What makes a good teacher?

Are good teachers those who are well-qualified and knowledgeable about their subjects? Is experience important? Is a teacher with ten years’ experience likely to be doing a better job than a colleague who only recently completed teaching training? Or is it more a matter of personality traits? Perhaps most people would expect an effective teacher to be organized and patient. But how important is enthusiasm and having a good sense of humor? Finally, does being a good teacher mostly come down to being able to create strong interpersonal relationships? Should teachers treat students as individuals? Is the ability to engage students one of the most important characteristics?

The question ‘What makes a good teacher?’ has been the subject of a great deal of research and although more studies are needed, it is clear that teaching knowledge and experience, personality traits and the ability to establish good relationships all play a part. Some of these characteristics are likely to be more ‘malleable’ than others. In order to be the best teacher you can be, these are two key areas to consider:

Professional development

Teacher development can take a variety of forms. As an extension of your teacher training, it is important to continue to reflect on your teaching. You could also share ideas with colleagues, join an online discussion group, read professional newspapers and journals or ask your students for feedback. Learning a new language can also help to ensure that a teacher remains ‘in touch’ with how it feels to be a language learner.

Many ESL schools offer ongoing professional development to their teachers. These can include peer observation programs, or regular teacher development sessions.

Establishing interpersonal relationships

Teachers need to be able to establish ‘rapport’ – or friendly teacher-student and student-student relationships. If you are naturally shy, it might be necessary to summon up some confidence when meeting a new class, but other than that, you should ‘be yourself.’

Be friendly and welcoming when you meet your students for the first time. Try to be in the classroom before your students arrive so that you have a chance to chat with them as they come in – this can really help to put everyone at ease. Listen carefully to what your students say and respond to them as a ‘real person’ rather than as a teacher. Let your personality show. ‘I’m terrible at remembering names’ is no excuse! It is essential that teachers learn their students’ names as fast as possible.

Starting off the first lesson with an ‘icebreaker’ activity is a good idea. Make sure that you encourage all your students to participate in the lessons – not just the more confident members of the class. As you start to find out more about your students, you can use this information to help you plan lessons which are likely to interest them.