This chapter discusses the possible contributions of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to the English teachers’ professional development and teachers’ profiles. It explores how English teachers that favor the use of new information and communication technologies (ICT) and VLEs have developed skills to design, monitor and assess teaching-learning activities, promoting an area of professional development focused on the self-transformation and the creation of new learning opportunities (Lee, M.-H., & Tsai, C.-C., 2010, Coppola, N., Hiltz, S., & Rotter, N. 2002). The emphasis on professional development recognizes technology as an important engaging practice that helps teachers to create work strategies, follow up and monitor learning (Paulson, K. 2002) while they re-signify the roles of teachers in face to face and virtual interaction (Savin, 2003, Lee & Tsai, 2010; Major, 2010; Natriello, 2005, Leyva, 2010).

English Teachers are required to incorporate teaching and learning practices in virtual environments, to do so, they are expected to be aware of the relevance of ICT in the English classroom as a part of the cultural, social and political demands to promote collaborative and autonomous learning (McDougald, Jermaine S., 2013). This may turn into a challenge when they should create real opportunities for their students to practice the language and promote communities of practice in contexts where institutions are still struggling with the needed investment for the training and infrastructure to support this type of initiatives as a vital part of the process of teaching and learning (McShane, K., 2004) in face-to-face teaching1. One important factor to be considered, regarding teachers’ roles in VLEs in relation to time, space and interactions forms, is the teachers’ response to changing and adapting to promote regulated activities to combine face-to-face teaching with VL activities. Although some teachers recognize that using VLEs implies a task on their own profile and personal investment, there are still a number of them who avoid the use of the virtual learning environment and prefer to assign it as an optional component of the student autonomous work due to the extra work it involves2. So far, we have highlighted some aspects related more to the agentic and investment roles of English teachers to work on themselves to design, monitor and assess meaningful activities than their fulfillment of ideals and language visions.

The following pages provide a reflection on the competencies and roles developed by English teachers who favor VLEs, remarking a critical review of some implications for the promotion of a professional profile and detailing some of the characteristics that different circuits of VLEs provide to strengthen teachers’ skills. In doing so, we have approached some research works in the field of virtual teaching but as well face-to-face and virtual combined teaching and some local policies and recommendations done by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO (2004)) to train teachers in technology use in terms of basic skills acquisition and professional development competences.