10 Types of Teachers: Which One are You?

A teacher is a person who helps others to acquire knowledge, competencies, or values. 

If you google for Types of Teachers, you will find all kind of answers, some of the answers might be humorous.

I personally believe that you can not pretend to be somebody that you are not.

If you are a responsible kind of person, you will probably go to the classroom and ensure that your students are responsible too.

I also think that there are many types of teachers and that not all of them can be grouped into categories.



Types of Teachers and Teaching Styles

Teaching Styles are the particular configuration of strategies a teacher uses. 

Our teaching style is also influenced by our previous learning experiences and styles.

For instance, a teacher who learned well from authoritarian teachers at school may consciously or unconsciously copy this style.

A teacher who has an auditory learning style may unconsciously choose to do more listening activities and rely less on written board explanations than a teacher with a visual learning style.

The way we teach reveals our teaching style, which in turn influences our lesson planning.


10 Types of Teachers

While there are many different types of teachers and teaching styles and creating categories to group them all is an impossible task. but this is my best effort to do so.

Here are some of the types of teachers that you will find in most ESL classrooms

#1: The explainer is good at:

  • explaining grammar or vocabulary
  • entertaining the students with presentations
  • In other words, the explainer knows the subject matter well.

#2: The involver is good at:

  • involving the students in the learning process through tasks
  • using a variety of different techniques and activities to help students learn
  • In other words, the involver knows the subject matter and methodology well.

#3: The enabler is good at:

  • creating the conditions where students do the learning
  • planning around the learners so that the teacher becomes less visible – the students and their learning are the main focus.
  • In other words, the enabler knows the subject matter, methodology and the learners well.

#4: The Lazy teacher is good at:

  • not teaching too much since that would complicate things when he or she has to assess learners.
  • assessing students in a way that everyone passes the class so he or she doesn’t have to deal with the consequences of students failing her class.
  • finding opportunities to avoid doing his / her job.

#5: The strict teacher is good at:

  • giving strong motivation so their learner realize how important learning is. They are usually pretty honest when giving advice and correcting people.
  • being responsible because they want to be role models for other teachers and learners.
  • managing classes well. Learners usually have a lot of respect for those teachers or they might just fear them, either way, students tend to behave when they are around strict teachers.

#6: The expert is good at:

  • Showing his/her knowledge about the subject.
  • Providing students with a lot of information
  • Pushing students to learn more and more effectively.

The drawback of this teaching style is less confident students can feel intimidated, as some of the information may not be at their level of understanding.

#7: The Authoritarian Teacher is concerned:

  • With providing students with the structure they need to learn: learning goals, feedback, rules of conduct, etc.

If predominant, this teaching style will lead to inflexibility in dealing with students’ needs.

#8: The Personal Model believes:

  • S/he can teach by personal example
  • S/he models example behaviors and encourages students to follow suit.

This teaching style may give students the impression that there is only one way of doing things, and this may hinder participation, if student doesn’t think s/he is inadequate.

#9: The Facilitator encourages

  • Student participation by asking questions, exploring options, and suggesting alternatives, so as to promote student-teacher and student-student interaction and more control over their own learning.

There is no clear disadvantage to this teaching style, apart from the high degree of involvement of teacher, which can be time-consuming.

#10: The Delegator is

  • Concerned with learner autonomy.
  • A step ahead of the facilitator.

Students will be a team working on projects and the teacher will act as a resource person for students. If students are not ready for this type of teaching styles, they may feel anxious and not confident to perform the proposed tasks.

Manuel Campos, English Professor

Manuel Campos

I am Jose Manuel, English professor and creator of EnglishPost.org, a blog whose mission is to share lessons for those who want to learn and improve their English