Post by Otaku on Apr 25, 2008 12:08:20 GMT 8
I originally started this thread on another educational forum, but then I remembered...the peeps here are more important. ;D
We all come from different backgrounds, areas of study, countries, levels of experience and knowledge. We have a very eclectic group of individuals...small, but eclectic.
I'm sure some of us might have studied and read a lot about ESL theory, while others of us don't have the book-knowledge but have the experience working in the field. Many ESL teachers never meant to become teachers, they just happened to stumble upon it and found it was fun and/or they were kinda good at it. I basically think there are two basic types of teachers that come into the ESL community. Teachers with a lot of knowledge but no experience, and teachers with hardly any ESL-knowledge but have practical experience in the field.
There is no recipe or formula for being a good teacher so what are your thoughts on which is important and why?
I know what you're thinking...a 'good teacher' is one that possesses both of these skill-sets. But, I don't think this is necessarily true, either. Many of us I'm sure had one or two friends back in college that was studying to become a teacher but you just never had the heart to tell them they weren't cut-out for that position. It is not de-facto that a teacher with the knowledge and experience equates to a 'good teacher'...maybe a teacher that has both might be a 'better teacher' but that doesn't equate to a 'good teacher'. Hell, I'm sure we can all think about a couple of teachers from our school days who fit that category.
So, what makes a good ESL teacher?
We all come from different backgrounds, areas of study, countries, levels of experience and knowledge. We have a very eclectic group of individuals...small, but eclectic.
I'm sure some of us might have studied and read a lot about ESL theory, while others of us don't have the book-knowledge but have the experience working in the field. Many ESL teachers never meant to become teachers, they just happened to stumble upon it and found it was fun and/or they were kinda good at it. I basically think there are two basic types of teachers that come into the ESL community. Teachers with a lot of knowledge but no experience, and teachers with hardly any ESL-knowledge but have practical experience in the field.
There is no recipe or formula for being a good teacher so what are your thoughts on which is important and why?
I know what you're thinking...a 'good teacher' is one that possesses both of these skill-sets. But, I don't think this is necessarily true, either. Many of us I'm sure had one or two friends back in college that was studying to become a teacher but you just never had the heart to tell them they weren't cut-out for that position. It is not de-facto that a teacher with the knowledge and experience equates to a 'good teacher'...maybe a teacher that has both might be a 'better teacher' but that doesn't equate to a 'good teacher'. Hell, I'm sure we can all think about a couple of teachers from our school days who fit that category.
So, what makes a good ESL teacher?