Teach English in Chengqian Zhen - Jining Shi

TEFL teachers hold many different roles which can depend on a variety of factors. These roles effect students differently and it is important for TEFL teachers to understand the impact of their roles to effectively utilize them in their teaching. These roles like manager, organizer, and assessor affect the class environment differently, and can have an impact on how the students interact in the class. These roles can be dependent on the country, class size, teaching style and the lesson and activity. As a TEFL teacher, one of the major aspects of a class to keep in mind is the culture of the students. In most cases, a TEFL teacher will most likely be teaching abroad among a single culture. In this way, the country you are teaching in can affect the role of the teacher. The teacher should always be mindful of the culture of their students and the institution in which they teach in. Some cultures may tend towards having teachers take a more authoritative or parental role, where students will be less comfortable or used to teachers stepping down into a participant role or observer role. In situations like this the teacher may have to adjust their teaching to accommodate this, taking a more managerial role, where they are taking charge of the class and the activity, often teaching from the front of the classroom. Class size can also have an impact on which roles the teacher should take. TEFL teachers can hold a wide range of class sizes. From private lessons of one student, to larger classes of 30 or more, the teacher must consider this in order to teach in the most effective way possible. For example, a private one on one lesson may require the teacher to be more active in their roles. The more personal approach which comes with one on one teaching may require the teacher to play a participant role more often than a larger class would require, as pair work is limited in these situations. And on the other hand, larger class will sometimes require the teacher to take on different roles. With larger class that can be grouped and paired evenly, the teacher has less of a need to act in a participant role and participate from within the groups. Instead the teacher can step back during group activities for example and take an observer role. This allows the teacher to monitor the many groups of students, rather than only the group he or she was participating, had he or she participated in the activity. The teacher is then able to observe and monitor their larger group of students more effectively. The lesson plan can influence which roles the teacher should use during the lesson. Often the teacher will need to adjust their roles in order to accommodate the goals of the lesson. For example, if we look at a standard ESA lesson plan, we will notice that the teacher will have to change their roles across the lesson. During the Engage phase, the teacher may wish to take on a controller and prompter role, in order to both elicit answer to a possible prompt on the board, engaging the students to speak while keeping the attention towards the teacher and the board. As the class moves into the study phase, the teacher may plan to teach from the board for the first half, requiring them to keep a similar controller role, as to maintain the focus on the board and what is being taught. In the second half of the study phase, the teacher may give students individual work, such as worksheets or gap fills. While the students work on these, the teacher can take on monitoring and tutor roles. Though the students are working individually, the teacher still makes themselves available and active in the class by monitoring the students, walking around and checking the students’ progress. The teacher also can take on the role of a resource, as students may need assistance during the exercise. And during the activity phase, the teacher may find themselves in a monitor role, or possibly a participant role, depending on group sizes and the activity. Depending on the lesson plan, class size, the country you are teaching in, and a variety of other factors, the teacher may find themselves in many different roles. These factors can have a vital impact on the roles the teacher should take, and thus can greatly impact the effectiveness of the teacher. The teacher must be aware of how these different dynamics effect the roles in which they must take on in order to effectively teach and to best stimulate the students. This is especially important for TEFL teachers, as they are often the only source of native English for the students, and thus almost always take on this model and resource role. The teacher holds many roles, and must be aware of which to utilize in order to be effective, knowing when to take charge, and when to step back and observe.