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| Ideal Teacher |
If we ask pupils what they expect from teachers we may be surprised by what they say.
Magaly, a Spanish primary teacher asked her seven year old pupils to draw and describe their ideal English teacher. Two of their replies are given here in translation:
A teacher that would do a lot of games and parties, that would not let us speak Spanish, that would never get angry, that would teach us in fun ways, that would bring surprises, that would love me a lot and would not be a bad person Above all she would be 'cool'
(Paula)
My ideal teacher is Consuela. Because when we play we learn English, she does not let us speak Spanish, pronounces very well, when she explains something, if we do not understand she helps us, when we do parties she does quite well, she never gets very angry, she never hits us, she is pleasant and draws well
(Sara)
I find it interesting and also surprising that Magaly's pupils want teachers to make them use English I have often heard teachers argue that they use the LI because their pupils insist on it. We need to ask our pupils what they want and not assume that we know.
Magaly's pupils are most concerned with classroom relationships and atmosphere. They clearly value a teacher who cares about them, is patient with them, does not get angry, and who helps them to learn. They are also concerned about methods and like having to use English.
The information from Magaly's pupils suggests that one of the important conditions to promote learning is for teachers to build good relationships with pupils and a happy and secure learning environment. This is what we will consider next.