Language Teacher Quality Characteristics: What the Literature Shows

M. Al-Muslim11* ; Mohd Fadzli Ismail2

1,2Arabic Language Program, Faculty of Islamic Studies, The National University of Malaysia, Malaysia.

Abstract

Information on quality teacher character is important and plays a role in the construction of training modules and teacher preparation. However, because few exploratory studies exist on the characteristics of quality teachers in the field of language education, this study aims to identify relevant past studies from various virtual sources through a hybrid literature review method, and to provide a comprehensive review in this field. The study sets out a research question and follows five systematic processes based on it. The results show a long list of language teacher characteristics that include (1) relationships, (2) knowledge and credibility, and (3) delivery. The analysis proves that the language of this list is still raw because it includes the universal characteristics of the teacher and a small number of characteristics that are influenced by external factors. A guide to identifying the true characteristics of a language teacher is essential. Further study should consider the aspects of identifying and differentiating the special characteristics of language teachers and universal characteristics.

Keywords:Teacher quality, Teacher characteristics, Language education, Characters of language teachers, Literature review, Arabic teacher language. 

Contribution of this paper to the literature:There is little exposure and knowledge of the quality characteristics of second language or foreign language teachers. This review article collects systematically and comprehensively the results of previous studies and critically evaluates the relevant aspects. The results from the literature provide a guideline for further study of the characteristics of language teachers.

1. Introduction

The exploratory approach to the study of the quality characteristics of language teachers has its own significance. According to Borg (2006), knowledge of different language teacher characteristics among other subject teachers is valuable. For example, teacher education institutions often prepare prospective teachers based on a specific context. Individual language teacher character information must help identify specific aspects that need to be considered in the development of more focused training and preparation modules (Brosh, 1996). It also increases the awareness of prospective teachers about the local perception of their profession, thus providing guidance on actions that need to be taken or that are not necessary. Apart from the benefits to teacher development, a subject-based assessment system can also be developed through language characteristics quality characteristics information. Subject-based assessment is believed to further enhance the validity of the teacher assessment system (Gallagher, 2004).

In addition, Jun (2012) has linked the need to know the character of high-quality language teachers to popular theories in education, namely the influence of teachers on student performance. His premise is that, when the characteristics of the teacher may affect students’ perception of the subject, exploration of the quality characteristics of the language teacher is very useful in understanding certain characteristics that influence students' learning experience of the language subject. For Park & Lee (2006), knowledge of the quality characteristics of language teachers from the perspective of teacher or student perception can help the process of reflection of teaching and learning of both parties. Through this approach, teachers have guidance when building or choosing specific pedagogical techniques that will increase teaching and learning opportunities. Regarding students, they will better understand the behaviors of their teachers and thus improve their beliefs about language teaching and learning (Al-Muslim et al., 2020; Ariffin & Al-Muslim, 2015).

The number of quality character studies on second or foreign language teachers is very small compared to those on the quality characteristics of teachers in general (Brosh, 1996; Mollica & Nuessel, 1997; Park & Lee, 2006) . According to Park & Lee (2006), this discrepancy has arisen because the study of quality and teacher education in the field of language education lags behind that in other fields of education. Furthermore, the study of language education still regards that it is intuitive, derived from experience, rather than scientific.

Although the importance and advantages of knowing the characteristics of a second or foreign language teacher have been expressed and acknowledged by the public, there is still a lack of studies focusing on this aspect. This literature review aims to collect and evaluate the findings of previous studies comprehensively and critically. The findings of previous studies are summarized as a guide to future scholars and scientific action research.

2. Research Methodology

This literature review combines the process of modern systematic and traditional reviews. The most important feature that underpins this literature hybrid is the determination of research questions, a process describing a protocol on generalizing the vast number of articles by answering the research questions. This section describes the outline of the review process as illustrated in Figure 1. These stages proceed sequentially to retrieve potential primary articles. The first step involves a process of formulating research questions. Next, the search process is conducted which includes sources of selection and search keywords. This process aims to identify the existing works and potentially relevant studies in this area. The next step is inclusion–exclusion criteria in assenting relevant primary articles. Then, the information is extracted and organized based on quality assessment conditions.

Search and selection of articles is based on research questions, as is data extraction and discussion. Therefore, the methodology of this study is based on the sequence of the following stages, shown in Figure 1:

Figure 1. Hybrid literature review process.

Source: Based on the authors' preferred methodology.

2.1. Research Questions

The determination of research questions is very important in regard to a literature review. To ensure implementation of the goal of the study – to produce a comprehensive quality language teacher characteristics literature – this study sets three research questions based on the language teacher characteristics domain; Characteristics domains are divided into three main categories, as used in several studies including Faranda & Clarke Iii (2004) and adapted from Barnes & Lock (2010).

The first language teacher characteristics category is the relationship between teacher and student. This category is important in the assessment of the quality of language teachers, especially from the perspective of students (Al-Muslim et al., 2020). Students tend to see and evaluate a teacher's characteristics in terms of relationships with them. The second category is the characteristics of the language teacher in terms of knowledge and credibility. Knowledge and credibility characteristics are also important aspects, and several previous studies have suggested this category in the study of second or foreign language teachers (Barnes & Lock, 2010; Faranda & Clarke Iii, 2004; Witcher, Onwuegbuzie, & Minor, 2001) . The third category of language teacher characteristics is the delivery of teaching. Based on a study by Fenstermacher & Richardson (2005), the qualities of a teacher should include good and effective teaching.

Based on the category for the characteristics of the language teacher, three study questions were constructed as the direction of the study, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Research questions.

No. Research question
RQ1 What is the characteristics of a quality second or foreign language teacher in the context of the teacher–student relationship?
RQ2 What is the characteristics of a quality second or foreign language teacher in terms of knowledge and credibility?
RQ3 What are the quality characteristics for second or foreign language teachers in good teaching delivery?

Source: Based on the authors' preferred methodology.

3. Findings: List of Quality Characteristics of Language Teachers

There are several related studies; some use a qualitative or quantitative approach, or both (mixed–method). There are studies that focus only on exploration either from the point of view of students’ or teachers' perceptions while others consider the perceptions of students and teachers simultaneously, often using the form of exploratory analysis and comparison between the findings of the study. These studies list various features that are termed as items for a category and that are often evaluated exploratively before categorization based on family or thematic equations. There are also studies that adapt the list of quality characteristics of language teachers from previous studies as instruments. The findings of the study are the result of screening and feedback by respondents, and are then analyzed based on frequency ranking and comparison between groups of respondents.

Searching the literature on the characteristics of a second or foreign language teacher, there is a long list of characteristics covering various categories; the submitted list is extracted and reorganized. Reorganization is based on three categories: (1) relationships, (2) knowledge and credibility, and (3) delivery.

3.1. RQ1: What is the Characteristics of a Quality Second or Foreign Language Teacher in the Context of the Teacher–Student Relationship?

The relationship between teachers and students plays an important role in the success of language education. This relationship is subject to the characteristics possessed by the language teacher. Based on previous studies, the opinions of students who often emphasize and praise the characteristics of language teachers were compared to those of language teachers themselves. Most of the characteristics in the category list are shown in Table 2, and are mostly derived from the students’ perspective.

Table 2. List of language teacher characteristics items in the context of teacher–student relationships.

Category Language teacher Characteristics
Relationship
(Communication, empathy, personality, and openness)      

Source: Based on the authors’ findings.

3.2. RQ2: What is the Characteristics of a Quality Second or Foreign Language Teacher in Terms of Knowledge and Credibility?

Knowledge and credibility are the abstract elements found in teachers. Thus, teacher respondents have a broader perspective than students in regard to teacher quality assessment; this is because they are teachers who are aware of their importance in the profession. Thus, most of the characteristics items for language teachers in the knowledge and credibility categories shown in Table 3 are contributed by their own perceptions. Even so, with student respondents as individuals involved in teaching sessions, they still feel the importance of teachers' knowledge and credibility from their own point of view and experience.

Table 3. List of language teacher characteristics items in terms of knowledge and credibility.

Category Language teacher Characteristics
Knowledge and credibility    
  • Able to teach language with a wider scope (culture, learning skills, and communication) (Borg, 2006)

Source: Based on the authors’ findings.

3.3. RQ3: What are the Quality Characteristics for Second or Foreign Language Teachers in Regard to Good Teaching Delivery?

According to Darling-Hammond (2009), the problem of measuring teacher quality today is not always associated with teaching ability. Authorities rely heavily on principal reports, course records, or results of general skills and knowledge tests on the subject. All these indicators are very weak in illustrating effectiveness and performance in the classroom: according to the author, despite the importance of teachers' knowledge, skills, and others, these qualities are totally dependent on how the teacher handles the classroom (Darling-Hammond, 2012). Therefore, in the study of language teacher characteristics, there are many items obtained from both teacher and student responses. This category is the largest and includes a variety of items and characteristics; the list of characteristics in the delivery context is shown in Table 4.

4. Discussion

In addition to the efforts of scholars to identify the quality characteristics of teachers in general across the subject boundaries, there are studies that focus on the quality characteristics of teachers based on the subject, including those on the characteristics and character traits of teachers in second and foreign language teaching. However, the number of studies focusing on the quality characteristics of second or foreign language teachers is very small compared to those focusing on the quality characteristics of teachers in general (Brosh, 1996; Mollica & Nuessel, 1997; Park & Lee, 2006) . According to Park & Lee (2006), this difference is due to the fact that studies of the quality and teacher education in the field of language education are still lagging behind compared to those in the field of general education of teachers. Furthermore, the study of language education is still focused on intuitive experience rather than on scientific needs.

The list of quality characteristics of a foreign or second language teacher apparently contains some recurring items that are often found in the list of universal characteristics for teachers. This means that the findings of previous studies, although focused on the characteristics of a language teacher, have included some universal teacher characteristics and at the same time also contain the special characteristics of a language teacher. This conclusion is in line with a literature review by Lee (2010), who stated that the majority of studies reviewed do not differentiate the unique characteristics of language teachers, compared to the general characteristics of teachers across other subjects. However, that study analyzed what is meant by good or effective language teachers. According to Borg (2006), such a list of mixtures is not alien because language teachers are ultimately teachers as well, and he also describes the teaching profession in general.

There are several studies on the characteristics qualities of language teachers that focus on the uniqueness of teacher characteristics in language teaching and identify the universal characteristics of the teaching profession. However, there are still some differences between the findings of these studies in identifying the special characteristics of language teachers. Borg (2006) was among the first researchers to analyze the special characteristics of language teacher quality empirically. He built a language teacher characteristics screening system through five levels of screening groups. Each group of respondents screened a list of language teacher characteristics based on their respective expertise. The questions asked of the respondents related to what makes a language teacher different, and his findings are shown in Table 5.

Table 4. List of language teacher characteristics items in regard to good teaching delivery.

Category Language teacher Characteristics

Delivery
(Personal style, communication, pedagogy, and content)

 

 

 

 

Delivery
(Personal style, communication, pedagogy, and content)
  • Creates simple and activities with which students are comfortable (Jun, 2012)
  • Teaches things that are relevant to the subject (Jun, 2012)
  • Willing to teach students individually (Jun, 2012)
  • Practices a learner-centered approach (Hien, 2020)
  • Provides common expressions before the end of class (Khaerati, 2016)

Table 5. Summary of differences in the special characteristics of language teachers.

Theme Difference
The nature of language
  • Language is more dynamic and relevant to practice in real life than in other subjects
Teaching content
  • Unique and complex content; teaching language beyond grammar, vocabulary, four language skills, culture, communication skills, and learning
Methodology
  • Methodology in language teaching is more diverse and aims to create a context for communication, as well as to maximize student engagement
Teacher–student relations
  • There is much communication between teachers and students as well as adequate personal space for students to carry out assignments based on themes in language teaching
Non-native speaker issues
  • Teachers and students deal in non-native languages; teachers are also compared to native speakers of the subject language
Teacher character
  • Characteristics such as creative, flexible, and enthusiastic are important for language teachers
Training
  • Various training programs and certifications for language teaching are offered, including short-term training
Status
  • Language subjects and teachers are often considered inferior to those in other subjects
Error
  • Output errors by language learners are more compromised than by those studying other subjects
Student status
  • Adults study languages more than other subjects
Commercial
  • Language teaching is driven by commercial factors more than by other subjects

Source: Borg (2006).

Based on the findings of Borg (2006), a further study was conducted by Lee (2010). The focus of his study was to identify the unique characteristics of English subject teachers as foreign languages among Japanese students which distinguishes them from teachers in other subjects. His findings show that the unique characteristics of a language teacher is associated with four dimensions: the nature of language subjects, teaching content, teaching approaches, and teacher personalities.

Several items achieve high consensus among researchers as a unique feature of language teachers: 'involve teaching about the culture of the country using English' (m = 4.61), 'involve building communication skills among students' (m = 4.57), 'difficult because teachers and students work together through non-native spoken language' (m = 4.55), 'involve more teaching of listening, speaking, reading, and writing' (m = 4.47), 'difficult because mastering English takes a long time' (m = 3.98), 'more difficult than teaching other subjects' (m = 3.87), 'difficult because the abilities of non-native teachers will be compared to native speakers' (m = 3.72), and 'aims to correct every mistake made by students' (m = 3.18).

The findings of Lee (2010) – as shown in Table 6 – are more concise and focused on the special characteristics of language teachers compared to those of Borg (2006). Borg’s (2006) table of special characteristics difference formulation is broader and covers external matters not directly related to the definition of language teacher characteristics. However, it can be concluded that Lee's (2010) overall findings are a repetition and confirmation of some of Borg’s (2006) earlier findings.

Table 6. Summary of differences in language teacher special characteristics.

Theme Description
The nature of the subject
  • In language teaching, the content and medium of instruction are the same; it involves teachers and students dealing with languages they have not yet mastered
Teaching content
  • Language teachers teach across four language and grammar skills; they also build student communication, cultural knowledge, and other skills
Teaching approach
  • Language teachers maximize student engagement through encouragement to speak more in class and be tolerant of students’ mistakes
Teacher personality
  • Emphasizing a positive and enthusiastic attitude is important for language teachers

Source: Lee (2010).

Observations on the diversity of language teachers' characteristics previously listed in various studies indicate that there are aspects of language teacher quality characteristics directly related to the context and location of the study conducted. The most obvious example is the study of the characteristics of a language teacher by Brosh (1996) in Israel. Among the findings of his study is the negative response shown by both teacher and student respondents to the item (characteristics) of the positive attitude of language teachers towards native speakers of Arabic. This is certainly influenced by local sentiments in that troubled country. Considering the differences in the location of the study of language teacher characteristics also coincides with the assumption by Borg (2006):

according to him, the definition of a language teacher is not a monolithic phenomenon that can be applied to the concept of language teachers globally. In fact, language teachers are the product of diverse experiences and are built through various internal and external forms of a mixed atmosphere. In this regard, Lee (2010) explained that most studies of language teacher characteristics are focused on almost identical locations. According to him, previous studies tend to reflect the perception of the Western education world on the nature of language teachers. Therefore, there is an urgent need for studies to identify teacher characteristics in locations other than those of previous studies.

5. Conclusion

Through the hybrid literature review conducted, a long list of quality language teacher characteristicss was successfully obtained. This list is extracted from several selected articles screened through designated research questions. Analysis of the literature results shows a mixture of the universal characteristics of the individual teacher and the characteristics of the language teacher. There are some studies that try to identify the characteristics of language teachers, but these are scarce. The characteristics of a language teacher is not only difficult to separate from the universal characteristics of the teacher but is also influenced by other external factors such as location and local culture. This study suggests that more empirical support studies be conducted and consider the factors mentioned in data acquisition and analysis.

Although various studies are being conducted on an ongoing basis, there is no clear statement on the extent to which the characteristics of the teacher has an impact on student achievement. This is because some researchers found a significant correlation for some variables while others found the opposite. According to Lee (2010), there is agreement on some characteristics of teacher characteristics in general that are suitable for various subjects. However, the characteristics of a special teacher for a particular discipline has no consensus. Therefore, Goe (2007) argues that more research in this area needs to be done so that more evidence can be compiled.

Citation| M. Al-Muslim; Mohd Fadzli Ismail (2020). Language Teacher Quality Characteristics: What the Literature Shows. Journal of Education and e-Learning Research, 7(4): 430-436.
History: Received: 12 August 2020 / Revised: 19 October 2020 / Accepted: 6 November 2020/ Published:23 November 2020
Acknowledgement: Both authors contributed to the conception and design of the study.
Funding: This study is financed by The National University of Malaysia Research Grants GGPP-2019-009 and PP-2019-006.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.
Transparency: The authors confirm that the manuscript is an honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study was reported; that no vital features of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained.
Ethical: This study follows all ethical practices during writing. 
Publisher: Asian Online Journal Publishing Group

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