Vietnam national university University of languages and international studies FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ES ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ DIÊM THỊ HẢO TÂM M. MINOR THESIS TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF A GOOD TEACHER OF ENGLISH (Nhận thức của giáo viên và sinh viên về một người giáo viên tiếng Anh tốt) Field: English teaching methodology Code: 60 1410 Supervisor: Nguyén Minh Hué, M. Hanoi, 2010 TABLES OF CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study.
wrene 2 Roscarch aitns and questions. 3, Significance of the study. 4, Chapter arrangements PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW LL. Definition ofa good teacher IL.1, Gensral views about a good teacher.
Specific attributes ofa good teacher 13. General views and specific attributes ofa good Engtish teacher 13.1, General views about a good English teacher. Specific attributes of a good English teacher 11. Percaptions of sludents and teachers on a good language loacher 14, Studies on teachers and students’ perceptions of a good teacher of English.
CHAPTER LH: MEFUODOLOGY 19 ILL, Rescarch comlext. Data collectien methods and proeedures. CHAPTER Il: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION TI. Teachers and students’ perceptions of the personal qualities of a good teacher of English.
‘Teachers and students” perceptions of professional development and academic 23, requirement for n good teacher of English 26 IIL4, Teachers and students’ perceptions of the roles ofa good teacher of English. Teachers and students’ perceptions of the importance of classroom practices. Summary PART C: CONCLUSIONS 36 1. Summary of the findings 2.
Limitations and recommendations tor further research. REFERENCES APPENDICES and teaching methodologies will affect how students team, Moreover, Jersild (1955) says that the teacher’s undorsimnding ancl accsplance of himself arc the most important requirement in any effort he makes to help students to know themselves and to gain healthy attitades of self-acceptance This study is conducted with the aim to find oul the perceptions of students and teachers of good teachers of English. By means of survey research based on questionnaires and interviews completed by studemts and teachers, | try to define the characteristics of a good Figlish (cacher both from toach: and sludents” point of view. I hope that the views from the participants are essential as a whole picture of teaching and learning language activities.
Though students’ perceptions instead of actions were the main focus in the present study, it may be thal psople cannot implicilly understand the problems or the factors of hindrance without looking at the whole picture ttom students and teachers. Therefore, I would like to tind out the differences between teachers’ and students’ perceptions in order to improve the quality of language teaching. 2 Research aims and questions ‘This study is carried ont to: a. to investigais teachers’ and stndsnls” perceptions ofa good teacher of Rnglish b, To find out the differences between teachers and students of a teacher of English.
in arder to achieve these aims, the study seeks to answer the following research questions: 1.What are the percgplions of “a good toacher of English” held by sturcnts and teachers of English at Haiduong Medical Technical University? 2. What are the commonalities and differences between the teachers’ and students” perceptions of a goad leacher of Engtish? 3. Significance of the study English as a second language (ESL) teachers often encounter student resistance to some of their activities. Some students want more opportunitics for fice conversation while others complain about the pattern drill, When language teachers fail to meet student expectations, students can lose confidence or interests in the teacher and their ultimate achievement can bs Fimiled Tis truc that tcacher’s porforrmmecs have a strong impact on the students’ ultimate success in language learning, Due to this reason, I decided to carry out this study in order to explore a whole picture of what a good English teacher is, both 10 perceptions of teachers and students are crucial in this study.
‘The students in the study might have similar pereeptions or very different petecptions from the English tcachers. Thus, looking for ways to use insights ftom the research might help English teachers understand what to expect from students, or it might give teachers ideas for tasks, assignmuents or assessinent 4. Chapter arrangements ‘The minor thesis consists of six chapters ‘The first chapter includes a statement of the problom and rationale for the study, the aimns, significance of the study as well as chapler arangement of the study. The second chapter includes five parts.
The first part is introduction, the second part is definition ofa good teacher, the third is qualities ofa good English teacher, the following part is studics on teachers’ and students? percaplions of a good teacher of English and the last one is research questions. The third chapter is research amethod: part one is research context, part two is participants, part three is data collection instrament and procedures and part four is data analysis. In chapter four, the researcher shows results and discussion about findings. Chapter five gives some implications, The last chapter is about limitations and conclusions of the study.
11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ESL: English as a second language GED: General Educational Development CLI: Communicative language teaching ESP: English fur special purpose QI: Question1 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER E: LITERATURE REVIEW 11. Introduction In a study with 200 foreign language teachers teaching English, French, Arabic, Tosh (1996) identified the perceived characteristics of effective language teachers. According to the results of this study, desirable characteristics of effective language teachers include: knowledge and command of the target language, the ability to organi, explain, and clarify, and the abilily to arouse and sustain interest and motivation among students. Many language teachers have the same point with Hammadou and Hemhardt (1987): “Language teachers differ from other teachers in that they do not teach a ‘factual product’ but rather a process of communication and that they may lose the use af the process if they themselves do not use it on a regular basis” (p.
302) Included in many factors that directly influence the success of language teachers are also conditions such as: teaching resources, administrative suppoit, and physical facilities in schools where teachers work (Crookes, 1997). In order to keep up with such a demanding profession foreign language teachers need be in the developinent of professional competence, which is the state or quality of being adequately qualified for the profession, and armed with a specific range of skills, strategies, knowledge, and ability. Moreover, they have lo iry their best lo become 2 good language teacher. A question is raised thal how can one become a good language teacher? And io answer this question each language teacher has to understand definitions and characteristics of a good language teacher, which are mentioned in the following parts 1.
Definitian of4 good teacher What is a good teacher? What characteristics should a good teacher possess? What makes good teachers better than others? Buskist et als (2002) study on students’ perceptions on what qualitics “master” teachers possess produced a list of 28 traits. Such qualities as knowledgeable, wellorganized, hardworking were all featured in the list. However, it is interesting to note that more than half qualities in the list were interpersonal in nature. Furlhcrmore, the five most.
valued characterislics were: ‘understanding, personable, respectful, happy, and caring. A good language teacher should conduct interesting classes, emphasize © good pronunciation, give clear 12 PART A: INTRODUCTION 4, Statement of the problem and rationale for the study A question that many teachers often ask is: I like my job, and I love the students, but how can 1 become a good language teacher? ‘he answer is not easy. It is clear that whether someone can become a good foreign langnage leacher does nol solely depend on his /her command of the language. Some linguists assume that those who are engaged in language teaching profession have the burden of keeping up-to-date, not only with the language which is (aught bul over changing learner necds and profiles as well (Kayhan, 1999).
According to Schrier (1994), along with subject matter knowledge, professional good foreign language teachers must also have “the ability to reflect, analyze critically, select the tools and materials of leaching, and evaluate fhe products ard performance of the learners” (p. Wing (1995) emphasized that today’s language teachers are expected to have amtiple roles along with target language competence: Sn structoring the foreiun language environment, the teacher needs to be a munager who faciitates language acquisition; a resource developer who uses to the greatest advantage the target and native languages, materials, and technology; an analyst wha observes und evaluates whal is happening in the classroom (p.” Cross (1995) identified several ingredients of an ideal language teacher. According to him, an idgal Tanguage teacher should have high level of education, subject matier competence, profassional compatence which involves lesson plarming, textbook sclaction, materials and tests design, awareness of current teaching approaches, and educational theory. Accordingto Williams (1975), in order to leach the language effectively, a teacher needs two major competencies as well as having excellent knowledge of the target languags s/he is teaching, s/he should have teaching skills to apply in the classroom.
Avcording to Williams’ argument, a language teacher should have a good blend of target language knowledge on the one hand and skills to present and teach the target Janguage to the students on the other. Ás 8 language loachơr, il is necessary lo know what a good English toacher is Needless to say, knowing how to be a good English teacher can improve the qualities of teaching and help students leam English effectively and efficiently. T'eacher’s personalities PART A: INTRODUCTION 4, Statement of the problem and rationale for the study A question that many teachers often ask is: I like my job, and I love the students, but how can 1 become a good language teacher? ‘he answer is not easy. It is clear that whether someone can become a good foreign langnage leacher does nol solely depend on his /her command of the language.
Some linguists assume that those who are engaged in language teaching profession have the burden of keeping up-to-date, not only with the language which is (aught bul over changing learner necds and profiles as well (Kayhan, 1999). According to Schrier (1994), along with subject matter knowledge, professional good foreign language teachers must also have “the ability to reflect, analyze critically, select the tools and materials of leaching, and evaluate fhe products ard performance of the learners” (p. Wing (1995) emphasized that today’s language teachers are expected to have amtiple roles along with target language competence: Sn structoring the foreiun language environment, the teacher needs to be a munager who faciitates language acquisition; a resource developer who uses to the greatest advantage the target and native languages, materials, and technology; an analyst wha observes und evaluates whal is happening in the classroom (p.” Cross (1995) identified several ingredients of an ideal language teacher. According to him, an idgal Tanguage teacher should have high level of education, subject matier competence, profassional compatence which involves lesson plarming, textbook sclaction, materials and tests design, awareness of current teaching approaches, and educational theory.
Accordingto Williams (1975), in order to leach the language effectively, a teacher needs two major competencies as well as having excellent knowledge of the target languags s/he is teaching, s/he should have teaching skills to apply in the classroom. Avcording to Williams’ argument, a language teacher should have a good blend of target language knowledge on the one hand and skills to present and teach the target Janguage to the students on the other. Ás 8 language loachơr, il is necessary lo know what a good English toacher is Needless to say, knowing how to be a good English teacher can improve the qualities of teaching and help students leam English effectively and efficiently. T'eacher’s personalities LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Chart: Teachers and students’ perceptions of the persona qqualities 23 Table 1: Teachers and students’ perceptions of professional development and academic requirement.
