Collections of Professor Dr David Ngin Sian Pau

professional. The moment the teacher knows that his or her teaching was professional but not just doing and finishing the delivery of teaching duty, we can figure out that the teacher has been successful.

7. Conclusion

How can teachers improve what they do in the primary classroom? Which teaching methods will help teachers and their pupils to perform effectively? These are the questions that every teacher will be asked himself or herself in today's climate of targets and tables. Much research over recent years has focused on the role of the teacher and how effective classroom practice is achieved. Experience in dealing with anxious parents and traditional language teachers has shown us that it is extremely important that there is a predicted and planned language focus point, and that this focus fits into what is commonly regarded as a traditional EFL language syllabus. Moreover, teachers who use an activity based approach, but neglect to integrate overtly the teaching of a specific language point as a necessary stage in a lesson plan, may soon receive complaints that pupils are having a good time, but what has that got to do with learning English? To avoid this, it is essential for teachers to be able to show concrete evidence to anxious parents and questioners that specific language work is taking place as a result of the practice task.

Research and development on teaching English to primary level children should focus on an activity-based approach to teaching young learners aged six years and over. It should examine the educational and linguistic needs of children and provide an overview of appropriate classroom techniques. It must also highlight the importance of effective classroom management and organisation, support teachers in the management of classroom resources and provide extensive practice in lesson planning in terms of language aims. Research and development should be dealing with a specific aspect of teaching methodology and classroom practice and have a theme-based approach for the task content and included stories, rhymes, songs, practical tasks and language tasks. Methodology and classroom practice issues are related to these themes - examples include festivals, animals, storytelling and measuring.

Perceptions of a positive or negative relationship between teaching and research depend on how observers define the content of the two roles. Teaching is often defined as activities involved in delivering formal classroom instruction to registered students. Some analysts, however, suggest that teaching also includes advising, informal instruction, and training students to conduct research.

Those who define teaching and research in terms of classroom instruction and publications are less likely to perceive a positive relationship between the two faculty roles than those who define the roles more broadly. Similarly, individual heuristic researcher may improve their efficiency and productivity if they sometimes engage in activities that accomplish both teaching and research goals at the same time.