The role of teachers in language lessons

As a language school, in our language courses we aim for the student's ability to communicate in the target language. This means that the student can use the target language in the situations where they need to and with the quality they need. The key is that they can use the language in spoken (or written) form and that they can understand the other party's communication.

The core of the Coach&Practise method is therefore, quite inevitably, maximising student engagement in the lesson. Acquiring a foreign language from theoretical lectures or translating individual sentences are practices long since outdated - as they should be. The student should be at the centre of the lesson and take an active part in all its stages.

So what is the role of the teacher? Teachers play a significant role in language lessons. It's their responsibility to prepare lessons in such a way that they are relevant, interesting and stimulating for the student. They care about developing their students' skills at an appropriate pace and in the desired direction. Last but not least, they plan the lessons so that every stage requires maximum work on the part of the student.

The teacher's role in the lesson itself is then rather marginal. They guide the students in the right direction, guide them if they go in the wrong direction, and correct mistakes.

Having considered all the points mentioned above, we can say that it is irrelevant whether the course is taught by a Czech teacher, a foreign teacher or a native speaker. We make sure that our teachers have good language skills - so from this perspective, all our teachers are equal. However, each type of teacher has of course (and inevitably) its own advantages over the other two.

• Native speakers are the preferred option because of their authenticity, not only in language but also in culture.

• Foreign teachers can provide insight into the perspective of our students, but at the same time, they often do not speak Czech and, therefore, naturally force students to remain in the target language.

• Czech teachers have gone through exactly the same path that our students are now following. So they know their position in detail, they know the language their students are coming from, they know why their students make mistakes they make and where they come from.

The great privilege of Czech teachers is that they share the first language with their students - it's therefore easier for them to create a safe learning environment, especially for lower level students. They don't have to (and shouldn't) use Czech in the lessons, but the very fact that it might just be possible if needed has a positive effect on their students.

To sum up: where the teacher comes from is rather irrelevant - the only decisive aspects are their linguistic and methodological knowledge. At James Cook Languages, we take the utmost care with both of them.