Qualities of a Good English Language Teacher from the Perspectives of Textbook Authors in the Field of Language Teaching, Teachers, and Learners

Authors

Mohammad Mohammaditabar, Department of English Language, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, IranFollow
Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri, Assistant Professor, Department of English Language, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, IranFollow
Mortaza Yamini, Assistant Professor, Zand Institute of Higher Education, Shiraz, IranFollow
Ehsan Rassaei, Associate Professor, Department of English Language, Majan University College, Muscat, OmanFollow

Abstract

Researchers in the field of language teaching have long been fascinated by the qualities of good teachers. Such qualities have rarely been approached qualitatively from different angles in a single study. Thus, this research aimed to unearth the qualities in question by employing a qualitative multimethod approach. To this end, 23 randomly selected standard language teaching textbooks were analyzed by two coders using qualitative content analysis. The judiciously adopted codes from the analysis were employed to design and carry out semi-structured interviews with nine effective language teachers as well as ten good learners nominated via purposeful sampling. The data gleaned from the semi-interviews were once again analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The collective initial coding of the three datasets resulted in thirteen themes: knowledge of pedagogy, rapport, critical thinking, empathy, rhetoric, knowledge of subject matter, enthusiasm, respect, humor, consciousness, fairness, authenticity, and physical attributes. Conducting a second-level coding, we uncovered two broad themes, namely personality and professionalism with the former being significantly weightier collectively. The application of Chi-Square at this point showed that the associations between the three datasets were meaningful. The findings of the semi-structured interviews of participant teachers and students corroborated those of authors in the field of language teaching. Also, rapport and pedagogy were respectively viewed as the most salient attributes associated with good language teachers by the interviewed informants. The study holds clear implications for interested researchers, language teachers, and teacher educators.

Keywords

English Language Teaching Textbooks, Language Learners, Teachers’ Qualities, Language Teachers, Perspectives, Qualitative Multimethod Approach

Author Bio(s)

Mohammad Mohammaditabar is a Ph.D. candidate of TEFL at Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch. He is currently the general manager of Safirelian Language and IELTS House in Bushehr, Iran. His teaching and research areas of interest include teacher education, curriculum, and instruction. Please direct correspondence to m.mohammaditabar@gmail.com.

Mohammad Sadegh. Bagheri is an assistant professor of applied linguistics at Islamic Azad University, Shiraz Branch. His areas of interest are language assessment, e-learning, and second language instruction. He has extensively published in local and international journals and has authored several books. Please direct correspondence to bagheries@gmail.com.

Morteza Yamini is an assistant professor of applied linguistics. His research interests are language teaching methodology, testing, and second language research. Please direct correspondence to yamini@zand.ac.ir.

Ehsan Rassaei is an associate professor of TEFL with Majan University College, Muscat, Oman. His main research interests include second language teacher education, second language acquisition, and computer-assisted language learning. Please direct correspondence to ehsan.rassaei@majancollege.edu.om.

Publication Date

11-12-2020

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4501

Recommended APA Citation

Mohammaditabar, M., Bagheri, M., Yamini, M., & Rassaei, E. (2020). Qualities of a Good English Language Teacher from the Perspectives of Textbook Authors in the Field of Language Teaching, Teachers, and Learners. The Qualitative Report, 25(11), 3927-3961. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2020.4501