Teach English in Nanshahe Zhen - Zaozhuang Shi

Definition of teaching style The teaching techniques and approaches, as well as activities that teachers employ in teaching in the classroom, is known as teaching style (Cooper, 2001). Grasha (2002) defines teaching style as the continuous and steady actions of teachers in their relationship with students in the course of teaching-and-learning. Jarvis (2004) considers teaching style as containing “evidence of beliefs about values related to and attitudes toward all the elements of the teaching-learning exchange" (p. 40). Teachers' styles of teaching represent their behavior in the classroom. These definitions indicate that teaching styles are the methods, activities, and approaches that are employed by a teacher in the classroom or “the sum total of instructional activities, techniques, and approaches that a teacher feels most comfortable using when he or she is in front of a class” (Cooper, 2001, p. 301). In the study of teaching styles in an EFL setting, Kazemi and Soleimani (2013) found that the most prominent teaching style used by teachers in the classroom in Iran is the formal teaching style. Garcia, et al., (2005) also found a relationship between context and personality in teacher burnout. Primarily, the teaching style of a teacher can result in burnout. Teachers’ teaching styles are also linked to the teacher’s locus of control (Kennedy, 1991), their knowledge of the content (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998), their self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001), their conduct in the class (Zhang, 2007) and reflectivity (Akbari, et al., 2008), as well as their management style (Yilmaz & Çavaş, 2008). Teaching styles have been categorized into direct (didactic) and indirect (student-centered) (Flanders, 1970). Bennett et al., (1976) also classified them as formal and informal styles, and Solomon and Kendall (1979) describe it as open and traditional styles while Lowman (1995) uses the description intellectual excitement and interpersonal rapport styles. The teaching styles identified by Grasha’s (1996) are in five models, namely; expert, formal authority, personal, facilitator, and delegator models. The selection of teaching style generally depends on several factors that the teacher needs to take into consideration. These include the personality of the teacher, the environment, the level and age of the student, among others. In this paper, teaching style is categorized into teacher-centered and student-centered from which the styles identified above can be classified. Teacher-centered teaching style In a teacher-centered teaching style, there is passive learning by students. Hence they have no control over their learning. The student is a mere beneficiary of the teachers’ wisdom and knowledge (Ahmed, 2013). Among the various categorizations, the expert, formal authority, and personal model are teacher-centered teaching styles. In this regard, teachers, as the core of the class, make most decisions concerning the curriculum. Partly EFL teaching is teacher-centered since teachers are responsible for designing the curriculum and syllabus. Teacher-centered learning could constrain students’ progress (Duckworth et al., 2009). Students in a teacher-centered classroom, are passive recipients of information; the importance is placed on the acquisition of knowledge, while the teacher’s role is a primary informant and evaluator (Huba & Freed 2000). Teachers also establish learning goals for students and oversee the work of students through standard practices and procedures. Teachers also perform in ways that provide a framework to influence students' thought and behavior. They as models encourage students to observe and utilize what seems effective in a teachers' point of view. This is mostly the case in high power distant cultures, where those in power have the final say and make most of the decisions. Student-centered teaching style In a student-centered classroom, learners play a critical part in designing their curriculums (Wolk, 2010). Students have the chance to make essential decisions and judge the significance of a method of teaching to their lives and personal beliefs (Brown, 2007). This is most prominent among higher educational levels where students can make informed decisions on their learning outcomes. In this situation, teachers are facilitators or guide responsible for assisting learners to achieve positive results. This type of teaching style places emphasis on the teacher-student relationship. Being a facilitator means asking questions, suggesting alternatives, and developing options. The teacher mostly assists students in making informed choices with the ultimate goal of developing their capacity to be responsible and independent with the ability to take initiatives. In an EFL class of students five to thirteen years, this approach is usually used and dominated by activities. For learners, less than nine years engaging and practicing is the primary approach in teaching while for young learners above eight years, the engage, study, and activate strategy is used. The teacher decides whether to use the straight arrow, Boomerang, or patchwork approach to lessons. Similarly, Saulnier et al., (2008) specified that in the learner-centered style of teaching, learners are active participants in the learning process and do a more authentic assessment. Teachers delegate their responsibility to the student to help them develop the ability to work independently and autonomously. The teacher becomes a resource and available to the student when they need help. According to Brown (2001), the learner-centered approach is grounded in the constructivist philosophy of teaching like the Montessori method. In this regard, the learners learn by practicing and experiencing rather than relying on the teachers’ knowledge. To conclude, no one teaching style is capable of being fit for every condition. EFL teaching styles come in various forms and can be adapted and adjusted to suit a teacher’s condition. It is recommended that EFL teachers vary their teaching styles based on the circumstance as well as blend the various techniques to balance their weaknesses and strengths. Bibliography Ahmed, Kh. A. (2013). Teacher-centered versus learner-centered teaching style. The Journal of Global Business Management, 9(1), 22-34. Akbari, R., Mirhassani, A., & Bahri, H. (2005). The relationship between teaching style and personality type of Iranian EFL teachers. Iranian journal of applied linguistics, 8(1), 1-23. Bennett, N., Jordan, J., Long, G., & Wade. B. (1976). Teaching Styles and pupil progress. London: open Books Publishing Limited. Brown, H. D. (2001). Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Third Edition. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed.). White Plains: Pearson. Cooper, T. C. (2001). Foreign language teaching style and personality. Foreign Language Annals, 34, 301–317. doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2001.tb02062.x Duckworth, A., Quinn, P. D., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2009). Positive predictors of teacher effectiveness. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(6), 540–547. Flanders, A. (1970). Analyzing teacher behavior. MA: Addition-Wesley Publishing Company. Garcia, F., Munoz, E., & Ortiz, M. (2005).Personality and contextual variables in teacher burnout.Personality and Individual Differences, 38, 929–940. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.06.018 Ghanizadeh, A., & Jahedizadeh, S. (2016). EFL teachers’ teaching style, creativity, and burnout: A path analysis approach. Cogent Education, 3(1), 1151997. Grasha, A. F. (1996). Teaching with style: A practical guide to enhancing leaning by understanding teaching and learning style. Pittsburgh: Alliance Publishers. Grasha, A. F. (2002). The dynamics of one-on-one teaching. College Teaching, 50, 139-146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/87567550209595895 Heydarnejad, T., Hosseini Fatemi, A., & Ghonsooly, B. (2017). An Exploration of EFL Teachers' Teaching Styles and Emotions. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 4(2), 26-46. Huba, M. E., & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Izard, C. E. (2010). The many meanings/aspects of emotion: Definitions, functions, activation, and regulation. Emotion Review, 2(4), 363-370. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1754073910374661 Jarvis, P. (2004). Adult education and lifelong learning: Theory and practice. London: Routledge Falmer. Kazemi, A., & Soleimani, N. (2013). On Iranian EFL teachers’ dominant teaching styles in private language centers: Teacher centered or student-centered? International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 4, 193–202. Kennedy, J. (1991). Perspectives on cultural and individual determinants of teaching style. RELC Journal, 22, 61–78. doi:10.1177/003368829102200205 Lowman, J. (1995). Mastering the techniques of teaching. (2nd ed). Jossey-Bass: San Francisco. Peacock, M. (2001). Match or mismatch? Learning styles and teaching styles in EFL. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 11(1), 1-20. Saulnier, M. B., Landry, P. J., & Wagner V. T. (2008). From Teaching to Learning: Learner-Centered Teaching and Assessment in Information Systems Education. Journal of Information Systems Education, 19(2). Solomon, D., & Kendall, A. J. (1979). Children in classrooms: An investigation of person-environment interaction. New York: Prager Publishers. Tschannen-Moran, M., Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68, 202–248. doi:10.3102/00346543068002202 Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, W. A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783–805. Wolk, R. (2010). Education: the case for making it personal. Educational Leadership. 67(7). Yilmaz, H., & Çavas, P. (2008). The effect of teaching practice on pre service elementary teachers' science teaching efficacy and classroom management beliefs. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 4(1), 45-54. Zhang, L. F. (2007). Do personality traits make a difference in teaching styles among Chinese high school teachers? Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 669–679.doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.01.009