Elt Student Teachers’ Perspectives of an Effective English Teacher

ELT STUDENT TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF AN EFFECTIVE ENGLISH TEACHER

        The primary aim of the study is to investigate the competencies required for an effective English teacher. The study gives information about the ELT preservice teachers’ perspectives about this issue. It shed light on what student teachers think about an effective English teacher and also the ways in which they can enhance their individual development regarding the competencies that an effective English teacher should have. In the field of education, the definition of an effective teacher has been the main focus for educators to develop the quality of teaching and teacher education. In the earlier studies, it was said that an effective English teacher should be aware of students’ language level, learning styles, cultural background and also should provide a comfortable classroom environment. In addition, it was given credit to the integration of technology in English language teaching to provide more opportunities to the learners. To sum up, the main purpose of the researchers in this study is to develop preservice teachers’ awareness about effective teacher competencies. Additionally, while investigating student teachers’ perspectives of teacher competencies, the study also tries to find out which methods they use to develop themselves to be effective teachers. According to preservice teachers, an effective English teacher is the one who knows how to teach efficiently and how to motivate students by using various methods. In addition to this, they think that an effective English teacher firstly should be aware of different assessment techniques and then should know the students and thirdly should know the curriculum and content. In the last part of the study, the experiences of student teachers are shared with regard to personal development to be an effective English teacher.

        First of all, I believe that becoming an effective teacher is a long process and it requires a lot of experiences. I should also admit that there are some personal characteristics that come within the individual naturally such as being enthusiastic, fair, responsible etc. On the other hand, I think teacher competencies can be acquired by experiences and also by courses that are provided at universities. Therefore, this study is important to increase awareness about requirements of being an effective teacher. It can be also good research for teacher educators to have an idea while redesigning their course objectives to provide student teachers appropriate competencies. I also agree with the idea that an effective teacher is the one who can teach the subject comprehensively by using various ways.  In my opinion, knowing how to teach efficiently is the one of the main competencies that an effective teacher should possess. After that, the other competencies should be the focus of teachers such as motivating students and being aware of their differences. If a teacher knows the students in terms of their level, learning styles and cultural background and then he or she can adapt the instruction comprehensively and can create effective language classes. Another point that I would like to talk about is being fair in the evaluation process of students.  It is also important in terms of giving effective feedback to students. On the other hand, I believe that there is a strong connection between fairness and students’ motivation. If a student develops a sense of reliability to the assessment system of the teacher and then he/she feels more motivated in the learning process. In my opinion, a teacher’s interaction with students is also important in the learning process because I believe that if a teacher is friendly and motivating and then the transfer of knowledge becomes more comprehensible for the students. Lastly, I want to point out the importance of personal development to become effective English teachers.  In addition to being knowledgeable in the field and having good relationships with the students, knowing how to develop oneself as a teacher is important. For example, reading books to improve the skills of empathy can be helpful for an effective teacher to understand his/her students well. I believe that it is long and continuous process and all of the student teachers should improve themselves by reading books, articles researches, and studies in the field.