Handout (8)
People Management: Building Rapport
Brown and Yule (1983) proposed that language has two main
purposes: transactional and interactional. The goal of the transactional use
of language is to deliver information accurately while the interactional use of
language is utilized to show good will.
I. Definition of “Rapport”:
Rapport is ‘the relationship that the learners have with
the teachers and vice versa…a class where there is a positive,
enjoyable and respectful relationship between teacher and
learners and between learners themselves’, according to Jeremy
Harmer in The Practice of English Language Teaching (2007) Pearson
Longman
Rapport is “the mutual relationship based on harmony
and trust that is sufficiently powerful to reduce threat and
structure social interaction”, (Frisby & Meyers, 2008).
The teacher in the classroom has two roles: instructional
and affective. Depending on only one of these two roles would
not contribute to learning; hence, the teacher needs to find a
balance between both the instructional and affective role in
language classes.
II. Rapport in EFL classroom:
Implementing rapport strategies has been correlated with a positive
learning experience in language classes.
Krashen (1985) argued that there is always a substantial improvement
in L2 students’ performance when their affective filter is low, adding that a
heightened affective filter is positively correlated with higher stress,
heightened anxiety, and reduced self-confidence. Accordingly, teachers
should build a positive relationship with the students to lower their affective
filter by acting more as “a friend who helps them to learn and less like an
authority figure who make them perform”.
Bad Good
Rapport Rapport
III. How can you build rapport with your students?
There are a variety of verbal and nonverbal methods of communicating
to your students the idea that you are available to them. An immediacy
scale includes items such as:
• using personal examples
• moving around the classroom during lecture
• using humor
• smiling
• make eye contact,
• body language
• using names can help to build rapport.
• Lean to call students by name
• Learn something about your students’ hobbies, interests,
aspirations…etc.
• Create and use personal relevant class examples.
• Explain your class policies and rules
• Set routines and expectations with your students
• Interact more, lecture less (less TTT, more STT) emphasize active
learning
• Reward students’ comments and questions with verbal praise
• Be respectful.
IV. Qualities of the teacher having good rapport:
• encouraging
• open-mindedness
• creative
• interesting
• accessible
• happy
• having a ‘good’ personality
• promoting class discussion
• concern for students
• fairness
V. The Impact of Building Rapport on Students:
Studies proved that rapport with students can:
• lead to higher ratings of instruction.
• lead to better classroom interactions and student
participation during class
• minimize anxiety,
• Increase students’ participation,
• Encourage social interaction,
• Foster a positive learning environment,
• Enhance learning process
• raise the student’s enjoyment towards the subject in class
• boost students’ attendance
• students tend to pay more attention to the teacher
VI. The Impact of Building Rapport on Teachers:
Not only is building rapport important for the students, but teachers
also have their own motive for focusing on this behavior. teachers
emphasize that, once they have succeeded in building rapport with their
class,
• they feel more comfortable teaching this group of
students.
• it contributes to positive feelings towards the class with
the minimum of stress.
• It also pushes teachers to expend more hard work in this
class
VII. The results teachers yield from having good rapport:
• Higher motivation—When students feel rapport with their
teachers and feel that their teacher’s personalities are something
like their own, motivation is higher.
• Increased comfort—When there is rapport, students tend to
answer more freely and with a greater degree of frankness.
• Increased quality—In a degree program, when students feel
rapport with faculty, their perceptions of the quality of that
program increase.
• Satisfaction—Rapport leads to satisfaction—supported by
much research, including research done in classrooms. When
students report having rapport with the instructor, their
satisfaction with the course increases.
• Enhanced communication—As rapport grows, so does
understanding and comprehension. Teachers and students
understand each other better when there is rapport between
them.
• Trust—Sometimes trust is necessary for rapport to develop. But
trust can also be an outcome. Once rapport has been established,
trust between parties grows.
VIII. Five factors for building rapport
1. Respect. Teachers and students must show respect for
each other, for the learning process, and for the
institution where it is occurring.
2. Approachability. Students must feel comfortable
coming to faculty and faculty must be willing to speak
with students, after class, during office hours, via email,
on campus.
3. Open communication. Faculty must be honest. There
needs to be consistency between what faculty say and
what they do.
4. Caring. Faculty must care about students; they must see
and respond to them as individuals. They also need to
care about learning and show that they want students to
learn the material.
5. Positive attitude. Faculty should have a sense of humor
and be open to points of view other than their own.
IX. Strategies for building rapport:
Rapport-building strategies can be classified under two categories:
verbal and nonverbal.
The verbal strategies include:
• remembering students’ names
• expressing interest in the students’ lives.
• engaging in conversations on an individual basis before and/or
after class,
• creating classroom community
The nonverbal ones encompass:
• maintaining eye contact,
• having an open body posture,
• listening actively to students,
• smiling
• integrate humor into the class