The role of the “TESOL” teacher is to promote and develop autonomous learning in the classroom by facilitating, helping, counseling, coordinating, proposing ideas, guiding, and fostering communication. It is very important to have a bond between the teacher and the student for both parties to set goals, work out those goals together and finally accomplish them. A sense of understanding between both the teacher and the student is imperative as both parties will be aware of the responsibilities each one has to each other. Teacher involvement is the key to students’ guidance and success. Teachers should not only lecture a class but also know the students and their capabilities.

Furthermore, the teacher is called upon to perform several functions in foreign language learning. These are the following:-

• Teacher as director and manager – One of the main concerns of the teacher as director and manager is to create a warm, stimulating atmosphere in which the students will feel secure and confident. In order for a student’s learning experience to be effective there needs to be an environment where both the teacher and student can work together. So, it is essential that the teacher create such an environment where the students are able to learn. For example, decorating the room with pictures that the students can identity with as well be able to discuss. This allows the students to have a word in the class and can be used as well as a method of motivation for the students. Moreover, the interaction between a teacher and a student is imperative. It is impossible to have a learning environment where no communication takes place. Without interaction there is little success taking place in the learning arena. The teacher should also make decisions on the materials to be used, as well as the activities and games which will best suit with the learners’ needs and abilities. The teacher is supposed to organize the class, deciding whether a specific role-play or game will be stimulated in pairs or in groups.
• Teacher as counselor and a language resource – The second function that the foreign language teacher is expected to fulfil is that of counselor and a language resource. He/she should provide the learners with the necessary input in order to foster understanding of the relation between language and communication. That is, he/she must modify and simplify her language according to the needs arising in each communicative situation, and to the grammatical competence and language proficiency of the students.
• Teacher as a model and independent language user – In order to become a successful communicator and model for learners, the teacher should promote a wide range of behaviours and psychological and social relationships such as solidarity and politeness. Another role of the teacher is the discipline a teacher creates in a classroom. Depending on the discipline the teacher believes reflects whether the environment will be a pleasant one or not. For example, the raising of one’s voice and constant screaming can have a detrimental effect on the student. Not only does the student feel uncomfortable around the teacher, but also the student is unable to feel at ease at work. The teacher should help learners to negotiate meaning in the target language through his own active participation in it, and act as a mediator between the linguistic and extra-linguistic context of foreign language learning, as these are reflected in the textbooks and re-alia (e.g, audio-visual aids, … etc) or literature, respectively.

To conclude, we can say that teachers play an essential role in the foreign language classroom. They are not only directors and managers of the classroom environment but also function as counselors and language resources facilitating the teaching-learning process.

Sources: Zawodniak & Darron Board

Karen How Ah Li