Teacherʼs role in efl classes Content: Introduction Main body

Teacher’s different position in EFL
The role of the teacher in an EFL classroom is pivotal and student learning success depends on the teacher’s ability to adapt, customize and support students. The roles are interchangeable and a teacher will take on many different roles throughout a single lesson. An experienced teacher will know how to read their class and adapt their teaching style at that moment to ensure that they are meeting their student’s needs.[4] Teachers play vital roles in the lives of the students in their classrooms. Teachers are best known for the role of educating the students that are placed in their care. Beyond that, teachers serve many other roles in the classroom. Teachers set the tone of their classrooms, build a warm environment, mentor and nurture students, become role models, and listen and look for signs of trouble. A teacher will adapt their teaching style to the class they are teaching and use whatever methods necessary to instill learning autonomy. This skill teaches students to take ownership of their learning and teaches students to have an internal motivation to learn. It is a teacher’s responsibility to get students on board and realize for themselves why learning is necessary and how it benefits them. Once this realization is established, a student will be well on their way to giving their all to own their learning. A teacher is a participant in group discussions and class activities when necessary. A teacher is not meant to dominate lessons but understands the balance between teacher and student talk time. A teacher is a participant encourages good lines of communication and a harmonious relationship between students and the teacher. It builds the student’s self-esteem and allows makes the teacher approachable to the students. This active communication cultivates a positive attitude within the students that allows them to accept the language and culture they are learning about. Teachers are meant to guide students in their learning by teaching them skills for self -exploration, discovery and how to learn. This collaborative learning and interaction among students provides more linguistic practice and learning through discovery for students. A teacher is merely a tool to help a student expose what they already possess. This is done through tactful questioning, careful planning of lessons and activities, group collaboration and allowing students to learn through sharing their knowledge. As a counselor, the teacher rewards and praises students who are taking initiative to own their learning. This kind of praise encourages students, motivates them to learn and also encourages struggling students to improve. [5]The teacher is there to offer help, support, correction, and feedback to learners as they execute their activities. A teacher is to be available for students to consult with when necessary. In as much as the teacher is a resource in themselves, it is a teacher’s responsibility to teach learners how to use available resources such as the internet or library for themselves so that learners do not become reliant on teachers. Students expect assessment and feedback from their teacher, be it written or oral. Student assessment allows a teacher and student to gauge their progress and success at the level they are at. Ongoing assessment and timeous feedback is crucial in helping a student perfect their learning. It also helps a teacher plan for future lessons and activities in a way that best benefits the class. Sometimes students need to be assessed beforehand for a teacher to learn what level of mastery a student is at and what sort of lesson plans, resources and activities a teacher needs to plan to make learning as effective as possible.The organization is imperative in a teacher handling a class. An effective teacher will deliver lesson content in a way that is varied, interesting and exciting, beneficial to the students, involves all students and is delivered in the allocated time. Teacher adaptation and a combination of teaching techniques will lead to successful student engagement and learning. Being a manager runs concurrently with the other roles that a teacher plays in the classroom. Evaluation of academics is subjective and a teacher must evaluate truly and fairly.[6] Student learning happens through mistakes too and focus should not be on a student’s weakness but rather positive achievements. Through motivation and positive reinforcement, a student learns how to deal with and correct their mistakes without it affecting their image of self or desire to continue learning. Teachers also play an important role in the classroom when it comes to the environment. Students often mimic a teacher’s actions. If the teacher prepares a warm, happy environment, students are more likely to be happy. An environment set by the teacher can be either positive or negative. If students sense the teacher is angry, students may react negatively to that and therefore learning can be impaired. Teachers are responsible for the social behavior in their classrooms. This behavior is primarily a reflection of the teacher’s actions and the environment she sets. Teachers typically do not think of themselves as role models, however, inadvertently they are. Students spend a great deal of time with their teacher and therefore, the teacher becomes a role model to them. This can be a positive or negative effect depending on the teacher. Teachers are there not only to teach the children, but also to love and care for them. Teachers are typically highly respected by people in the community and therefore become a role model to students and parents. Another role played by teachers is a protector role. Teachers are taught to look for signs of trouble in the students.[7] When students’ behaviors change or physical signs of abuse are noticed, teachers are required to look into the problem. Teachers must follow faculty procedures when it comes to following up on all signs of trouble. Teaching-learning has always been a subject of introspection and research. The education system has to be very flexible in order to serve the purpose of the changing society and the world. Expectations are high regarding teachers who are believed to be the one taking out the best in a student. The classroom has become inclusive and measures are taken to make education effective and affordable by the government. The modern approach of learning which is student centered is gaining heights and resulting in many positive results too. With due course of time education and educators both have had a seemingly changed role in shaping the young minds.Education is a lifelong process which of course does not end till death. Given the fact that here we sketch the role of a teacher in imparting quality education to a child at the elementary level, the formal education is being particularly taken into account. We should pay a notice to what we expect our teachers to be like when we send our children to school. Are we getting the best out of what we deserve for our young minds who would be the future of the nation? Have we ever questioned the policies of the government, the schemes and the kind of education that is being imparted in the classrooms? In a short, how much informed are we as parents, teachers, guardians and most importantly as a citizen about our foundational base of a futuristic society? A brief idea of our educational arenas is necessary to keep ourselves acquainted with the system. The teachers too are also trained for the purpose of teaching through programmes, where the teaching methodologies and classroom management is taught in order to be an effective educator. One should acquire the required degree needed to be a teacher in different levels of education. Teachers support students to acquire appropriate skills, be it social or educational, which help students throughout their education.[8] In fact, school is a mini-society constituting of children from different backgrounds; making the children practise their individualistic approach towards each other. Therefore, the role of a teacher is crucial at this stage of development. A teacher should act more like a facilitator and counsellor. The focus of education imparting should be on conceptualization and free understanding rather than confined and parrot learning. The fact that the knowledge is more important than the mark sheet should be made clear to the students early at this stage through different teaching-learning activities. A teacher should always welcome interrogations and he/she should be able to establish a teacher point logically and convincingly if the students have misunderstood any subject matter. This will not only help the teacher to be precise but there will be a pure understanding of concrete basics by the children. There are individual differences amongst the children of a classroom, a teacher should respect their differences in every aspect because every child is unique.The teachers are the middleman between parents and children, if not they should start being one. A great deal of student’s life is depended on teachers. They must keep families in a loop as much as possible. Teaching unlike the earlier system has become responsive. Gone are the days when there used to be a curriculum materials with a clear set of instructions detailing exactly how to teach students. Teaching has evolved as a subject which should be able to fit the changing dynamics of a society. A teacher should always be aware, ethical, equitable and engaged. A responsible teacher counsels his/her students to use the knowledge students learn in school to become valuable members of society. In addition, to this a concerned teacher always tries, amend the flaws and problems that are faced during the teaching-learning process and addresses the issues and challenges that occur during the teaching process and overcome them with quite a positive approach. As a concerned citizen it is also our duty to play our part and be the active spectators with a strong hold, remain useful and positive towards making things better for the nation and the future generations by understanding the need of the hour.