The matrix of ELT (English Language Teaching): students’ perceptions about qualities of an effective teacher

Abstract

Research about the characteristics of effective teachers in general is abundantly available in the literature. However, there has been a dearth of linguistic studies conducted to examine the perception of students about the unique qualities of an effective English teacher in a foreign language context. This study examined the qualities of an effective English teacher as perceived by 72 BA in English and 42 MA in Teaching English as Foreign Language (TEFL) students at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia using an interview and a questionnaire developed from CELTAS Syllabus and Assessment Guideline. The questionnaire data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, whereas the interview data were thematically analyzed. While the results revealed both congruent perceptions and differing concerns, the majority of the participants valued the linguistic quality of English teacher the most; they also held a belief that an effective English language teacher should have a multifariously instilled quality with the balanced combinations of the three categories. The data also showed a statistically significant difference between MA and BA students regarding their perceptions about the best qualities of an effective English teacher. Drawn from the results of this study, implications for teacher education policy and future research were presented.

Keywords:

• Effective
• teacher qualities
• socio-affective
• content
• pedagogical
• knowledge

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Arif H Kabir
• Institute of Education and Research
• University of Dhaka
• Bangladesh

SUBJECTS:

• Language & Linguistics
• Language Teaching & Learning
• Literature

Introduction

Nowadays, it has become an established fact that there is an increasing demand for excellence in education among researchers, educators and the general public. On the other hand, teaching effectiveness and quality of teachers are believed to be the two most significant factors affecting students’ development (Yin et al., 2016). Recent research has also showed that teachers’ intellectual resources significantly affect students’ learning experiences in determining gains in student achievement, (Ishola & Udofia, 2017; Odumosu et al., 2016). In a similar vein, the link between student achievement and strong, collaborative relationships between teachers and students has also been documented (Gehlbach et al., 2012; Collie et al., 2016).

The necessity of examining the unique characteristics of an effective educator to build common understanding among various stakeholders has been reiterated in the literature (Bourgonje & Tromp, 2011). The study of students’ perceptions about teaching is considered to be one of the most vital ones because they are the key stakeholders in the teaching and learning process (Hande et al., 2014). Research on teacher effectiveness has indicated that specific qualities of teachers were associated with student achievement (Muijs et al., 2014). Effectiveness is an elusive concept when we consider the complex task of teaching (Stronge, 2018).

While previous research has identified resilient qualities of effective EFL teachers (Chumworatayee, 2021), there is still a need to examine the types of qualities effective English teachers possess to help their students learn best. Teaching effectiveness could not be culled from a single construct as it is rather understood from multiple dimensions including the myriad ways of teacher support, social fabric and emotion (Ghaffari et al., 2022). This is because the job of teaching is a multifarious and intricate process (Cohen & Goldhaber, 2016), which demands qualified skills of teachers who are one of the most decisive constituents of the process (Hismanoglu, 2019). Conceived this way, effective teaching has been largely asserted to be a complex and difficult phrase to define. Accordingly, an operative definition of effective teaching for this study refers to the effectiveness of the teacher in mastering content knowledge, understanding the range of contextualized teaching and learning and applying the pedagogical skills in the classroom.

Having classified the characteristics of an effective English language teacher as subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and socio-affective skills, Park and Lee (2006) maintained that compared to those who do not possess these qualities, English language teachers who exhibit such qualities of knowledge will be more effective. The socio-affective refers to teachers’ ability to accurately handle meaningful communication, to enthusiastically motivate their students to interact with their teacher as well as their classmates, and create a relaxed atmosphere to promote effective language learning process (Aydın et al., 2009). The ability of teachers to translate what they know about the language (content knowledge) into meaningful ways for student learning is pedagogical knowledge. These include facilitating learning by giving clear instructions, using effective assessment and constructive feedback to students. The third feature or subject-matter knowledge is the ability of teachers to demonstrate professional competence in their specific field. In a similar vein, considering the attributes of good ethical consideration for effective classroom communication, researchers have added personality characteristics as an additional ELT teacher quality (Dincer et al., 2013).

Research has examined the perceptions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students about the best quality of an effective English teacher and revealed that English proficiency or having adequate level of linguistic knowledge was their first priority (Arıkan, 2010; Hismanoglu, 2019) as it is directly related to academic success (Cheatham et al., 2014; Sheng et al., 2011). Content knowledge was also found to have a positive effect on decision-making related to changing pedagogical strategies for creating better learning opportunities (Jones & Moreland, 2015). Other studies were also conducted to investigate the most common characteristics of effective EFL teachers as perceived by their students. The results revealed that students valued teachers who developed a feeling of empathy toward them (Chang, 2016), and participants placed personality skills such as the ability to establish good rapport as the most salient attributes associated with good language teachers (Chumworatayee, 2021; Mohammaditabar et al., 2020).

The key objectives of this study emanate from the concept of CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) developed by Cambridge University. This guideline was preferred because the British Council in Ethiopia offers English language trainings that aim to develop practical English Language teaching techniques and online teaching courses and resources based on the CELTA guideline. The guideline clearly illustrates that candidates who complete the course successfully can begin working in a variety of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching contexts around the world. It explains that an effective English language teacher should have characteristics or qualities in the following areas, and these are Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context, Language analysis and awareness and Developing teaching skills and professionalism.

The first proposed concept designated as the ‘good’ quality of an effective English teacher in the guideline is teachers’ ability to use a contextualized approach, which includes the ability to understand factors that may affect language learning such as learner backgrounds, needs, preferences, etc. and to apply this knowledge to develop and maintain motivation, identify and respond to expectations. This is the socio-affective ability of teachers to accurately handle meaningful communication to enthusiastically motivate their students to interact with their teacher as well as their classmates and create a relaxed atmosphere to promote effective language learning process (Park & Lee, 2006). CELTA’s description of language analysis and awareness is meant to be teachers’ content knowledge that helps them demonstrate professional competence in their specific field or about what they teach their students (Park & Lee, 2006).

Developing teaching skills and professionalism refers to classroom management qualities of a teacher in general. This is technically termed as pedagogical knowledge, which is directly related to a deeper understanding and a broader knowledge domain for teaching subjects (Liu et al., 2010). The basic essence of this classification is to understand the type of quality an English teacher should possess regarding the ability to arrange the physical features of the classroom to suit the learners and the type of lesson, set up and manage whole-class work, pair and group work, and individual work as appropriate and establish, maintain a good rapport with learners at all times and choose appropriate moments, and appropriate strategies for correcting learners’ language. Overall, although previous research has come up with different lists of qualities of an effective language teacher (Chumworatayee, 2021), this research defines English teacher quality as the individual student’s perceptual satisfaction with the English teacher’s linguistic, pedagogical and personality skills that help the student learn the English language best.

Theoretical framework

This study rests on the tenets of the socially mediated learning theory as it underlines the essence of social interaction and mediation. The premise of Vygotysky (1978) theory explains that learners should be aided with task-based contexts that motivate them to mobilize all their resources to promote communicative efficiency and learn through problem solving skill. The central theme of this theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a pivotal role in the development of cognition. It emphasizes the social factors in the process of learning rather than the contribution of an individualistic process. Regarding this, the theory supports the notion that teaching as the center of mediating how students think and effective teaching that includes teacher scaffolding as mediation to develop students’ regulation ability in the learning processes.

The essence of this theory is much linked to effective teaching as human learning is a social process that is related with human intelligence in society or culture where Vygotysky postulates the potential for cognitive development of a learner is limited to the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), and this is an important area where the student is cognitively prepared to examine things carefully with the help of the more experienced other until he/she fully utilizes social interaction independently. In an EFL teaching context, the more experienced other- the English teacher can give the student with scaffolding to enhance learner curiosity until the learner develops complex skills as language development is realized only when that assistance is adopted and internalized, which enables individuals to function independently and apply and extend what they have acquired to broader contexts (Fahim & Haghani, 2012).

On top of this, the theory underscores the importance of integrated approach of teaching (e.g. vocabulary should be taught not as a discrete element but it must be taught holistically to help the learner construct meaning using various reading comprehension tasks that help the teacher elucidate various language units together until their students start to learn independently. In fact, this skill can be developed under the guidance of the teacher who has effective linguistic, social and pedagogical skills. Therefore, the sociocultural theory of learning fits the purpose of this research as it sheds light on the significance of an effective English teacher who is equipped with various qualities of an effective English teacher highlighted in the literature that help boost the intellectual knowledge and skills of learners through scaffolding and mediation within a social instructional network in the classroom.

The local research evidence also documented the students’ weak English performances due to the dearth of effective English language teachers (Berhane & Mishra, 2018; Collins & Gillies, 2010; USAID., 2010). Surprisingly, their English teachers have also been not good at the English language, which was attributable for the failure or success of EFL/ESL students’ learning (Jha, 2014). Given the students’ persistent English language achievement gaps, the researcher hypothesizes that the attribution of teacher quality for the success or failure of the students is unquestionable. Hence, conceptualizing what ‘constitutes’ an effective English teacher can help EFL teachers be better prepared to facilitate and adjust their teaching.

The other major concern of this study was to examine if there was a difference between undergraduate and postgraduate students regarding their perception about the qualities of an effective English teacher at an EFL University context. Saiyood (2016) examined the perceptions of university English major and non-major students and revealed that both groups perceived the ability to explain clearly, knowledge of the subject matter, ability to entertain students, ability to motivate students to learn, ability to teach, fairness, and a sense of humor to be important qualities of effective teacher. In another research, students significantly differed in their perceptions in many areas, namely teaching methods and styles, understanding of students’ problems, grading and marking, language proficiency, personality, classroom behavior and discipline, and the ability to communicate and interact with learners (Phothongsunan, 2016). In a more recent study, the results of the research by Obeidat (2020) indicated the linguistic knowledge of an English instructor as the most effective quality.

The qualities of good teachers have received considerable attention from the language and education research community (Mohammaditabar et al., 2020). Although recent local studies such as Endris et al. (2022) investigated students’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding teaching effectiveness, the study was aimed at understanding the effectiveness of the Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT) compared to the previous (integrated curriculum) program in the actual practices in secondary schools. Thus, little or no linguistic research has compared the perceptions of university students at graduate and postgraduate levels. Particularly, this study focused on investigating various levels of university students’ perception about the quality of an effective EFL teacher because of the potential of effective teacher characteristics in improving students’ learning attitudes, motivation, and learning outcomes (Ghaffari et al., 2022). The results of this study may draw better descriptions and characteristics of good English teacher involving both undergraduate and graduate English language students as what makes an English teacher be effective in an EFL context where exposure to the language seems to be limited. In light of all these, the present study seeks to examine the perceptual understanding of EFL students about the best qualities of an effective English language teacher in the Ethiopian EFL context. To attain the desired objectives, the following research questions were formulated.

1. What are the qualities of an effective EFL teacher as perceived by EFL university students?

2. Is there any difference between undergraduate and postgraduate groups of students on their perception towards the qualities of an Effective EFL teacher?

Methods

Research design

The present study was a descriptive survey research design that was initiated by the research questions formulated to attain the desired objectives of the study. This study collected a quantitative data from a questionnaire, which was followed by collecting a qualitative data from a semi-structured interview for a critical analysis (Haron et al., 2021).

Participants

The population in this study were 114 EFL university students majoring English language and literature at an EFL University. Only students who enrolled in the department of English language and literature were purposefully selected because it is recognized that a homogenous sample of participants who share common characteristics is useful for studying a bounded system in depth (Creswell, 2012). To illustrate, the participants were two groups of students, namely 72 English majoring undergraduate students including 40 in Applied English and 32 in English Teacher Education and 42 Master of Arts in TEFL postgraduate students.

Sample selection

The participants were selected based on purposeful sampling because they were considered knowledgeable participants who have rich information about the topic under study (Lodico et al., 2010). The selection was based on the professional judgment of the researcher who has been an English language teacher and teacher educator for more than twenty years. It is important to note that unlike students from other disciplines, the students from the English language and literature were believed to be the right informants to explain the unique qualities of an effective English language teacher. In a similar vein, since the number of students was readily and easily available for the researcher, available sampling technique was employed. While all the participants filled in and returned the questionnaire, ten students were purposefully selected for the interview. The sample size for the semi-structured interviews was determined based on the data saturation point in qualitative research, where it was reached by the eighth informant.

Instruments

The purpose of the study was to examine students’ views on what they think an effective English teacher should possess to teach English language in an EFL setting. Two data gathering instruments, namely a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were used.

A questionnaire

A questionnaire with open-ended survey questions was used to collect data as it allows participants to voice their experiences without constraints from the researcher (Yin, 2015). The questionnaire was developed from the concept of Cambridge English Teaching fifth edition (n.d) and reviewed extensively by two experts who had doctoral degrees in TEFL for its content and face validity. This resulted in the revisions of some questionnaire items that were deleted, changed or modified, which the participants showed no sign of misunderstanding in the main study. For example, tin the first version of the questionnaire, the third question item that asked qualities related to the socio-affective Skills read as: ‘Understands different learning preferences and needs’, but in the revisions, it was modified as: ‘Demonstrate an awareness of the different learning preferences and needs’.

The guideline consists of several topics, but items of the questionnaire were developed based on the three topics because of the relevance of the topics to the concept of effective teacher in an EFL context. The guide explains that an effective English language teacher should have characteristics or qualities in the following areas: Learners and teachers, and the teaching and learning context, language analysis and awareness, and developing teaching skills and professionalism. Overall, these characteristics are equivalent in concept with the classification of Park and Lee (2006) that classified the three major characteristics of effective English language teacher as English proficiency, pedagogical knowledge, and socio-affective skills. In a similar vein, recent studies have used some variations in the terms used by Park and Lee (2006) without making any conceptual difference.

The survey questionnaire used for this study consisted of several questions asking the each category of an effective English language teacher to examine the reliability of participant responses by which peer examination was also used as a means to increase credibility (Creswell, 2012). It was also tested for reliability (had a coefficient of alpha = .79 (n = 114). A survey questionnaire was first administered and pilot tested by 68 third year English language and literature students who were not part of the original study two weeks before the actual study at another similar public university. The pilot study helped the researcher to revise items that were not clear and make the necessary changes on the administration of survey questionnaire items before they were launched in the main study. The survey consisted of an 18-item questionnaire that asks students to rate the degree of importance of each item as: the least important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3) important (4) or very important (5).

A semi-structured interview

The semi-structured interview was conducted to provide additional insight to the study. Because the present research requires the researcher to interpret meanings, develop concepts, and discover insights, interviews were used to collect data (Creswell, 2012). It was particularly used to elicit further information about qualities of an effective English language teacher and hence to understand their attitude towards the perceived qualities. The question was first checked by three TEFL educators before it was piloted with five students for further improvement. The structured interview consisted of two open-ended questions that would reveal the qualities that an ideal English language teacher should have with reference to the students’ views.

The students’ were asked to respond to the following three questions based on their observations and experience of the students in learning English as a foreign language: ‘What are the most significant qualities of an effective English language teacher? Why?” “And, if you were asked to rate an English teacher, which of the following teacher qualities (content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge or socio-affective skills), do you think, contribute the most for your learning among their knowledge or skills in, and why?” The interview held with the five students lasted for about 30 minutes. Then, the interview questions were revised and used for the interview held with ten students for the main study. The ten students were selected using purposive sampling and on the basis of their willingness to share their ideas with the researcher.

Research procedure

Data was collected from 114 EFL students at an EFL University using an 18-items questionnaire that asks participants to indicate how important they think an English teacher’s quality in each item is in relation to effective teachers. Prior to the start of administering the main study, the researcher discussed with the participants about the purpose of the study and provided a brief instruction on how to respond the questions in the questionnaire. Then, the questionnaire was administered to the main participants. After the participants filled in all the items, the researcher collected the questionnaire that lasted 25 minutes. A similar procedure that included an orientation for the five students was conducted in the pilot study and for ten students who were interviewed in the main study. The procedure for the qualitative data included recording the interviews and transcribing the data. Then, the transcriptions were coded and sorted into themes related to the research questions formulated for this study.

Data analysis

The data obtained from the survey questionnaire was collected and inserted into an SPSS version 23. While the mean scores of the items were used to analyze the participants’ responses for research questions number 1, an inferential statistics or a t-test was used to analyze research question number 3 which was aimed at determining if the education level of the students could affect the perception of both undergraduate and graduate students toward an effective ELT teacher. The semi-structured interview was aimed at initiating informants to further share with us what they believed an effective ELT teacher should possess regarding the three major characteristics defining an effective ELT teacher: Use of contextualized approach (Socio-affective ability), linguistic ability (Content knowledge) and Teaching skills and professionalism (pedagogical knowledge). Accordingly, more meanings which could not be obtained from the questionnaire data were explored from the qualitative data (Creswell, 2012).

While the researchers repeatedly read the collected transcript data to generate a general understanding of the contents and details, the most recurring category of an effective EFL teacher pronounced by the interviewees was underlined, assigned and coded as an acceptable theme (Creswell, 2012). In a nutshell, based on the established framework, the transcripts were coded, and similar codes were grouped together eliminating redundancies (Lodico et al., 2010). Then, it was stored in a computer to keep data organized for analysis (Merriam, 2009). Finally, the data obtained from the interview transcription was analyzed thematically. When analyzing interview results, pseudo names were used to ensure participant anonymity.

Results

The results were organized according to the order in which the two research questions were structured: (1) the types ELT teacher qualities the students emphasized and (2) BA in English and MA in TEFL students’ perceptions about an effective English teacher (Table 1).

Table 1. Effective ELT teacher qualities as perceived by EFL students.

No.	Major Quality Categories of an ELT Teacher	Mean	S.D
1.	Use of contextualized approach (Socio-affective ability)	3.23	.690
2.	Linguistic (Content) knowledge	3.95	.701
3.	Teaching skills and professionalism (Pedagogical knowledge)	3.48	.669
	Total	3.55	.434

* S.D: Standard Deviation.

The types of ELT teacher qualities the students emphasized

The above table depicts the students’ overall perceptual understanding on the importance of the three major categories. The first research question sought to examine the qualities of effective English language teachers as perceived by university students. Descriptive statistics: mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) were used to answer this research question. As the table above shows, the students’ responses towards the overall qualities of an English teacher in general was highly positive (M = 3.55, SD = .434).

In general, the quantitative data obtained from the administration of the questionnaire indicate that the students’ most perceived importance regarding the three features of effective English teacher in descending order were linguistic/content knowledge, followed by developing professionalism/pedagogical and social affective/contextualized approach knowledge. Compared to the three quality categories of an effective English teacher used in this study, the students preferred Linguistic (Content) knowledge qualities of effective English teacher (M = 3.95, SD = .701), followed by pedagogical knowledge (M = 3.48, SD = .699), but relatively a small number (M = 3.23, SD = .690) of the students rated contextualized approach category as the least.

The linguistic knowledge was frequently mentioned by the students included the use of strategies, approaches and techniques to develop learners’ language knowledge, use a range of reference material to analyze language for teaching purposes and the ability to identify grammar rules relating to words, sentences, paragraphs and texts. The following statements are examples related to the preferences of students for the good qualities of ideal English teacher.

S4: She/he should have adequate linguistic knowledge in teaching the language

S5: ‘He/she should employ a variety of active learning and teaching techniques.

S6: ‘He/she should be knowledgeable in teaching the accuracy and fluency of the language.

Table 2 shows the students’ perceptual understanding on the importance of the six items that describe effective English teacher qualities related to the socio-affective skills. Out of the six items, item 1 (understanding learner backgrounds, motivations, etc… received the highest mean (M = 3.88), which was followed by item 6 (develop and maintain motivation, identify and respond to expectations) (M = 3.82), whereas the students gave the least value for the fourth item (demonstrate awareness of roles teachers may adopt at different stages of teaching) (M = 2.34).

Table 2. Students’ perception on an ELT teacher’s socio-affective skills.

No.	Items for the Socio-affective Skills of an ELT Teacher	Mean	S.D
1.	understand the range of learner backgrounds, motivations and expectations	3.88	1.032
2.	identify ways in which personal factors may affect language learning	3.35	1.330
3.	demonstrate an awareness of the different learning preferences and needs	3.06	1.278
4.	demonstrate awareness of roles teachers may adopt at different stages of teaching	2.34	1.143
5.	know different learning contexts and make practical use of this awareness in teaching	2.92	1.298
6.	develop and maintain motivation, identify and respond to expectations	3.82	1.018
	Total	3.23	.690

* The least important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3) important (4) or very important (5).

Table 3 showed the students’ high preferences for the linguistic capabilities of an ELT teacher. The overall perception students showed to this major category was highly positive with mean of (3.95) and standard deviation (.701). While item 6 (use strategies, approaches and techniques) with a mean of (4.32) came first in this category, the second and third highest values were given to item 5 (use a range of reference material) and to items 2 (identify grammar rules) with mean values of (4.25) and (4.07) respectively.

Table 3. Students’ perception on an ELT teacher’s linguistic quality.

No.	Items for the Linguistic (Content) knowledge of an ELT Teacher	Mean	S.D
1.	identify key ELT terminology to talk about language and apply this to teaching	3.84	1.069
2.	identify grammar rules relating to words, sentences, paragraphs and texts	4.07	.938
3.	identify the practical significance of similarities and differences between languages	3.65	1.205
4.	make practical use of this awareness in planning and teaching	3.55	1.122
5.	use a range of reference material to analyze language for teaching purposes	4.25	.850
6.	use strategies, approaches and techniques to develop learners’ language knowledge	4.32	.847
	Total	3.95	.701

*The least important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3) important (4) or very important (5).

Table 4 shows that the students wanted their English teacher to have better pedagogical skills. With (M = 3.48, SD = .669), they highly valued the importance of ELT Teacher’s quality with regard to teaching skills next to the linguistic knowledge. Inferring from the data above, we can safely conclude that with (M = 4.08, SD = 1.006), the students’ most important ELT teacher quality in this category was item 4 (establish and maintain a good rapport with learners), which was followed by item 2 (foster a constructive learning atmosphere and ensure safety regulations are taken into account) (M = 3.96, SD = 1.113). Furthermore, it was also evident that with the exception of item number 6 that asks students to respond their views to what extent to ELT quality related to the ability to teach learners at different levels with limited resources (M = 2.82, SD = 1.298), the students emphasized the importance of all the remaining items.

Table 4. Students’ perception on an ELT teacher’s pedagogical skills.

No.	Items for the Pedagogical knowledge of an ELT Teacher	Mean	S.D
1.	arrange physical features of the classroom to suit the learners and the lesson	2.99	1.327
2.	foster a constructive learning atmosphere and ensure safety regulations	3.96	1.113
3.	set up and manage whole-class, pair, group and individual work as appropriate	3.71	1.188
4.	establish and maintain a good rapport with learners at all times	4.08	1.006
5.	choose appropriate moments and strategies for correcting learners’ language	3.30	1.350
6.	understand the implications of teaching at different levels with limited resources	2.82	1.298
	Total	3.48	.669

* the least important (1), slightly important (2), moderately important (3) important (4) or very important (5).

BA in English and MA in TEFL Students’ Perceptions about an Effective English Teacher

Table 5 shows a statistically significant difference between BA in English majoring and MA in TEFL students in their perceptions about the quality of an effective ELT teacher. As Table 5 above shows a generally statistically significant difference was observed at α < (0.05) level between undergraduate English majoring students and those of the students who enrolled MA in TEFL. In other words, the results of the independent samples t-test showed discrepancy between the perceptions of MA in TEFL and BA English majoring students regarding which effective ELT teacher features they felt the most important. This implies that the students’ level of education (B.A and M.A) affected their perceptions with regard to the qualities of an effective ELT teacher. Overall, statistically significant differences were observed between BA and MA students’ perceptions regarding the two major quality categories at p < 0.00 level where with the highest mean of 3.46 and 4.24, the results could be ascribed to the socio-affective skills and linguistic qualities of an effective English teacher in favor of BA students.

Table 5. Independent t-test results for students’ perception on qualities of an ELT teacher.

No.	Quality Categories	Group	Mean	Sta. Dev.	t	p value
1.	Socio-affective Skills	BA	3.46	.682
		MA	2.84	5.09	5.505	.000
2.	Linguistic Knowledge	BA	4.24	.587
		MA	3.45	.597	6.855	.000
3.	Pedagogical Knowledge	BA	3.52	.682
		MA	3.40	.649	.892	.374
	Total	BA	3.74	.390
		MA	3.23	.298	7.271	.000

* M.D: Mean Difference St. ED: Standard Error Difference.

The semi-structured interview results

The semi-structured interview results related to the research objectives of the study are presented based on the themes emerged from the data as follows. The three themes consistently emerged from the interview results were the ELT teacher’s linguistic quality, the pedagogical skills and the socio-affective skills. Based on this pattern, the data is presented below.

Theme 1: The linguistic knowledge of an ELT teacher

When the interviewees were asked to share their view regarding what they believed the best quality of an effective ELT teacher could be, the majority of the respondents from both groups expressed convergent views regarding what they perceived an effective ELT teacher should have. For instance, a respondent named Alemu was one of the respondents among BA in English language and literature students who participated in the interview. Alemu acknowledged that he wanted his English teacher to have linguistic knowledge.

The good command of the English language in the classroom is the most valuable asset for us to learn English language. When our English teacher is proficient in English, we can easily be exposed to various linguistic inputs including new vocabularies, correct pronunciation and grammar. Accordingly, we can improve our vocabulary knowledge, speaking and listening skills.

Similarly, Rahel who was studying TEFL also expressed her preference for the linguistic knowledge of an effective ELT teacher as follows.

We are adult EFL students, and hence, we need someone to be a model for the overall aspects of the English language and good academic English when we need to have better interaction with the academics in speaking and writing. As you know, the English language teacher is one of the few resources available in our context where exposure to English language is limited.

Theme 2: The pedagogical skills of an ELT Teacher

The second theme obtained from the interview data was that the students emphasized that they prioritized the pedagogical skills of an ELT teacher. All the participants admitted that the importance of professional knowledge of an ELT teacher is totally uncompromising for effective English language learning. This concern was reported by a participant named Eshetu among BA in English and literature students as follows.

I believe that students’ English language skills can be improved when the teacher is well-trained in teaching and assisting their students. I also believe that students with an English teacher who has the skill to manage classroom assignments and supervise students’ overall activities are more advantageous in learning the English language than those whose teacher is not pedagogically well-prepared.

The importance of having pedagogical skills for an effective ELT teacher was tacitly implied by one of the MA students when a participant expressed his opinion as presented below.

Learning a language requires more daily practices that result in improving students’ language skills. I think that learning English requires freedom to maximize students’ participation. Therefore, an English teacher must have a good skill in establishing and maintaining a good rapport with learners in the classroom as it is the most valuable asset to foster a constructive learning atmosphere, which in turn is a key factor for producing students who are proficient in the English language.

The significance of the pedagogical knowledge of ELT teachers was mirrored in the interview response of another student. The student suggested that an ELT teacher should be capable of ‘Establishing and maintaining a good classroom atmosphere where learners can freely interact while learning the English language’. This was labeled as the ‘pedagogical knowledge’ of an ELT teacher because the participant stated ‘way of teaching and strategy of teaching’ several times, which implies that the participant wanted his ELT teacher to have pedagogical skills.

Theme 3: The socio-affective skills of an ELT teacher

Although not adequate, voices that indicated the socio-affective skills of an ELT teacher were also detected. A participant mentioned ‘having good relationship and approaches me’ several times. From the specific characteristics commented by the participant, we believe that she implying an ELT teacher without a good interpersonal skill cannot be as effective as the one who has a good rapport with her/his students. A student in the Bachelor of Education in English stated that his feeling as follows.

In a social media era today, there are multiple opportunities to learn the language. Thus, an effective ELT teacher should have the ability or the willingness to guide students where they can get authentic English on the internet and how they can use that knowledge outside the classroom.

Another participant also voiced that ‘treating all students equally’ and ‘someone who motivates’ as the good qualities of an effective ELT teacher. We labeled it as the specific quality of ‘understanding the range of learner backgrounds, motivations and expectations’ as it resonated much better with the definition of an ELT teacher’s socio-affective skills. An MA in TEFL student consistently commented that how an ELT teacher needs to ‘know different learning contexts and make practical use of this awareness in teaching’ defined as one of the specific characteristics listed in this skill.

An effective ELT teacher should understand the language and learning needs of the learner. This is because we know that English is used for various purposes. Thus, he/she needs to make sure if what he/she teaches in the classroom best satisfies his students. An effective English teacher should also consider the different English language knowledge levels of his/her students and act accordingly.

Discussion

This study sought to examine how EFL university students conceptualize the best quality of effective English teacher and determine whether the students’ education level affect the perception of students toward the qualities of an ELT teacher. The result of this study that asserted the students’ expectation for a multifariously balanced combination of the three categories an English language teacher quality was consistent with the results of previous research (Barnes & Lock, 2013; Chan, 2018; Chumworatayee, 2021; Dinçera et al., 2013; Saiyood, 2016). Apart from the broad conceptualization of ELT teacher quality, the students also held a very positive view regarding the best qualities of an effective English language teacher. Although the students preferred all qualities comprehensively; they also viewed ‘the linguistic or content knowledge’ as the most favorable quality of an English teacher.

Reminding from the questionnaire data, it was noted that the majority of the students expected their English teacher to have a linguistic capability, which was rated as the most important ELT quality. The English language proficiency as the students’ first priority reported in this study was in tandem with previous studies that examined EFL students’ perceptions about ELT teachers’ best qualities and revealed that English language proficiency was most valued by the students (Arıkan, 2010; Hismanoglu, 2019; Obeidat, 2020). The students’ general favorable preference for linguistic knowledge was not surprising in an EFL setting where exposure for the English language is limited. In the realm of practice, it is only their English language teacher that can be a source for learning English, which they require to understand academic texts. Similarly, the students’ emphasized on the importance of the sub-categories of the linguistic knowledge. This result provided corroborative evidence for previous research assertion in that English proficiency is directly related to academic success (Cheatham et al., 2014; Sheng et al., 2011).

Regarding using contextualized approach (socio-affective skills), the students perceived that the ability to establish and maintain a good rapport with learners at all times, identify various factors learner needs and preferences and set up and manage whole-class work, pair and group work, and individual work as appropriate were the most valuable assets for effective ELT teachers. This result is reminiscent of the findings of previous research that asserted students’ preference for using contextualized strategies as good quality teaching, which was associated with their needs and motivation in the teaching and learning process (Aydın et al., 2009; Chang, 2016; Chumworatayee, 2021; Mohammaditabar et al., 2020; Phothongsunan, 2016).

Turning to the third category, the students rated the pedagogical knowledge of an English language teacher as the second most valued quality of effective ELT teacher. To illustrate, the students expressed their views in that the ability to establish and maintain a good rapport with learners and foster constructive learning atmosphere and ensure safety regulations are the most common features of pedagogical knowledge most expected from an effective ELT teacher. The interview results of this study also showed that both groups of students generally valued pedagogical skills as the second most important quality of an effective ELT teacher. Given the students’ perception about pedagogical knowledge was mirrored as the most essential quality of an English language teacher, the results of this study may provide corroborative evidence for the literature that emphasizes the significance of pedagogical knowledge as the first priority (Arıkan, 2010; Phothongsunan, 2016; Shishavan & Sadeghi, 2009; Werbinska, 2009).

The education level of the students in this study showed a statistically significant difference regarding their perceptions about the best qualities of effective English teacher. This implies that undergraduate English majoring and graduate TEFL students significantly differed in their perceptions regarding what they think the qualities of an ELT teacher should be. This result was particularly in tandem with the results of a study that concluded a statistically significant difference between the perceptions of M.A and B.A students regarding the characteristics of an effective teacher (Zamani & Ahangari, 2016). The statistically different preferences emerged from the students’ views could further inform ELT teachers the types of teacher qualities most and least valued by their students so that they can adjust their instructional practices based on their students’ needs. Although the inferential statistics results of the questionnaire generally revealed the students’ divergent views, the results obtained from the interview results showed that this category was equally prioritized by both groups.

The overall statistically significant differences between BA and MA students’ perceptions regarding the socio-affective skills and linguistic knowledge were in favor of BA students. The role of socio-affective skills is generally de-prioritized by MA in TEFL students who seemed to construe socio-affective skills in different ways than BA in English. This realization may be probably because MA students have spent more time in the university where they might probably have developed more familiarity with the socio-affective skills. They deprioritized the socio-affective skills probably because they were more familiarized with the various learning context than BA students.

The other considerable discrepancy between the preferences of the two groups was linguistic knowledge, which significantly interacted with academic level. This is particularly evident for MA in English students as they didn’t emphasize as such on this ELT teacher category. This observation may reinforce the notion that because MA students have taken more English courses that could provide them have more linguistic self-confidence, which is a factor that can affect students’ expectation of linguistic knowledge of an English teacher. Linguistic self-confidence is defined as the belief in one’s ‘capacity to use the second language in an adaptive and efficient manner’ (Cited in Hoomanfard et al., 2018).

Conclusion

This study has examined the perceptions of both MA in TEFL and BA in English majoring students about the best qualities of an ELT teacher. The results of this study that showed the students’ high expectations on the three categories of ELT qualities is not surprising given the local studies documented in this study might be because of the poor English proficiency of the students who need multiple approaches to overcome their difficulties in English. This result may also provide a collaborative support to the socially- mediated theory of Vygotysky who postulated that a teacher or more experienced peer can support the learner with development of complex skills such as discourse, modeling, collaborative learning and independent problem solving techniques to foster the intellectual knowledge and skills of learners through scaffolding and mediation within a social instructional network in the classroom.

The students’ preference for the linguistic qualities may emanate from the fact that they have had linguistic related problems in their study. The students who participated in the interview also expressed that they would appreciate the linguistic knowledge or ability of their English teacher most. In a similar vein, the English proficiency as the most important quality of an effective English language teacher was consistently reported in the previous research (Arıkan, 2010; Park & Lee, 2006; Shishavan & Sadeghi, 2009; Werbinska, 2009). The results of this study concerning socio-affective skills as the least important ELT teacher quality is surprising given the student’ limited exposure to English language, and hence learning English as a foreign language context is more complex that requires the ELT teachers’ skill to handle the language teaching process. ELT teachers equipped with this skill are able to develop and maintain motivation, identify and respond to expectations as it provides them with the opportunity to deal with what their students feel and experience in their learning process (Aydın et al., 2009).

Teacher education and policy implications

This research examined EFL university students’ perceptions about the best qualities of an effective English teacher and showed the students’ high expectations on the necessity of a balanced combination of the three categories utilized in this study. Therefore, there are several implications for higher institutions in Ethiopia where a lot of university students have continued to struggle with the demands of English for academic purposes. First, the results may be useful to curriculum designers to include the overall aspects of teacher qualities in teacher education curriculum. Second, the linguistic or content knowledge was found to be the most vital asset for an effective English teacher, which implies the need for ELT teachers to enhance their English language proficiency. The study also reinforces the need to cautiously consider the dynamics of ELT by highlighting new dimensions of EFL students’ perceptions about what they felt the qualities of an effective English teacher, so it may serve as a tool to further similar studies in teaching English as a foreign language context.

This study may inform new approaches for curriculum designers to establish relevant and standardized English teaching models that enhance an ELT teacher quality. This is because the more curriculum designers understand the best qualities of an ELT teacher the more they will be able to develop effective English language teacher training courses. It can also help teacher educators to conceptualize and evaluate their training practices with reference to the theoretical methods and characteristics of an effective English language teacher enshrined in the literature. This has a good implication for ELT teacher to conceptualize the validity of education experience in teaching EFL contexts where teachers must be aware of their behavior and actions in class that could affect students’ learning and achievement (Armatthat & Jaturapitakkul, 2020).

Limitations of the study

This small-scale study with a small sample size of participants dealt with only the students’ perception about what they felt are the best qualities of an effective English teacher. Hence, it was limited to understanding the students’ views only using a questionnaire and interview with a relatively small number of students. Thus, due to the small sample size and variables included in the present research, the findings of this study may not be generalized to other universities in Ethiopia, and hence have implications for future research to examine the extent to which the three qualities of an effective English teacher may have similar resonance with their teachers by employing large sample size and other data gathering tools, such as focus group discussions, etc.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yenus Nurie Bogale

Yenus Nurie Bogale is an associate professor at Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia. His research interests include Instructional Scaffolding, Language Education, and Research Supervision.

Bantalem Derseh Wale

Bantalem Derseh Wale is an assistant professor at Injibara University, Ethiopia. His research interests include Educational Technology, Inquiry-Based Learning, Critical Thinking, Artificial Intelligence, and Language and Linguistics.