Multiple Voices from the classroom: becoming a better Teacher

A summary of the Luke Prodromou presentation
by Michelle Dowding

Prodromou has conducted research on language teaching expertise; his ultimate goal being to determine what exactly is a ‘good teacher’ and what qualities good teachers possess. It is suggested that a logical place to start is to think of one’s own educational experiences and to remember your favorite teacher. Just think about this for a minute. What kind of person was this teacher? What qualities did he/she possess? Don’t stop there. Anyone that has been a source of inspiration in your life can be a good resource for the classroom, whether it’s Shakespeare, Mozart, your favorite author, actor, friend or family member. The key is to identify what exactly makes these people inspirational and how this can be transmitted to the students.

Prodromou proceeds to investigate by conducting an on-line survey which includes data from various teachers throughout Europe. Teachers were asked to define what they believed to be a good teacher. This resulted in interesting theories, as teachers themselves opened up to share their opinions, theories and experiences. It was stated that a good teacher should be supportive, especially when students have to take a difficult exam. A good teacher is strict up to a point and at the same time so patient. A good teacher is calm, open, and sympathetic and can discuss anything. It is the job of the teacher to get the students to open up and speak. This may not be an easy task but if you can find out what the ‘shy’ student is passionate about the transformation can be amazing. The data indicated that a good teacher was: kind, patient, friendly, interesting, enthusiastic, able to explain well, have a good sense of humor and talked about other things outside the classroom.

Subsequently the next step was to find out what exactly a good teacher does. Data showed that good teachers: explain things simply at a reasonable rate, going step by step, using examples, pausing to ask students if they have questions and allow students to contribute their personal knowledge. Good teachers don’t move on but patiently go over repeat things that are not understood.

So does this mean that becoming good teacher is a simple formula of good qualities plus criteria of good things to do? Not necessarily, Prodromou suggests other qualities which “expert teachers’ posses often come from experience. These so called experts possess knowledge derived from the classroom, such as learning about typical student behaviors, using this knowledge to make predictions about what might happen and knowing a lot about their students before they even meet them. An expert teacher knows how to manage the class with routines and other techniques which have be learned, this allows freedom to focus on the class content rather than management issues. Interactive decision making is also important.

Prodromou’s final point was RAP, which stands for rapport, attitude and presence. These are qualities which he considers to be invaluable in a teacher. The absence of RAP cannot be replaced with educational knowledge and appropriate conduct. So walk into your classroom and think RAP and you might just inspire your students as you were once inspired by your favorite teacher.