1. Introduction
Every teacher must have faced the dilemma at one point or another: what should be my role in the classroom? Should I primarily focus on efficient organization of lessons with a careful selection of the language facts to be transmitted to students? Or should I be more flexible and let the lesson flow sponteinously? Should I take full responsibility for the choice of activities, topics, and areas of language (after all, I am familiar with examination requirements, so I do know what my students should cover in class), or perhaps should I always make the effort of giving the learners as much choice as possible? Finally, should I become friends with my students (if it is possible at all), or maybe it’s enough to concentrate on the material and evaluation and not expect too much openness and trust from teenagers?
These and many other questions have haunted the teaching profession for years. They have been bothering the author of the present paper since the very beginning of her teaching career and have led her to take a deeper and more systematic interest in the issue of teacher role. In a attempt to gain insights into foreign language teachers’ and students’ understanding of teacher role in the classroom, two research projects were carried out and then their results were compared.
2. Research on teachers
2.1. Objectives of the research project and techniques of data collection
The purpose of the first research project was to find out how foreign language teachers of English view their role in the classroom. The teachers expressed their opinions in a questionnaire consisting of three open-ended questions:
1. What is the role of the foreign language teacher in the classroom? List and describe at least five functions.
2. Which of the above roles is most important and why?
3. Which of the above roles is most common and why?
The other set of objectives included assessing whether the teachers’ answers to the questionnaire were congruent with their role behavior, i.e. the performance of roles. To obtain the information, the lessons of several high school teachers who taught different student levels were observed. During the observations a checklist consisting of the roles that the teachers had enumerated in the questionnaire was used.
2.2. The respondents
The questionnaire was distributed among 76 Polish high school teachers of English, the majority of whom were women (82.2%). Among them, the most numerous group comprised the youngest (under 30) informants (92.2%). There were 9 (11.8%) respondents aged between 30-40, and 8 (10.5%) over 40. Most of them worked in high schools in Poznan, the rest in other big cities or towns in Poland. Quite a few (about 60%) were teacher training college graduates currently doing their MA degree at Adam Mickiewicz University (fifth year students), whereas the remaining ones had completed their studies at the School of English some time before.
The classroom observations were carried out in five different high schools in Poznan. Altogether 8 teachers were observed: 7 women and 1 man. The group consisted of: 3 experienced teachers (i.e. that had been teaching for over 5 years) aged 35-45; 1 teacher with several years of professional practice aged 31; and 4 inexperienced teachers (i.e. that had been teaching for 1-2 years), among them 3 under 30 and 1 aged 40.
Three of the four inexperienced teachers were teacher training college graduates and two of them were doing their MA degree.
The subjects’ students ranged from beginners to pre-intermediate, and through intermediate to upper-intermediate. In the case of 3 teachers two different student levels were observed; in all the other cases only one class was examined. In order to receive a fairly comprehensive picture of a given teacher’s role behavior 3-4 lessons with the same group of learners were observed, which makes 34 lessons altogether. This enabled the researcher to see the teacher in various classroom situations: doing grammar practice, checking homework, giving the learners a test, covering a text, etc.
2.3. The results of the questionnaire
The teachers’ responses to the questionnaire were by and large extensive and informative. The respondents enumerated as many as 13 roles, thus showing that they are (at least theoretically) aware of the multiple functions of an L2 teacher. Figure 1 below shows all the roles listed by the teachers together with examples of behavior characteristic for a given role. It should be noted that some of the names for roles were supplied by the teachers in question, others were adopted from authors who have written about teacher role (cf. Barnes 1976; Harmer 1983; Wright 1987; Havinghurst and Neugarten 1967), while still others were invented by the researcher.
Figure 1
The roles listed by the teachers and examples of the teacher's role
behavior
Types of The roles mentioned
roles by teachers
Organizer
Instructor
Controller
Task-related Facilitator
roles
Counselor
Participant
Expert, resource
Evaluator
Interpersonal Creator of conditions
roles conducive to learning
Friend
Socializing agent
Special roles Motivator
Learner
Types of Examples of behavior
roles
the teacher prepares lessons,
selects materials and activities,
directs the lessons, coordinates
the pupils' behavior, etc.
the teacher transmits knowledge,
passes on certain language facts,
informs the learners about rules
and meanings
the teacher controls the students,
monitors their interactions,
disciplines them, checks homework
Task-related the teacher explains the rule again
roles if the students have forgotten it,
provides ideas, words, etc. that
they may want to use in interaction
the teacher teaches the students
how to learn, trains the students
in strategy use, promotes
independence
the teacher participates in
activities as a partner and
co-communicator
the teacher not only exhibits
proficiency in the target language
but is able to answer the learners'
unexpected questions
the teacher evaluates the students'
performance and progress correcting
their mistakes and providing
feedback
Interpersonal the teacher tries to make the
roles atmosphere in the classroom
pleasant and maintains friendly
relationships with the learners
the teacher is not only interested
in the students' linguistic
development, but as a human being
can help them in their personal
problems
the teacher serves as a model for
behavior, inculcates values and
shapes the pupils' personalities,
teaches about the world
Special roles the teacher activates the learners'
participation by arousing their
interest (this function can be
performed in any other role)
the teacher keeps developing his/
her skills and acquiring new
knowledge (this function can be
performed in any other role)
Figure 2 below illustrates the teachers’ responses indicating the number and percentage of respondents who listed a given role.
Figure 2
The foreign language teachers' perception of their role
The roles listed by Total number Most important Most common
teachers of teachers role role
(number of (number of
teachers) teachers)
Organizer 34 (44.7%) 5 (6.6%) 9 (11.8%)
Instructor 45 (59.2%) 16 (21%) 36 (47.4%)
Controller 19 (25%) -- 4 (5.3%)
Facilitator 39 (51.3%) 4 (5.3%) 3 (3.9%)
Counselor 30 (39.5%) 14 (18.4%) --
Participant 1 (1.3%) -- --
Expert, resource 37 (48.7%) 6 (7.9%) 10 (13.2%)
Evaluator 32 (42.1%) 2 (2.6%) 10 (13.2%)
Creator of conditions 9 (11.8%) 2 (2.6%) --
conducive to learning
Friend 30 (39.5%) 5 (6.6%) --
Socializing agent 43 (56.6%) 7 (9.2%) 4 (5.3%)
Motivator 43 (56.6%) 20 (26.3%) 1 (1.3%)
Learner 3 (3.9%) -- --
It should be stressed that the subjects were able to mention different types of roles: those necessary to carry out language tasks (cf. task-related in Wright 1987), and the ones connected with the interpersonal relations in the classroom, the relationships between the teacher as a person and the learners as persons. The teachers also mentioned the roles of a motivator and learner; which were put in the separate class of special roles because those two teacher functions do not really belong to either of the two main role types, although they can and should be present in all the listed roles. For example, the teacher can motivate the students as an organizer by selecting appealing materials and activities, as an evaluator by concentrating on positive rather than negative feedback, as a friend by being open and tolerant to the students etc. The teacher-learner should not only look for opportunities to listen to and speak the foreign language in order to improve as an expert, instructor; and evaluator, but also read English language teaching publications to learn more about organization, facilitation, counseling, as well as about how to make the classroom environment more conducive to learning.
Although some informants claimed that all the roles listed by them are of equal importance, 20 teachers (26.3%) indicated the functions of motivator as the most essential in the learning/teaching process. According to the teachers, this role should exist at all levels of teacher activity because the students’ work entirely depends on it. Furthermore, as the teachers put it, motivation constitutes a basis for the third most important role of the teacher — that of counselor. In other words, if the learners are motivated, they will be open to strategy training and will assume responsibility for their learning more willingly.
As it could be expected, among the vital teacher roles the respondents also mention what some of them call “teaching itself”. The teachers believe that the tasks of an instructor is what teaching is all about. Moreover, according to 47.4% of the respondents this role is also the most common one performed by language teachers. It not only requires the least effort and skills (after all, teachers are trained to pass on knowledge), but it is what society expects a teacher to do. As many informants put it, an average Pole defines the role of a teacher as transmitting information rather than stimulating the learners to arrive at it themselves.
Similarly, the teachers in question claim that the role of an evaluator is both required by society and relatively easy to play. Additionally, it makes the whole process of teaching easier as testing motivates the learners and facilitates maintaining discipline. If the teacher’s knowledge and abilities are not enough to ensure him/her a dominant position, then the role of a dispenser of grades definitely enables the teacher to reign in the classroom. In short, according to the majority of the respondents, what the teacher should be primarily concerned with is motivating the students and teaching them not only about the language but also how to learn the language. What the teacher is preoccuppied with, however, is sharing his/her knowledge with the learners and checking how well they have managed to take it in.
2.4. The results of the lesson observations
Figure 3 below illustrates the results of the lesson observations. The roles have been classified as those that are always present (i.e. every teacher performed those functions at least once during every one of the observed lessons), those that are rarely present (they occurred no more than 3-4 times during all the 34 observed lessons), and those that fall in between the two extremes — the roles that are not always present, neither frequent, nor rare (1).
Figure 3
The teachers' role behavior in the classroom
The roles that are The roles that are not The roles that
always present always present are rarely present
Organizer Expert and resource Motivator
Evaluator Facilitator Friend
Instructor Counselor Participant
Controller Creator of conditions ... Learner
Socializing agent
What the research project on teachers reveals is that their expectations concerning role are to a considerable degree incompatible with what they actually perform in the classroom. Although the respondents are generally aware of the multiple roles they can fulfill as foreign language teachers, in practice only four roles dominate. What is more, while for the teachers in question the most significant role they are to fulfill is motivating their pupils, classroom observation reveals that only two out of the eight observed subjects managed to do it. Similarly, the second role in importance, that of counselor, did not receive due attention. The teachers’ opinions about the most frequently performed roles have also proven inaccurate. It is organization more than instruction that dominates the classroom. Moreover, the teacher far more often evaluates the learners than passes on knowledge. Generally, all the teachers are preoccupied with task-related functions, treating the aspect of motivation and interpersonal rol es as a useful but not an indispensable addition.
3. Research on students
From a sociological point of view, the concept of role is usually defined as expectations for specific behavior (cf. Banton 1965) As we saw in the previous section, teachers hold certain expectations for their role in the classroom, but these expectations are not quite congruent with their role behavior. Is it because the important roles, such as motivating, are at the same time the most difficult to play? Or perhaps it is because teachers are trying to meet the students’ requirements rather than their own. The following research material will show the relationship between the teacher’s beliefs and role performance, and the learners’ expectations.
3.1. The objectives of the research project and techniques of data collection
The main purpose of the research project was to elicit from L2 learners their expectations concerning the role of the foreign language teacher in the classroom. The informants’ responses were then compared with the teachers’ beliefs and classroom behavior.
High school learners of English were asked to fill in a questionnaire consisting of a list of certain teacher qualities from which they were to choose five in order of importance. The apparent features of L2 teachers in fact corresponded to their functions in the classroom. In this way it was possible to find out which roles learners considered as more, and which as less important.
The questionnaire was devised on the basis of the teachers’ responses to their questionnaire. It was assumed that the learners would find it difficult to come up with specific roles themselves. Therefore, they were provided with lists of items to choose from rather than with open-ended questions. In addition, in order to facilitate the respondents’ understanding of a given role, specific examples of behavior (not mere labels for teacher functions) more or less adequately illustrating the various roles were provided. The list of teacher qualities comprised the following (in brackets are the roles associated with the qualities):
a) The teacher shows the students how to learn, which leads to good results achieved by the teacher’s students (counselor).
b) The teacher is characterized by a good command of L2 and has an MA degree in L2 (expert and resource).
c) The teacher gains experience by constant learning and improving skills (learner).
d) The teacher is sympathetic and willing to explain when the students still do not understand something (facilitator).
e) The teacher is able to maintain discipline and make the learners do what they should (controller).
f) The teacher systematically evaluates and corrects errors (evaluator).
g) The teacher appreciates the students’ efforts, evaluating them objectively (creator of conditions conducive to learning).
h) The teacher is intelligent, is able and willing to talk on any subject (socializing agent).
i) The teacher willingly participates in activities as a member of a group or pair (participant).
j) The teacher is involved in the students’ personal lives (friend).
k) The teacher has a sense of duty and emphasizes transmitting knowledge (instructor).
l) The teacher is always well prepared for the lesson (organizer).
m) The teacher is enthusiastic and wants to involve the learners and make them interested (motivator).
3.2. The student respondents
As it was stated above, teachers of English in five different high schools in Poznan were observed. After being observed, they were interviewed and those teachers’ students were asked to fill in the questionnaire. In this way 222 valid questionnaires were collected. Among the student respondents there were 171 females (77%) and 51 males (23%). To obtain a clear picture of the learners’ beliefs about teacher roles two student groups were examined: 119 (53.6%) beginners aged 15-16, and 103 (46.4%) intermediate and upper-intermediate learners aged 18-19.
3.3. The results of student questionnaire
From the list of teacher qualities the informants were to choose 5 and number them in order of importance. Figure 4. illustrates the role-set’s primary choices (the qualities they selected as the most significant and numbered them as 1), and secondary qualities (those which the respondents put in positions 2-5).
Figure 4 The list of teacher qualities selected by the students Teacher roles Primary qualities Secondary qualities Organizer 3.1% 30.2% Instructor 4.5% 14% Controller 2.2% 7.7% Facilitator 13.5% 66.2% Counselor 19% 24.8% Participant -- 28.8% Expert, resource 11.7% 13.1% Evaluator 0.9% 8.5% Creator of conditions ... 7.7% 68.5% Friend -- 9.4% Socializing agent 5.4% 44.6% Motivator 22.1% 61.7% Learner 9.9% 22.5%
What is striking in the above sequence of roles is the fact that no quality was chosen by an overwhelming majority of the respondents. The two most vital roles, motivator and counselor, amounted to 22.1% and 19% support respectively. Although the two functions were selected by most students, the respondents do not seem unanimous in their opinion on the most significant teacher role.
The learners apparently differ less in their perception of secondary teacher functions: from the two lists it is clear that the students emphasize the roles of a motivator and a facilitator.
The learners’ choices do not differ so much depending on their level. Still, quality l (organizer) was selected by more advanced than elementary students. On the other hand, feature j (friend) was chosen exclusively by beginners. Generally, the roles that received the least attention (as both primary and secondary qualities) were e (controller) and f (evaluator).
4. The teachers’ beliefs and role behavior versus the students’ expectations
The students’ responses to the questionnaire seem to a high degree congruent with the teachers’ beliefs. Both groups point to the roles of a motivator and counselor as the most vital roles. Unlike the teachers, however, the learners do notpercieve instruction as particularly important. Neither do they stress any other of the functions from the “always present” category, i.e. organization, evaluation, and control. Does it mean that the students do not expect the teacher to effectively plan lessons, correct errors and give tests, finally control their classroom performance? Clearly, it cannot be the case. The students simply seem to take these functions for granted, and emphasize that passing on knowledge, selecting materials and activities, carrying out evaluation and control has to be done in such a way so as to motivate the learners and encourage their involvement. Moreover, the pupils realize that language study does not only consist of being made familiar with certain language facts, but it primarily enco mpasses learning how to internalize these facts and use them. This is why counseling occupies such a high position on the list of primary qualities. What is more, the teacher has to be willing to help the students if they still do not understand something, provide extra practice, assist in pairwork and groupwork if necessary, etc. Thus, the facilitating function, as described above, is the third item in the hierarchy of teacher roles. Although the pupils consider the role of an expert as quite important (fourth on the list), this function is immediately followed by that of a learner. The students seem to value the teacher’s expertise and the ability to use the language as high as they appreciate his/her constant development as an L2 user and teacher. Another two roles (still preceding instruction and organization) indicated by the respondents both belong to the interpersonal group. Creating conditions conducive to learning, i.e. being sympathetic, objective, and generally exhibiting a positive attitude to stu dents, appears slightly more significant than acting as a socializing agent, who promotes discussions on various subjects (and often digresses) with the intent to shape the learners’ personalities and broaden their horizons. Positions 10 and 11 are occupied by the functions selected by only a few students, while the last two positions are empty. Thus, the roles of an evaluator, who corrects mistakes and tests the pupils, and a controller, who disciplines them, are relatively unimportant. Participating in activities and acting as a friend (which would have filled the empty positions) seem not to matter at all.
In conclusion, the teachers who answered the questionnaire seem to be aware of the roles that the students expect them do focus on in the classroom, and, therefore, their opinions about the most important roles are similar to the students’. However, they realize that these vital functions for different reasons do not receive due attention during lessons. This is confirmed by the teachers’ choices of the most common roles, which in turn correspond more to the roles actually performed than to the teachers’ perceptions of significant functions.
An obvious question that comes to mind is why the teachers’ role behavior is so incompatible with their students’ expectations. In order to try and address this problem, one needs to take a closer look at the Polish school system. For one thing, Polish secondary school classrooms are overcrowded, and an average of 30 students in one class is often the minimum. In such a numerous group it is extremely difficult to motivate everyone. The problem gets more complicated by the fact that many parents, being often unsatisfied with the few lessons of English their children have at school (2-3 45-minute sessions a week), have the students attend extra language courses. In this way almost every single classroom consists of mixed proficiency and mixed ability learners, with the more advanced ones treating the school lessons as peripheral. Motivating and counseling such a varied group may often appear beyond the teacher’s control. Still, a lot of students are in a way motivated by the final exam which most of them take i n English. However, what they are evaluated on in the exam is not their interest in English or their strategies of learning or skills, but very often knowledge of grammatical rules and structures. Aware of these exam requirements, teachers focus on the roles that enable them to help their students prepare for the final examination. Therefore, they concentrate on transmitting knowledge and are preoccupied with testing and correctness, while neglecting counseling, facilitation, and motivation. It also has to be noted that generally Polish schools lack qualified teachers of English, low salaries forcing them to seek employment somewhere else. Although the situation is slowly changing now, cases of, say, biology or math teachers teaching English are not infrequent. Such teachers may feel too insecure to be able to focus on other than the basic roles of an organizer, evaluator, and knowledge transmitter. Additionally, they may simply not know how to go beyond these functions and perform other, probably more demand ing roles.
Still, there is hope for the teachers’ role performance and students’ expectations to become more congruent. As Poland is aspiring to join the European Union, numerous reforms, including that in the field of education, are being implemented. First of all, foreign languages are receiving more attention by being obligatorily introduced as early as the 4th grade of primary school (it used to be the 7th grade). Secondly, examination requirements are changing with the focus placed more on skills than language facts. Finally, teachers are beginning to feel the need to develop as now their future careers will by and large depend on their performance and ever-improving qualifications.
In view of the above changes, it would seem interesting to carry out a similar study of teacher roles in a few years’ time. It would then be possible to assess how much the new system of education has contributed to changing students’ expectations for and teachers’ perceptions of roles as well as their role behavior.
(1.) For a detailed description of the classroom observations with the roles played by the teacher see Keblowska (1999).
REFERENCES
Banton, Michael
1965 Roles: An introduction to the study of social relations. London: Tavistock Publications.
Barnes, Douglas
1976 From communication to curriculum. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Harmer, Jeremy
1983 The practice of English language teaching. London: Longman.
Havighurst, Robert J. – Bernice L. Neugarten
1967 Society and education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Keblowska, Magdalena
1999 “The role of the foreign language teacher: An analysis of teachers’ perceptions and their role behavior”, Network 2, 2: 19-26.
Wright, Tony
1987 Roles of teachers and learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Reflecting on our role as Teachers 
a) Personally, I think that some functions of a foreign language teacher in the classroom are:
• to transmit a second language inside an attractive and motivating context for the students,
• to insert them into a ‘new’ world
• to help them understand other cultures as well as to communicate with other members in the society, taking into account that these students are not native speakers – they will need to be assessed with stimulating techniques and methodologies to find this interaction interesting .
• To be flexible to the students’ needs and interests.
Moreover, there are several teachers’ role s. A role is defined as “a person’s or thing’s function in a particular situation”; and teachers play different roles with their group of students. Their roles could be:
Organizer: the teacher who prepares and conducts the lesson with activities. She is mainly focused on the plan.
Instructor: the teacher who ‘transfers’ the knowledge and rules to students. She is a kind of ‘device’ while giving meanings of words.
Controller: the teacher who monitors the students’ activities and their interactions. Her function is, as the name defines her role, to control the classroom.
Facilitator: that teacher who explains and clarifies ideas, phrases, which the students will use in their activities.
Counselor: the teacher who makes the students think about the learning process themselves, she explains to them the strategies about how to learn.
Participant: the teacher who participates in the activities she prepares as a teacher and as a peer too.
Expert resource: apart from giving the activities, the teacher answers questions about other topics,
Motivator: the teacher who creates an attractive environment for learners and arouses their interest
Learner: the teacher who is constantly learning and improving her knowledge in her task of teaching.
There are some other roles but the most important point is that teachers must find the way to use more than one role so as to work with students effectively.
B and C) As regards the survey as well as my observations at different schools, I can clearly notice that the most common roles of the teachers are Instructors and Controllers. Teachers generally transmit the knowledge, inform the students about specific rules and meanings, control their bad bevahiour or interaction in class and check their homework. I have also realized that teachers need to play a specific and different role for each level or age. –This period of observations was very productive for me in order to make the plans afterwards- as I don’t work as a teacher and it would be much more difficult to do them if I did not observe lessons. In addition, taking into account what I have read in this article I can surely say that being an Organizer , Evaluator, Instructor, or Controller Teacher – the roles which are always present and the most common ones – do not lead the process of teaching and learning to be fruitful as well as to be complete . In other words, these teachers’ roles need to be ‘complemented’ with Motivator Teachers, (or other ones)- but I consider that this role is the most important one so as to make the classroom conducive to learning. I believe that motivation is the basis of this whole process on the grounds that teachers involve themselves in learners’ interests and engage them with stimulating activities. The students will become less interested in learning if teachers shout at them or make them copy meanings on and from the board without explaining what they really mean- Lessons would be surely fruitful if teachers found about their preferences. During my practice lessons I needed to investigate their likes , I perceived that they were motivated in learning, I managed to get students involved in the contexts I had prepared for them, international music and young famous actors and singers.
I’m pleased that you’ve found all this helpful.
This is an interesting article because it describes different points of view of the role of the teachers. The teachers express their beliefs and the expectations provided by the students.
1)The role of the teacher in the classroom:
*Counselor:The teacher shows the students how to learn, which leads to good results achieved by the teacher’s students
*Facilitator:The teacher is sympathetic and willing to explain when the students still do not understand something
* Instructor:The teacher has a sense of duty and emphasizes transmitting knowledge
*Participant: The teacher willingly participates in activities as a member of a group or pair
* Motivator: The teacher is enthusiastic and wants to involve the learners and make them interested
2)It has been found by this research that the most important role of the teacher is “Instructor”. The society expects it from the teachers, they have to trasmit their knowledge to the students. I believe that it is a very important role, but the most important for me is the “Facilitator” because the teacher has to be sympathetic and she has to provide all her capacities to trasmit her knowledge and to be understood by the students.
What, in your opinion, could be done in order to change the view that the society has about teachers? Of course, everybody can give their opinion, not only Caroline.
3)The most common role, according to the research, is the “Motivator”. The teacher needs a variety of strategies and innovating methods to get the students involved in the activities. They are supposed to learn better if the atmosphere is comfortable. In my opinion, I agree with the fact that “Motivator” is a common role because many students are not motivated so the teacher has to give certain tools to them in order to achieve her goal. According to my experience as a teacher,I believe that as many students are not motivated due to their own problems, the teacher should become interested in their lives if she wants them to learn in a good atmosphere. And to create a successful environment you have to get to know your students. So, the most common role nowadays is the “Friend” because the teacher is involved into the students´personal lives.
What do the rest think of this? Are we, or should we be friends of our students? Do we have all the responsibility as regards students’ motivation?
Personally, I think that first of all we are not friends of our students. The role of friend has to do, according to what I understood, with the capability to create suitable conditions to make the students learn in a more pleasant and attractive way. Getting involved into our students´ personal lives and maybe giving them some “advice” or just listen to them does not mean that we are closer friends. It contributes to build up a more relaxed atmosphere into the classroom and let them open up to us, that is what most of us want to achieve as teachers .
My personal experience has showed me that being friendly with my students have made them feel more confortable and willing to learn. And I feel more relaxed and willing to teach.
Going back to my school days ,which were a long time ago… ,I tried to recall those teachers who have left a print in my heart and mind .I remember having excellent teachers who helped me learn, showed me respect and encouraged me to take part in my learning process, but I also met others who I can hardly remember… In my opinion ,we, as teachers, should reflect every day upon our performance;we can be kind , friendly,listen to our students’ problems to create a positive environment to focus on the learner as an individual, which is a very important thing to take into account; but it doesn’t mean to become their” friends” in order to increase their motivation.
There are different roles that a teacher can adopt in his/her class:
– Organizer: the teacher prepares lessons, selects materials and activities, directs the lessons, coordinates the pupils’ behavior, etc.
– Instructor: the teacher transmits knowledge, passes on certain language facts, informs the learners about rules and meanings
-Controller: the teacher controls the students, monitors their interactions, disciplines them, checks homework.
-Facilitator:the teacher explains the rule again roles if the students have forgotten it, provides ideas, words, etc. that they may want to use in interaction
-Counselor the teacher teaches the students how to learn, trains the students in strategy use, promotes independence
-Participant : the teacher participates in activities as a partner and co-communicator
-Expert, resource: the teacher not only exhibits proficiency in the target language but is able to answer the learners’ questions
This research shows that the most important roles are instructor, as the teacher transmits the knowledge, counselor, the teacher teaches how to learn and motivator, the teacher encourages the students’ confidence and interest in learning.
And the most common roles are: intructor, expert,resource and evaluator.
It can be added the roles: controller, the teacher has to control students’ behaviour, attitudes, homework.
The role of the foreign languag teacher research
1) What`s the role of the foreign language teacher in the classroom? List and describe ar least five functions.
The roles are the tacher`s function in the classroom language. There are a lot of functions, but in my opinion these are the most important:
-Transmit a new language to the students trying to encourage them to learn and enjoy English
-Transmit not only language knowledge but also open their minds to a different culture, presenting them a new real context.
-Show flexibility to deal with difficulties that might happen during the lessons
-Help the students to understand, enjoy and use the new language for communication.
-Show the students that English is not only one more subject at school. It represents an open window for life, because it’s useful in everyday activities such as communication, information, games, music, to sum up: English is everywhere!
-Be a kind of friend to students to make them feel confortable and confident, for anything the need, without forgetting the main role that is tobe their teacher.
2) Which of the avobe roles is the most important? Why?
I think the most important role is the Councelor teacher, because he or she makes the students think about how to learn. (Strategies and independence)
3) Which of the avobe roles is the most common ? Why?
In my opinion, most of the teachers are Evaluator teachers. They focus
4) on evaluating the students performances , correct their mistakes.
1. In any teaching-learning situation, the role of the teacher in the classroom is of paramount significance because it is central to the way in which the classroom environment evolves. Moreover, the role adopted by the learner in the classroom also hinges on the role adopted by the teacher. The term “role”, is a technical term which originally comes from sociology and refers to the shared expectation of how an individual should behave. In other words, roles describe “what people are supposed to do”. In the domain of English Language Teaching (ELT), several methodologists have suggested many potential roles for a language teacher. It is considered that teachers’ roles are part of the “design” component of a method, pointing out that these are related to the following issues:
The types of function teachers are expected to fulfill.
The degree of control the teacher has over how learning takes place.
The degree to which the teacher is responsible for determining the content of what is taught.
The interactional patterns that develop between teachers and learners.
So, we can find different roles of a foreign language teacher in the classroom…
Instructor: The teacher has a sense of duty and emphasizes transmitting knowledge.
Motivator: The teacher is enthusiastic and wants to involve the learners and make them interested.
Facilitator: The teacher is sympathetic and willing to explain when the students still do not understand something.
Counselor: The teacher shows the students how to learn, which leads to good results achieved by the teacher’s students.
Organizer: The teacher is always well prepared for the lesson.
2) The role of “Motivator” is one of the most important in the learning/teaching process. According to the teachers, this role should exist at all levels of teacher activity because the students’ work entirely depends on it. Furthermore, as the teachers put it, motivation constitutes a basis for the third most important role of the teacher — that of “counselor”. In other words, if the learners are motivated, they will be open to strategy training and will assume responsibility for their learning more willingly.
3) Vital teachers believe that the role of “Instructor” is what teaching is all about. This role is also the most common one performed by language teachers. It not only requires the least effort and skills (after all, teachers are trained to pass on knowledge), but it is what society expects a teacher to do. Similarly, the teachers claim that the role of an “Evaluator” is both required by society and relatively easy to play. Additionally, it makes the whole process of teaching easier as testing motivates the learners and facilitates maintaining discipline.
After reading this article and reflecting on it, I have reached the following conclusion:
Teachers do not have any real control over a learner’s natural process of acquiring a second or a foreign language and achieving communicative ability in it. Therefore, teachers could at their best create a classroom environment that is conducive to language learning. The communicative skills of the learners can be developed if they are motivated. Hence, teachers should facilitate this process by creating diverse communicative activities, especially intended for pair-work and group-work that are interesting and challenging to the learners, as they progress in the path of acquiring and using the target language beyond the textbook and the classroom.