A teacher has to play many roles. Think of the possibilities: authority figures, leader, knower, director, manager, counselor, guide, and even such roles as friend, confidante, and parent. Depending on the country you are in, on the institution in which you are teaching, on the type of course, and on the makeup of your students, some of these roles will be more prominent than others, especially in the eyes of your students. Although different approaches stipulate different teacher roles, we are going to discuss some common roles that teachers play in present-day second language teaching.

 

1.      Controller: An appropriate degree of control of the teacher over the class is vital in formal language teaching. The teacher controls the pace so that activities run smoothly and efficiently. For instance, when students do skimming and scanning tasks, it’s very important for the teacher to control time. When we talk about the advantages of teacher control, we stick to appropriate degree of control. Over-control will do no less harm to students than no control at all. Besides, different activities need a different degree of control. We believe that the more communicative an activity is, the less control it needs.

2.      Assessor: It is generally believed it is a major part of a teacher’s job to assess the students’ work. As an assessor, the teacher does two things, that is, correcting mistakes and organizing feedback. Correcting should be gentle. Organizing feedback is an effective way to assess students’ performance so that they see the extent of their success or failure.

3.      Organizer: It is the most and difficult teacher role. Before organizing an activity in class, the teacher should envisage what the activity is going to be like. He should also anticipate problems that may arise when the activity is being carried out. Before students start the activity, the teacher should give instructions clearly and concisely so that students know how to do what. Sometimes a teacher demonstration can help. And if necessary, use students’ native language to clarify. While students are doing the activity, the teacher should walk around the classroom and overhear what the students are saying. If some students are not doing the right task, the teacher should rectify. Taking notes in mind will help the teacher to provide accurate feedback later.

4.      Prompter: When students are not sure how to start an activity, or what to do next, or what to say next, the teacher should give appropriate prompts.

5.      Participant: Once the teacher has finished giving instructions and activity has started, there no point for the teacher to stand in front of the classroom doing nothing. Besides monitoring the class, the teacher can also join one or two groups as an ordinary participant. However, the teacher should change his role once he joins the students.

6.      Resource-provider: Although the jug-and-mug method has been widely criticized, the teacher is still considered a good and convenient resource for the students. In this sense, the teacher’s role is the same as the role of instruction materials. However, when students are supposed to work on their own, the teacher should withhold his readiness to provide resources.

                                                                                                                           外院 姚梅