TEACHER S ROLES IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO LEARNERS OF

SPECIFIC NEEDS, INCL. AGE, APTITUDE, MOTIVATION, ANXIETY.

Everybody is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it

will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.' This sentence told by Albert Einstein

is very accurate when it comes to learning, teaching and assessing young learners. The

way we are taught as young kids may impact our whole life. That is why teachers of

young learners have one of the most important jobs on our planet. A real teacher can

reach the heart of the kid and allow him to truly live. In order to do that teachers must

recognise the individual differences in his/her students to impact their learning.

Lightbown & Spada (2006) describe a good language learner as (p.55): willing

and accurate guesser, willing to make mistakes, constantly looking for patterns in the

language, attending to whether his or her performance meets the standards he or she

has learned and beginning learning in childhood. Those characteristics can be

classified as: motivation, aptitude, personality, intelligence and learning style.

Considering the characteristics mentioned above the teacher's role in the

classroom is essential. First of all, a teacher should be the one who inspires his

learners. Drnyei in Hunston & Oakey (2010) states that sometimes teachers use the

term motivation' to describe successful or unsuccessful learners. Learners who are

more enthusiastic and persistent in their actions can achieve better results, while those

who are not enough motivated often are not able to gain really useful knowledge.

Drnyei even uses the famous proverb: you can lead a horse to water, but you can't

make it drink'. It means that teacher's role is to wake up the motivation among

learners. Sometimes in the classroom, there are students who are motivated by some

external factors or through instrumental motivation. A teacher by his attitude can

completely change the point of view of his learners. One of the best examples of the
 TEACHER S ROLES IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO LEARNERS OF

SPECIFIC NEEDS, INCL. AGE, APTITUDE, MOTIVATION, ANXIETY.

teacher who inspired his learners and although they were not motivated, he did not

stop trying, was John Keating from the Dead Poets Society. It is very hard to be a

teacher such as John Keating but the great teacher never gives up.

Secondly, an age of the kid influences his learning style. Teachers of young

learners are responsible for introducing the world to them, so they have the most

responsible job to wake up the curiosity for surrounding world. Also, it's not how

smart you are but how you are smart'. As we are all different, teachers should always

remember that children may be intelligent in different ways. For some kids, it is easier

to speak or write, while for the others is more comfortable to use diagrams, music or

movements. Some learners have developed better the verbal intelligence and are better

at learning languages while for the others it may be a difficulty. That is why language

teachers should never stick to the one learning method or strategy. It all depends on the

teacher how he conducts the lessons, so always while planning we should remember

about differences between individuals and that learners interact in various ways

Moreover, as young learners teachers, we should consider the issue of

language anxiety'. It is very important for students to feel comfortable in the

classroom. According to the method, suggestopedia' students learn best when they are

relaxed. The teacher tries to create the situation in which the learners are the most

relaxed. I think that this method could be very useful because almost everyone likes a

lesson where there is a nice atmosphere. I believe that then students can easily learn.

To sum up, I believe that a great teacher is the one who by considering issues

such as individual differences, personality, learning styles and types of intelligence

creates an environment where individuals can learn easily. Finally, everybody is a

genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life

believing that it is stupid.'

 TEACHER S ROLES IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO LEARNERS OF

SPECIFIC NEEDS, INCL. AGE, APTITUDE, MOTIVATION, ANXIETY.