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The Role of TeacherFor the TEFL teacher, their work is usually located in countries where english is not the native language. The main role of the teacher is to teach students how to speak, read, write and listen in the english language. These teachers have lessons and activities to prepare, exercises and progress tests to set, in addition to working in a classroom environment. Source materials are used and teachers must be creative in their lesson planning by using authentic materials and created exercises, games etc. Apart from having a good understanding of all aspects of the english language, including grammar, pronunciation and punctuation, a teacher should have patience, good communication and interpersonal skills, confidence, tact and good listening skills. TFL teachers should have cultural sensitivity and awareness of the religion, politics, moral attitudes and daily life of the country that they teach in. This knowledge enables the teacher to be prepared, motivated and enthusiastic which leads to interesting and lively teaching geared to the needs and aims of students. In the past the role of teacher was an all-important autonomous one. Today the role of teacher is complex and diverse. Apart from providing intellectual and social development, a teacher must be honest, have integrity and take the needs of the students into account. In recent times, more emphasis is placed on ?student-centered? lessons as opposed to ?teacher-centered? which is, to an extent, dictated by the type of activity that is taking place. During any lesson a teacher will have different types of roles. The teacher in the role of manager or controller creates the environment for the lesson which should be welcoming and stimulating, and encourages interaction between teacher and students. The teacher as organizer gives instructions to the class regarding activities to be done, puts the students into pairs or groups, brings these activities to a close, and thereafter giving the students feedback on their work. Here, the teacher takes control of the class, whilst at the same time becoming involved with the students. Good organization skills assist to avoid chaos and unruly behavior. In the role of assessor, the teacher will give the students feedback and corrections on their ongoing progress in learning the english language, as well as evaluating and grading their work. Fairness and sensitivity to the students? reactions must be taken into account, as positive feedback is a good form of encouragement. In this way, the teacher keeps track of the students? progress. There will be times when students are stuck or lost in what they are trying to say, and the teacher has to decide at what point he/she should intercede. In this situation the role of the teacher is as prompter. The teacher has the option of allowing the student to work the problem out for him/herself, or acting as a prompter in encouraging and helping the student along. This encourages positive interaction between teacher and student. The teacher assumes the role of tutor when he/she guides and supports the students when they are working alone, or in pairs. This is a personal type of role, as the teacher can give equal attention to the students on a one-to-one basis, although the teacher should be wary of neither interfering nor spoon-feeding the students. The teacher as model is an important role, especially in the light of the fact that the students may have never been in contact with an english language speaker. It is vital that the teacher be an example for the students? future success in learning the language. A safe, comfortable and professional environment must be created where the students feel motivated to express themselves and are motivated to learn. A teacher can also take the role of facilitator, simply letting the students do their work, whilst staying in the background. This is a form of monitoring and observing students and not distracting them. A teacher may have to assume many different roles depending on the situation, which will have a different effect on the students? progress and behavior. A good teacher is successful when he/she is being aware of what role is appropriate to a situation and having personality skills which allow him/her to adapt to different situations, whilst still making the lesson interesting.
