet and supported by British Council, Pilgrims Teacher Training Journal and IATEFL Research…
Teacher-Researchers Becoming Mentors (Festival event)
Upcoming event: 16 November, 13.00–14.30pm (UTC): ‘Teacher-researchers becoming mentors’ – hear the stories of Regina Corona (Mexico), Patcharin Kunna (Thailand),…
Supporting the publication efforts of teacher-researchers and their mentors
Busy teachers have little time to read, and even less time to write. Research itself can be combined with teaching but…
School Improvement through Mentoring Exploratory Action Research (Festival Event)
Upcoming event: Saturday 19 October – 13:00–14:30 UK time – a webinar showcasing work in the British Council’s Partner Schools programme, led by…
Being ethical in our mentoring of teacher research
I first began to think seriously about what it meant to be ethical in my teacher research when my classroom…
What We Do
The group was originally set up by Richard Smith in August 2019 in association with an open Facebook group (which all are also welcome to join), to support dissemination of the book Mentoring Teachers to Research Their Classrooms (2000, British Council). Since then, the network’s activities have expanded, with support from an ESRC/University of Warwick grant in 2020–2022 and a further grant in 2024–2027 (see History). First named ‘MenTRnet’ in February 2024, the network – with a 15-person strong committee – nowadays supports organization of:
(1) a free 5-week series of workshops on mentoring teacher-research within the annual TESOL CALL-IS ‘Electronic Village Online’ (EVO);
(2) monthly support group meetings monthly support group meetings for those involved in mentoring teachers to research their teaching;
(3) annual organization of a Teachers Research! Online conference for teachers to showcase their work, as well as an associated online event for their mentors to reflect on and share research about mentoring experiences.
During 2024–25, MenTRnet is also organizing:
(4) an International Festival of Mentoring Teacher-Research, with a series of webinars by members.
