Teacher Training Course

Last Updated: August 2014

Module 1
Lesson 1: What helps learning take place?
Summary

What’s teaching?

Defining teaching as facilitating learning implies that while considerations of knowledge transfer are no doubt
important, they are valuable only in relation to the quality of learning that they trigger. If the teaching activities do not
result in learning, there has been no teaching. Likewise, if the learning is lacking in quality, the teaching is unsuccessful.

Knowledge
A good teacher must be an expert in his / her field, and needs to be prepared for any contingency at all times.

Communication Skills
Good teachers possess the ability to communicate their knowledge and expertise to their students. You may be the

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greatest expert ever in your field, but if you do not know how to deliver your lessons, how do you expect your
students to acquire anything at all? A good teacher can take a subject and help make it crystal clear to the students, is

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willing to expend the effort needed to find innovative and creative ways to make complicated ideas understandable to
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their students and to fit new ideas into the context available to the student, and can explain complicated material in a
way that students can understand and use.
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Interest
A good teacher starts with a firm knowledge of the subject, and builds on that with a clarity and understanding
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designed to help students master the material. The best teachers then go one step further. Because good teachers are
interested in the material being taught, they make the class interesting and relevant to the students.

Respect
Good teachers have a deep-seated concern and respect for the students in the classroom. The creation of a good class
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requires an immense amount of work. You spend time with your students so you can learn about gaps in their
understanding. You read and write and create to build an exciting and interesting class every day. The only thing that
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would drive you to do that is a concern and respect for the adults in your classroom.

Conditions for successful teaching / Learning

Is there a real “success” in teaching and learning in the English classroom? Well, it all depends on whether students can
communicate at all times in English or not, and by all times, it means that students are capable of tackling questions,
ranging from common classroom situations to those in a conference room. Or as Davies and Pierce put it, “We know
success is not just being able to repeat memorized sentences or complete grammar exercises…Success is not the
same as getting an 8, 9 or 10 in course tests - though that may indicate progress. It is the ability of learners to use
English effectively in real communication situations“.

What should a teacher be like?

Every teacher can benefit from focusing on these important qualities. Success in teaching, as in most areas of life,
depends almost entirely on your attitude and your approach. Here are the top six keys to being a successful teacher:

1. Sense of Humour

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Your sense of humour can relieve tense classroom situations before they become disruptions. A sense of humour will
also make class more enjoyable for your students and possibly make students look forward to attending and paying
attention, and allow you to see the joy in life and make you a happier person as you progress through this sometimes
stressful career.

2. A Positive Attitude
You will be thrown many curve balls in life and especially in the teaching profession. A positive attitude will help you
cope with these in the best way.

3. High Expectations
An effective teacher must have high expectations. You should strive to raise the bar for your students. If you expect
less effort, you will receive less effort. You should work on an attitude that says that you know students can achieve
your expectations, thereby giving them a sense of confidence too.

4. Consistency
In order to create a positive learning environment your students should know what to expect from you each day. You

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need to be consistent. This will create a safe learning environment for the students and they will be more likely to
succeed.

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5. Fairness
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Many people confuse fairness and consistency. A consistent teacher is the same person from day to day. A fair teacher
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treats students equally in the same situation.
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6. Flexibility
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One of the tenets of teaching should be that everything is in a constant state of change. Interruptions and disruptions
are the norm and very few days are 'typical'. Therefore, a flexible attitude is important not only for your stress level but
also for your students who expect you to be in charge and take control of any situation.

A good teacher and good learner

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Good Teachers:
• Have a solid knowledge base and are good at explaining things clearly. Being comfortable with explaining
content to students is an essential skill for teachers. That means having knowledge of a broad range of
content in sufficient depth to convey the information in meaningful ways to the students.
• Remain calm. The teaching situation will demand last minute changes and adjustments. There will be times
when you will be tempted to scream or yell at your students, other teachers, parents, administrators, and so
on. Good teachers are able to resist this urge.
• Have a good sense of humour. Good teachers have a sense of humour, and they are able to use humour as
part of their teaching practice. Humour, used properly, can help make a lesson very effective.
• Are able to communicate at the students' level. Most teachers choose an area of specialization such as
elementary education, special education, secondary education, or higher education because they have a
temperament for students in those age ranges. If someone is not comfortable working with young children,
then he should not major in primary education!
• Are inherently fair-minded and are sensitive to the needs of every individual. They are able to assess students
on the basis of performance, not on the students' personal qualities.
• Maintain a professional relationship. Good teachers are practical. They can respond to a situation quickly and
make an appropriate decision. Whether managing a classroom, taking students on a field trip, seamlessly

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shifting from one step of the lesson to another, assigning detentions, supervising an intern, or dealing with
curriculum issues in the school, they are able to behave professionally.
• Demand and encourage initiative and challenge their students to think. If you are thinking about becoming a
teacher, you should set high standards for yourself, and demand excellence not only of yourself, but of your
students as well.
• Are prepared for each class. Teachers must be organized in their professional and teaching duties. If you're
not organized and are not detail-oriented, teaching may not be the best choice of profession for you.
• Manage time. Time is one of the most precious resources a teacher has. Good teachers have learned to use
this resource wisely.
• Learn to teach in much the same way you learned to swim – by swimming. You learn to teach by teaching, by
making mistakes, learning from them and improving. The purpose of a teacher education program is to get
you as ready as possible to learn how to teach by exposing you to a variety of methods and experiences.

What makes a good language learner?

• A good language learner thinks about how she is learning. She has an enquiring mind and tries to find out
what works for her and what doesn't. She is inquisitive and asks the teacher if she is unable to follow.

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• A good language learner is not afraid of making mistakes and is willing to experiment and take risks. For

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example, she will try out different ways of learning vocabulary until she finds the way that suits her best.
• A good language learner sets achievable goals and is realistic. She knows that it will take time and effort
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to become proficient in English.
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• A good language learner is independent. She does not expect the teacher to spoon feed her.
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• A good language learner uses time effectively. She is organized and active and is always looking for
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opportunities to use the language both inside and outside the classroom.
• A good language learner is concerned with both fluency and accuracy. Some students are experts at
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communicating their thoughts but do not care that they make many mistakes in doing so. The good
language learner, on the other hand, is concerned with both communicating, and communicating as
accurately as possible.

Bibliography
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• Brain, M. (1998) Emphasis on Teaching: What is Good Teaching? North Carolina: BYG Publishing.
• Spada, N., Lightbown, P. (2006) How Languages are learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

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