Teach English in Augrabies - TEFL Courses

As discussed in Unit One of this course, teachers and Learners, the role of the teacher is an important part of the classroom dynamic. Depending on the activity that is being performed, the teacher may take on the role of manager or controller, organizer, assessor, prompter, participant, tutor, resource or facilitator, model, or observer or monitor. According to Unit One, when the teacher acts as a manager he is effectively in charge of the class and of the activity, as opposed to an activity where students are working on their own. As a manager or controller the teacher is usually standing in the front of the class giving explanations or reading out loud. When in the role of the manager, eye contact, gestures and voice are also important. As an organizer, the teacher gives instruction, puts kids into groups or pairs, initiates activities, brings activities to a close, and arranges feedback. Being comfortable in this role is important as chaos could be caused if students are not aware of the task, or don't know how the groups are supposed to function. The teacher as an assessor gives feedback and correction on whether or not the students are producing correct english, as well as evaluating and grading. “It is vitally important in this role that the teacher is fair and consistent with all of the students as well as being very sensitive to the students' reactions and providing necessary support.” (Unit 1- teachers and Learners) Not doing so could cause the students to not participate, defeating the purpose of the class. When prompting the teacher gently encourages students along when they get stuck or forget what they were trying to say. The teacher needs to be careful not to take the initiative away form the students when prompting. When the number of students in the class is uneven, the teacher will sometimes act as a participant. Other reasons may include to act as an equal rather than the teacher (which can build trust) or to liven up the activity from the inside of the group rather than prompting from the outside. As in prompting, it is important that the teacher not dominate the activity or focus the attention on him or herself. teachers take on a more personal role when acting as a tutor. This role is employed when students are working individually and need guidance and support. It is important that the teacher gives an equal amount of attention to each student, and avoid interfering too much. The teacher needs to be available as a resource when allowing students to discover the process of learning a language for themselves. Sometimes the teacher may want to let the students engage in an activity or participate in tasks without any interference. Still, the teacher needs to act as a resource that students can go to when they need assistance or guidance. teachers also need to be careful not to spoon-feed information when acting as a resource. The english teacher, especially a native english speaker, is often the only real, live source of english that the students have ever heard. In this case the teacher is acting as a model for the students; and therefore should be mindful of how they use the language. Often when students are working on an activity in pairs or individually, the teacher may want to act as a monitor or observer. This allows the teacher to know how long an activity might take to complete and how successful it has been. Monitoring also allows the teacher to take notes so he or she can give corrections or praise at a later stage. When observing the teacher generally maintains a distance so as not to distract, but may need to move in to hear spoken work or to look at writing in progress. When to use each role will depend on the type of activity and what we hope the students will accomplish. Some lessons will require a more teacher-centered approach, and others may be more student focused. A good, experienced teacher will know how and when to use certain roles to engage and involve students in classroom activities.