Viatouch Teacher Articles
Teaching Tips

The Roles of a Teacher
by Neerja Sharma

During a typical lesson, a teacher may have to don many roles, sometimes simultaneously. It all depends upon the type of the activity involved in the class. Let's explore some of these roles.

As a Manager/Controller, the teacher takes charge of the class. The teacher stands at the front of the class explaining, reading aloud, or demonstrating how something works or functions. Some teachers are comfortable with this role as their charismatic personality inspires the students; but, others may feel that this approach detracts from the students' own experiences.

As an Organizer, the teacher arranges activities for students, for example, making groups/pairs, giving instructions, and initiating and closing an activity. If this role is not taken up seriously, the result will be ultimate chaos in the class, as nobody would know what to do and how.

As an Assessor, a teacher gives feedback, corrects, evaluates, and grades the students' work, ensuring whether the students are learning or not. In this role, the teacher needs to be fair and consistent and provide necessary support to the students.

As a Prompter, a teacher's primary duty is to assist students, but not take away the initiative from them. When a student loses the thread of something, a little bit of prompting from the teacher goes a long way in encouraging the student to perform well.

As a Participant, the teacher livens up the activities that may otherwise have been boring and dull. In this role, the teacher may have to behave like one of the students themselves, without dominating the activity.

As a Tutor, the teacher gets involved with the students at a personal level, providing guidance and support to them when they are working individually or in pairs. The teacher should remember to give equal attention to all the students.

As a Facilitator, the teacher is helpful and easily available, should the students require any assistance or guidance. The bottom line here is to resist the temptation of spoon-feeding the students.

As an Observer, the teacher adjusts the duration of an activity and analyzes its success by monitoring the activity from a distance in order not to distract the students.

As a Model, the teacher is well-versed in his/her subject and stands as a fountain of ultimate knowledge for the students. The students want to benefit from that knowledge, experience, and wisdom.

Whatever roles the teacher takes up, depends upon the activities involved and what the teacher wishes the students to achieve. What is important is the ability of the teacher to choose the correct roles, being able to switch between them, and carry them out effectively.

The author is an ESL teacher, who has taught English for the last six years in a Canadian college based in India. Neerja is also a freelancer writer. She regularly contributes articles to a locally based current affairs magazine. One of her short stories has been published in a New York based publication's anthology titled Grab Your Tiger.