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Rapport, what does it mean? I am not an English native speaker, so I went to the dictionary to find out a little bit more about this noun. I discovered, according to the oxford learner’s dictionary (*website, link at the bottom), that rapport “is a friendly relationship in which people understand each other very well”. Also, I realized that this is used in a positive way. Known this, I think this is the perfect word to describe the ideal scenario for a class and students’ performance to be successful. Mainly, because we are people working with people. And relationships are the roots of our society. I was born in Chile, I studied English to Spanish translation but I am actually working at Wall Street English as a Teacher and Service Manager. I have been giving classes for about a year with absolutely no training. That is why I have been so emphatic when saying that I have been using a lot of techniques and skills without knowing their names. One of them is this: establishing rapport. Being a consensus about the importance of it can help to develop the class in a better way, make it more fun and lead the student to feel more confident. To establish a rapport, I think it is necessary to get to know our students and allow them to know us as well. In my case, for example, I work with adults, which can, sometimes, make things easier since we might have something in common. At the same time, and when we share experiences about learning English people fell more relaxed and supported. When they feel like this, they are more open to be corrected; they feel safe and more relaxed. Another thing that I have learned about establishing rapport is that as teachers, we must not be prejudiced, we never know what is behind our students and everybody needs to be given a chance. If people feel comfortable, safe, relaxed if they are having fun, and if they see the teacher and his or her classmates as pairs they can trust in, everything can be easier. The same way we grade our language depending on the students’ level, we can also adapt to our students and try to get close to them the best way possible according to what our first encounters say. For example, some students that I have are very perfectionist, even picky, I would say, with some topics, and, on the other hand, there are some others more relaxed, shy or introverted. Some of them need to be pushed while others push you. Some of them love English, but others hate it because they need it. And there is where a teacher plays, I think, one of the more important roles: to establish a good rapport so they see in the teacher someone they can trust in and that can help to achieve their goals. If there is a good relationship everything is easier. I read once: "there is nothing so serious that cannot be said with a smile on your face". *https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/rapport?q=rapport
