An ESL Teacher

An ESL Teacher

This is a case study about an ESL teacher's teaching style in his reading class for adult learners. Through classroom observations and interviews with the teacher and one focal student, two consistent patterns of teaching were found. The role of conducting helped in building the teacher's lesson structure and the role of caring helped in shaping social relationships in the classroom. These roles co-existed and contradicted against each other. The teacher conducted the lessons in a swift and effective manner. The typical teacher-controlled classroom structure in which the teacher gave lectures and directions most of the time facilitated the efficiency of teaching. The teacher also believed that learning through social support and cooperation is important, which appeared to contradict the teacher-controlled structure of the class. By utilizing these two roles the teacher constructed his own style that fits the uniqueness of the classroom. This study will contribute to finding theories for practice and developing awareness of teaching styles.