The hidden subject matter

Even Dorothy touches upon some sort of flexibility that she expects the teacher to possess. Although she thinks it is impossible to adapt to a whole group, in her favourite one-on-one teaching situation she expects teachers to “learn new methods if the earlier method does not work with one particular student”. Sylvia, too, when praising her mother, remarks:

“She has got everything. She speaks the language at a near native level, understands me, knows me, knows what I need and I can tell her if something is not useful for me, I can tell her to go on. And then she teaches me with different methods.” In addition to the teacher’s native-like command of English and familiarity with the learner’s needs, the availability of different and varied techniques is obviously a must in the eyes of this learner. Additionally, some sort of spontaneity is expected and the ability to extemporise.

Gwen, for instance, said her English was good enough and she would be able to prepare for the classes as well, but she wouldn’t know how to inspire her students:

[…] how to stimulate them or how to sense what they know and what they don’t, how I can help them in their learning process, for this you need to be a teacher, so […] this is a profession and it doesn’t only depend on the teacher’s command of English and all sorts of background information, but how empathic someone is, but more concretely, this is a kind of professional empathy, knowing what link is missing in the chain.

Added to linguistic and pedagogical competences there is the need for some sort of background information, a certain “cultural knowledge”, which Beth explains the following way: the teacher has to know” what customs there are in England, what festivals they have, what people do and the necessary vocabulary for that”. Britney has a more mature view, with a trainee teacher’s perspective:

Culture, the knowledge of culture is also important, I believe if I teach a language, I have to have a good grasp of its culture as well and I have to try and transmit that knowledge as well and then I mean culture is not just everyday life in the United States, but a bit of literature, history, civilisation, so I mean both small c culture and capital C Culture.

For Gwen, too, culture means various things: Anglo-Saxon culture comprising British, American and Australian culture, notions, expressions and idioms used in those cultures, customs, traditions, famous people, be them pop singers or the president, songs, present and past history, geography, or contemporary events. She also thinks spending some time, perhaps doing a one-month course in England, is “worth the investment” since the teacher can learn the latest expressions, “new coinages”. Sylvia, too, believes that having spent some time in an English-speaking country is a must for an English language teacher.

Immersion in the target language culture is a recurring theme. When she was asked what sort of in-service training language teachers would need to undergo, Ann replied:

I would make it compulsory… they don’t need three months of summer holiday, but, say, when the exam period is over, [they get] one month’s training and each language teacher would be sent off to the country where the language which she is teaching is spoken. And some course there to be able to develop themselves. And they would need to be given the opportunity to socialise so that they can absorb something extra every year, something new. From culture, night life, or ….

When Muriel was asked about the competencies a teacher needs, she emphasises that different groups of learners expect their teacher of English to be equipped with a different language competence. To cite her example, teaching lower primary kids will not require the teacher to speak specialist banking English, whereas teaching an in-company language development course will. In addition, Muriel thinks psychological awareness and being knowledgeable about the target language culture are indispensable for the ELT professional:

Those teachers of mine who had lived in the given country were the ones who were successful. It does matter in terms of language competence as well, and the classes had a better atmosphere, it’s different to teach something when you have been a participant of it, so it’s difficult to talk about London if you have never been there or if you spent three weeks there and then you can transmit the knowledge by sharing experiences.

Irene, too, emphasised the importance of training courses offered in English speaking countries. Brian’s excellent teacher had also spent a substantial amount of time in such an environment and this resulted in more credibility in Brian’s interpretation. Tina gave more specific reasons why she thought immersion in the target language culture would enhance the development of the teacher:

Tina: All right, travel has some financial constraints, but that’s something very important, it could be really useful. And I find it very important, talking of this, I have forgotten to say that in order to become a language teacher, there are some rare exceptions of course, … (restarts) I can’t imagine someone becoming a language teacher without spending some time abroad, … (rephrases) that this could be done with the same efficiency.

Researcher: Why do you think that it’s so important?

Tina: They will have some insights into the culture…

Researcher: Because of culture?

Tina: And I believe that this is important. We are not talking about pronunciation itself, but, by the way, we can go back to that point, it gives you confidence in terms of your accent. I also think your reaction time radically drops if you use English with natives. And the knowledge of culture is also important, be it British, be it… (pause) American English, British English.

In this excerpt, various aspects of linguistic competence are mentioned: pronunciation, having an accent, fluency, knowledge of the different varieties of English together with some cultural knowledge.