Teach English in ShiguAn XiAng - Anqing Shi

Role of the TeacherThe word ?teacher? conjures up a variety of emotions and opinions for many people. Generally, a person can clearly recall his/her worst teacher and/or favorite teacher. Most people can also remember teachers who succeeded in certain areas of teaching, but failed in others. For example, my high school Chemistry teacher was great at providing clear explanations for difficult concepts; however he had poor teacher-student rapport and played Solitaire during class time. Most students were scared of him, including myself. A teacher encompasses a number of roles. These diverse emotions and opinions highlight the various roles of a teacher and show if our needs as a student were met. A teacher may choose to embrace these roles or not. Nevertheless, a good teacher takes each role seriously. A teacher is a manager. He/she leads the students and ensures the class is in order and the students are able to follow the lesson. A teacher involves all the students in the lesson and manages the learning process. He/she provides clear, sequenced explanations demonstrating a good knowledge of the subject matter. Comprehensible explanations and relevant examples help to sustain the attention of the students. During this study portion of the lesson, a teacher maintains control of the class. If behavioral issues arise, a teacher must be willing to deal with poor behavior swiftly with appropriate and consistent discipline, so it does not affect the overall class atmosphere. A teacher is a facilitator. He/she provides space for students to exchange ideas and opinions. A teacher encourages his/her students to express themselves, without allowing a particular student to dominate. A teacher is an advocate for shy students as well, wanting every student to share their thoughts and ideas. Facilitating interactions and discussions is vital to building students? speaking skills. A teacher is an organizer and a planner. He/she organizes lesson plans to ensure the lessons are introduced and presented in a cohesive, chronological and appealing manner. A teacher sequences the process of introducing new concepts to facilitate comprehension. He/she also organizes the introduction of new activities by first providing clear instructions, showing a demonstration and then organizing the students into groups. Lesson planning allows teachers to have solutions in place for anticipated problems in the classroom. Furthermore, a teacher organizes the students? seating plan depending on the number of students, the classroom furniture available, the space available and the age of the students. A teacher is a role model. A teacher demonstrates appropriate classroom behavior. For students in an EFL classroom, their teacher may be the first native english-speaker they have encountered. In these situations, it is important for the teacher to not only model correct grammar and pronunciation, but be a positive representative of native english-speakers. This experience may also affect how the student views the english language. A teacher is an observer. A teacher ensures that all students are focused on the lesson and understand the lesson. He/she can watch the students? facial expressions when teaching difficult concepts to check for comprehension. In addition, he/she can observe their written work or speaking activities to detect repeated errors that need to be addressed. Monitoring also allows the teacher to spot students who need individual guidance. The teacher can then act as a tutor to provide instruction that caters to the needs of these students. A teacher is an assessor. A teacher consistently assesses the students? reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in order to ascertain if further instruction is necessary and if the students? skills are improving. Once a need is recognized, a teacher can adapt lessons to meet this need. Without assessments, teachers may be unable to identify struggling students, ineffective lessons and unbalanced lesson plans. A teacher is a motivator and cheerleader. He/she inspires students to learn by preparing creative and interesting lessons. A teacher supports the learning process by giving students praise and encouragement. A teacher expresses an interest in the students and makes an effort in building teacher-student rapport. According to Kathy Cox (Former State Superintendent of Georgia), ?Nothing is more important to the student?s success than a positive relationship with the teacher regardless of interferences to their education such as a tough home life, limited parental support or socioeconomic level.? For children, a teacher is a caregiver. Children may feel greater insecurity when attending a class in a language that is not their own. Accordingly, it is essential that teachers provide a warm and safe learning environment, so students feel comfortable in the classroom. Extending care when children are feeling hurt is just as important as a clear explanation. In view of the many roles a teacher takes on, it is easy to become overwhelmed by a number of expectations. However, the perfect teacher does not exist. Nevertheless, when teachers focus on the students, teaching becomes less about meeting expectations and all about meeting the needs of the students.