What makes a good ESL teacher?

Many people decide to become ESL teachers for various reasons. Some of them make excellent ESL teachers, while others really don’t. They may think to themselves that teaching ESL is a great lifestyle and they want to give it a try, but they fall short because they don’t possess the qualities that make a good ESL teacher. This article will explain my personal thoughts on what I think are some good qualities that every ESL teacher needs.

Patience
This is probably the greatest quality any teacher needs. Students learn at different speeds and just because a student doesn’t get something that you think is obvious, you need to give them time to find the correct answer. Some teachers lose patience with their students and this is not acceptable. Different students don’t understand everything in the same way, as a teacher you need to change your teaching style to make sure each student understands you.

Confidence
Some people are uncomfortable speaking in a large group of people and just can’t do it. If this sounds like you, you should probably accept that teaching is not for you. Your job in the classroom is to teach and all eyes will be on you. If you don’t like this kind of attention, the teaching will definitely not follow.

Good communication
You need to be able to communicate in English clearly, not only with your students, but also with your colleagues, managers, and sometimes parents. You need to be able to get your message across in a way that people can understand.

Dedicated
Not only do you need to be dedicated to your work, but you also need to be dedicated to your students to help them bring out the best in them. If you don’t care about your students, you won’t be an effective teacher.

Organized
As an ESL teacher, you may come across many different things to do in the course of a day. You will have different classes, assignments and exams to score, you will need to prepare your class activities and much more. Being organized will surely make your life a thousand times easier and you can spend more time becoming a better teacher.

Here are some personal thoughts on what I think are some of the qualities necessary to be a good ESL teacher. This list is not exhaustive and teachers should be many things during the course of a day. You will need to listen, control, communicate, teach, understand, train, persuade, empathize, sympathize, and much more!