What makes a good language teacher? Teacher trainers' views and suggestions

Teachers have a very crucial role in the learning process. This creates a concept of good or in other words effective teachers and ineffective teachers. However, the definition of a good teacher has been difficult to outline for long. For this reason, the researchers were interested in the qualities of a good language teacher from the perspectives of teacher trainers in the ELT programs through a qualitative approach. The questions addressed are: How do teacher trainers in ELT programs conceptualize the term 'effective English language teacher' through metaphors? What characteristics do effective teachers have according to these trainers? and do they consider the current language teacher education program fit for training effective language teachers? To this end, an online survey with open-ended questions were designed and distributed via Google Forms to explore the ELT teacher trainers' perceptions of a good language teacher and the appropriateness of teacher education programs for training effective language teachers. The results show that being able to use the knowledge of methodologies, knowledge of teaching four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking), 21st century skills, adjusting his/her own teaching styles and strategies, being motivated and motivating and showing empathy are stated as major traits of a good language teacher. Moreover, metaphors that describe a good language teacher is mostly related as a resource person, such as the sun, sunshine and tree. Additionally, the current language teacher program was not considered fit for training effective language teachers as it failed to prepare student teachers for real-world English language teaching conditions. The results offered implications for language teacher education curriculum and teacher education policies.