Esp teacher’s Transforming Profile

3. HOW TO DEVELOP THE BEST ESP TEACHERS’ TRAITS
The awareness of the characteristics recognized in teachers regarded as ‘the best’, does not guarantee instant implementation or possibility to develop those characteristics. This is so because these characteristics are result of the teacher’s individual personal (including the professional) development. Thus, in order to develop them, the teachers will have to feel the need to transform themselves in respect of their meaning perspectives. This term as introduced by Jack Mezirow in his Theory of Transformative Learning, refers to one of the two dimensions of meaning making (the other one being the meaning schemes) and represent the individual worldview based on ‘higher-order schemata, theories, propositions, beliefs, prototypes, goal orientations and evaluations’ (Mezirow 1990,2) and are formed on the basis of imposed social norms; however, they can be changed when or if some crucial living conditions change, or when the individual is prepared to move on a higher level of consciousness ⁵. So, if the individual, including the ESP teacher, feels the need for professional growth (of in some cases is advised to do so!), he or she has to undergo changes in every aspect of their personality. Mezirow’s Theory applies for adult learners and is thus relevant for ESP teachers, of whom rare have the opportunity to be trained for this particular FLT branch.
3.1 APPLYING TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING
Transformative learning supports critical reflection as a type of reflection that can bring to changes of meaning perspectives because it may instigate reconsideration of the mechanism that control a particular meaning perspective, like one’s value system, for example, thus enabling its transformation.
As far as the types of learning are considered, Mezirow recognizes instrumental and communicative types of learning. Our three groups of characteristics of the best teachers can be implemented in one of these two types of learning: the learning, and the interaction of students can be fostered by communicative learning while the characteristics grouped under teaching can be developed by instrumental learning.