Characteristics of Teacher for young learners

A teacher is related to a person who delivers educational program, asses student participation and provides consistent and substantial leadership to educational program in order to help students to acquire knowledge, competences, and values. Because of the complexity of teaching and individual variation among students especially young learner, to become a teacher, someone should have some characteristics so that their teaching process can be effective and positively contribute to children’s’ future. Here are some characteristics to be effective teacher according to Moreno (2011).  
1. Professional knowledge and skills.
Effective teachers have a good command of their subject matter and teaching skills. They know when they use the instructional strategies and method to support their teaching process in managing classroom, and planning learning and teaching goal. They are aware that not all methods can fix for all the subject or material and classroom condition. In addition, they understand how to motivate students and how to communicate and work effectively with those of varying skill levels and culturally diverse background. Effective teachers also employ appropriate levels of technology in the classroom.

• Subject-matter competence. Having a thoughtful, flexible, conceptual understanding of subject matter is indispensable for being an effective teacher. Of course, knowledge of subject matter includes more than just facts, terms, and general concept. It also includes knowledge about organizing ideas, connecting among ideas, ways of thinking and arguing, pattern of change within discipline.
•  Instructional strategies. There are two approaches to characterize how the teachers teach: constructivist and direct instruction. The constructivist approach is a learner-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of individual actively constructing their knowledge and understanding with guidance form the teacher. By contrast, the direct instruction approach is a structured, teacher-centered approach characterized by teacher direction and control, high teacher expectations for students’ progress, maximum time spent by students’ academic tasks, and efforts by the teacher to keep negative affect to a minimum. 
• Thinking skill. Effective teacher model and communicate good thinking skills, especially thinking skill, which involves thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating the evidence. It also means being open-minded and curious on the one hand, yet being careful to avoid key mistakes in interpretation on the other. Getting young learner to think critically is not easy, so a teacher need to have thinking skill in order that students are not to be passive learner in the classroom
• Goal setting and instructional planning.The teacher should set high goals for their teaching and organize plans for reaching goals (Anderman & Dawson, 2011). Good planning requires consideration of kinds of information, demonstration, models, inquiry opportunities, discussion, and practice learner need over time to understand particular concepts and develop particular skills. 
• Developmentally appropriate teaching practice. Competent teachers have a good understanding of children’s development and know how to create instruction materials appropriate for their developmental levels or their age so the teachers can know what their students need in teaching and learning process. 
• Classroom management skills. An important aspect of being an effective teacher is keeping the class as whole working together and oriented toward classroom task in which learning can occur.
• Motivation skills. Effective teachers have a good strategies for helping students become self-motivated and take responsibility for their learning (Anderman & Dawson, 2011). Young learners are motivated when they can make choices in line with their interests. Effective teachers give them the opportunity to think creatively and deeply about projects.
• Communication skill. Effective teachers use good communication skill when they talk “with” rather than “to” students, parents administrators, and others; keep criticism at a minimum; and have an assertive rather than aggressive, manipulative, and passive communication style. Effective teachers work to improve students’ communication skills as well. 
• Paying more than lip service to individual variation. In the classroom, the students have diverse characteristic so they need much though and effort to teach. Differented instruction addresses this challenge by recognizing individual variations in students’ knowledge readiness, interest, and other characteristic. It makes a teacher pay attention to each their learners in taking every subject and how to solve classroom problems. 
• Working effectively with students from culturally diverse background. Effective teachers must be knowledgeable and understandable about young learners from different cultural backgrounds and sensitive to their needs because they will guide the learners in thinking critically about cultural and ethnic issues.  
• Assessment knowledge skills. Competent teachers also have a good assessment knowledge and skills. The teachers will need to decide what type of assessments you want to use document your students’ performance after instruction.
• Technological skill.Technology itself does not necessarily improve students’ ability to learn, but it can support learning (Lever-Duffy & McDonald. 2011). Nowadays, teacher should be able to operate the computer or other technology tools. This will help them to make their teaching more joyful and interesting.  Young learner likes visual realia, video, and colorful material and it will not make them boring in your classroom.

2.    Commitment, motivation, and caring
Being effective teacher requires commitment, motivation, and caring, qualities that include have a good attitude. Teachers are sometimes easy to get frustrated or to get into a rut and develop negative attitude. Commitment and motivation help get effective teachers through the tough moments of teaching so that you will be aware with your students or care with what they need.
Therefore the better teacher you become, the more rewarding your work will be, and the more respect and success you achieve in the eyes of your students, the better you will feel about your commitment to teaching.
See the next post about the Challenges in Teaching English for Young Learner and The Role of Teacher Talk for Young Learner in The Classroom 
Reference
Anderman, E. M., & Dawson, H. (2011). Learning and motivation. In P. A. Alexander & R. E. Mayer (Eds.), Handbook of research on learning and instruction . New York: Routledge.
Lever-Duffy, J., McDonald, J., & Mizell, A. (2003). Teaching and learning with technology. Boston:  Allyn & Bacon.
Moreno, R. (2010). Educational Psychology. The United State of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.