Qualities of an Ideal English Language Teacher: A gender-based investigation in a Saudi Context

Abstract

Identification of the attributes that are associated with an ideal English language teacher has been a major area of interest worldwide but there seems a scarcity of relevant studies in the Arab world. The present study is an attempt to fill this existing gap by identifying the qualities of an ideal English language teacher as perceived by Taif university undergraduates along gender lines. Two hundred and sixteen male and female undergraduates responded to a 32-item Likert scale questionnaire. Independent-samples t-test has been run to calculate descriptive analyses and identify any gender-based differences. It has been revealed that Saudi EFL learners have reported quite higher liking for personality and professional characteristics of ideal English language teachers. In both these categories female participants have exhibited slightly higher values. The comparative analyses have also disclosed that there do not exist major statistically significant differences in the perceptions of male and female participants of this survey. It is highly recommended that EFL faculty working in Saudi universities should try their level best to be available to help their students, be dedicated and committed, exhibit an exemplary attitudes, explain according to the level of their students, keep themselves abreast of the latest developments to ensure up-to-date knowledge of the subject, provide their students with clear instructions and accurate answers, exploit group/pair work effectively, use modern teaching aids and help their students to become independent learners. Finally, it may be said that those EFL English language teachers are liked who have the ability to motivate and inspire their students through their personality and professional qualities to exploit their optimum potential to maximize their language learning possibilities.

Key words: ideal teacher, personal quality, professional quality, gender-based differences