 The benefits of having good rapport with students It is important to establish rapport with students within a classroom for a variety of reasons It builds trust between students and teacher, insights confidence in students, and allows for a fun learning environment All aspects of teaching require a teacher to have some sort of rapport with students Students will retain more information and do better in classes when the teacher is engaged and shows love for their job as well as an interest in their students Most students will not learn well from a teacher who comes to class, does not greet the students let alone knows their names and just reads through the lesson without showing any interest whatsoever It is far more beneficial for a teacher to have a good rapport with his or her students as it will make not only learning more enjoyable for the students, but teaching will become more enjoyable for the teacher as well This post was written by our ITTT graduate Kelly F, no rapport Classroom disruptions Trust between the teacher and the student is crucial as there is a lot of time that is spent in a classroom Students need to be able to feel that they trust what the teacher is teaching them and trust that the teacher wants them to succeed A teacher that has a bad attitude or little to no rapport will not be an effective vessel of learning for students as the students will most likely not trust or respect the teacher This makes learning difficult for the rest of the class Students need to be able to trust that the teacher has his or her students best interest in mind when teaching lessons If a teacher chooses favorites in class, does not follow through with disciplinary actions or makes promises that he or she never keeps, students may view these actions as untrustworthy and will give less respect to the teacher This could lead to more classroom disruptions and thus less learning Good rapport equals confidence students Another important reason to have a good rapport with students is that especially in an ESL classroom where confidence may be lacking, students need to feel safe and secure A teacher that shows no interest in his or her students will only show students that he or she does not care enough about their students and is just trying to get through the lessons Many students will already walk into an ESL classroom feeling less confident as this is a completely new realm of learning and vulnerability for them, this may be more true for older children and adults rather than young learners A teacher must have a good rapport with his or her students in order to build confidence within them to attempt to speak a new language even if they need help with it at first They need to feel like it is okay for them to make mistakes and to look to their teacher for guidance A teacher who pokes fun at student pronunciation or refuses to assist a student when asked may show students that he or she does not care or respect the class This could lead students to reciprocate the disrespect and can lead to classroom disruptions It could also lead to students refusing to attempt to try because of fear of failure due to the lack of confidence created in the classroom Good rapport Fun classroom environment Lastly, it is important to have a good rapport with students as it creates a fun classroom environment When students feel like their teacher is happy about coming to class it, in turn, makes them feel happy about coming to class Generally, the teacher's attitude will translate onto the students Teachers who give off the impression that they hate their job, their students, or teaching in general, will only make their students uncomfortable and tense in the classroom Although learning can take place in rigid and tense situations, it is in more flexible and fun environments that learning really takes shape and student goals are met Good rapport is essential Teachers need not be best friends with each student in his or her classroom, but building relationships and rapport with students is a large part of teaching in general And the greater rapport built with students, the greater their learning If a teacher's greatest goals are to help their students achieve their learning potential, then showing concern and building confidence and trust in the classroom is a small feat to accomplish We as teachers need to have our students excited to learn and to come to class and we need to build a good rapport with our students in the process Are you ready to teach English abroad? Apply now for your TEFL TESOL certification course and start teaching in a matter of months Speak with an ITTT advisor today to put together your personal plan for teaching English abroad Send us an email or call us toll free at 1-800-490-0531 to speak with an ITTT advisor today