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Teachers have always played a vital role in the lives of students both in and outside the classroom. Even though teaching is the main function of a teacher, there are still more responsibilities of equal importance. Teachers give knowledge, instruct, guide, observe, listen, support, protect and mentor. This is why there are several roles teachers adopt within their teaching careers. This happens due to the immense responsibility that lies in teaching. The most common teacher roles in the classroom are instructor, facilitator, mentor, psychologist, counselor, and a policeman. All roles are unique, important and serve a certain purpose. The choice of a role in the classroom always depends on the type of activities, lesson objectives, and students’ level and age. As an instructor, the main function of a teacher is to teach knowledge to students. This includes all areas of ELT such as an explanation of grammar, setting the right pronunciation, motivating students, errors/mistakes correction, checking home tasks, monitoring students’ progress, giving feedback, etc. While the principal aim of an instructor is to give knowledge and instruct students, the main purpose of a facilitator is to facilitate students’ learning process. The facilitator is the role a teacher adopts to create a suitable learning environment in the classroom. This includes devising activities to allow students to work by themselves and still be available for any help or guidance as well as creating a friendly learning environment and setting the right tone. Because students are usually sensitive to the teacher’s mood, teachers must set a positive tone from the beginning of the lesson. Being a mentor is another role of a teacher. Mentorship is something teachers do daily. It includes such responsibilities as providing constant support, giving advice, sharing experience and serving as a role model. Mentoring is one of the most influential roles a teacher carry out in the classroom. As a mentor teacher guides students, helps overcome the language barrier, encourages development, making constant progress and gaining self-confidence. As psychologists teachers deal with more serious problems like student’s family issues or personal problems and have to interfere in student’s private life. In such cases, teachers should be able to provide students with the necessary assistance and guidance. For example, if there is a change in students’ behavior or there are signs of physical abuse, teachers must look into the problem and take immediate measures following faculty procedures. As a counselor, it is up to teachers to provide students with help and advice on the language learning process. Finally, classroom discipline and a peaceful learning atmosphere are under a teacher’s attention, which is why educators also perform the role of a policeman. Teacher-policeman’s main objective is to monitor the class and make sure everyone is comfortable, discipline is well managed, and students are under control. All of these roles are equally significant and frequently used in teaching both children and adults in groups and as separate individuals, when teaching General English or Business English. Although each role has its aim and significance, they are all used to enhance teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom and help learners perform better in the long run.
