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"What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Reference
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bj80



Joined: 31 Mar 2017
Posts: 63

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:27 am    Post subject: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Reference Reply with quote

Hi Everyone,

I was just curious what makes a good ESL teacher.

I have my answers and articles. I am just curious yours.

You guys keep telling me not to look for universal answers, but rather look at the student and the situation. Still, something in me still tells me there are universal things there. I think some good ones would be:

1. A teacher who works extra hours.

2. A teacher who takes a personal interest in students problems.

3. A teacher who leads by example, prepares for class because he wants students to be prepared, etc.

I also do not appreciate smart aleck answers, etc. I simply want articles or resources that I can use for my own professional/personal development.


Last edited by bj80 on Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:55 pm; edited 2 times in total
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bograt



Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 5:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry for being a smart Alec but number two sounds a bit dodgy to me. Depending of course on what these problems are. If a student comes to me and says they think their pronunciation sucks I'll suggest a website for extra practice, is that what you mean?

I generally find that the students who get the most attached to a particular teacher tend to be the nuttiest. As you say there are some general rules you can follow. be prepared, explain things clearly, review often, make activities interesting, let the students speak as often as possible etc.. As long as you do all these you'll keep most of the class happy. There'll always be one or two that still won't like you though.
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Nicky_McG



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 190

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

1) Depends what you mean by 'extra hours'

2) Do you mean personal problems? Absolutely not. That might be true for a high-school teacher who has a pastoral role.

3) yes
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Nicky_McG



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 190

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

bograt wrote:
Sorry for being a smart Alec but number two sounds a bit dodgy to me. Depending of course on what these problems are. If a student comes to me and says they think their pronunciation sucks I'll suggest a website for extra practice, is that what you mean?



Agreed. I had a law student email me a question saying he didn't understand a concept. That's fine, but we'd just had a two-hour class on this concept...It wasn't just a simple question about part of the concept but the whole concept. Usually I'll direct them towards the reading (that they usually haven't done) then they can come back to me with any more specific questions.
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suphanburi



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 916

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 11:19 am    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

bj80 wrote:
Hi Everyone,

I was just curious what makes a good ESL teacher.

I have my answers and articles. I am just curious yours.

You guys keep telling me not to look for universal answers, but rather look at the student and the situation. Still, something in me still tells me there are universal things there. I think some good ones would be:

1. A teacher who works extra hours.

2. A teacher who takes a personal interest in students problems.

3. A student who leads by example, prepares for class because he wants students to be prepared, etc.

I also do not appreciate smart aleck answers, etc. I simply want articles or resources that I can use for my own professional/personal development.


None of the above.

1) Why can't you get your work done at work? It is EFL after all. Most teachers spend as little as 5 minutes at the copy machine as their entire prep. In a 40-hour work week you should have time to get your classes planned and prepped (20 hours work time to take care of 20 classes).

2) As a foreigner in a foreign land.... largely, stay out of it. You have neither the cultural background or the standing in the community. Nothing good can come from this and getting assaulted, jailed or deported are very real possibilities.

3) A "student" who leads by example? Perhaps you mean a "Teacher" who leads by example?

.
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Kalkstein



Joined: 25 Aug 2016
Posts: 80

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:38 pm    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

suphanburi wrote:

None of the above.

1) Why can't you get your work done at work? It is EFL after all. [b]Most teachers spend as little as 5 minutes at the copy machine as their entire prep.[/b] In a 40-hour work week you should have time to get your classes planned and prepped (20 hours work time to take care of 20 classes).
.


Most teachers are terrible though.

You can definitely make a decent lesson in an hour of prep but the best teachers I know spend about 4 hours of prep to 1 hour of classroom time and their lessons are noticeably superior to those who don't prepare so much. Nobody is detracting from those who don't spend a lot of time but it's usually the case in any job the more time you spend on something the more polished it will be, up until a point where you tire yourself out.


suphanburi wrote:

A "student" who leads by example? Perhaps you mean a "Teacher" who leads by example?
.


Pretty sure that's what he meant and he's right.
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nomad soul



Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

bj80 wrote:
I was just curious what makes a good ESL teacher.
....
I simply want articles or resources that I can use for my own professional/personal development.

Check out Dörnyei and Csizér's 10 Commandments for Motivating Language Learners, which were useful for me regardless of the English language domain I taught:
    1. Set a personal example with your own behavior.
    2. Create a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the classroom.
    3. Present the tasks properly.
    4. Develop a good relationship with the learners.
    5. Increase the learner’s linguistic self-confidence.
    6. Make the language classes interesting.
    7. Promote learner autonomy.
    8. Personalize the learning process.
    9. Increase the learners’ goal-orientedness.
    10. Familiarize learners with the target language culture.

    Source: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/ba734f_760429054cff411eaa8be3fcd66142d9.pdf?index=true
    .
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ourownalone



Joined: 11 Nov 2017
Posts: 5

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:41 am    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

Kalkstein wrote:
Most teachers are terrible though.

You can definitely make a decent lesson in an hour of prep but the best teachers I know spend about 4 hours of prep to 1 hour of classroom time and their lessons are noticeably superior to those who don't prepare so much.

Pretty sure that's what he meant and he's right.
Axiom: Most teachers are terrible;
So: Cut this poster some slack. Cool

A formula for prep time is the recommendation of someone who knows nothing about something empowering a manager who knows a little about something, but would rather not do that thing to oversee those that do, telling someone who actually does the thing that they are doing it wrong.

I understand 4 to 1 hour is to prove a point, but prep time isn't the same for anyone because it depends on overall experience or experience with a subject and knowledge of a class' progress. 15-20 contact hours can't be accommodated by 4:1.

What someone means is all well and good, but it's also carelessness and shows how little time the OP took to prepare an invitation to discuss, ironically enough, preparation. What profession tolerates what someone means?

Clearly, the OP is motivated by having an audience rather than going through the effort to read about how teachers are educated.
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bj80



Joined: 31 Mar 2017
Posts: 63

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

@Nomad Soul

Thanks for the information. It concisely provides what I want.

@OurOwnAlone

I think you are being too critical. I simply wanted people's opinions of what works with them, and some references, rather than answers I can find in textbooks. I hope you can be gentler.
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Nicky_McG



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 190

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 11:28 am    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

Kalkstein wrote:
suphanburi wrote:

None of the above.

1) Why can't you get your work done at work? It is EFL after all. [b]Most teachers spend as little as 5 minutes at the copy machine as their entire prep.[/b] In a 40-hour work week you should have time to get your classes planned and prepped (20 hours work time to take care of 20 classes).
.


Most teachers are terrible though.

You can definitely make a decent lesson in an hour of prep but the best teachers I know spend about 4 hours of prep to 1 hour of classroom time and their lessons are noticeably superior to those who don't prepare so much. Nobody is detracting from those who don't spend a lot of time but it's usually the case in any job the more time you spend on something the more polished it will be, up until a point where you tire yourself out.


suphanburi wrote:

A "student" who leads by example? Perhaps you mean a "Teacher" who leads by example?
.


Pretty sure that's what he meant and he's right.


Fours hours for one hours of class? Nutters!
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bograt



Joined: 12 Nov 2014
Posts: 331

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 1:43 pm    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

Nicky_McG wrote:
Kalkstein wrote:
suphanburi wrote:

None of the above.

1) Why can't you get your work done at work? It is EFL after all. [b]Most teachers spend as little as 5 minutes at the copy machine as their entire prep.[/b] In a 40-hour work week you should have time to get your classes planned and prepped (20 hours work time to take care of 20 classes).
.


Most teachers are terrible though.

You can definitely make a decent lesson in an hour of prep but the best teachers I know spend about 4 hours of prep to 1 hour of classroom time and their lessons are noticeably superior to those who don't prepare so much. Nobody is detracting from those who don't spend a lot of time but it's usually the case in any job the more time you spend on something the more polished it will be, up until a point where you tire yourself out.


suphanburi wrote:

A "student" who leads by example? Perhaps you mean a "Teacher" who leads by example?
.


Pretty sure that's what he meant and he's right.


Fours hours for one hours of class? Nutters!


Yep, that's an inexperienced teacher who's also being observed level of prep.
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Nicky_McG



Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 190

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It could possibly happen if you had to prepare all materials from scratch and research any grammar rules. Like you said, it's a very inexperienced teacher who'd do that.
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santi84



Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Stop trying to reinvent the damn wheel for every lesson!" - wise words for anyone beyond the stage of a student teacher under the microscope.
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AGoodStory



Joined: 26 Feb 2010
Posts: 738

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:07 pm    Post subject: Re: "What Makes a Great ESL Teacher" Article Refer Reply with quote

ourownalone wrote:


What someone means is all well and good, but it's also carelessness and shows how little time the OP took to prepare an invitation to discuss, ironically enough, preparation. What profession tolerates what someone means?

Clearly, the OP is motivated by having an audience rather than going through the effort to read about how teachers are educated.



Hmmm. It's not at all clear to me.

@ ourownalone-papuadn-adventious-buravirgil-(and probably)maueuewome:
One thing that is clear is that a brand new username does not necessarily come with a brand new attitude. Darn!

@ bj80
Good topic with some good advice given. The Dörnyei and Csizér article is useful, and I agree with the advice several people have given about getting involved with students' personal problems. There is a balance between establishing good supportive relationships with your students and the need to maintain boundaries.

.
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RedLightning



Joined: 08 Aug 2015
Posts: 137
Location: United States

PostPosted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What makes a good teacher, ESL or otherwise

-Lack of concern as to whether or not your students 'like' you
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