Prerequisites of Effective Teaching

Which prerequisite is the most important?

It is very difficult to identify which prerequisite is the most important. All the prerequisites are important because they are related, but I have identified two of them that are the most important because they are  much more related than the others. So, it is not enough to have just one of them. I am talking about “verbal ability” and “content knowledge.” For me, they are on the same level of importance.

We, as teachers, can have a strong content knowledge about our subject. We can know a lot of things related to it, but if we don’t have the verbal ability to give all that information in a clear way, we are not effective teachers. In our case, as English teachers, let´s suppose we know a lot about English grammar rules, spelling, composition, and vocabulary. But if we don’t have the verbal ability to teach English in a clear way in order for our students to get and understand it, this means we are not effective teachers. Likewise, let’s suppose we have a great verbal ability to communicate to people. This means we are easily understood when teaching English. But if we don’t have an appropriate content knowledge, our students will learn ineffective English or wrong English. So, in this case we won´t be effective teachers, either. 

In my opinion, these two prerequisites are the most important because they are the key of effective teaching. They shouldn´t be separated because one cannot be an effective teacher just having one of them.