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The Importance Of Being A Good Teacher

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This essay contemplates my individual development, skill acquisition and exploration of teaching approaches; throughout and beyond the International Teacher Training Organisation (ITTO) program. The problems I encountered will be discussed; and their relation to establishing where my wealth of primary teaching experience aligns with English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching approaches. For example; efforts to reduce my teacher talk time compared to primary school education was important, correcting pronunciation in an appropriate manner and correctly pacing both my speech and activities were areas of development that were observed, reflected on personally and subsequently acted upon.
What is a good teacher? Humans are social animals who need to feel connected with the teacher; to enable an open and honest atmosphere to question misunderstandings and exchange knowledge. A good teacher realises the importance of forming authentic relationships by expressing their true self with their students. Hence, a good teacher demonstrates compassion, builds rapport and shows empathy towards the challenges present within learning; by allowing students to see teachers as fallible and therefore learners as well. A philosophy stated by Gertrude Moskowitz that, ‘…good rapport (sympathetic relationships) with learners is the basis for effective EFL learning…’1 This philosophy on being a good teacher is encapsulated in the following saying, also my firm belief, that I share with

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