12 Being teachers Ins book Guitar Zero, the cagritve psychologist Gary Marcus tells the story of how he leaznt to play the guitar in his late tities. Why.’ ne ass, "do we need teachers at all” and the answers he suggests are that teaches know things that students don that they en motivate students, that they can povide incentive to practise in Marcus's case ~ and they can help the students pinpoint errors and target thei weaknesses (Marcus 2012: 66}, He stalking about music teaching of course, but there sno reason to suggest that such characterises are not appropriate far ther Kinds of teaching, such as language teaching, ‘And yet others ate not so sure about the teacher's role in ringing knowiedge to their pupits Sugata Mitra, who gained woriduide fame by puting @ computer ina wall ina New Delhi slum with the rest that chien learnt how to use the computer on their own, without formal instruction proposes “minimally invasive education (Mf). thats necessary, he tels us, is for students to gather in fou orfve-person‘seltorganised learning environments! {SOLES} where, with access tothe internet, they try on their own, to answer ‘big’ questions such a Wit is 2 sou? or Can animals think? In such a scenavio, educators of al kinds (parents, teaches, community leaders, ec) play an important role in both teaching kis how tothink, and giving them room to feed thelr curiosity (Mira 2014b). The teacher's ole as 2 transmitter of knowledge is repositioned so that thelr role isnot to tell kids things but rater to encourage ther to do thelr own investigative work. Thisis not a new discussion, Educators have always worried about what exactly teachers should do. Should they be (ina wel-worn metaphor thatthe etymologist Barry Popiktraces back to 1972) the sage on the stage’ or the ‘guide on tie side’ (Popik 2013)? Great teaches inspire us, to be sure, but do they do this by telling us what to think (and lean) or should ‘they, on the contrary, help us to think for ourselves?" the teachers indeed wise.” writes Kahl Gibran in The Prophet, he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rathe leads you to the threshold of your own ming (Gibran 1991: 76). (One way af looking atthe teaching-learning process isto se tin terms of instructional scaffolding’. Ths concept, developed by letome Bruner inthe 1950s, accounts forthe way in wien children leam tings. Typical, a parent (or other caring adult) wil 1) make the child interestec inthe tsk 2) break the task down into small step, 3) keep the child focused on the task and, finally, 4) show the child other ways of doing the task. Scafir fing becomes 2 very powerful metaphor when ‘tis alied with Leo Vygotsy’s suggestion that. lidren have ‘zone of proximal development (29D), This is where they are ready to de 2 new thing ~ but with guidance, rather than being able ta da ton their wn. Despite the fact that Vygotsky ‘ed in 1934 (end his work was largely unknown in the Wes for many yeas after that) people stil refer to the ZPD as ake feature in successful eaming. Instructional scaffolding, then, takes place when the leamers are Yeady’to lean the new thing because they are i zone of proximal development, for'what the child is able todo in collaboration today, he wil 64 bbe able to do independently tomorrow’ (Vygotsky, 1987: 21 1). The question of course, s ‘whether ths vew of learning in children is aplcable to all ages. Zoltan Dorel and Tim Murphey see the business of teaching asthe exercise of group leadership (Domyei and Murphey 2003: Chapter 6). tis our role as. gloup development Practtiones that realy counts they suggest. One of cur principal responses, in other ‘words, to foster good relationships with the classes in front of us sothat they work together cooperatively ina spirt of fiendlines and harmonious creativity. Buthow can this Dest be achieved? Domyei anc Murphey suggest that's group conscious teaching syle involves ‘an increasing encouragement of and reliance on the group's ow resources and the active facilitation of autonomous learning that isin accordance with the ratury level ofthe gro (2003: 99), When teachers and classes fst meet each other, they suggest, the students ‘expect leadership and direction This gives them clear focus and makes them feel sec atthe same time. But a clases develop thei group identity, teachers wilwant to relax their grip and foster more democratic cass practices where the students are involved in the proces of decision-making and direction nding, Two things need to be said about this view ofthe teachers craft. Inthe fist ple >, being ‘democtatic and letting the students participate in uecision-making tates mor: effort and ‘organisation than controling the class forthe front. Furthermore, the promotion of learner autonomy fwhere students not only learn ontheir own, but als take responsibility for that learning), is only one view ofthe teaching-leanig relationship, and sveryculturaly biased (Gee 55}. nsome situation, both teachers and learers (and societyn general) may fee! ‘more comfortable with 3 more inspiration leadership style, and wie ths might not sut the preferences of some, especially methodologiss, itis highy attractive to others. itis worth pointing out that being a ‘democratic’ teacher (one who shares some ofthe leadership withthe students is simply one style of teaching, informedy strong beliefs, of ‘course but nevertheless ony one way of doing things. Some teachersare effective when ‘teaching inthis ay, but others may find it mre dificult, Final, we need to consider what kind ofa persona 2 teacher should have inthe clas. ‘Some people for example, think tt teaches should keep themselves alof from their students and erect some kind of professional wall between themsehes and the people they teach. im Scrivener doesnot agree. don't want to spend my fe acting the role of ‘2 teacher’ he writes." want to make contact with learners, human to uman’ (2012: 37) And yet one ofthe things that we all have to door find —is how we ae in the classroom. ‘We have to develop 2 teacher persona, whether this means just being authentically ‘ourselves (as Jim Scrivener seems to sugges) or whether, on the contrary, we want to ‘make a diference between ‘me! and meas teacher’. Perhaps we might agree with Jody Keisner that develo, ng a teacher persona requires teachers to experiment with a variety ‘of classoom atsties and teaching styles, to solicit feedback from ther students on what s ‘and isnot working, and to keep a journal where they can reflect cn areas that cause the most frustration or curiosity’ (Kisner 2008: 51) ‘We wil return to this kindof experimentation and investigation in 63.1. Qualities of a good teacher ‘What makes 2 good teacher? For some, it is some kind of indefinable personal quality (see 6.1.1), but others have tried to pin down the characteristics of ‘good teachernes. 186At 14 chapters a John Roger asked fifty fst year students at Qatar University to write esays on wh ‘thought about good and bad teaches. They highlighted teacher's abil motive students, and mast of them wanted their teacher to B22 mentor and aasit2. athe: shan Jeamingin‘an authoritarian, teacher centred classroom (Rogers 2013:70}. Wei Wei shen asked fifty-one witing students ats university in Taiwae te same question, {and one ofthe quaities that was most often mentioned was patience fen 2012). Sandee Thompson used quetionnates, portfoics, teacher observatien and totor ‘observation to gather data fam students, teacher trainees and experienced teachers about” what makes 2 good teacher. Ovewelmingly, her respondents told herthat good teachers “build rapport, are knowledgeable oftheir subject mater and have very good classroom ‘management sls. Specialy respondents valued teachers who werecsring creative, ‘enthusiastic patent. welkplamed and respectful (Thompson 2007: 6. Itis clear. then, that good teachers are knowledgeable about thelr abject this case the English language) and about the craft of teaching. ood teachers alse convey a passion for hat they ae teaching, and fr their students’ learning achievements. Good teachers are Creative and fenible and (as we see in 9.2.2) fi, treating everyone equally. Good teachers show respect for their students too. Looking back at her own lfeas a swxdent, Sandee Thompson probablyspeaks for al of us ‘when she says My most memorable teachers ... were those wha planned intresting, creative lessons which encouraged mec ask questions. make mistakes and discowaies and come to ‘my own conchsons. They taught wit joy and integrty, and accepted the fact that diferent students have diferent needs, and they planned and adjusted ther lessns accordingly” (Thompson 2008: 13). But it’s not easy, sometimes, being a teacher.’ often 2 case of keeying most students happy for mast ofthe time" (alas, 0 2014: 57) One ofthe things that effective teachers frequently dois to build goad apport with their students and between the stufents themselves, and that’s what we tum to next. The magic of rapport apport, according tothe Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Enlist tienly agreement and understandig between people In teaching terms, isdeiiton wors well but pehas there i sorting mor, to, when teacer estaba god rapport in 2 classroom the level of respect humour and safety ros palpable. ad though sink ‘te describe exactly what is gaing on, even a casual observer of a classwhere there is good tescherstudent opt woud agree that there something specalabau the relationship betvceo the people a te oom In ciasesith good rapport, enting is posible because te studs hake tea 's 2 goed teehee 6.1), They ast the tezcher ‘abe aver hated ans ty nes that {hey wl be stened to withers. Ths means hat. as 50" as pos teachers snout to know mio ther stunents ae because, aan elovenyes-ol¢ enced good teachers someone who hows our names (Hares 2007: 26) Bu cis & not anaes, especialy where teaches have a number fay age closes, There are several things we an do tomate leaning our students aes aie: + Have thestderts st according o osetia olan + Fave the students put rane carts on the desk in ont of them. + Havethe students wear name badges. 6.12 shes + Wite notes about the students (what they look ke, et.) inthe cass register: + Study the reoister before going nto a lesson t ty ofc the stadt in our heads + Take 2 photo of attach 2 name to ech student. + Have the students alvays say their nemes before they say anything ina lesson. apport is vulnerable, of couse, to moments when the students behave badly ad the way ‘we react to incident ie that will determine whether the rapport we have established can survive (se 9.3). Sometimes. rapports established the momenta teacher walls into the room. Perhaps that 's because some teachers are ‘boin, not made". Yet tis widely quoted aphorism makes tle sense, Many people enter the teaching profession almest by accident and find, almost by ‘chance, that it suits them, iis then a process aflearng how toteach and reflecting on what happens through a process of continual prafessional development (CPD - see 6.3). There ae things we can do to try to ensure that good rapport created, however. fim Scrivener (2072) suggests, amongst othe things, Being welcoming and encouraging and ‘remembering postive things about the students. The teachers attitude tothe students ako highlighted by Rose Senior, who suggests being with’ the students, rather than against them, We should regard our students favourably and give them the benefit ofthe doubt ‘when things go abit wong, She aso suggests rewarding the students by being ‘gene-ous- minded (Senior 2008). We can add two more things to the ist of what infos good rapport. Fisiy it isworth remembering that “eyes ta (Zhang 2006). We should show, by our facial expresions— by raised eyebrows to denote interest, for ex=mple~and bythe way we pay attention to ‘our students, that we ae fully engaged in what they ae saying and doing. Secondly, alot ‘depends on exactly how we tespond tc what our studants say and do. We will lookat how we ‘ive feedback, and how we cortect in Chapter 8, Inside the classroom Once inside the classroom, teachers have to ‘tink on their fet. This has tracitionly been Lash of zsoralies will rovoke such a complict Someta: we have to stop curselkes from beingine downcastvten tishappens:ins230 ‘we must by to cet tothe bottom of what s gongon s that, wheie feasble, both we and ‘he student can change what we do just enought ake things better nthe end, many omplsints vanish nthe mist once we tal to custudents about whatsbathering them. 1 Beng tachas Become 2 reflective teacher Sezoivain’s accusatory statements ~end her own resp tothem —were examples of teacher reflection. As we saw in 6.2, ore doing athe time when theyaretaic" 9g. Such tele acs ne ‘sito decide what action totake in any given classtoom stusuon. ut there are othe kines reflection, too, and these are just as vital if not more so. = tis frequently the case that busy teachers come rushing ot ofthe casstocm wit their ‘ead full of what has just happened, but because ofthe preswre atime ~ and because ‘everyone needs a break—they don't geta chance to reflect jroperiyon events in the lsson, apart from the ‘conkdr thoughts’ we have as we go from one clas to another. This sa pity, ‘frit is when we think carefully about whet has happened -when we ty to analyse which bits of lesson went well and whct bts idt go so well tha weave 2t insights about ‘how to make chenges to wnat we ae dong so that our lessons can be even move successful For some teachers, thisimolves making notes ater a lesson, sticking post-it notes into thet Coursebooks (so that ithey use the same material again theywil dot better), or perhaps «antibuting toa saroom collection of suggestions for howto we a particular coucsebook (626 4.9.3) The main things to keep arecord of thoughts about what happened in the past ‘gether with thoughts about how it mighappen better nthe uta ‘Some teachers keep a joumal - a diay in which they recod thei ives 2s teachers. This ‘snot for everyone. but when it wors the resus can be extremely fe affirming, Dominick lngiese for example, di eracty this to help himself ee! lke ateacher forthe ist time (agiese 2073: 64). Use video and transcripts One ofthe most effective ways of geting feedback on our teaching sto film ur own lessons. Ths doesnot have tobe done wth sophisticated ‘ipment: a simple camcorder wil often be sufcient~ though there may be some bier in hearing whats going on, and one camera can ony capture 3 restricted view what takes place. Homever, despite ths, the benefits of sein ourselves inaction ae ‘rary 't aves you, seid one teacher. anidea of what the students might be sing, and Soitmskes one antpate their reaction to diferent things that one does earmer 2008: 53 Another teacherwas more explicit After admitting tha twas quite a shock’ because ‘ou tend to focus mona the negative things. she went on tasaythat ‘one thing Idi tice was. this sr of perspective ofthe timing... when you asked students things, often sen you are waiting fora reaction, it seems ie it takes fr eve. and saw that had _telency to sortof put words int ther mouths or answer thet questions for them and sort of push them:along abit. Watching video of a lesson san ideal way to help us think about row wie hare taugit, because we can see it nfrantafus. nthe case of Louie the ‘Bacher who noted te Yendescy tosortof put words intether mouths), the resuit wes {bet she came tothe concuson: think what might change isgvng ther ait more time. Becouse actuellyzam ther perspectve, having seer the video sips they might need that ‘otra speaking time” farmer 2008). Yer reflection on what shessw en the screen front of ‘et was going toss he: to change an aspect of her teacting behaviour vibich sn the end, the whale pent ofretlective teccring, Bet Erb: Tuga tac her Turkish MA sents watch videos of themselves teaching. and ‘this ‘enabled them to havea sitical perspective on their ova tseching and become more something about his Spanish, which was good, but not as goozas he wouldlke. He used his theoretical and methodological insights to reflect onthe lessons he received, the te: he took and the things he found helpful Thornbury 20136) Bengteachss Tezcher blogs CChiew Beng fist his favour EU blogs at it fctlewpan: anyone can go looking or ET blogs by entering the topics thet a search engine. cou 3 Teacher magazines and journals ‘few of the many journals anc macazinesthatae available include: £Jourel, pubished by Oxford University Pes (itp fet. axerjoumals.org). This offes an attractive blend of research and practical sues on language, teaching methodology, class management, education policy and much more. TESOL Quarterly, pubished by TESOL. wrwwtesol.orgfread-and-publish journals ‘esol quarter), This contains largely research-based articles and covers afl range oftopics to do with language, culture, bnguaksm and methodology. ‘Modem English Teacher, published by Paiion Publishing {ewwmocemengisiteachercom). Thishas variety of opinion and practical artcleson background theory and tps and hints fr individual actives. Eglsh Teaching Professional, published by exlion Publizing {mmetprotesional om) fas (usualy short magazine type articles on a range of ses, om teaching young learnes to teaching academic Engish ftom using groupwerkt using ‘mobi devices, etc. English Teaching Forum, published by the United States Information Service (rtp: /amercanenalsh state.gov engsteaching forum), Alte above are avaiable in print or online and have comprehensive book review sections. Mos teachers associations (ee below) have thelr ow magazines (and Sometimes journals. Observation Ryder (2012) eiscuses the challenge of getting teachers involved in observation 2nd postobrervation dscusonsin te continuing education system in France, Harding (201 4a) cscuses ferent kinds of fad reasons for observation ‘Hughes (2008, 2009) has. aseres on observation in English Teaching Professional ‘magazine. stats in bsveS7 and end wth issue 61. Plecesto'go" Fora lst of eachers associations anc! ther useful sites, see Crandaland Finn Miller (2014). Amore completes an ve found c swew.pearsonelecompearsonelt} subsites ET teachersassciations page. ven souee GY Detais ofthe video lessons and video documentaries on the DVD which accompates this book can be found on pages vn fs!