Teaching is not just about giving information to enforce or giving advice. A good teacher knows how to adapt his or her speech according to the difficulties and skills of the speaker and knows how to remain attentive in all circumstances. As they learn, learners increasingly develop their reflections in order to understand the cause-and-effect links of a decision or behaviour.
The 10 qualities of our teachers
1- Patience and vigilance
Speaking a foreign language is not innate. All skills are acquired over time and above all with appropriate training. These are therefore new reflexes that the teacher will have to develop with a good dose of patience and a lot of vigilance. These qualities will allow this know-how to be well integrated by the learners. The faculties of comprehension differ from one person to another. Concretely, some will quickly understand basic vocabulary, but may have difficulty assimilating grammar, for example.
It is crucial that the teacher takes the time to explain things by adapting to the learner’s faculties (learning pace, understanding, retention of information, etc.).
2- Adaptability and the “positive attitude”…
teacher must adopt the teaching method best suited to the profile of the student he or she is addressing. Character, age and experience require the methodology to be adapted. A 16-year-old pupil does not assimilate in the same way as a 40-year-old. One has immediate desires and needs, the other will have concerns and responsibilities that can influence his ability to assimilate knowledge. We talk about pedagogy when teaching young people and about andrology when teaching adults.
What better way for a student to invest in his or her learning than to make him or her love it? Even if for some people the licence is more an imperative than an option, no one should see driving as a chore. Students should want to drive, to come to their classes with a smile on their face, knowing that they will find a friendly teacher with whom they will learn in a relaxed and positive atmosphere.
The teacher is in no way there to bully or belittle, he must pull the student upwards with optimism in order to accompany him well in his learning, and this, until the language diploma test.
The teacher must be able to adapt his or her speech according to the behaviour, level and state of mind of the student at the time of the lesson by showing benevolence.
3- Be clear and organized
The teacher must organize his or her lessons, starting with the basics, which are the foundations of language learning. If these points are not acquired, there is no point in claiming a language diploma.
The driving teacher must be able to plan the learning in time according to the student’s progress, his objective but also (in the case of a free candidate) the administrative deadlines of the sector. Each competence is acquired in the course of the training. It is important to respect an order in the teaching, while respecting a certain amount of knowledge input, in order not to saturate the student and risk a loss of information. Hence the importance of knowing how to structure one’s speech and make it as simple as possible. Too much information can drown the pupil in useless questioning and compromise his learning.
4- Being empathetic and listening
important quality is that the teacher must listen to the student, showing enough empathy to know how the student will react.
A teacher is not a psychologist, but must have some mastery of educational psychology. When a student shows signs of nervousness, lack of concentration or strong emotionality, the teacher must be able to take matters into his or her own hands to reassure the student. Often it is necessary to help the student to get rid of what is wrong and to take stock of the situation. Sometimes the student may need to talk about problems that distract him or her when practicing the language.
Under no circumstances should learning be stressful. The discovery of the German language, something unknown to some students, is often a real torture, the role of the teacher is then to perceive this and to de-dramatize it.
5- La pédagogie et le professionnalisme
To summarize these two qualities, one could simply say that the teacher must be a good teacher whose expertise is recognized by all.
Knowledge is a raw material that must be transmitted methodically so that it can be understood and well applied. Learning without understanding is anti-pedagogical. For knowledge to be acquired by the student, he must appropriate it and not apply it foolishly because he has been told to do so. They must understand why they are doing it and for what purpose.
So pedagogy is the very essence of teaching; it encompasses all the qualities that a teacher must have or develop in order to provide clear and effective instruction to his students.
Add to this, unfailing professionalism and you will get the best learning that one can hope for.
When these 10 qualities are implemented, candidates are dealing with a good language teacher who will accompany them throughout their learning. Good news! You now have the ideal profile of a language teacher who works with FLC Studientkolleg.
Recent Comments