The English Teacher's Personality Traits: Influence on EFL Students’ Academic Performance

Abstract

The purpose of this research synthesis is to shed light on the possible relationships of the teacher personality on the academic development of foreign language learners. In order to comprehend this relationship, a total of 20 empirical studies have been collected and analyzed. Each of the studies was selected on the basis of a foreign language learning context and published within the last 15 years. The results obtained indicate that teacher personality can positively or negatively affect students' academic performance and motivation depending on the teacher's personality traits. Also, the main professional characteristics that make an effective teacher are the use of different learning methods, language proficiency, subject matter expertise, attention to students' needs, among others. Finally, according to the students' perceptions towards the teacher's personality traits such as humility, respect, humor, equality, etc., allow the learners to stay motivated and active during classes, while seriousness, authoritarianism and moodiness in a teacher makes students lose interest in the subject matter. It is recommended for teachers to pay attention to and work on developing positive personality traits in the classroom as this will help to create a more comfortable and motivating learning environment for students. It is also suggested that more research is conducted on the arena of the English teacher personality and its relationship with the student academic performance in Latin American countries.