You'll like this, not a lot..........

What makes students like their teacher? Should a teacher try to make students like him or her? If so, how hard should a teacher try? Does it matter? Should it matter?

These are questions I have pondered over my three years of teaching. I've discussed the issue at length with my contemporaries and now that some peers see me as an experienced teacher, I occasionally get asked the questions myself.


Let’s face it, it's a natural human trait to want people to like us. Whilst most people are confident enough to stick to some principles and avoid trying to please everybody, most of us - given the choice - would rather have the next person in the ATM queue like us rather than not. Even those who profess differently can have something to hide. I often find those who try hardest to project an "I don't care what anyone says about me" image are the most sensitive.

So with that in mind, let's tackle some of these questions, in no particular order:

"Should a teacher try to make students like him or her?"

The best straight answer I can muster is "Yes- but for the right reasons and only to a certain degree". Let me clarify: it's a popular and easy trap for many teachers - particularly newcomers - to think along the logic trail of "I taught this class, we played games and they liked me. That makes me a good teacher". Of course, that's wrong.

If any non teachers are reading this thinking "That's stupid. How can anyone think they are good at teaching just because students liked them?" , it's important to understand about the nature of this profession..

Teaching is based on human interaction, not a task that is always easy to measure. There's no scoreboard, no knowledge thermometer to let you know exactly how much your students learned today. Some things like vocabulary are easy to check, but other things such as verb tenses , language application and context are harder to measure (so your students learned "Excuse me, would you mind if I borrowed your pen?” , but do they know if this style is use for their best friend or their boss? It's not so easy to remember when it's not language).

Education is reliant on effective communication. Teachers instinctively look for natural responses to gauge just how well they've done. Most students will be too shy or polite to give a blatant assessment of their tutor, so most teachers will look for more subtle reactions such as pupil’s body language and expression as an indicator.

Now here's the problem: many students don't want to learn. This is particularly true of teenagers and children, with some exceptions. Adults usually have some interest (the obvious exception being office workers who are so happy their boss decided to send them to learn English on Fridays after work) but even adult students aren't always aware of what is genuine teaching, and what is wasting time.

Children and teenagers don't usually want to learn the present perfect simple tense, no sir, they want to play!!! Didn't you when you were that age? And they can be pretty persuasive about it. It's very easy for a self conscious teacher to give in to a group of youngsters more and more frequently after they give the oh so polite "Thank you, you are a good teacher!" after each round of hangman with superhero film titles.

Adults can also be a risk. Many adults have set beliefs about language learning . That may involve the teacher simply talking non stop, or teaching only grammar. This is fine if the teacher explains to the student how this may not be the best method for communication, but adults also have ways of persuasion. Again, a teacher can easily take a subconscious drift into the world of making the student happy rather than educated.

So in summary, it's easy for a teacher to try and be liked by not doing their job very well. Yes a tutor should try to be liked, but not because he or she plays hangman and crosswords every five minutes, or because he has an ever so novel way of teaching indirect and direct objects twenty times over. In my humble view, a teacher should try to be liked for professional reasons.......

What makes students like a teacher?

Putting aside the follies mentioned above, it's time to focus on some skills that do count. They can be harder to develop and maintain than the aforementioned methods, but they are far more rewarding.

1) Trust. A student needs to know that a teacher really does understand what he or she is doing. Without that confidence, a student constantly questions and seeks reassurance over what the teacher explained, and that affects learning. Another mistake of teachers is to believe that they must answer every question instantly. In my experience, it's far better to be honest and say "That's a good question, I don't honestly know the answer but I will check and let you know", this way student knows that when you answer them, it's a good answer.

Of course, a good and knowledgeable teacher shouldn’t be caught out very often. This may sound elementary and indeed it is, but it never ceases to stun me how many incompetent and insecure teachers in South East Asia will verbally batter a student for asking a question the teacher didn’t know. Inexperienced foreign teachers tend to fall into the mental trap of making up an answer or simply waffling.

2) Rapport. It's good to have fun and joke with the students. It builds trust and makes lessons interesting and unpredictable. With adults, this humor is normally pulled in or study at the right time, with youngsters, they sometimes need to be reminded that it's time to study.

Another potential pitfall lies here. Many a time I’ve seen a teacher become so overjoyed at making students laugh, the lesson becomes a comedy show rather than education for the future. Of course, a really good teacher can teach and have fun with students in balance.


3) Understanding. In my experience, students respond well to a teacher who shows that he or she really identifies with what they need. Some students want to pass an exam, some just want to develop a good skill, and others are looking for an English speaking romance. It's important that a teacher not only understands but shows that he or she understands and is looking to help.

As I type this, I think back to my early teaching days and how many times I stuck rigidly to a workbook with frustrated students who wanted to learn conversation for an international school. IF I had listened to their needs, I would have been better.

4) That little extra. Most students can see through their teacher quickly. If the teacher couldn’t care less and comes unprepared, students will sense that and respond in kind. A little preparation, a few notes and bit of structure will please students. Adults in particular will notice these beneficial traits.


That's by no means my exhaustive list, just a few ideas. Of course it needs to be borne in mind that different personalities will attract to different styles of teacher behaviour. Some students repect a diciplinarian, others prefer a 'warm' teacher and so on.

I truly believe that most students will pick up on the qualities above and respect the teacher for them. That respect runs deeper than just being liked.

Does it matter? Should it matter?

Yes and yes. Sometimes for the wrong reasons with the former question.


The most important rule here is that students will learn better with a teacher they like (again, withstanding the aforementioned misguided, oh so fun teacher). Most students will like teachers who are fun, but prepared and knowledgeable and understanding. It makes a big difference. It also matters sometimes for the wrong reasons. Many Thai schools - mostly government ones - will use students like of a teacher as a gauge of that teacher's ability. Sadly of course, this can lead to misunderstandings of what is a good teacher.


So there we have it. My shy opinion of a "liked" teacher and all the misunderstandings that come with it. I can think of several teachers who try so hard to be "liked" and of one teacher who wore the self appointed "most popular" title like a crown. It's a dangerous slope borne from lack of confidence. I recall another teacher - a thirty two year old - who was so keen to be "the cool" teacher he would actually become desperately violent and combative during friendly teachers’ basketball matches, he thought the twelve year old female students would be impressed.

Being liked is not equal to being a worthwhile teacher and it can be dangerous to think so. However, being liked for having the qualities of what most people consider as a truly able teacher can be endearing and beneficial to the tutor and her students. I'd be lying if I said I didn’t' feel good every time someone told me I was "the best" teacher, so I'm as guilty as everyone else. (Of course, all compliments have to be taken with a hefty pinch of salt, too)

My main thoughts here lie with the teenage class I taught for three years. I made numerous mistakes in my classroom management with this bunch. In the early days I wanted so hard for them to like me that I was woefully soft on their pubescent behavior. By the time I woke up, I had a far more difficult job to reign them in and it involved a lot of verbal reprimands and various punishments. Throughout that tumultuous time I had to explain repeatedly that I loved them and what I was doing was because I wanted them to learn, and learn well. On my last day of teaching the class, one girl made a speech where she told me "You are not the best teacher in the world, but you are the best for us and we love you". I can't deny, it was a moving moment.

So what if the ball is on the other foot? How does a teacher deal with a hostile class or a particularly virile student? I'll write about that next time.

Well it was always going to happen sooner or later.........

My afternoon class has been difficult. It was designed for teenagers but was actually a mixture of adults, teenagers, and a thirteen year old that could debatably be classed as a kid. The lessons are three hours long which is a drag for the keenest of pupils, and the assigned course materials are not the best either.

Yes I know, a workman always blames his tools. I must be honest, I've been doing little to no preparation for these classes, but I honestly believe I've done Ok in the circumstances. I've taught classes like this before and they've been a disaster. Now I'm more experienced, I've done Ok (so I thought) and some of the students like me.

But these two certainly didn't.

Bow and Pye were their names. Both of them had attended one lesson with me before. Yesterday Bow and Pye were both absent. I had decided to play things light, I even got some of the kindergarten kids from next door in to sing some songs for us and lighten the mood, they did so with gusto.

Today I decided to get down to some work. The subject was food - a sure hit with Thai people - and the question was "What's your favourite food?" It went something like this:

The students walk in. They're a serious bunch it must be said. Not my kind of students but you don't pick and choose.

"Hello Bow!" I say with a smile as she walks in. She's not bad looking so my smile is genuine.

"Uh" she says and sorts of gives me a half nod.

"Hi Pye!" I say as the young teenager walks in. "Hello" she says quickly and hides away in the corner.

The other students enter, chat a little, then settle down.

I ask Bow: "What 's your favourite food, Bow?"

She looks at me as if I was speaking Swahili.

"What's your favourite food?" I repeat, slowly.

"Ally wa?" She says to the other students. That's actually a little rude. The other students start to translate but I stop them.

"What....... food ............do...... you........ like ..........to.......... eat?" I say as I mime the act of eating.

"Eh?" she says.

This is an elementary class, not a starter class. Bow must have sat some kind of placement test that did not include "How are you?" or "What do you eat?" Still, it's my job to help her.

I let the students translate for Bow and she responds by burying herself in her dictionary and refusing to look up for anyone.

I turn to Pye. "What do you like to eat Pye?" I ask. I 've been demorilised into simplifying the question by now.

"Huh" she looks at me.

Oh no. Here we go again.

"What......food.....do....you....like?" I'm smiling, but I could murder some bastard right now.

"Ally wa?"

Oh no......I'm stuck in some kind of educational Bermuda Triangle!!

I give up and let her friends explain in Thai, which kind of defeats the purpose of learning English but sometimes you have to decide to delay the entire class for one student or sacrifice one spot to save the class. That's the reality of teaching.

I assigned the class a grammar task in the workbook and nipped to the toilet. As I returned, Bow and Pye were walking down the corridor. They mumbled something in Thai and passed on. I went into the classroom thinking they had just gone to the toilet in a pair, as girls do.

"They've gone" said one of the other students. One who actually liked me.

And....in my best Kevin Spacy voice...."Like that.......they were gone". They had paid for the course, and after twenty minutes decided they didn't want any part of it.

I've said before, a good teacher looks at his or herself when problems arise in the classroom. I can sympathise with the girls, especially the younger one. She most likely expected a teenagers course with fun and games. Now I can do those courses and do them rather well, but with adults in the room, they like to actually, you know, learn stuff. Classes of greatly mixed ages are a challenge, you have to strike a balance and they'll always be at least one who feels the balance isn't right for them.

I must admit, the rather unsociable and slightly ignorant attitude of the older girl didn't help. Some people think teaching is a one way thing, the teacher can wave his Harry Potter magic wand and turn the student into a party animal that speaks fluent English. That's not the case. Teaching is a two way commitment and like anything in life that takes time to learn, you have to be willing to push yourself and make an effort. If you don't want to learn, you won't get far.

So I hope Bow and Pye will give it another chance and perhaps I can give them the type of lesson they want. I honestly feel in this situation I didn't do much wrong, but there's always room for improvement in a teacher, and next time I'll try my best to spot the "I'm about to walk out" student before he or she does a runner.