Why Should a Teacher Be Friendly With Students?

Abstract

Learner feedback is important to adjust teaching and alter teacher characteristics appropriately. The present study examined learners’ perception regarding the qualities they liked about their teachers. One hundred and one (N=101) students following an English for academic purposes course (N=53) and an English for occupational purposes course (N=48) in a state university in Sri Lanka were selected using non-probability convenience sampling techniques. At the end of the forty-five hours of direct instruction, a Google questionnaire was sent to the students, asking them to write about the qualities they liked about their teachers. The responses received for the open-ended question were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Accordingly, ‘friendliness’ of the teacher was found to be the most dominant answer. The second-best quality that the students liked was ‘teaching methodology.’ According to the findings of the present study, the teacher-student relationship was more important than other instructional variables, including teaching methodology. The finding that students prefer to learn from friendly teachers is useful for teachers to adjust their classroom behaviour appropriately. However, it is important to identify the distinction between a friendly teacher and a friend in order to maintain professional distance and classroom discipline. Future research can be conducted to develop a framework for a learner-friendly teacher in order to avoid misunderstanding between teachers and students and maintain a conducive, learner-friendly classroom.