Three Expectations For My Grade 9 Academic English Teacher

Starting grade nine was quite frightening for me. After staring at the screen for six or more hours, I found it hard to study and concentrate, so I created a list of three expectations for my Grade 9 Academic English teacher. 

Firstly, an important factor I look for in my teacher is their communication skills; having communication skills is a key to good teaching. A teacher should always pay attention to their students, making sure that their class can follow along. An effective teacher continuously checks if they can help out a student in need, they also should be understanding. An example of this is if a student doesn’t understand something that was already explained and asks for clarification, the teacher should be ready to help and shouldn’t get mad and blame the student. I’ve encountered plenty of students asking for clarification, but the teacher ends up accusing the student of not paying attention and being disrespectful. After that, the student doesn’t volunteer in classroom discussions. However, if the student repeated the question multiple times, I understand the frustration of repeating the instructions/answer numerous times.  

Next expectation I have is the teacher encouraging students, like building confidence. It helps when teachers help students slowly get out of their comfort zone, not forcing them, but instead letting them get comfortable with the environment and slowly pulling them out of their comfort zone. 

Another example is when a student answers a question wrong, instead of putting them down, I hope you help them explain why they are incorrect. The best way to gain confidence is to have positive comments and feedback; pointing out what they did great makes them proud, and then you could explain what they could have done better. My last expectation is having a teacher let the class explore different learning styles. This is quite an effective way to help keep their mind growing and explore different types of learning that might suit them the best. Having students engage in different learning styles also helps keep their focus in class. An example is when the teacher only has students read and write down notes. For learners who prefer hands-on activities, it is unfair to them since they might not concentrate, meaning they won’t do as well and won’t keep up with their peers. I was glad to hear that we will be including some drama in our English unit because I am more of a visual learner/hands-on learner. 

Once again, I understand that English has more writing which I do not mind. However, I request more activities because they attract the students’ attention, making learning more fun. 

To sum it up, these are the three expectations I have as a student for my teacher. I hope you can live up to at least one of the expectations, whether it be having proper communication skills, encouraging students, or letting students engage in different learning styles. Currently, I enjoy your classes and look forward to future lessons.