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A teacher's role in the classroom is often incorrectly narrowly defined. Most people see the teacher as a taskmaster, or, if they are more charitable, a facilitator. While either of these can be true for a specific teacher, and both will be true of most teachers at least some portion of the time, they are rarely the whole truth of the teacher’s role in the classroom. The most effective teachers are able to adapt their role to the specific task at hand in order to best facilitate student learning. An effective teacher, for instance, will assume a managerial role during class-time devoted to memorization of new terms or concepts. While he or she may elicit student participation, the focus will be on the teacher and the concepts being introduced. It is necessary that the teacher be able to hold the attention of the class for this period. However, the same teacher will quickly switch from a manager to an organizer, giving the spotlight to the students, in pairs, groups, or in short individual demonstrations before the class, so they can practice and demonstrate the imparted terms or concepts themselves. By stepping back, the teacher allows the students to attempt to use the new information more organically, rather than trying to memorize the information by rote through notetaking. During such a time, the teacher may also act as an observer, listening or watching for students or groups having particular trouble with the material. It is important that the teacher do so as unobtrusively as possible, so the students do not feel unduly pressured or harassed. While a teacher may know some students generally have greater problems than others, it should never seem the teacher is focusing too much on any one student. While observing, the teacher may feel the need to fill the role of a prompter, giving gentle encouragement to students or groups having particular trouble with the new terms or concepts. The teacher should try to do so without outright supplying the answer. Rather, the teacher should reinforce what the students are getting correct, so they can identify for themselves where they are struggling and try to correct themselves. This means, necessarily, the teacher is also adopting the role of an assessor, judging students’ use of spoken or written English to identify areas for improvement. Such assessments should be as objective as possible, and applied fairly to the entire class. It is important while assessing to give attention to what the student is doing right, as well as what they are getting wrong, so the student will not feel discouraged by the advice. When the teacher feels confident the students grasp the basics of the material, he or shemay feel it is appropriate to remove themselves from the activity entirely for a time, taking the role of a facilitator. The teacher will assign a task, then step aside once it is clear everyone understands the instructions. The teacher should remain available at such a time to answer student questions and concerns, but should otherwise allow the students to explore and complete the task themselves. In some cases, it may be necessary for the teacher to set aside time to be a tutor for students having particular difficulty with the course work. This should be a role adopted sparingly, as it can be misconstrued as favoritism by some. It remains, however, a powerful tool in a teacher’s toolkit. Oftentimes a few moments of gentle encouragement and reinforcement of the lesson is all a struggling student may need. Perhaps the most important role of a TEFL teacher, specifically, is that of a model. Students in foreign countries often lack exposure to other English speakers or English media. It is critical, then, that the teacher is a correct model of the language. Proper grammar, pronunciation, and spelling should be carefully observed in order to avoid confusing students. The more mistakes a teacher makes in his or her personal usage, the more mistakes the students will make in their coursework. The role a teacher takes in the classroom will depend on many things. Some teachers will be better suited to certain roles than others, and certain roles are inappropriate for certain activities. It is up to the teacher to adopt the most appropriate role for the task at hand, given both the students’ needs and his or her abilities. An effective teacher can fulfill all the above roles, and perhaps more, in order to best aid their students.
