10 roles that teachers have in

theclassroom
1. Monitor

Students often work in pairs or groups in the modern language classroom, so teachers will monitor the
activity and discussion. Monitoring includes listening to the students and gauging when they need help
and when it’s better to let them work something out for themselves.

2. Guide

Sometimes teachers give explanations and rules for language points, but often they just point the
students in the right direction so that they can work out the answers for themselves. The belief behind
this is that the students are more likely to remember something if they have discovered it for
themselves. Sometimes, the teacher can just point at a word or sentence to show the way. At other
times, the teacher will ask the students questions to elicit certain answers and help them to arrive at a
new understanding.

3. Corrector

Students expect a teacher to correct their mistakes. However, teachers must be able to judge when it
is appropriate to correct. For example, if the focus of the class is on accurate repetition of a structure,
then the teacher will correct on-the-spot. On the other hand, if the classroom task aims to develop
fluency, then a teacher might choose not to stop and correct the student at that stage so that the flow of
language from the student isn’t interrupted.

4. Motivator

Even students who are highly self-motivated sometimes need their teacher to give them that extra
push. Teachers motivate students in all sorts of ways, including through giving praise, encouraging,
choosing interesting topics and texts, and being enthusiastic about the subject matter.

5. Model

Teachers need to give their students a correct ‘model’ of the language. For example, teachers can say
a word in order to help the students with the pronunciation or they can give an example of a new
word used in the correct context.

6. Leader

You are the leader of the class. You manage the class by starting and ending the different stages and
making sure everyone is following, both in terms of understanding and concentration.
7. Organiser

Good classroom management, especially with large classes, requires good organisational skills. It
includes ensuring that routines are followed, and that the students know what is expected of them. For
example, you might need to put them into groups or pairs and have them change the classroom
environment in some way, such as by moving the chairs and tables.

8. Checker

Teachers check many things. Before a lesson, they check that the classroom is equipped with
everything they need. Then when the lesson starts, they check that all the students have arrived and
that they have the materials they need. During the lesson, they check that the students understand an
instruction or a new language point. And of course, teachers also check their students’ answers to an
exercise.

9. Instructor

Even though many of the roles of a modern teacher are linked to guiding and facilitating, there is still
a place for the teacher who instructs students about English. This usually begins with telling the
students what to do and explaining how the language works and what the rules are for particular
language items. It also means telling a student what he or she got right or wrong, or telling them the
answer when something is too difficult. Do not be afraid of doing this. Your students will expect it.

10. Planner

The previous nine points all refer to what the teacher does in the lesson. However, how well you plan
before the lesson will make all the difference during the lesson. Of course, there are some things you
can’t always plan for, so you’ll also need to develop the skill of in-class planning to enable you to
respond to situations where the students’ needs are driving the content of the lesson in another
direction.
 10 ways to build rapport
It’s important to build a good classroom relationship from day one of the course. A good
classroom rapport both between you and the students and between the students
themselves means you’ll have a positive atmosphere which naturally benefits learning. With
younger learners, it also helps to reduce discipline problems.

1. Smile

Smiling is a universal way to build rapport, but under the stress of a new job, course or class it’s
sometimes easy to forget to do it.

2. Meet and greet

At the first lesson, try to be in the classroom before the students arrive, and meet and greet them as
they enter.

3. Using the students’ names

Try to learn the students’ names as quickly as possible and use them when talking to individual
students. If you have a large class, create a ‘map’ of the classroom with the name of each student in
the position where they are sitting. Ask the students to sit in the same places for the first few lessons
until you know their names.

4. Praise and thanks

All students like praise for good work so it’s motivating. Praise also improves rapport, and thanking
students also helps. For example, at the end of a good lesson you could say, ‘Thank you everyone for
working so hard on the new vocabulary today’.

5. Enthusiasm
Being enthusiastic about teaching and your lessons is a fast way to build rapport and to get the
students on your side.

6. How was your weekend?

At the beginning of a lesson, ask the students how their weekend was. Find out what their hobbies and
free-time activities are, and ask about them from time to time.

7. Chatting before and after

Arriving in the classroom before your students and leaving after your students is not only
professional, but it also means that as the students arrive and leave, you have time for some informal
conversation with them. Students will really appreciate the opportunity for more speaking practice
and the chance to get to know their teacher better.

8. Communicate in writing

With large classes, it’s easy to lose contact with some individual students (especially quieter ones),
so when you write feedback on any written homework use a friendly, personal tone so each student
feels you are speaking directly to them, as an individual. Similarly, if school policy allows, email
your students or encourage them to email you with queries or to submit homework.

9. Personalization

When you plan and prepare a lesson, consider where the opportunities may occur for personalisation.
For example, perhaps you have a personal anecdote you can tell but which also illustrates a particular
language point. Similarly, encourage your students to give personal responses to a text they have read
or to talk about how something in their own life relates to the topic of the lesson.

10. Tutorials

Soon after a course begins, it’s useful to arrange one-to-one tutorials with each student. These don’t
have to be too formal, but tutorials are a quick way to discuss the students’ immediate progress and to
ask them how they are finding the term. It also helps to build rapport at an early stage.
10 points to consider in your lesson
planning
Lesson plans vary considerably from teacher to teacher. On teacher training courses you
are often required to write a very detailed document which will show your trainer both your
plan and your rationale. For day-to-day teaching, a plan is often just a numbered list of
notes, or even a memorized series of stages visualized in your mind. If you are using
published materials, then you might be following the suggested plan in the teacher’s notes.

As you can see from the extract, a detailed lesson plan will often include the following areas.

1. Class profile

Begin by thinking about the class you are going to teach. Who are they? How many students are there?

2. Lesson fit

Think about what happened in previous lessons and what you hope to achieve in future lessons. How
does this lesson fit into that framework?

3. Aims and objectives

What are your overall aims and objectives for the lesson? What do you want the students to come
away with by the end of the lesson?

4. Target language

If you plan to teach certain language items, then it’s useful to make a list of them before the lesson and
review the list afterwards and decide if you need to go over any points again in the next lesson.

5. Anticipate difficulties

Think about any problems the students might have with what you plan to teach. Consider any
questions they might have. Then think about how you will deal with these issues.

6. Stages

The stages of your lesson form the largest part of your plan. Like the stages of a recipe, they give a
description of what will happen in each part of the lesson. Typically this section will outline how you
intend to present and practise language; it might also refer to the numbered exercises of a coursebook.
It’s also a good section to write additional notes on, for example, what type of extra practice you
could give to any students who finish a task earlier than the other students.

7. Timing

Think about how long each stage and procedure will take. At first it’s hard to predict how long
individual activities will take, but after a while you’ll develop the ability to judge this beforehand.

8. Materials/resources

This is rather like the ingredients part of a recipe. It’s your list of items that you might need to take
into the classroom. For example, it could include any objects, pictures, worksheets with exercises,
etc.

9. Interaction and classroom layout

As part of your procedure notes you might want to sketch out where the
students will be in the classroom and how they will be working with each
other, eg. in pairs or groups. (See also Unit 6)

10. Board work

If you plan to use the board a lot in a lesson, it’s a good idea to write notes or
even draw sketches ofwhat will appear on the board and how you will
present your information.

Remember that a good plan, like a good recipe, also allows flexibility. Don’t
let it become astraitjacket, but it should provide you with a basic road map to
a successful lesson.