Teach English in Baiyi Zhen - Bazhong Shi

I believe that teachers should possess qualities or characterisitics that can help with not only knowledge growth but personal improvements too. I believe that teachers have the ability to change the lives and develop well-educated and respectable students. To be an effective teacher means that you must not only have knowledge and skills in teaching and in speaking English language but you must also possess a professional attitude or skills and I believe that these are the following personal qualities an English teacher should or must possess: a.) Patience An English teacher, teaching especially in countries that English is not a native language or teaching in a country where English is not frequently used as a mode of communication, patience is one of the quality she or he must possess. It is the key to become an effective teacher especially when working with children or teenagers. I believe that where there is patience, there is also understanding especially when the learners are not well-behaved. You must be patient to discover alternative ways to explain things especially if the learner or student doesn't comprehend on what you are saying. You cannot walked out of the class and just say, "it's enough". Try to be understanding and always remember that you are there to teach and not to walk away. b.) Being enthusiastic Being an English teacher, you must be enthusiastic to your job and to your lesson so that you can promote and encourage the students or learners to share the same passion as you do. You should always upbeat, motivate and entertain the students so that they will have the enthusiasm to learn English and to come to the class to learn. You should possess an energetic and positive feeling when coming to the class so that you can take the interests of the students or learners to learn English and to listen as well. c.) Ability to teach Being an English teacher is not just about knowledge or credentials you hold to educate others. You need also to have a skill to teach and you must have an instructive skills. You can have your own style of teaching on how you can demonstrate or explain clearly concepts, terms, grammars or vocabularies that are not easy to understand and you must also use your creativity so that the students can understand your way of teaching in giving instructions such as using props or materials. d.) Communication I believe that communication is the most important tool in teaching. You must be able to interact with people all the ages including the students , colleagues at school, parents, administrative staffs and people who are working around you. As an English educator, you should be able to effectively deliver information and understand the points of view from other people as well as the students. e.) Leadership Having a leadership skills as an English teacher means you can lead and guide the classroom and the class. You can manage a number of different personalities of the students especially those who are misbehaving inside the classroom. You know how to steer them into the right direction. You can also lead an example and become a role model to the students. f.) Respectful Showing respect to the students is important. You should set a respectful tone in the classroom by not screaming to the students when they misbehaved such as not listening to the class discussion. Being a role model or showing respect to the class, the students will feel safe to share their ideas, values, opinions as well as their classmates will learn to be a good listeners while their classmates are talking in front of the class and the students will learn to respect other's thoughts. If you respect them, they will respect you in return and this can create a useful and effective learning environment to the learners. g.) Organizer Being an English educator, you must also possess this quality to keep on top your tasks and complete your duties in a timely manner. You must have an organisation skills where you can organize your activities such the lesson planning, giving instructions to the students,making activites, etc. You need to make a plan on what you are going to do or what you are going to teach. You need to make a to-do list so you can prioritize which things you need to do first. h.) Multitasking or being a multitasker Teaching is not only on making or marking exams and not only following the curriculum of the institution. You must also be able to monitor students behaviour and keep your attention while you are speaking and completing your class. You should have eyes at your back especially if you are dealing with the low level students or the preschoolers because you don't know what is on their mind and they easily have a short attention span. After the class, you need also to make plans on what you are going to do the following day or the following week. As well as, you need also to create and mark tests and homeworks to the students. Being a multitasker is doing a two or multi things at once. i.) Being creative Creativity is a must to get the students interest to learn. Being creative is getting the students to engage in an activity or class and taking their interest or attention especially in preschoolers and primary schools. You will find different ways to keep the class interested and makes the students eager to learn by engaging them to number of fun activities or games such as role plays and other learning activities and they will not be bored in just sitting and listening to you while you are talking in front of them. j.) Being adaptable or flexible You never know what will happen in your classroom each day. You need to adapt to the unforeseen situations that will happen. You need to know how to handle each circumstances appropriately and find a quick solution to a problem that will arise. For exanple, you are having a game in the class and one of your students get injured, you will need to remain calm and come to the rescue. k.) Being a critical thinker You need to solve a number of different problems, often on a tight deadline. It often involves answering difficult questions on the spot asked by the students, solving conflicts inside the class, creating new lesson plans, teaching games and dealing issues with the students inside the classroom as well as to your colleagues. l.) Confident As they say, it takes a lot of confidence when you are a teacher becauses you have to stand in front of the class and and talk to the students as well as to the parents of the students when problems in school arise that you cannot handle anymore. Confidence is also an important quality an English teacher should or must possess especially to a non-native English speakers so that you can deliver your lesson well and the students can have assurance that you know what you are talking about. This help the learners also boost their self-esteem as they know that their teacher knows what she or he is saying. m.) Having an emotional intelligence You need to have the ability to control your emotions especially your anger or temper. So should not become a terror teacher where all of the students are afraid if you are entering the class. No matter how angry or upset you are, you should still manage to control your emotions and smile. Don't let your emotions control you especially if the students are misbehaving. Learn to know also yourself and be positive no matter how hard the situation is inside the classroom. n.) Committed You should be committed to the job you choose and you work with. Being committed to your job is also being passionate. Love what you do and you should have the passion to teach students and you can also change their lives. Being committed is also being loyal to the job you applied for and you have to give your best everyday in coming to work. o.) Being approachable Being approachable is a vital quality an English teacher should possess. Your students need to feel comfortable when they ask you and they should not fear you when they ask or see you. You should be warm to the students so that you can invite them to open up their personal interests and issues as well and you can get the students to be involve in an activity or class if you are an approachable teacher. You should be open to the students especially when they want to ask questions and you should not block them by saying, "Okay, I don't want to answer what you asked for" but you should be a helpful and enthusiastic teacher as well by telling the students such as, "How can I help you? or You can ask me questions if you don't understand or by simply saying, any questions?". p.) Sense of Humour I believe this quality is useful because you can get the students to be involve to your class. You should be able to make them laugh by making fun of yourself especially in low learners or preschoolers. You can make the lesson as fun as possible by wearing props to the class so you can get the students interest and I believe that having a sense of humour promotes happiness or positivity to the classroom or environment. A happy teacher also makes the student happy and they enjoy also learning English as a language. Overall, for me these personal qualities are vital to have as an English teacher. You should be able to transmit these personal values to the learners like a lamp which lights another lamp into equal brightness. Being an English teacher is a fun and a challenging role to have but having these values I believe can make the teaching and the learning experience of the student fun, enjoyable and effective.