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WHAT MAKES A GOOD EFL TEACHER?

By Chris Soames
http://www.aussieschoolpals.com/education/what-makes-a-good-efl -teacher/

You’re probably asking this question because you are already or soon plan to be an EFL teacher. This means that you probably like working with people, that you prefer variety to routine, and that you don’t mind taking calculated risks. As a rule, Teaching English as a Foreign Language is one of the most satisfying jobs you can do because the vast majority of learners are highly-motivated. Therefore, all you need to do is try to recognise which aspect of your teaching skills needs to be used at any given time. Below are some roles an EFL teacher would play – all of which combine to make a good teacher.

This job is about getting people chatting and communicating as much as possible, so a good EFL teacher needs to be approachable and create a friendly atmosphere in which plenty of communication can take place. At times, this means you are more of an opportunity provider, making sure each class member interacts with the others. You should organise and set up activities whereby learners get to know one another and talk freely about their opinions and their lives, just as they would if they met through a mutual friend. Once they are chatting, just stand back and quietly observe; only join in when the conversation dries up. This minimizes your ‘Teacher Talking Time’ and maximizes ‘Student Talking Time’, which is one of your main goals as a teacher.

If you are new to EFL teaching, you might not feel like much of a specialist. However, because you can speak English better than your students, so you certainly have something unique and valuable to share. A good EFL teacher may not know every single rule off by heart, but, hopefully, will have some idea of where to find out a rule for the next lesson if the students want it.

Occasionally, students may have doubts related to a certain piece of grammar or grasping the meaning and usage of some vocabulary. A good EFL teacher will work out why this is an issue. For example, it could be interference from the way their L1 is organised. To tackle this, the teacher may draw a sketch to explain meaning, or might produce a good timeline which sheds light on how a particular tense, for example, works. A golden rule for awareness raising, especially at lower levels, is ‘show, don’t tell’.

Another role is that of giving advice when people ask for help and suggestions. Many students ask their teacher, “How can I learn new vocabulary?”, “How can I remember the grammar rules?” An efficient EFL instructor creates a mental resource file with some of these answers ready to go. But remember – you are not expected to be an Oracle. You can always throw the question open to the rest of the class first; then ask colleagues for their opinions and, pretty soon, you will learn a whole pool of wisdom that you can pass on to future classes. Beyond your immediate instructional goals, keep reminding your learners to take responsibility for their own learning by working out rules for themselves and infering meaning of unknown vocabulary.

The final role is related to syllabus design and procedural repertoire. Such accomplishments provide triggering to get a class moving together towards a common aim. Each lesson should have a clear goal and resources prepared to guide learners towards this goal. Good EFL teachers know where they are going with each class. They want the lesson to be fun, interesting, motivating and generally enjoyable so that effective learning takes place. They employ a variety of activities with plenty of pair and group work to encourage communication. Moreover, they make sure that all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) are touched upon regularly and that learners develop awareness of their progress. In all, through well-prepared instruction, the teacher sets up activities followed by appropriate praise, feedback and correction.

Questions inserted in texts may serve different purposes.

The intention behind the inclusion of questions such as “How can I learn new vocabulary?”, “How can I remember the grammar rules?” is to: