Vietnam national university
University of languages and international studies
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

DIÊM THI ̣HẢO TÂM
M.A. MINOR THESIS

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF
A GOOD TEACHER OF ENGLISH
(Nhận thức của giáo viên và sinh viên về một người
giáo viên tiếng Anh tốt)

Field: English teaching methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Minh Huê,̣ M.A.

Hanoi, 2010

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TABLES OF CONTENTS
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study……………………………..

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2 Research aims and questions………………………………………………………

2



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II.3.1. General views about a good English teacher…………………………...

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II.3.2. Specific attributes of a good English teacher………………………...

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II.3.3. Perceptions of students and teachers on a good language teacher……..

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I.4. Studies on teachers and students‟ perceptions of a good teacher of English ……

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I. 5. Summary………………………………………………………………………..
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY

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II.1. Research context………………………………………………………………...

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II.2. Participants………………………………………………………………………



4

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III.3. Teachers and students‟ perceptions of professional development and academic

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requirement for a good teacher of English ……………………………………………

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III.4. Teachers and students‟ perceptions of the roles of a good teacher of English….

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III.5. Teachers and students‟ perceptions of the importance of classroom practices…

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III. 6. Summary……………………………………………………………………….
PART C: CONCLUSIONS

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1. Summary of the findings ……………………………………………………….

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Teachers and students‟ perceptions of the personal qualities .....................

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Table 1: Teachers and students‟ perceptions of professional development and
academic requirement.................................................................................................

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Table 2: Teachers and students‟ perceptions about roles of a language teacher........

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Table 3: Teachers and students‟ perceptions of the importance of classroom
practices.......................................................................................................................

7

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study
A question that many teachers often ask is: I like my job, and I love the students,
but how can I become a good language teacher? The answer is not easy. It is clear that
whether someone can become a good foreign language teacher does not solely depend on
his /her command of the language. Some linguists assume that those who are engaged in
language teaching profession have the burden of keeping up-to-date, not only with the
language which is taught but ever changing learner needs and profiles as well (Kayhan,
1999). According to Schrier (1994), along with subject matter knowledge, professional

healthy attitudes of self-acceptance.
This study is conducted with the aim to find out the perceptions of students and
teachers of good teachers of English. By means of survey research based on questionnaires
and interviews completed by students and teachers, I try to define the characteristics of a
good English teacher both from teachers and students‟ point of view. I hope that the views
from the participants are essential as a whole picture of teaching and learning language
activities. Though students‟ perceptions instead of actions were the main focus in the
present study, it may be that people cannot implicitly understand the problems or the
factors of hindrance without looking at the whole picture from students and teachers.
Therefore, I would like to find out the differences between teachers‟ and students‟
perceptions in order to improve the quality of language teaching.
2 Research aims and questions
This study is carried out to:
a. to investigate teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of a good teacher of English
b. To find out the differences between teachers and students of a teacher of English.
In order to achieve these aims, the study seeks to answer the following research
questions:
1.What are the perceptions of “a good teacher of English” held by students and
teachers of English at Haiduong Medical Technical University?
2. What are the commonalities and differences between the teachers‟ and students‟
perceptions of a good teacher of English?
3. Significance of the study
English as a second language (ESL) teachers often encounter student resistance to
some of their activities. Some students want more opportunities for free conversation
while others complain about the pattern drill. When language teachers fail to meet student
expectations, students can lose confidence or interests in the teacher and their ultimate
achievement can be limited. It is true that teacher‟s performance have a strong impact on
the students‟ ultimate success in language learning. Due to this reason, I decided to carry
out this study in order to explore a whole picture of what a good English teacher is, both



teachers. According to the results of this study, desirable characteristics of effective
language teachers include: knowledge and command of the target language, the ability to
organize, explain, and clarify, and the ability to arouse and sustain interest and motivation
among students. Many language teachers have the same point with Hammadou and
Bernhardt (1987):
“Language teachers differ from other teachers in that they do not teach a ‘factual
product’ but rather a process of communication and that they may lose the use of the
process if they themselves do not use it on a regular basis” (p. 302)
Included in many factors that directly influence the success of language teachers
are also conditions such as: teaching resources, administrative support, and physical
facilities in schools where teachers work (Crookes, 1997). In order to keep up with such a
demanding profession foreign language teachers need be in the development of
professional competence, which is the state or quality of being adequately qualified for the
profession, and armed with a specific range of skills, strategies, knowledge, and ability.
Moreover, they have to try their best to become a good language teacher. A question is
raised that how can one become a good language teacher? And to answer this question
each language teacher has to understand definitions and characteristics of a good language
teacher, which are mentioned in the following parts.
I.2. Definition of a good teacher
What is a good teacher? What characteristics should a good teacher possess? What
makes good teachers better than others? Buskist et al.‟s (2002) study on students‟
perceptions on what qualities “master” teachers possess produced a list of 28 traits. Such
qualities as knowledgeable, wellorganized, hardworking were all featured in the list.
However, it is interesting to note that more than half qualities in the list were
interpersonal in nature. Furthermore, the five most

valued characteristics were:

understanding, personable, respectful, happy, and caring. A good language teacher

using creative and inspirational methods of teaching. Each teacher has a different approach
and that makes students stand out from the crowd, share views and opinions without fear of
intimidation. Hence the reason why students enjoy their classes and seek the teacher out
for new ideas. If students have low motivation in learning it will be one of the problems
for teachers. According to Carroll (1977), successful second language learners are nearly
always highly motivated to learn the language. How to improve and sustain their interests
in learning is thus the responsibility of a good teacher.
b. Be a good model
Being a teacher is a way of life. Teachers are the window through which many
young people will see their future. According to Kottler and Zehm (2000), the best teachers
are those who have worked hard to practice what they know and understand in their own
personal lives. If they can preach to others some important values such as importance of
truth, honesty, self-discipline, knowledge, growth and taking constructive risks, then they
practice these same values in their own lives. As a result, the teachers become living
examples for their students as they can show what they say is important enough for the

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students to apply to their own lives. The responsibility involves more than presenting
subject knowledge or making sure the students score high examination marks. Being a
teacher is a way of life. You are a teacher not only when you stand in front of the
classroom but also as you walk through life, applying what you know and understand and
can do.
c. Establish good relationship with students
Teachers who have good relationship with their students generally teach more
effectively. The reason is because the connection between students and teachers brings the
teachers to learn about each student as unique from others, and also enables them to
understand the diversity of all the students. This shows the importance of establishing good
relationships with students. Good teachers are usually associated with teachers who have



also in other aspects. In view of honesty, the writer explains that honesty means
teachers “can be trusted” and to tell the truth. Creativity is regarded as one of the
important elements in teaching, teacher should keep students on their toes, for
example, some interesting and motivational activities are introduced in the classroom
learning. Another quality of good teachers is a sense of purpose, teachers have an
expectation of success for every student, or a goal for students to complete certain tasks by
themselves after the course. Without a purpose, there is no meaning to teaching and
learning. In addition, a good teacher needs a sense of humor in classroom teaching. A
great sense of humour reduces barriers and lightens the atmosphere especially during
heavy periods. An ability to make students laugh will carry teachers far and gain the
teachers more respect. Kottler and Zehm (2000) state „if there is one major premise of
effective teaching, it is conveying the idea that learning is enjoyable.‟
e. Understand students’ needs and difficulties
"As a teacher, this means that you know what your students expect, and you make
plans to meet those expectations. If you teach a GED class, you spend time explaining the
format of the test and helping students to improve their test-taking skills." (Hassett,2000,
p:46) being a good teacher, he/she has great efforts to understand of students‟ modes of
learning, to understand that each student has diverse talents and interests, and take account
of this diversity in their teaching. Teachers know how to help students focus their
potentials on learning and growth, how to match appropriately teaching methods, processes
of inquiry, resources and content with the developmental level, temperament and learning
style of students. Teachers also respect students as individuals, and adapt their teaching to
suit the individual learning needs of all their students.
f. Have good mastery of knowledge
Gammage (1971) states that the teacher should be a prime source of knowledge. If
the teacher fails as a „prime source‟ for his/her students, they will
knowledge of their teacher is inadequate. It is indispensable that



-

are as impartial as possible when discussing controversial matters with students;

-

create and maintain a learning environment which:
+ is interesting and challenging
+ is orderly and purposeful
+ is safe and supportive
+ is positive and enjoyable
+ encourages students to take control of their own learning
+ encourages students to take intellectual risks
+ respects the right of each student to form his/her own judgments based on
appropriate knowledge
+ fosters self-discipline, responsibility and creativity
+ develops in students an awareness of the consequences of their own behaviour
+ encourages cooperative learning
+ enhances each student‟s psychological, emotional and physical well-being
+ encourages effective resolution of conflict
+ fosters cultural identity;
+ develop sound routine procedures to manage recurring tasks;
+ respond appropriately to situations which may arise incidentally;
+ maintain effective records for purposes of student assessment, evaluation of
teaching, counselling of students, reporting to parents, recording critical incidents;
+ effectively complete administrative tasks associated with teaching and pastoral
care.

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the characteristics of the good language teacher were: friendly, explained things, gave good
notes, knew how to treat someone who sits at a desk for six hours, let the students do it by
themselves- group work, etc. In his book, Scrivener (1994: p.15) lists some pieces for

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advice for language teachers: Be as honestly yourself as you can be, encourage a friendly,
relaxed learning environment, ask open questions, allow time for students to listen, think
and process their answers, increase opportunities for student talking time, make use of
pairs and small groups, encourage co-operation rather than competition, encourage
interaction between students, use gestures, etc.
I.3.2. Specific attributes of a good English teacher
In addition to the general views about the qualities of good English teachers in
the previous section, there is other more subject specific attributes of being

a

good

English teacher. It is worthwhile to look at the following specific attributes of good
English teachers.
a) Understand students’ needs and difficulties
The needs and difficulties of each student may be different. In order to attain
successful learning by students, language teachers should be able to identify the needs
and abilities of individuals. If a good English teacher can find how students feel about
activities and tasks in the foreign language learning process, then it can be a relatively easy
task to make the adjustments necessary to increase the students‟ learning potential.
Yamoor (1985) suggests that teachers have to change or eliminate those elements that
evoked negative attitudes which hinder learning.

6. dictation,
7. oral grammar exercises.
It implies that teachers can try to change their teaching practices in the lessons
from drilling to more communicative tasks.
d) Create an interesting and relaxing environment
It is crucial to provide a motivating linguistic environment for the students once
they start learning English. This can be made by introducing more games and meaningful
activities during language lessons. Meanwhile, teachers‟ encouragement and reinforcement
are both key factors in creating positive language learning environment. Teacher
encourages all students to contribute to the academic activities of the class. And he/she
establishes a classroom

in which one‟s peers were not only willing but eager to draw

reluctant classmates into the activities.
e) Accept students’ mistakes
According to Rubin (1995), the process in learning a new language appeared to
involve trail and errors. They could be expected to make mistakes as they worked
toward understanding the many details of a language. As a result, the function of a
language teacher is to facilitate communication about matters of common interest, not to
provide a host of additional constraints to the learning process.
f) Balancing the use of four skills in English
In language classrooms the receptive skills of listening and reading have received
less attention than had the productive skills of speaking and writing historically. Teachers
might focus on oral language, so they fail to train students in listening and reading skills
effectively. As a result, students could not receive sufficient attention in each skill in

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h) Give clear explanation
One of the main tasks of a good language of teacher is to help students understand
the language. In order for students to produce language spontaneously, they must first
understand it. There were some studies have put emphasizes on giving students clear
explanation. In the study done by Morgan and Morris (1999), students associated good
teaching with explanation which was made to the whole class as well as to the
individuals. Furthermore, good explanation is expected from a good English teacher.
Brown (1994) describes that good explanation skills include clarity and fluency of the
language used, emphasis and interest through voice, using examples, organization of ideas

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and feedback to the students.
i) Being Up-to-date
It is better for a language teacher to catch up what changes are taking place in the
English curriculum nationally and what their own students are reading or seeing or
listening to. In order to help keep English teachers up-to-date, they need to stretch out and
touch the world. They should read some professional publications, novels, magazines,
classics and English journals. They should stay alert to changes in the youth culture,
especially changes in language, dress, and music. By doing so, teachers can understand
what moves, disturbs, or stimulates young people in language teaching.
I.3.3. Perceptions of students and teachers on a good language teacher
Teachers are constantly being enriched by daily contact with their learners which put
them in touch with different perspectives and ways of looking at things. Learning is more
effective if both teachers and students are actively involved in the teaching-learning
process. The problem, however, is that in most learning–situations in different parts of the
world, the teacher has the final word regarding classroom teaching. This stands in
contradiction to the belief that the learner has an equal part in the learning process.
According to Yorio (1989) “The experiences that students bring with them are important

The good teacher of modern languages (Sanderson 1983):
1. uses the foreign language predominantly,
2. is vigilant about pronunciation, intonation and stress,
3a. uses the foreign language for classroom instruction,
3b. uses the foreign language for the teaching/learning message,
4a. praises correct responses,
4b. is sympathetic/positive about wrong responses,
4c. conveys warmth in delivery of the message,
4d. conveys warmth through facial expression,
5. engages in intensive oral exploitation of material,
6. promotes understanding by non-verbal cues,
7. relates the foreign language to the target culture,
8. explains tasks clearly,
9a. is varied with regard to materials,
9b. is flexible with regard to objectives,
10. builds up on pupil error,
11. provides a variety of language activity,
12. involves the whole group,
13. is skilled in handling equipment,
14. promotes use of the foreign language by pupils.
b. Students’ perceptions
In addition to teachers‟ persceptions, students‟ perceptions on a good language
teacher are also essential. Some students were asked about what constituted a good teacher
of foreign languages in Altmann‟s (1981) study and some viewpoints described by the

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students are as follows:
- A real second language teacher is on my side


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language of foreign teachers.
I.4. Studies on teachers and students’ perceptions of a good teacher of English
Being a good English language teacher, students‟ ways of learning a language is a
crucial piece of information. At the same time, knowing how students

see a good

language teacher is also important. It is believed that students hold a wide variety of beliefs
about language teacher. Some beliefs are likely influenced by students‟ previous
experiences when they received education from their teachers. There have been few studies
on good English teachers (Richards et al., 1992; Urmston et al., 1996; Peacock, 2002) and
Riddell (2001). Besides these studies, there were some other western studies done by
Gorham (1987), Kutnick & Jules (1993) and Aksoy (1998). They have discussed most
of the characteristics of a good teacher, for instance, personality,instruction, relationship
and classroom management. Cortazzi & Jin (1996a) also carried out similar research
on the characteristics of a good language teacher in Tianjin. They asked 135 university
students to write essays on the expected characteristics of „A Good language Teacher‟. In
the open-ended responses, most of the students felt that a good language teacher should be
patient, humorous, friendly and be a good moral example. Other qualities of a good teacher
were also mentioned, such as he/she teaches student about life; arouses students‟ interest;
is warm-hearted and understanding; uses effective teaching methods; is caring and helpful;
and explains clearly.
However, I wonder whether the characteristics of a good language teacher found in
the above studies are appropriated for English teaching and learning in Vietnam.
Meanwhile, there seems to be no study on teachers and students‟ perceptions of a good
English teacher in Vietnam. As a language teacher, who is teaching English in Vietnam, I

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CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the research methodology employed in this thesis including
document analysis, survey questionnaires and interviews. Besides, a detail description of
the participants involved in the research will be shown.
II.1. Research context
I decided to conduct a study with the students at my own university because I was
intrigued with giving my students the chance to tell me their own opinions of what a
“good” language teacher was. Haiduong Medical technical University, at which I have
taught English as a foreign language for 6 years, was founded in 2007, based on Haiduong
Medical Technical High School (founded in 1960, and then Haiduong Medial Technical
College in 2000 ). The students from 29 Northern provinces of Vietnam come here to study
medicine, so they don‟t often pay much attention to learn English. Due to this reason, the
English teachers always meet difficulties in teaching them English. This demands each
teacher has various methods to help their students to overcome their difficulties.
II.2. Participants
Teachers
In the research, there are 2 male and 8 female English teachers. The range of their
age is between 28 and 50 years old. They come from the foreign language faculty of
Haiduong Medical Technical University. On average, most of the teachers have from 420 years of teaching experiences. The youngest teacher has 2 years teaching experience
while 6 teachers working for more than 10 years. The English teachers are teaching either
upper, lower secondary or both levels. Almost all of the English teachers have obtained
Bachelor degrees and teacher certificates. Three of them got the Master degrees.
Students
The study was carried out with 70 third –year students at Haiduong Medical
Technical University, 23 males and 47 females. They are taught by Vietnamese teachers of
English, who are also the participants of this study. The reason for the choice of the third –
year students is that these students have had three years‟ experience of learning English, so

very important, 4= not important). These questions focus on the two categories: roles of a
good language teacher and classroom practices of a good language teacher. The purpose of
the questionnaire was to obtain their attitudes and perceptions of a good language teacher.
(See appendix A for an example of the survey instrument)
+ A questionnaire for students
The survey consisted of 15 questions requiring answers from very important to not
important with no option for an indecisive answer (1=very important, 2=important, 3=not
very important, 4= not important). All questions were written in Vietnamese to ensure
students accurate understanding of all the questions before answering them.
-Procedures

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