01: The Qualities of an EFL Teacher

Best Practice 1: The Qualities of an EFL Teacher

Modern Language Center knows that its teachers are its greatest asset. It believes that the best teachers possess the following qualities:

• Strong Interpersonal Communication Skills: Successful teachers enjoy people, show enthusiasm, and demonstrate a positive, excited attitude in the classroom. If the teacher is positive, enthusiastic, and teaches with a smile, the energy will spread to the students and make the classroom environment more pleasant.

• An Attitude of Flexibility: The best teachers are flexible and open to change when things go differently than planned. Successful teachers are aware of what is happening in the classroom and ready to make mid-lesson alterations in order to help students accomplish their goals.

• Effective Classroom Management: A successful teacher should be well-organized, dependable, and able to effectively manage the classroom. In a well-managed classroom, student expectations are clearly outlined through the use of procedures and routines that are established at the beginning of the course (and reinforced thereafter). MLC believes that both bookwork and homework are vital components of language learning. As a result the teacher should work to maintain a tone for the class that stresses how in- and out-of-class assignments reinforce course objectives.

•Meaningful Lessons: Though the overall structure of each course should be based on a blend of the Market Leader and Modern Language Center curricula, successful teachers use additional class time to incorporate material that appeals to the interests and goals of their students.

Patience: A good teacher is courteous, fair, and objective under even the most difficult circumstances. Their role is to provide students with the opportunity to use English in genuine tasks and gain fluency without worrying about mistakes (see BP17 for more information about correcting mistakes). In short, teachers should see themselves as not just language teachers but also as language coaches who employ the following skills: rapport, deep listening, intuition, questioning and feedback.