Characteristics of an effective English language teacher: Students' and teachers' perceptions

The definition of an effective teacher is a recently debated topic among different subjects. This study researched into the characteristics of an effective English language teacher as perceived by 44 English language teachers and 235 students who study English in preparatory classes at Erciyes University in Turkey. The data of the research was collected through a self-report questionnaire. The data of the study was analyzed quantitatively. The results revealed that there is a significant difference between the teachers' and the students' perceptions regarding the characteristics of an effective English language teacher. We found out that the teachers believe socio-affective skills are the least important characteristics while the students think pedagogical knowledge is the least important one. On the other hand, English proficiency is considered as the most important characteristic of an effective English language teacher by both the teachers and the students. Key Words: Characteristics of Effective English Language Teachers