The satisfaction of language teaching comes from the instantaneous feedback we receive. Provided we are sufficiently alert, we know all the time whether our learners understand or not. From many years of team teaching and peer observation, I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the greatest gifts a teacher can have is the ability to see the consequences of the decisions he makes, both at the planning stage and moment by moment in the implicit decision making that goes on all the time in the classroom.

I say ‘gift’ advisedly because this is an area in which it’s very difficult to learn to be more proficient. I can think of colleagues who I’ve worked with who ride hard at a ditch only to tumble clean into it – I knew long before they did that what they were attempting would never work. And I can think of colleagues whose decisions I predicted and who seemed very like me in their teaching style. And I can think of colleagues who made decisions which surprised me with their originality, and which turned out to work incredibly better than I would have imagined.
At the end of the day, it’s all about being able to ‘read’ a classroom and to foresee the consequences of the decisions we make – this is one of the essential qualities of a good teacher.

Peter Grundy is the outgoing President of IATEFL
Email c/o: generalenquiries@iatefl.org

From a manager’s point of view, the basics of a good teacher are a good initial qualification and, preferably, some classroom experience. But there are other qualities which make the difference.

Here are some views of Directors of Studies in different language schools:

‘Someone who’ll fit in with culture of the school. Keen and sees teaching and their development as dynamic. Professional.’
‘Our in-service training and development system is designed for creative and dynamic people who like working in groups and are interested in ongoing professional development. Friendliness and cheerfulness are a great plus.’
‘A steady previous employment record, and a positive impression at interview. We rate potential in the classroom highly. Personality profile – ability to achieve rapport, personal skills and interest in the job. A young, energetic, if green, teacher has good potential to achieve good learning in a classroom.’
‘Reliable and will stay. Open-minded, flexible in approach and to timetable – adapting to a new life, the school, new students, syllabuses, etc. Prepared for input and observations. Should be dedicated to their work.’

So, to summarise, a good teacher is one who adapts well, is dedicated, and has a positive attitude to professional development.

Jenny Johnson is Special Interest Groups Representative on the IATEFL Coordinating Committee. She is also Head of Teacher Training at IH Barcelona. Email c/o: generalenquiries@iatefl.org

In India, perceptions of a good teacher have always been conditioned by the gurukul paradigm. In ancient India, the gurukul was the counterpart of the present-day boarding school, without the formal levels or standards of classes. Pupils would live there with the Guru and his family, learning all kinds of skills while performing the daily chores of the establishment. The Guru was to be venerated and the word of the Guru was law. Even today, when the Gurukul exists only in history, the idea of a Guru-on-a-pedestal lives on as a sort of archetype in Indian minds. Hence, the components of a good teacher according to the Indian mind may not include friendliness or smooth interactivity.

Recently, with more and more youngsters joining the profession, teaching in India has become more human and humane. Hence, people like me who were labelled as ‘too liberal’ when they started teaching in the 1980s are now more comfortable interacting more and lecturing less.
Looking at the Indian scene today, in my view, a good teacher should be:

Both interactive and proactive.
Firm, but friendly.
Aperfectionist but not a stickler.
Proficient in the subject while keeping in mind students’ needs.
Examination-oriented but not a corner-cutter.
Gently critical.

The list could be endless (as I’m sure all practising teachers would agree), but these are a few essentials.

Deepti Gupta is one of the first Indian C.A. teachers, and set up the
first undergraduate language laboratory in Chandigarh. Her interests
are ELT methodology, classroom observation and action research
Email: deptipu@eth.net

Freeman (1989) describes language teaching as a ‘decision-making process based on four constituents: knowledge, skills, attitude and awareness.’ Looking into these four elements of language teaching may shed some light on the question of what makes a good language teacher. We probably all know more or less successful teachers who are more or less knowledgeable about English and the background to language learning and teaching, and who are more or less skilful at giving instructions, managing classroom interaction, presenting and practising language and so on. Is it possible then that what makes a good teacher lies in the other two constituents?

Attitude refers to the ‘stance one adopts toward oneself, the activity of teaching, and the learners one engages in the teaching/learning process,’ and awareness is the ‘capacity to recognize and monitor the attention one is giving or has given to something’ (ibid: 32–33). If good language teaching is related to these two constituents, it may have to do with having a positive and inquisitive stance toward ourselves, the profession of teaching, and the learners, which in turn will lead to increased awareness in all respects.

Freeman, Donald (1989) ‘Teacher training, development, and decision making: a model of teaching and related strategies for language teacher education’ in TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 23, No 1.

Gerardo Valazza is Head of the Academic Department at Instituto
Cultural Anglo-Uruguayo. His main interests are teacher education,
distance learning and CALL
Email: gvalazza@anglo.edu.uy

And finally a rather longer contribution from Raf Erzeel of Lessius Hogeschool, Antwerp, Belgium.

I would like to remind everyone that, in order to teach a dog – irrespective of its age – new tricks, you first of all need a dog with certain natural abilities and a character open to performing tricks.

There is no doubt at all in my mind that teachers can vastly improve their teaching skills by following certain guidelines and principles and continuing to learn new methods, but that does not alter the fact that you need something or other to start with, some basic aptitude, a natural need to explain things, an inborn drive to guide and help people to grasp things.

So does that mean we need not bother with new publications telling us how to improve our teaching? It seems like a wonderful chance to stop feeling guilty (a feeling many of us have often suffered) about not keeping up with new books on pedagogy and insights into teaching and all it entails. Just convince yourself that you truly believe that teaching is a basic skill that some people have and others do not, that you happen to be blessed with the knack, and you could teach happily ever after without worrying about all those newfangled ideas. Isn’t it just too good to be true?

Exactly. No matter how good a basis such natural teaching skills may present, no teacher can afford to ignore the evolution of pedagogical principles. If we cut ourselves off from new ideas and methods, even the best teaching abilities will not prevent us from becoming dinosaurs. Maybe the best example is the unstoppable technological revolution that has swept through the education scene in recent times. How could even the most naturally gifted teacher expect his learners to continue to take him seriously if he fails to incorporate any of the new possibilities offered by information technology?

This is not to say that we should accept any new idea or technique unquestioningly. The mark of a good teacher is that he is able, with the benefit of his insight into teaching and learning processes, to judge the potential value of such ideas, and to improve on them by enhancing them with his experience. The inevitable basis for such improvement is, however, that he knows what others are suggesting, encouraging, criticising or rejecting. So, no, not even good teachers can afford to ignore new publications concerning education and teaching. Teaching is a dynamic skill, one that needs to be updated regularly if not constantly. Or maybe I should say: teaching involves many different skills, all of which require regular (re-) training. And then there is the need for a more general ‘refreshing’ of the mind, to make sure that our inspiration does not dry up.

I am almost certain that also this teaching instinct needs to be fed regularly, though not with ideas on paper. As far as I can tell, it feeds on learners’ reactions to the teaching event in general, and individual classes in particular. And its favourite dish is simple gratitude or the feeling that some skill (or even a bit of information) has been transferred successfully. Part of its staple diet is also a love of the subject taught. It can survive on surprisingly small amounts of the above, and convert them into an enthusiasm for which there is no substitute.

So, is there a simple answer to the question ‘What makes a good teacher’? Obviously not. But there are certain elements that a good teacher cannot do without, and it is not too difficult to name the most important of those. The indispensable foundation is what I have called the teaching instinct. But apart from that, a good teacher also needs plenty of other things: a thorough knowledge of his subject, the ability to plan a class, verbal and presentation skills, the ability to interact with (young) people, enough inspiration to bring variety to his classes and teaching methods, and patience. All of those, bar the first one, can be improved and taught, which is why all of us need to keep up with new ideas.

I believe that teaching can be taught, at least up to a certain point. If someone is willing, most of the skills mentioned in the previous paragraph can be acquired and continuously improved. Without the teaching instinct, however, the result will be at most a fairly efficient teacher, never a great one. But we should certainly not look down on efficient teachers – they will do an efficient job, which is more than we can expect from someone who does have the teaching instinct, but does not feed it, or – even worse – does not take care to keep alive all the other skills involved in teaching … by paying enough attention to all those publications.

Raf Erzeel teaches British culture, translation and spoken English at
the Lessiushogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium, an institute of higher education
for translators and interpreters.
Email: raf.erzeel@lessius-ho.be