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Learning a new language like English can be difficult, frustrating, and time consuming. However, in my opinion, most people would agree that learning the English language is worth all of the time and effort once they have learned it. The aims of this paper is to highlight the importance of building rapport in English teaching lessons which could be applied to a variety of different fields. The opacity regarding rapport building in TEFL courses is astonishing and I believe it can be supplemented in the years to come. Rapport building seems to build higher students participation, higher grades, and greater student satisfaction. Student participation, or the lack thereof, is an area many teachers struggle with this daily. In my experience, learning English seemed very intimidating and it made me not want to speak in front of the classroom. I believe that my lack of participation here was because the teacher failed to establish rapport and effectively use this tool to reach language learners. Rapport could have been used in many ways, such as sharing personal experiences, getting to know me as a student individually, or even just smiling. This would tend to make the experience of failing to pronounce a word less intimidating leading to higher participation. Participation could have been achieved more in my opinion if the teacher was approachable, interesting, creative, and encouraging. The lessons in the TEFL course have a variety of subjects that can be difficult to master and the proper use of rapport can help students stay motivated thus learning more, retaining the language, and achieving higher grades. As a learner of the English language myself, the rapport my teachers established with me had a huge impact in the way I learned. I was motivated and wanted to keep learning more as well as felt comfortable making mistakes knowing that they were not the main focus of the lesson. I was able to have conversations and get to know the professors and furthermore get really devoted to the subject at hand, as well as really find passion for the lessons being taught. Building a good relationship with students can be extremely beneficial and can cause ambiguity of the language to drop drastically if teacher and student know how the other communicates regularly. Apart from rapport being extremely beneficial it encourages face to face conversation skills, and promotes the ability of small talk and approachability in a judge free environment. The environment created by the rapport makes students more willing to try a new activity as well as it makes class more enjoyable as opposed to an obligation that must be done whether or not one wants to or not and this would show on testing or surveying activities in the manner of improved grades. Body language can be used as a form of rapport building, for example one can be standing with their arms crossed implying don’t bother me, vs standing at a relaxed and friendly manner with a smile on their face communicating they are approachable. English learners can see this a way to come and clear doubts during lessons rather than feeling intimated by the professor. The way a professor carries their class leads to higher class satisfaction and retention of the English language. Students may feel more at home, and at ease during their learning endeavors. The TEFL course that I believe is the most influenced by rapport would be the phonetics section. I believe that students can feel embarrassed which in turn decrease participation, and grades over all. If the teacher sets his demeanor as friendly and approachable, phonetics can be a fun filled class of games and group building activities that will lead to a better satisfaction with their abilities in the English language. Rapport building is a key factor in the building blocks of any teaching academy, this is especially true in English learning classrooms. There can be many barriers such as student English levels, eagerness to learn, cultural differences, and time accessibility to overcome. The importance of rapport building is crucial to the development of a student, whether its through body language, listening, or empathizing with the student, the overall outcome is higher retention of the language because the student feels involved in the process rather than just another part of a checklist.
