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What is the role of the teacher in the classroom? The role of a teacher can vary depending on the class that they have in front of them. There are many roles which they can adopt but many that they need to adopt if they want to create and carry out an interesting and useful lesson. The role that a teacher takes must evolve throughout the course when teaching English. This can be due to the type of student that they have in front of them. It will be different if they have true beginners compared to if they have a group of business students who have been asked by a company to learn English. The key aspect that a teacher needs for every type of class or group is to teach efficiently and to deliver feedback. This will allow students to follow and note their progress, which in-turn will improve their confidence with the English language. The main role for a teacher is to leave the students wanting to learn more by motivating them and keeping them interested but also by guiding the students through their difficulties and rewarding them when they improve. Although it is very rewarding for a teacher to see improvements from their students, they must be able to keep pushing forward with the course so that topics do not become stale. To prevent this, a good teacher will be well prepared for each and every lesson. They will have lesson objectives and exercises ready at the start of a class with an array of activities to keep the lesson flowing. In a large classroom, the teacher needs to take the role of a conductor of an orchestra; they should be prepared for the entire lesson but also have a plan for the following sections of the course, they should be in charge and maintain control of the class whilst allowing the students enough freedom to speak in English among themselves and help one another when needed. They need to be able to take a step back too. The lesson is for the class and it is the students who must participate. Relying on stronger students to drive the class forward while monitoring and helping pupils who are struggling is very important when teaching a larger group. Other issues can arise when there are different abilities in a single group. When this is the case, the teacher needs to find a healthy balance of activities and drills which everyone can take part in and benefit from. The teacher must pay attention carefully to the needs of some students and incorporate time in a lesson to help with these. Once a teacher has fulfilled the role of teaching course content, they must then encourage students to use what they have learnt. This may be by giving students various exercises or by doing role-play activities in which they can communicate and help each other. From experience of being a student, teachers can often get lost in their role of ‘teacher’ and forget that being human is just as important. Students will, and do, make mistakes. Over correction can discourage students, however, some students want correction and will seek perfection. This can often be frustrating. A good teacher needs to create a rapport with their students. This will allow them to understand which students prefer which type of teaching style or which activities suit which group of pupils. Some teachers may find this role more difficult as it can only be developed in the classroom and changes with each different pupil. A teacher’s role during a one-on-one lesson is very different from that of a large group. From experience, I know that these types of lessons are very intense as the focus is mainly on that one student. The teacher needs to be aware of this and must adapt correctly so that the student can learn without getting overwhelmed. The role of a teacher in these cases can, sometimes, be that of a helper who guides a student through the course. This will only occur if the student has a fairly high level of English. If the pupil is a beginner then the teacher must take a hands-on approach and will have to take part in some of the activities such as discussions or role-play. The main role of a teacher is to prepare and deliver a course to an individual or group of students whilst keeping them interested and motivated to learn. They must test and give feedback in order to track progress and spot difficulties. They need to understand that all students are different and the they will need to adjust in order to provide the best possible lesson.
