With high probability you still remember a particular teacher who taught you when you were a child or a teenager, a teacher who inspired you in some way or simply with whom you enjoyed each lesson by the way they taught. And it is that a good teacher can make a difference for a student if he manages to connect with him and transform the subject into something interesting and relevant to this, since it’s not just about knowing a lot about the subject,it’s about knowing how to pass it on to students.
To be a good teacher, and more specifically a good language teacher, you need some specific skills that we tell you below and that you can reinforce with our preparation courses for language teachers.
What are the main skills to be a good language teacher?
1- Have a broad and in-depth knowledge of the language to be imparted
This first skill is the minimum requirement for anyone wishing to exercise teaching: toknow in depth the subject matter, and in this case, to speak at the expert level the language they intend to impart. He’s probably not going to talk about it like a native, but the closer he gets to it, the better.
In addition, how much better if you are a person trained in teaching,able to apply effective teaching methods in line with the learning needs of your students.
2- Possessing the ability to motivate your students
Learning a language takes a lot of effort, and sometimes low motivation as we don’t see much progress. A teacher committed to his students,able to get the best out of each of them and maintain an emotional bond with them will have a better chance of stimulating and motivating them, and this will be a fundamental pillar in optimal language learning. Discover here too the best tips not to lose motivation when learning a language.
3- Being a person with creativity and passion for teaching
Part of a good teacher’s job is to make his classes entertaining and fun while educational, so a good teacher should be creative and prepare activities or focus classes differently.
With a little imagination in place, a routine class can become an interesting lesson, and that passion for teaching you should possess will pass it on to your students and make learning much more intense.
4- Be patient
Teachers are also human and therefore, in some cases, they may be frustrated or even lose their nerves in certain situations that can occur in classes: distracted students, with little desire to be there, who annoy the rest etc.
A good teacher is a patient person, who must understand that these situations can occur at any time and should be able to overcome them. On the other hand, it is necessary to make it clear to your students that they can ask anything and as many times as they need it, no one is born taught, and no matter how foolish the question, the teacher must give the confidence to be asked. Going home with doubts is the worst thing that can happen in a class.
5- Being able to inspire and encourage student self-awareness
A teacher capable of inspiration is a gem. Because the student will want to know more and more about the subject, so the study of the language will not be limited to the class or duties that the teacher may impose on him, but you will have an interest in continuing to learn on your own,read books in that language, watch original version series and all the resources that are in your hand today to continue learning.
6- Practice an active listening
A teacher is in direct and permanent contact with his students who are sending messages permanently. These messages can be heard, if they are oral, but they can also be read in the expression of their faces, their tone of voice, their participation, their gestures, their posture or their gaze.
The teacher who makes an effort to consciously listen to his pupils will have a much greater knowledge of them when reorienting the course: set new goals, choose the most appropriate materials, plan your classes and create dynamics. Active listening is a critical step for effective communication.
7- Knowing how to make use of the resources you have in your hand today
Until a few years ago, language teachers’ classes could only be limited to exercise books, cassettes, and the teacher’s own oral lessons. Today, fortunately, there is a wide range of teaching resources that make language teaching a much richer and more entertaining world. Youtube video, podcasts, pieces of series… an amalgam of materials that, mixed with traditional ones, can serve as a perfect blend for balanced and optimal language learning.
In Ynsitu we have the best training courses for English teachers and many other languages. Do not miss them, you will reinforce all the concepts mentioned above and you will become a teacher that your students remember for a long time.