Male and Female University Students’ Perceptions of an Effective EFL Teacher

Abstract

Examining and understanding the concept of effective language instruction is of major significance as regards the process of teaching and learning foreign languages. This study attempts to investigate the differences in the male and female EFL (English as a foreign language) students' perceptions of effective language teachers. The convenient sampling technique, followed by the stratified sampling, was applied to gather the data from 25 males and 58 females (n=83). First, ten highest-mean and ten lowest-mean items were analysed to investigate the most important and the least important qualities of an effective language teacher. Afterwards, 57 independent-sample t-tests were carried out in order to find and recognize the potential differences between the particular questionnaire items as perceived by the male and female participants. The research outcomes demonstrate that the differences between the perception of the highest-mean and lowest-mean items are not considerable between the two sexes despite some detected variances. Furthermore, the statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed in only 9 cases out of the 57 items, which means that overall, the differences are not substantial, and the male and female students generally tend to agree on the characteristics of an effective language teacher.

Characteristics of Effective English Language Teachers: Student and Teacher Perspectives at a Thai University

“…However, that item was included in the bottom 10 for students and teachers in our study, which agrees with female Slovakian students (Metruk, 2021). Moreover, students and teachers in the literature stated the importance of varied classroom activities (Al-Mahrooqi et al, 2015;Brosh, 1996;Chen, 2012;Metruk, 2021). However, it was only teachers in this study who included this item in the top 10.…”

“…Omani students stated that knowledge of current trends in English language teaching was a requirement for an effective English language teacher. However, that item was included in the bottom 10 for students and teachers in our study, which agrees with female Slovakian students (Metruk, 2021). Moreover, students and teachers in the literature stated the importance of varied classroom activities (Al-Mahrooqi et al, 2015;Brosh, 1996;Chen, 2012;Metruk, 2021).…”

“…The importance of being kind and friendly was also highlighted by pre-service and in-service teachers as an important characteristic (Çakmak & Gündüz (2018); Atmosphere as well as “fun, fair, patient, cheerful, generous, flexible, friendly, open-minded, and energetic” were also desired characteristics by other Thai students (Meksophawannagul, 2015, p. 106) as well as being helpful and understanding (Kijkosol & Fisher, 2006). A further affective skill thought desirable by teachers and students was the ability to be confident (Metruk, 2021), particularly aided by proficiency in English (Brosh, 1996). Interestingly, only the more advanced learners in one particular group of Thai university students found affective skills to be important, with the lower level learners thinking the opposite (Wichadee, 2010).…”

Examining the Professional Quality of Experienced EFL Teachers for Their Sustainable Career Trajectories in Rural Areas in China

“…In addition, the results showed that experienced EFL teachers focused on studentcentred teaching, which was pertinent to their beliefs about foreign language teaching and learning. They designed diversified teaching content and employed teaching strategies to meet students' different needs and interests [11,15,54,61]. They simultaneously considered different cultural settings [54] and assessed prior teaching and learning experience.…”

“…As an important agenda, language teacher professional quality has gained in popularity in LTE research [8][9][10], particularly along with some updated teaching methods including communicative language teaching (CLT), and more recently task-based language teaching (TBLT) and content and language integrated learning (CLIL). Some scholars have paid special attention to the quality of expert or effective EFL teachers [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Research into teacher excellence has been conducted to interpret and improve their professional experiences and beliefs [16], thus providing an effective reference for more inexperienced teachers [17], especially those working in underprivileged rural areas.…”