Introduction

The present research paper tackles a significant issue in language teaching, particularly secondary schools in Algeria. It casts light on the impact of some teaching practices related to the teacher style on hindering or enhancing learners’ motivation and persistence to learn in the language classroom.Teachers are unique in many ways and they do not all teach alike. They may vary from one another in certain characteristics, beliefs, and behaviours that constitute their teaching style. Thus, teachers often endeavour to better understand how to govern their classrooms, connect with their learners, and match their teaching styles with their learners’ preferences to prevent learning problems and guarantee, to certain extent, an effective teaching and learning classroom study atmosphere.

Based on the assumption that posits a strong link between learners’ personal beliefs about teachers and the impact teachers have on learners’ effectiveness to engage in the learning of the English language, the primary concern of the present research is to inquire into the perceptions of both teachers and learners about the influence of some teaching style practices on promoting learners’ effectiveness in terms of participation, expending effort, and engagement in the language classroom.

 In attempting to probe the latter, this study raises four interrelated research questions.

·  Which teacher style practices are viewed as the most effective ones by learners?

·  Which teacher style practices are viewed as the most effective ones by teachers?

·  Which teacher style practices are viewed as the least effective ones by teachers and learners?

·  How do teachers and learners’ views compare?

1.               Literature Review

In this section, we, firstly, attempt to throw some light on the concept of teacher stylethat has been cited as a crucial factor in teaching by a number of researchers (e.g., Grasha, 1996; Peacock, 2001). Secondly, we review its implications on learners’ learning effectiveness in the language classroom.

1.1. Defining Teacher Style

A look at the published research has uncovered that the term ‘teacher style’ has not completely agreed upon one definition. In fact, this concept has received a plethora of definitions; however, in the context of the research at hand we confine ourselves to some of them. To start with, (Grasha, 1996, 1) has defined style as follows:

Our teaching style represents those enduring personal qualities and behaviors that appear in how we conduct our classes…it is both something that defines us, that guides and directs our instructional processes, and that has effects on students and their ability to learn.

According to (Conti, 2004, 76-77) “the term teaching style refers to the distinct qualities displayed by a teacher that are consistent from situation to situation regardless of the content”. It follows that teaching style is a set of beliefs and consistent behaviours displayed by teachers in their classrooms to influence the method of instruction, type of assessment, teacher-learner interactions, and emotional climate of classroom as a whole regardless of the content that is being taught.

   Another definition found in the literature includes the following: “teaching style is the expression of the totality of one’s philosophy, beliefs, values, and behaviors” (Jarvis, 2004, cited in Akbari, Allvar, 2010, 5- 6). This means that the teacher’s style is a cluster of a number of elements such as the one’s conduct, way of thinking and behaving. This explains as well why teacher style can differ among teachers in the teaching and learning exchange with their learners in terms of how they present information, manage their classroom, and how they interact with them. We can note as well that all teachers have their own philosophy governing how they teach. These philosophies serve as a foundation for their individual teaching style in order to become more effective in the classroom and increase their students’ motivation to learn the English language.

   In a similar context, it has been said that “teaching style refers to the totality of instructional approaches, methods, and decisions a teacher prefers and feels most comfortable with”, (Reid, 1995, 1998, cited in Peacock, 2000, 88). This indicates that the way a teacher delivers lessons, presents information, and interacts with learners should preferably be based on the selection of instructional practices and motivational strategies that rather satisfy learners’ needs and learning and more importantly guarantees a stress free classroom study atmosphere.

    In brief, style in teaching as in art, music and other areas of endeavour ,is not something that is put on for the occasion or a mask to create an impression (Grasha, 1996).

1.2. Teacher Teaching Style: Implications on Learners’ Learning Effectiveness

Teaching has long been and still is a very complex mission that is affected by, among other factors, the teacher’s style, which is regarded as a very influential factor in learners’ learning experiences. Teachers know that without being effective and able to motivate students to engage in the learning process, their teaching remains meaningless since learners, who are motivated to learn, will have a greater chance to be engaged in the classroom, resist in the face of difficulty when it rises, and ultimately succeed to learn the target language. In this context, teachers do their best and expend huge efforts to present the content of their lessons through a variety of teaching practices and strategies to attract individual learners’ interests and to respond to their learning needs and preferences as already mentioned.

The claim about the effectiveness of teaching style is supported by an extensive body of research, which links it also to learners’ achievement outcomes. Thus, teachers must be careful about their teaching behaviours and the educational atmosphere in their classrooms. In line with this, it has been stated that “teachers can take specific steps to provide a learning environment that will promote the motivation of all students” (Anderman, Midgley, 1997, 46).In a similar vein, it has been pointed out that “regardless of the cause, and regardless of the teachers’ years of experience, teachers who are uneasy are going to communicate that uneasiness to their pupils. When this happens, the door to restlessness among pupils is wide open” (Palardy, Palardy, 1987, cited in Eggleton, 1992, 4). In other words, learners concentrate, feel more relaxed and comfortable when the teacher is welcoming, open to them, and handles well the classroom. Besides, teacher’s uneasiness is rather frustrating for learners.

Additionally, the teacher’s role has been depicted as “designer, organizer, prompter, participant, resource, provider, controller, assessor” (Harmer, 1983, cited in Wang, 2008, 32). This implies that the teacher’srole is classified in different positions and described with particular care and with special terminologies, which, in fact, portray the diversity of the teacher teaching styles that should be viewed not as confusing, but rather as reflecting the complexity of language learning process as stated previously.                  

According to (Grasha, 1996): teaching style is regarded as a particular pattern of needs, beliefs, and behaviours that teachers display in the classroom. He has also stated that style is multidimensional and affects how teachers present information, interact with learners, manage classroom tasks, supervise coursework, socialise learners to the field, and mentor them.Significantly enough, it has been explained that “a teacher who is excited about the subject being taught and shows it by facial expression, voice inflection, gesture, and general movement is more likely to hold the attention of students than one who does not exhibit these behaviors” (Borich 2000,cited in Thompson,et al,2004,3).

Moreover, teaching involves the task of assisting learners to achieve satisfying school improvements and results. Since the main duty of teachers is to help the individual learner to learn. It is their mission also to remove obstacles and to motivate, at whatever stage of learning, to allow successful learning outcomes to take place. In this vein, (Zhan , Le ,2004,3) have pointed out “as a teacher, he or she should facilitate each student’s way of perceiving, understanding and constructing new knowledge by means of providing ‘scaffolding’ to help them transform”. They have further added “teacher’s role changes from that of being a ‘sage’ to transmit knowledge to that of a facilitator to ‘guide on the side’ students’ learning behaviors” (Zhan, Le, 2004, 4).

In the classroom, teachers should provide learners with more opportunities to express themselves, commit mistakes, ask questions, narrate personal experiences, debate issues, and voice out their opinions. By so doing, teachers enable real choice for learners and empower them as real participants in the classroom where everyone can share authority and power and can critique others’ viewpoints. Moreover, this rather promotes open avenues of communication and increases learner-teacher interactions. In this context, teachers are rather perceived as supporters who aid learners and nurture their learning. This means as well that teachers had better convey the message, “I am here to consult with you” (Grasha, 1994). In the same perspective, it has been  stated that “while traditional classrooms offer few choices in what can be learned and how it can be learned, choice can be made available in relationship interactions and learning styles” (Fairclough ,1992, cited in Fleming, Hiller, 2009, 93). This means that teachers enable real options for learners and empower them as real participants in the classroom where everyone can share responsibility and power and can oppose others’ viewpoints.

(Freeman, 1999, cited in Talley, 2009) has stated that every school should have a written policy that calls for the encouragement of high levels of performance from learners and from teachers.

In the same respect, additional studies have indicated that learners perform poorly academically when they are the object of little encouragement and low expectations from their teachers; often, these low expectations translate into disidentification with schools (Aronson , Steele, 1995; Babad, 1993; Botkin, Marshall,et al, 1987, cited in Talley, 2009). This conveys the point that teacher encouragement is perceived by learners as a vital and central component of their success. This shows as well that learners who have teachers with high expectations usually reach those expectations when they are given adequate encouragement but fail to do so when teachers have low expectations and abstain from encouraging them.

In a similar vein,(Gill, Reynolds, 1999, cited in Thompson, et al, 2004, 6) have stated that “students of teachers with high expectations learn more as teachers’ expectations rise. Teachers’ expectation levels affect the ways in which teachers teach and interact with students. In turn, these behaviors affect student learning” and yet “teachers’ expectations can positively influence both the quantity and quality of a student’s learning experience” (Baumann, 2006; 2007; Brophy, 1983; Good, 1981; Jussim, Eccles, 1992cited in Gao, Liu 2013, 85).

Furthermore, research has unveiled that effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher’s ability to maintain the interest that brought learners to the classroom in the first place. (Klug, 1989, cited in Renchler, 1992, 5) has noted that “school leaders can influence levels of motivation by shaping the school’s instructional climate, which in turn shapes the attitudes of teachers, students, parents, and the community at large toward education…and indirectly impact learning gains.”

Interestingly enough, research on teacher effectiveness and promoting learners’ motivation and learning has heavily focussed on the classroom context, where the majority of learning takes place, and where learners are expected to acquire new knowledge. Yet, making the classroom a place that naturally interests and motivates learners to learn is much easier when both learners and teachers maneuver in an atmosphere where academic success is expected and learners’ efforts are rewarded. In the same direction, it has been cited thatsuch an atmosphere, especially when motivation to learn evolves into academic achievement, is a chief characteristic of an effective school (Renchler, 1992).

Equally important, Gardner (1985) has said that for an individual to truly learn a language, s/he must find the learning situation to be rewarding, and must be motivated. Significantly enough, (Brophy, 2006, 20) has indicated that “rewards are preferable to punishments, following the “well-known psychological law that depression chokes up the channels of energy, while hope and buoyancy tend to liberate energy and make it available”. In a similar context, Parsons (2001, cited in Talley, 2009) has evoked teacher encouragement as a crucial teaching practice to boost learners learning. He has as well defined itas behaviour that teachers use to express supportiveness. In the same vein, (Frye, et al, 1999, cited in Talley, 2009) have expressed that a teacher with a supportive learning environment can increase learning among students. It has also been claimed that “a good teacher understands the classroom learning environment and understands better the unexpected result by giving a praise look, a smile, a nod and a word of encouragement” (Wang ,1996, cited in Yang, 2008, 97).

More importantly, teacher encouragement seems to be a necessary ingredient for learners’ academic success and achievement and yet all learners need teacher encouragement as a path to attain higher levels of achievement and learning (Frye et al., 1999; Parsons, 2001, cited in Talley, 2009).

(Patrick, Turner, 2004, cited in Talley, 2009): have pointed out that student views of teacher instructional practices can encourage students to work in the classroom. A student’s perception of teacher support and encouragement can positively change a student’s work ethic. Indeed, a look at the published research reveals the existence of various conceptualisations of teaching styles and this at least makes it understandable and justifiable why teaching style has been approached from a variety of perspectives.  Some attempts to clarify the construct include the following categories: Visual, Auditory, Group, Kinesthetic, Individual, and Tactile Styles (Salem, 2001, cited in Akbari , Allvar, 2010), Formal - Informal (Bennett, et al, 1976, cited in Talley, 2009), Open -Traditional (Solomon , Kendall, 1979, cited in Akbari , Allvar, 2010), Intellectual Excitement – Interpersonal Rapport (Lowman, 1995, cited in Grasha, 1996), Expert, Formal Authority, Personal Model, Facilitator, and Delegator (Grasha, 1996). Grasha (1996) has identified five teaching styles in his teaching style models based on what he regarded as metaphors of role models.

Although it may seem appropriate to place teachers into one of the five categories of teaching styles, Grasha (1996) has emphasised that everyone who teaches possesses each of the five teaching styles to varying degrees. Therefore, he has identified the four clusters of teaching styles that are dominant among teachers. These clusters are Cluster One (expert/formal authority style), Cluster Two (personal model/expert/ formal authority style), Cluster Three (facilitator/personal model/expert style), and Cluster Four (delegator/facilitator/ expert style). According to Grasha (1996), each cluster of teaching style conveys a distinguished message to the learners, and this helps to create the mood of the class.

From what has been developed so far in this paper, we conclude that various researchers and authors have used different terminologies to describe teaching styles. Researchers have listed and placed more emphasis on some characteristics and practices as major contributors to learners’ effectiveness and motivation such as: instructor’s enthusiasm, learner centeredness, interaction and participation, instructor’s encouragement, active involvement of students, being a facilitator, guider, explainer, and helper.

2. The Study

2.1. Methodology

The undertaken study applied a descriptive design to better understand the viewpoints of learners and teachers about the crucial role of the teacher’s style and its impact on learners’ learning effectiveness. Therefore, it adopted the descriptive survey approach in which questionnaires were used for the purpose of data collection.

2.1.1. Participants

The participants are secondary school learners who are chosen randomly from four Secondary schools namely Elaarbi Djemil, Ali Ben Dada, Redjaimia Allaoua, and Souidani Mohamed Etorki in Sédrata, Souk-Ahras. Fifty second year learners were surveyed from each school. The total number of the surveyed secondary school teachers was twenty one selected purposefully from the aforementioned ones in addition to two other secondary schools such as: Salhi Athmene in Bir Bouhouche, Souk-Ahras and Abdallah Belhouchet in M’Daourouch, Souk-Ahras.

2.1.2. Data Collection Instrument

A cloze ended questionnaire, consisting of 10statements, was constructed to collect data and answer the present investigation questions. A 5-point Likert type was used in the scale:  5= ‘Very Important’, 4= ‘Important’, 3= ‘Moderately Important’, 2= ‘Somewhat Important’, 1= ‘Not Important’) to measure the rate of importance. The questionnaire also included a part about respondents’ demographic information and was distributed to all of them by hand. The learners were asked to put a cross next to each statement according to how important they rate it. A similar procedure was followed in each school, in each class and for all the respondents to minimise the missing data. Likewise, the teacher questionnaire is made up of the same statements and distributed to them by hand.

2.2. Findings and Discussion

The current study’s focus is to identify the teacher’s most effective teaching practices based on the learners’ and teachers’ beliefs. In this section, we present the results of the study for the aforesaid research questions in addition to discussing them. The first research question is related to the teacher’s practices that are perceived as the most effective ones by learners. The results are displayed on Table 1below.

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Learners’ Perceptions of Most Effective Teachers’ Practices

Teachers’ Practices	Learners Mean
- You receive encouragement from your teacher.	4.45
-Your teacher appreciates your little efforts.	4.28
-Your teacher always guides you to do the task.	4.23

The arithmetic means in Table 1above indicate that the learners have given importance to teacher’s encouragement and appreciation of their efforts over the other characteristics because to the mind of learners encouragement is really a fundamental and effective teaching practice. Learners feel they achieved something and what they are doing makes sense in the eyes of the teacher. Yet, they will rather engage in the learning process more actively. In line with this, (Wang 1996, cited in Wang 2008, 33) has claimed that “a good teacher understands the classroom learning environment and understands better the unexpected result by giving a praise look, a smile, a nod and a word of encouragement”. Besides, the teacher supportive behaviour seems to be a vital ingredient that increases learners’ academic success. A teacher with a supportive learning environment can increase learning among students (Frye et al, 1999, cited in Talley, 2009).

Additionally, other researchers have pointed out to providing positive feedback and creating positive classroom atmosphere as crucial elements that boost learners’ learning. In this respect, (Yang, 2004, cited in Yang, 2008, 97) has considered that the generosity of a teacher in giving positive feedback and creating a positive learning environment promotes student learning. In spite of this, it should be noted that “a teacher who overcorrects the student can lower the expectation for success and destroy the possibility of a reward, thus reducing the students’ willingness to pay attention or to persist in language learning” (Okada, et al, 1996, 105).

This rather discloses that being effective when teaching is a central element that affects learners’ learning experiences. Thus, teachers should labour to find out practices that affect the effectiveness and motivation of their learners to ensure enjoyable learning experiences.

Successful teachers should always find and vary the ways to involve and guide learners to do the provided tasks and to develop opportunities for relating the knowledge to real experiences in the learning process. In this context, (Dupin-Bryant ,2004,42) has described the teaching style where more focus is placed or centered on  the learner as “a style of instruction that is responsive, collaborative, problem-centered, and democratic in which both students and the instructor decide how, what, and when learning occurs”. Conversely, a teaching style that stresses on the teacher as a central element in the teaching and learning process is considered by (Dupin-Bryant, 2004, 42) as “a style of instruction that is formal, controlled, and autocratic in which the instructor directs how, what, and when students learn”.  In the context of the current study, learners have valued the teacher practice of being a guide for them in doing tasks as effective. As can be noticed in Table 1displayed previously that it received a high mean (M=4.23).

 The second research question inquires into which teacher’s practices are regarded as the most effective ones by teachers? Table 2hereafter uncovers the teachers’ arithmetic means.

Table 2: Teachers’ Perceptions of Most Effective Teachers’ Practices

Teachers’ Practices	Teacher Mean
-I encourage learners to practice English.	4.62
-I appreciate learners’ little efforts.	4.57
-I tolerate learners’ mistakes.	4.48

Considering the teacher’s teaching style, teachers have focussed on encouraging learners to practice the language. This means that teachers’ primary aim is to see their learners using the English language and communicate effectively. As a matter of fact, appreciating their efforts though they are little is ranking second in this section followed by tolerance of mistakes in the third position. This leads us to think that what really matters for teachers is the actual use of language regardless of mistakes. In this respect, (Carnegie, 1981, 93) has stated that “if you want to help others to improve, remember to use encouragement and make the fault seem easy to correct”. He has further added “abilities wither under criticism; they blossom under encouragement” (Carnegie, 1981, 93). In the same direction, it should be emphasised that “a teacher who overcorrects the student can lower the expectation for success and destroy the possibility of a reward, thus reducing the students’ willingness to pay attention or to persist in language learning” (Okada et al, 1996, 106).Additionally, it has been suggested that effective teachers are those who use “meaningful verbal praise to get and keep students actively participating in the learning process” (Borich 2000, cited in Thompson et al, 2004, 4).

   The third research question is as follows: How do teachers’ and learners’ perception of the teachers’ least important teaching practices compare? It bears emphasising at this stage that our fourth research question embraces the perceptions of both participants vis-à-vis teacher least effective teaching style practices. Table 3displays the obtained results.

Table 3: Teachers and Learners’ Perceptions of Teacher’s Least Effective Practices

Teachers’ Practices	T Mean	L Mean
-Your teacher allows you to participate actively.	/	4.04
- Your teacher controls the class firmly.	/	3.80
- Your teacher simplifies the lessons’ explanation.	/	4.08
- I have a dynamic style of presentation.	4.05	/
- I control the class firmly.	4.14	/
-I simplify the lessons’ explanation.	4.12	/

It can be noticed from the table above that learners have perceived the teacher’s firm control of the class as a least effective teaching practice. According to them, exerting more control means more stress and pressure, and yet less freedom that undoubtedly leads to mental block, maximises inhibition, and increases anxiety. As a matter of fact, this prevents them from learning in the best way particularly shy learners who are afraid to voice their opinions or take the risk to participate fearing from any teacher’s negative response. In line with this, (Dörnyei, 2007, 723) has indicated that “one norm that is particularly important to language learning situations is the norm of tolerance. The language classroom is an inherently face-threatening environment because learners are required to take continuous risks as they need to communicate using a severely restricted language goal”. He has further added “an established norm of tolerance ensures that students will not be embarrassed or criticized if they make a mistake and, more generally, that mistakes are seen and welcomed as a natural part of learning”. This indicates that a relaxing teaching and learning atmosphere is unavoidable to learners’ worries and concerns. This conveys as well the idea that teacher’s harsh manner of teaching creates an atmosphere of terror and causes the learners to feel rather anxious and afraid in the classroom. In the same sense, (Waterson, 2009, 3) has stated that “fear is a powerful emotion that imposes a paralyzing grip on some students”. In fact, this teaching style practice is receiving the lowest mean (M=3.80). Teachers underestimate the fact of having a dynamic and interesting style of presentation and consider it a least important teaching practice. It is visible from table 3mentioned previously that it received the arithmetic mean (M=4.05) as the lowest one amongst the ten items concerning the teacher’s teaching style. This may also portray the idea that teachers felt afraid to be subjective and avoided to rate it as an important teaching practice.

Moreover, learners have not recognised the teachers’ practice of simplifying lessons’ explanation as effective and motivating for them. It could be due to the fact that they have not experienced such practice with their teachers. As a matter of fact, it is receiving a low mean (M= 4.08). Equally important, it should be noticed and stressed in the same time that teachers   themselves seem to agree with learners in considering the practice of simplifying the lesson’s explanation as a least important teaching practice (M=4.12). In this case, it is cited in the literature that effective teachers are expected to help learners in their learning through being supportive, concerned about the welfare of learners, knowledgeable about their subject matter and more importantly being able to help them to learn (Cruickshank,et al ,2003cited in Thompson et al, 2004).

   The last research question targets how do teachers’ and learners’ perceptions compare regarding the teachers’ most important style practices? Table 4that follows contains the results.

Table 4: Teachers’ (T) and Learners’ (L) Perceptions of Teachers’ Most Effective Practices

Teachers’ Practices	T Mean	L Mean
-You receive encouragement from your teacher.	/	4.45
-Your teacher appreciates your little efforts.	/	4.28
-Your teacher always guides you to do the task.	/	4.23
-I encourage them to practice English.	4.62	/
-I appreciate their little efforts.	4.57	/
- I tolerate learners’ mistakes.	4.48	/

In response to this question, the results uncover a slight mismatch in the views of teachers and learners alike. Though it bears emphasising that the teacher motivational practices opted for by both parties seem to be interrelated to one another as shown on the preceding table.

   Put simply, we cannot talk about practice if there is no encouragement as teachers seek to see their learners communicate and exchange information. Learners, on their part, search for any kind of encouragement to get started and to keep going even when difficulties arise. As a matter of fact, learners recognise the teacher who appreciates their efforts though they are little as an effective and motivating teacher since they make endeavours to speak and participate and perhaps they fail to persist in the face of difficulty. This teacher practice ranks second after that of encouragement with an arithmetic mean (M=4.28). Looking at the data obtained in the last table, we can note that teachers regard encouraging learners to practice the English language as the most motivating practice for learners with an arithmetic mean (M=4.62). Learners consider teacher’s encouragement, when answering questions correctly, as the most motivating teaching practice with an arithmetic mean (M=4.45).

2.3. Recommendations for Future Research

The current study as it seems does not cover all possible researchable features regarding the issue of teacher teaching style. Firstly, one of its limitations was its limited context. Its findings depended on the sociocultural milieu in which teachers and learners are located, yet they may not necessarily represent the beliefs of teachers and learners in other contexts.  As a consequence, further research could investigate the use of teaching style practices in a significant number of contexts with participants from different educational contexts, for instance primary and intermediate in order to obtain valid data which could contribute to our understanding of the foreign language teacher style effectiveness.

   Secondly, future research could include larger numbers of learners and teachers. By expanding the number of participants, analyses could also take into consideration variables such as language of instruction and language level. Further investigations are needed as well to examine the contextual situation based on variables such as learning tasks, group configuration, psychological peculiarities of individual learners, and the teacher’s personality structures. Furthermore, more teacher style practices can be included and probed qualitatively in a future research study since the list of practices used in the undertaken study is not exhaustive; there were many other teaching practices that were not considered.   Investigating more practices in the study as a whole could have allowed more focussed answers in the participants’ beliefs and perceptions about the teacher style effectiveness. In sum, further investigations are encouraged to examine the teaching style practices in terms of teacher simplification of lessons and allowing learners to participate actively from the perspectives of EFL teachers who underestimate them in their teaching and were considered, as was found in this study, less effective for teachers and why this may be the case.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the research, it can be concluded that almost everything teachers do in the classroom has an effective and motivational influence on learners’ learning. Learners react to who teachers are, what they do, and how comfortable they feel in the classroom. The crucial factor of attention is the ‘give and take’ process that takes place between the teacher and the learners within the classroom.

In the present research, it can be concluded as well that learners and teachers seem to have slight differences in their beliefs of which teacher style practices are more influential than others on their effectiveness to learn the English language in the classroom context. This suggests that both students and teachers view the teaching practices that will increase their effectiveness and motivate them to learn from a different perspective. On the one hand, learners have preferred teachers’ encouragement and regarded it as a crucial element for their motivation. They have identified it as a positive teacher action. In addition, learners have considered teachers who have given them attention and valued their little efforts as effective teachers who motive them to learn the English language. Moreover, they have viewed teachers’ guidance as a desirable teacher characteristic. Teachers, on the other hand, have placed great emphasis on the practice of the English language via encouraging learners to communicate using the language. Equally important, teachers have identified the practice of tolerating learners’ mistakes as most preferred teaching action that boosts learners’ motivation and push them to excel in the foreign language classroom context.  

More importantly, it would be better and more effective for teachers to look beyond methodological theories and cater for the learners’ voice as one of the salient figures amongst stakeholders in the learning process to detect the classroom practices that enhance and boost their effectiveness and allow them to engage in the learning and teaching process. Teachers are expected to be equipped with excellent knowledge of content and pedagogy; however, expertise seems to go beyond the competencies grounded on an effective teaching style.

After all, the findings of this research paper will undoubtedly serve as a future baseline for further research studies and contribute to the existing and growing body of research and literature on the topic of teacher style. Finally, our understanding of the matter leaves room for future interventions and as (Palmer, 1998, 10) has once said “good teaching cannot be reduced to techniques; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”