Characteristics of effective EFL teachers from the perspective of Turkish EFL learners

Abstract

EFL teachers’ characteristics may change due to several factors including personality of teachers and the methods that they follow. This paper aimed to investigate the perceptions of young learners about the characteristics of effective English language teachers. In this respect, 100 students were delivered Turkish version of an inventory that developed by Yu-Hsin (1999). It consisted of three different parts regarding personal, professional, and pedagogical qualities. The results indicated that an effective teacher is expected to be friendly who has accurate pronunciation and in addition to having effective classroom management skills. Moreover, the participants indicated that they expect EFL teachers to be enthusiastic about technological developments and visual materials may help them feel relaxed during lectures. Since the overall results highlight the importance of both pedagogical and personal qualities on becoming an effective teacher, those who have an ambition of becoming an effective teacher should be aware of them.