Teachers as Experts

This piece investigates the role the teacher has as an expert in his/ her field with some cross-over into related areas. Examples come from Business English lessons for adults.

What makes a good English language teacher?

For starters, it is imperative to delve deeper and consider what makes a good teacher. Having the knowledge in the first place is something of a pre-requisite, the ability to pass on information in an interesting way certainly helps, being able to listen patiently and be suitably critical, i.e. giving praise but not getting in the way of fluency, staying in control and being structured, making material relevant for the situation of the learner(s), explaining clearly and expressively, and being able to use memorable examples can all contribute. Selecting tasks to suit learners’ needs rather than choosing your own personal favourites is another. No doubt there are far more qualities that can be mentioned here.

English language teachers need to be comfortable with grammar, they should be articulate, model language correctly and show an aptitude for writing, be aware of all the ins and outs of punctuation, at least some degree of understanding regarding pronunciation and, that’s just the basics.

One on one speaking activities require conversational skills such as fielding follow-up questions, probing, correcting and then illustrating correct language so learners can elaborate, improvise, use their imagination during role-plays and so on.

A variety of listening activities can involve live listening, i.e. diligently reading out a speech with a focus on varying intonation or emphasising key words, playing a Ted Talk to demonstrate pausing, while paying attention to body language, projecting the voice and use of register or deliberately choosing different English accents to prepare someone who is likely to come into contact with a diverse spectrum of people.

Reading for understanding by discussing a suitable text in a lesson can be easy for some; this is where you can give them some follow-up questions to evoke a response, summarising is more difficult and you can always put them on the right track and do what they can’t do if they struggle. A jigsaw task can work well in groups where bits of text are passed out and each group is unaware of missing information in the hands of their fellow students. It goes without saying that task instruction must be unambiguous. Further, here your monitoring and facilitation skills will come in handy.

Writing is a tricky one and will need precision, quick thinking and the ability to provide on the spot rationale for any changes you make in the student’s homework, for example. Being familiar with the nuances of formality, where and when to use commas, coping with clauses, reformatting, avoiding repetition, using synonyms, reordering sentence structure, forming complex sentences and so on and so forth are likely to strike the fear of god into some less experienced teachers. This productive skill takes the most time during lessons and is often palmed off as part of self-study.

Advanced Practitioners

Experienced teachers who wish to hone their skills or challenge themselves after being in the game for a while can always try doing a DELTA (Diploma in English Language Teaching for Adults). There are those who wish to have a personal challenge, who relish learning, who always strive to improve and have a greater skill-set, as well as ambitious souls who want new challenges and, in some parts of the world (usually where they have IH centres), have opportunities to become teacher trainers, directors of studies or ados (assistant director of studies), CELTA Teacher trainers or DELTA tutors. Otherwise, doing the course can give inner satisfaction, which is priceless.

Linguistic Lingo

Meta-language may seem pretentious to some, or outdated to others. It may be a sign of expertise and wisdom or could it be that this is just an excuse to show off? Although opinion is divided on the use of terminology, here are a selection of the positives for teachers who do use such language. Teachers are expected to use it in some cultures so it conforms with learner expectations. Some institutions such as universities require it, so it is part of the job spec. It may be useful to help identify, categorise and revise key elements of language. It is the language of coursebooks, so will be useful in class and for self-study.

On the other side of the coin, teachers must be weary as using meta-language can feel old-fashioned, demotivate learners, put too much of an emphasis on grammar, take away from communicative competence and waste valuable time. There is more on this debate here:

https://www.witslanguageschool.com/NewsRoom/ArticleView/tabid/180/ArticleId/335/Doe s-metalanguage-matter.aspx

Grammar Gurus and the like

There are some academics or theoreticians who seem to assume mythical status. Scott Thornbury is one such individual; he is a brilliant writer who deserves plenty of praise. The following books come highly recommended: About Language (tasks for teachers at DELTA level), The New A-Z of ELT (ELT terminology) and Beyond the Sentence (discourse analysis). Diane Larsen Freeman is another legendary character whose best-known book From Grammar to Grammaring is something of a cult classic. Adrian Underhill is the don when it comes to pronunciation if you listen to his peers. See: Sound Foundations. Others include Penny Ur (Grammar Practice Activities), and of course the usual suspects Michael Swan, Martin Parrott, David Crystal et al.

Well well, what do you know?

Here follow a few words on knowing one’s limitations.  When teaching ESP (English for Specific Purposes), or more simply, during a Business English course with reference to industry specific jargon, it may be necessary to illustrate that although the teacher is the language expert, students are unquestionably the experts in their field. Of course, as an educator you can do your home-work and can pick things up over time and after reading up on a subject. Though, you needn’t be a jack of all trades and master at none. Often, EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers have heaps of experience from at least one other industry such as law or sales. This is desirable for language centres or/ and clients as the teacher will have a greater knowledge and understanding of the students’ industry and at least some of the specific language that comes with it.

As a final thought, it is quite alright for a teacher not to know the answer to every question. In short, so long as you are honest, and pro-active by following up on the matter by doing a little research and getting back to them within a reasonable amount of time, you should gain the respect of your student(s). Although English language teachers should be well versed with regards to their area of expertise, this does not mean that they are experts in all areas of life; they, like other professionals, are human beings with flaws. Moreover, they are individuals with their own sets of opinions and varying degrees of life experience. 

?Selected reading by the author

Teachers as Motivators: https://a.co/az5S1CR

Teachers as Humans: https://a.co/az5S1CR

Teachers as Heroes: https://a.co/az5S1CR

Teachers as Learners

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/teachers-learners-daniel-israel

Teachers as Actors

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/teachers-actors-daniel-israel

Teachers as Police-Agents

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/teachers-police-agents-daniel-israel/?published=t

Teachers as Psychologists:

https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/teachers-psychologists-daniel-israel/?published=t