Implementation of a Teacher̕ s Individual Style in the Process of Foreign Language Instruction
The article deals with the problem of implementing an individual style of teacher activity in the process of foreign language instruction. The purpose of the article is to raise awareness of the need to correlate professional qualities, temperament, and individual style of teacher activity with specific properties and teaching potential of various means and technologies in foreign language teaching. It is noted that the productivity of a teacher’s activities depends on how successfully her individual intellectual, emotional, and other characteristics are harmonized with the nature of the pedagogical tasks she undertakes. The ability of a teacher to make an informed choice of tools and teaching technologies presented in modern methodological literature is associated with formation of a number of professional skills: the ability to evaluate the methodological potential of a given training tool or technology; to analyze a textbook based on selected criteria: to take into account the learning conditions and characteristics of students, etc. Internal reflection that allows the teacher to become aware of her own mental characteristics can provide an important criterion for choosing methods, techniques, and technologies that are organic for the teacher. The article considers various individual styles of activity, largely determined by the characteristics of a teacher’s temperament, and the author concludes that they need to be taken into account when choosing means and technologies for training. The ability to reflect on one’s own psychological characteristics and to develop an individual style of teaching is thus seen as a most important professional quality of a foreign language teacher. The article presents a thorough analysis of the issue, complete with practical and theoretical provisions related to employing professional and personal characteristics of a foreign language teacher in the educational process. It is stated that the effectiveness of a teacher’s professional activity is determined not only by her methodological training but also by her ability to resolve contradictions between her own natural tendencies, personal characteristics, and the nature of situations that take place in the educational process. The article considers various individual styles in terms of performance and identifies both the factors that determine the individual style of the teacher and aspects of the teacher’s professional activity that depend on the chosen style of teaching. In conclusion, the author emphasizes the importance and urgency of researching and developing practicalways for teachers to choose the optimal type of the learning process within given conditions, taking into account the needs of students and the characteristics of their own personality.