Page 108  Jeremy Harmer

The teacher as “facilitator” refers to a particular kind of teacher, one who:

- is democratic rather than autocratic,
- one who fosters learner autonomy through the use of groupwork and pairwork
- a teacher who act as more of resource than a transmitter of knowledge
CONTROLLER: when teachers act as controller, they are in charge of the class and of
the activity taking place and are often “leading from the front”. Controllers take the
register, tell stds things, organize drills, read aloud and in various other ways exemplify
the qualities of a teacher-fronted classroom.
In many educational contexts, it is the most common teacher role. There are times when
acting as a controller makes sense, for example: when giving explanations, organizing
question and answer work, lecturing, making announcements or bringing a class to
order.
PROMPTER: when stds are performing activities such a role-play and they do not a
word, phrase or how to answer a question, the teacher act in a discreet and supportive
way. This is because teachers are keen to encourage the stds to think creatively rather
than have them on their every word.
When teacher prompt, they need to do it sensitively and encouragingly but, above all,
with discretion. If the teacher is too adamant, they risk taking initiative away from the
stds.
PARTICIPANT: during std discussions, role-plays or group decision-making
activities, the teachers let the learners get on with their activities, later to offer feedback
and/ or correct mistakes.
There are good reasons why teachers might want to take part in a discussion, for
example. It means that they can liven things up from the inside instead of always having
to prompt or organize from outside the group.
RESOURCE: if stds are preparing for a presentation or are involved in a piece of group
writing, they need the teacher as a resource. Stds might want to know information in the
middle of an activity about about that activity or they might want information about
where to look for sth – a book or a website, for example. Teachers can be one of the
most important resources students have.
When teachers are acting as a resource, they will want to be helpful and available, but at
the same time they have to resist the urge to spoonfeed their stds so that they become
over-reliant on them.
TUTOR: when stds are working on longer projects, such as process writing or
preparation for a talk or a debate, teachers can work with individuals or small groups,
pointing them in directions they have not yet thought of taking. In such situations, they
are combining the roles of prompter and resource – in other words, acting as a tutor.
It is difficult to be tutor in a very large group since the term implies a more intimate
relationship than that of a controller or organizer. However, when stds are working in
small groups or in pairs, teachers can go round the class and, staying briefly with a
particular group or individual, offer the sort of general guidance.

Teachers need to be able to switch between the various roles, judging when it is
appropriate to use one or the other of them. Besides, teacher need to be aware of how
they carry out that role and how they perform.