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Today is sept. 10th, Teachers’ Day, so I think it’s a very perfect chance to talk about the personal qualities an english teacher should own. Since my childhood, I have been frequently asked the same question "what kind of teacher do you want?" At different life stages I have totally different answers. When I was a kid, I would say a teacher who dresses neatly and smiles nicely; when I was a teenager, I would refer a "cool" teacher as a good teacher, who behaves differently from other boring and stereotyping adults; until I grow up, I think a good teacher should have sound subjest konwledge, be fair and consistent with all of the students as well as being senstive to the students’ reactions and providing necessary support, and until now I know being a good teacher has noting to do with his/her appearances and dressings. So what makes a goog teacher? In my opinion, a teacher must have these attributes which may closely resemble those of yours, they are listed, without priority ,as follows: being kind and patient, confident and fair, lively and entertaining, and physically and mentally strong. First of all, being kind and patient. Because of the complex formation of students of different ages, personalities, behavior problems and different language levels, not only english teachers but also teachers of other subjects should be kind and patient. Then, being confident and fair. An english teacher is often the only source of real, live english the student has ever encountered, he/she acts as a modle of all english knowledge, and in english area they have particular responsibility and authority in the eyes of learner. So english teachers ought to be confident enough to deliver knowledge on english grammar, vocabulary and pronunication and be fair to correct as well as evaluate and grade. Furthermore, being lively and entertaining. An english teacher is not only introducing english knowledge to learners but also creating and delivering an exotic atmosphere for students. Besides regular drills and practices during study stage, various kinds of activities, such as crossword, hangman, pictionary during engage stage, class management techniques teachers can employ, which don’t always happen in class in China, should be brought into english classes. These activities can prompt and provoke students’ curiosity towards english and warm up the relationship between teachers and students, creating harmony environment for studying as well as interaction. Last but not least, being strong. I mean being strong physically as well as mentally. In some classes, teacher acts as a controller or manager, they are effectively in charge of the class and of the activity, normally they stand at the front of the class giving explanations, speaking aloud, giving instructions, organizing students into groups/pairs, collecting feedbacks, etc. you have no idea how choatic it will be, how many students will be involved and how difficult and anxious you will feel at that time, so you must have a strong body and mind to cope with the complexity. What’s more, being strong mentally also means never being afraid of losing face in front of students at any time. Chinese students have been raised in a tradtional and conservative way, so most of them are too shy to express themselves in public. As english teachers, the introducer of a totally new language, they must encourage them, by all means, to speak, to express, to get involved in, etc. in some occasions, students may ask you some queations you probably feel awkward or embarrased to give a response, such as "do teenagers have sex experience at a very young age in America?", en english teacher must try to clam yourself and explain with plenty of patience to them what really happens in America and the distinct gap between reality and tv series. In coclusion, en english teacher should own all of the merits a good teacher owns, being kind and patient as a mother, confident and fair as an organizer and manager, lively and entertaining as a partner and friend, strong mentally and physically as an athelete, and they also need to swift flexiblely from one role to the other.
