Teacher's Roles and the Role Shift in the English Teaching

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Abstract：The current situations of English teaching reform and prospect disclose many shortcomings of the traditional roles of teachers and traditional teaching， this paper has a exploration on the implication of teachers' roles， the rationale and necessities of the role shift， the changing direction， and how to achieve the role shift， which require english teachers to change their teaching concepts and methods to deal well with the relationship between "teaching" and "learning"， and between teachers' leading role and students' dominant position， so as to teach English perfectly and successfully.

Key words：English teaching， teacher roles， role shift， necessities， changing direction

1.Introduction

Technological development， social progress and the process of global integration put forward higher requirements for English education. There are many factors that affect the quality of English education， such as the syllabus， the content of teaching materials， the presentation system， knowledge level of teachers， the teaching equipments and so on. Among the factors， concepts are the most important， especially the concept-based view of students， the concept-based view of teachers and the concept-based view between teachers and students which turn out to be essential in a variety of concepts will affect the direction of educational development， influence the quality of education and determine the the future development of education.

It should be said that the concept of English education in China has been changing. As the saying goes “Be a teacher one day in learning as the father in life in the traditional education.”， even in the days of the Confucian classics， the positions of the king， parents and teachers are side by side which emphasizes the highly privileged status of teachers. The so-called teaching， by definition， is a combination of “teaching” and “learning”. Therefore， teachers should deal well with the relationship between “teaching” and “learning”， that is， properly handle the relationship between teachers’ leading role and students’ dominant position. In recent decades， experts advocate changing from the teacher-based learning in the traditional teaching to the teacher-led and student-activity teaching in the modern teaching. This change is enormous， but the concept of education itself is dynamic and will change constantly.

2. The necessities of teachers’ role shift in the English teaching

Roles of teachers mean teachers with the special status should meet the expectations of social behaviour in the educational system， therefore， it has a positive significance to analyze roles of teachers and make clear their diversified roles in order to fully change the traditional roles of teachers.

2.1 Linguistic analysis

The linguist S. D. Krashen proposed “The key to language acquisition is a process of internalization， and foreign language learning is affected by two types of environment， one is the natural environment in which learners contact with the language through the natural absorption， so this learning is unconscious； another is the classroom environment in which learners train to learn the language in the formal classroom， so this learning is conscious” （Krashen， 1982）. Thus， in English teaching， the changing role of teachers has created a very good situational context for students to learn English so as to achieve “the ultimate goal of language teaching is to train students’ communicative competence” （Hymes， 1967）. Teachers’ roles change well or not in the English teaching will directly affect the whole process of “input-absorption-understanding” of students’ English learning.

2.2 From shortcomings of the traditional roles of teachers and traditional teaching

In traditional English teaching， the roles of teachers demonstrate mainly in three aspects： （1） the “authority”； （2） the “arbitrator”； （3） the “messenger”. The definition of Role of teachers in Ci Hai cites that “impart knowledge to students”， which indicates the simple relationships between teachers and students are the transmission and receiving of information， and teaching and learning of knowledge （Ci Hai， 2009）. In this traditional education， teachers dominate in the mastery of knowledge， teaching skills， and ethics communication， and the roles of students are the passive recipients of knowledge， the lonely ascetics， the ruthless competitors and losers on learning. Thus， requiring teachers to change their roles is essential in the English teaching.

The role shift of teachers in the traditional education requires teachers throwing away their absolute authority， changing from the “baton” in hands to “the leading stone” so as to guide students to explore the wonderful English world， making full use of the “heuristic communicative approach” to break the traditional role of teachers and teaching methods， where teachers have to change from “one-man show” to the multi-role joint activities to allow students to participant in a high-volume English practice， so that all students have the opportunity to fully show themselves， making the environment promote their enthusiasm and making the enthusiasm stimulate their interest （Richards，1986）.

2.3 From the communication and combination of Eastern and Western cultures

The linguist Lado said， “Language is a part of culture， therefore， it is impossible to learn the language if people do not know patterns and norms of that culture” （Lado， 1957）. Language is a tool of thinking and the carrier of culture， customs and habits inherited from the history， so it is difficult to understand the target language thoroughly and accurately without a corresponding cultural background.

In the English teaching， according to the specific teaching content， teachers should practice with theory to create a good situational context for English learners to learn the language well， while make them fully understand the social life， cultural traditions and customs of foreign countries， so as to achieve “the highest goal of culture that teaching is to train students to act decently in the target language society and obtain the cultural understanding， attitudes and interpersonal skills which require in the necessary communication with its people” （Ellis， 1994）. Teachers should mainly focus on students’ culture awareness of language， or culture sensitivity to cultivate their culture communicative competence， thus teachers will not only naturally become the disseminator of Eastern and Western cultures， but also naturally change their roles.

3. The changing direction of teachers’ roles

English learning， which is a language practice course， is different from other basic subjects， so students need time to develop and improve language skills. Curriculum should be built under the guidance of teachers to help students learn knowledge， improve skills， sharpen wills， think actively， show personalities， develop minds and expand horizons. Therefore， in the teaching process teachers should be conscious to guide students to learn enthusiastically and initiatively， and return the main role to students in the classroom， and only act as “organizers”， “guides”， “participants”， “facilitators”， “collaborators”， “consultants”， “assessor” so on and so forth， to maximize the opportunities for students to participate （Nanan， 1999）. Cognitive theory holds that the learning process of English is not only a constantly integrating process with the knowledge of the source and target language， but also a process in which language skills convert from the theoretical knowledge into automatic application， so the combination and transformation can be achieved through student activities. The success of English teaching depends on teachers， and the reformation of teaching methods， teaching models， and teaching content requires teachers to update educational philosophy， and change their traditional roles.

3.1 Instructors and helpers for students in the learning process

In the traditional teaching， teachers impart knowledge to students which accounts for the majority of classroom time， so students become the passive recipients. Corder once said the effective language teaching should not be contrary to the natural process， but should adapt to the natural process； it should not hinder students， but should contribute and promote learning； it should not allow students to adapt to teachers and teaching materials， but teachers and materials should adapt to students （Corder， 1973）. Therefore， in the new teaching model， teachers should not simply transfer knowledge， but they should be instructors and helpers in the learning activities to enable learners to actively explore knowledge， give them effective assistance， and help them construct knowledge system according to their own cognitive structure.

3.2 Organizers， guides and facilitators in cooperative learning

Students are the core of learning， which does not mean that the class should be turned over entirely to students， but teachers must play roles as organizers， guides and facilitators in the teaching process. Teachers should grasp various ways of learning and resources corresponding to the learning topics， and carry out effective organization， planning and coordination in learning activities. Teachers should teach students the rules and methods of language learning， and should be good at inspiring students to develop self-learning and initiative ability to obtain knowledge. The whole teaching activities should be centered on encouraging students to think inquisitively， master knowledge flexibly， discover and solve problems effectively， and train their self-confidence positively.

3.3 Life-long learners and researchers in the teaching process

English teaching reform urgently requires teachers to improve their own quality and constantly explore new laws， which requires English teachers to be life-long learners and teaching researchers who are charged with their roles. On the one hand， teachers should establish a “life-long learning” concept. First， teachers should continue to have a further study to lay a solid foundation with a high level of English skills. Moreover， to meet the need of evolution of society， teachers must consciously update their knowledge and ability structure， and constantly learn the latest educational theories in order to ensure the adaptability of their professional abilities. The most important， teachers should master the information of modern technology， making full use of computer， internet， educational software and other modern information technologies. On the other hand， teachers should strengthen their awareness of scientific research， consider the teaching research as an integral part of teaching work， and be fully aware of the importance of teaching research to improve their quality and level of teaching. Once teachers embed themselves in the state of researchers， and examine with the eyes of researchers to conduct their own teaching practice， they will think about educational theory more consciously， and will be more sensitive and more innovative to new problems.

4. How to achieve the role shift of teachers in English teaching

The linguist Richards once brought forward that interest is the best teacher， “be willing to learn” stems from teachers’ inspiring art （Richards， 1986）. The art of teaching is not to teach skills， but to inspire， arouse and encourage. In English teaching， the changing role of teachers should be possible to stimulate students’ interest in learning English.

4.1 The change of teaching concepts

In English teaching， teachers must have the courage to change teaching concepts， and challenge “artists” in “Art Education” （Corder， 1973）. “Artists” refer to people who have the ability of high aesthetic and creative skills in the art work and have a certain achievement. As Plato said that education is the art of turning the hearts of people， and teaching is an art.

Precisely speaking， in English teaching， teachers are more like “directors” among “artists”. The role shift advocates teachers to be “directors” and students “actors”， rather than in the traditional teaching that in order to maintain the authority， teachers act as both “directors” and “actors”， with the result that they cannot do both wisely， so they are miserable with duplication of efforts. The linguist Hymes said that without students’ initiative in learning， education may be transformed into an activity like training animals （Hymes， 1967）. Therefore， the role shift of teachers first asks teachers to change their teaching concepts.

4.2 The change of teaching methods

Teachers must change the “cramming” method in traditional teaching as much as possible， using a variety of modern “artistic” approaches to stimulate the enthusiasm of students to achieve multiple effects in order to achieve the role shift of teachers.

In English teaching， teachers can design English show to stimulate students’ interest. It is proved that imitation and performance can not only foster improvisational communicative ability of students and accumulate their communicative experience in daily life， but also mobilize their enthusiasm of students and exert their wisdom， so that students can learn knowledge in the harmonious atmosphere to enhance communicative skills. Apart from performance， based on specific course content， teachers can take advantage of English stories to set scenes to inspire students； make use of games to assist instruction which can provide students with a realistic environment in which students can learn English easily in a relaxed atmosphere， also can improve students’ listening， speaking， reading， writing and other comprehensive skills； entities， pictures， charts and other methods are the most intuitive ways， students can see and feel， which can make the teaching process more vivid； English songs and movies can make students familiarize with the history of other countries or regions， the traditional cultural background and customs， thoughts and feelings of the people， so they are more direct and more appropriate than other supplementary educational materials .

“There must be methods to teach， but not fixed” in specific English teaching， that is to say， teaching should be in accordance with specific circumstances to achieve the role shift of teachers， but also focus on cultivating students’ learning methods and habits to realize the final goal of teaching （Bachman， 1996）.

5. Conclusion

British scholar Stern holds that the progress of teachers reflects on the experience and reflection （Stern， 1983）. The teaching mode with teachers’ high authority and students’ passive role is no longer suitable for training talents. It requires teachers to put down “distinguished” identity to face the challenges from students and their own shortcomings， then it is possible to achieve this role shift. Stern also said， “If you want teaching to bring fun to teachers， and every class is far from becoming a tedious obligation， then you should lead every teacher to go into the happy path of research （changing role of teachers）” （Stern， 1983）.

In short， only when teachers correctly understand the dominant position of students， and fully mobilize students’ initiative to actively participate in learning activities， students will truly become the core of learning； meanwhile， students’ active and conscious participation， to a large extent， reflects the ability of teachers， the level of guidance， and the successful role shift of teachers. Therefore， the dominant position of students and the leading role of teachers are mutually reinforced. If teachers can handle the relationships with students well， they will handle the relationship between “teaching” and “learning” well， and they will handle the English teaching perfectly and successfully.

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