Data Derived from Interviews
The following themes have emerged after transcribing five teachers' interviews.
The teacher-student rapport in Bangladeshi private universities. In Bangladeshi culture, the concept of rapport is quite different from others. However, this concept is modified day by day. As the author took interviews from the teachers of various age groups, she got the chance to explore all floors. However, a senior teacher designated as an associate professor said that during their time, the idea of "Teacher" was really different. They were always portrayed as outrageous beings by society. Though students of that time used to respect their teachers a lot, they felt afraid to build any sort of rapport with their teachers; to be more specific, they did not even think of it. However, nowadays, things are changing; students feel free to talk to their teachers and consult with them; this is how the rapport looks like in present Bangladesh. She then gave reference to Bangladeshi public universities and an overseas university in her statement to make a comparison with the scenario of private universities. In public universities, teachers try to restrain themselves from mixing with students, which is quite tragic. On the other hand, in an overseas university, she witnessed excellent relationships between teachers and students where utmost respect was present, and this respect to some extent is absent in the present Bangladeshi context. However, she also emphasized understanding students' own role of ''studentship'' that will help to build professional and healthy rapport in academia.
One young lecturer defined rapport as the positive and productive relationship between teacher and student. It supports a creative, supportive, and respectful classroom environment. However, one of the teachers said that - "if rapport fails, the success of the teacher will also fail." He stated this because rapport helps to understand the classroom lecture properly and productively. If the teacher fails to be an ideal one in the eyes of the students, they will not pay heed to him. This is how the teacher's teaching will go futile.
Furthermore, some interesting and enthusiastic insights regarding positive rapport have also been found from another young lecturer from a top private university in Bangladesh. According to her, the top-ranked Bangladeshi private universities are setting benchmarks on emphasizing building rapport. As per tradition, Bangladeshi students remain intimidated by their teachers, which these top institutions are trying to smash down. Moreover, at least 98% of teachers of these universities have foreign degrees. So, these teachers are trying to implant their overseas notions in the Bangladeshi context to make students' academic journey enjoyable.
Strategies of building rapport. A senior faculty member of a top private university said- "I try to listen to everything that they say. I try to teach in an effective way. And I also make sure if they have any problem, they can always see me." She also said that she tries to happily respond to them all. She also asserted that "not only the students but also the teachers should respect their students." This is how, by listening, understanding, and respecting, a good rapport can be formed.
Another associate professor of a different private university stated that, by being warm and friendly with students, a teacher can easily build rapport with them. In addition, the duty of a teacher is to make the lesson enjoyable. Sometimes, due to listening for long hours in the classroom, the students feel bored. To reduce that boredom, the teacher might crack jokes and make the classroom interesting.
According to a third teacher, to build good rapport in the classroom, teachers should not stick to textbooks only; they should also encourage students in class participation. Even in the top private universities of Bangladesh, there are marks for classroom participation, which benefit students' final grades. By doing so, the universities' authorities, to some extent, are indirectly trying to push students to speak and come out of their comfort bubble. This thing helps a lot in building good rapport as well as in raising their motivation level. However, the teacher also stated that she asks questions from a real-life context so that students can relate the classroom lesson to real-life events. Moreover, she gives her students the courage that they will not be judged if they speak up in class.
In the classroom, calling students by their names is an excellent approach to building good relationships, and one of the teachers has spoken about it as well. He thinks body language, such as making eye contact, nodding head while listening, smiling, etc., helps a great way to make students comfortable with their teachers.
Feedback. Teachers' strategies of giving feedback and students' attitudes towards it speak a lot about the teacher-student relationship. However, different teachers' viewpoints and experiences regarding feedback are explored below-
One of the faculty members has given a detailed response to feedback. She tries her best to reach students' peak concerns while giving feedback. That strategy makes them comfortable in her classroom, and they get the proper feedback from her. In addition, it helps them to open up with no hesitation and with less anxiety. Furthermore, she does not follow the same strategy for everyone; rather, she checks their weaknesses and strengths as well as learning styles. At the same time, she focuses on framing her feedback in a positive, constructive manner, even when addressing areas that they need to improve. She also tries to provide them encouragement even if they make any mistake.
Another teacher prefers both corrective and summative feedback. He prefers to give detailed feedback to every student after checking the scripts. Though it's very hard for him to check so many scripts and give feedback, he still tries to do so for students' betterment. Moreover, he never found that his students took his feedback negatively. So, this indicates his friendly relationship with his students. On the other hand, a different notion regarding feedback is observed in this statement- "I'm somewhat apprehensive about it because all the students are not eager to learn. So, I think some like it, some don't. This is my observation." This is the statement of a senior teacher who seems to make an open floor for feedback and never bothers whether the students take his feedback negatively or positively. However, an indication of negative rapport is also hidden in his statement because feedback can be considered the foundation of learning, and it helps to improve more and more. When a teacher shows indifference to such a major issue, there surely might be some problems within him, or he is just a victim of the situation.
Rapport as an aid in language learning. One of the interviewees believes that when students get a positive learning environment, they feel more motivated and more encouraged in their learning process. In addition, they are likely to attend class regularly and engage in class activities. So, a good rapport can foster friendly and effective communication between teacher and student. In addition, it helps to reduce anxiety, which is one of the major obstacles to learning a new thing. Also, it gives them such confidence that they are less afraid to make mistakes, which is crucial for learning. So, this leads to an increased willingness to participate in the classroom. A good relationship with a student helps a teacher as well. Someone who has a very strong rapport with his/her students can be considered a better-equipped teacher. Additionally, rapport helps teachers to tailor themselves and their teaching methods to suit particular needs. However, all the teachers agreed that good rapport can function as a catalyst in the learning process. Moreover, when there is a good relationship between them, students will pay more attention because they know that the teacher is serious and the teacher cares. In addition, all the teachers stated that they switch codes in the classroom to make students understand the lesson in their mother tongue, which is an excellent example of good rapport. Therefore, a favorable rapport not only helps in the learning process but also improves a student's critical and interpersonal skills.
Assessment strategies. Surprise tests are excellent ways to stimulate an inductive way of learning. However, most of the students do not like these surprises. To keep in mind students’ priorities, all the interviewees of this research set aside the surprise tests and notified their students well before any examination. One of the teachers among five used to take surprise quizzes before, but she has now stopped taking them because she feels that if she informs students before any test to get prepared, it will not harm anyone. So, having this notion, she notifies her students that they have plenty of time in hand to prepare for the test.
Contextual divergences. In academia, people from different backgrounds and mindsets come under the same roof. So, it is necessary for everyone to respect each other’s beliefs. There might be students from different social and cultural backgrounds in a class that all the teacher participants cautiously keep in mind when they deal with them. Moreover, all of them try to show utmost respect to students from each context.
Reflection. To reach the epitome of professionalism, a teacher must reflect upon his or her teaching strategies because different situations demand different tactics. However, while the interviewee teachers were asked about their reflection on strategies, they put forth several viewpoints in their own way. According to one teacher, he goes back and forth in his mind after every class and tries to recall everything in the class. After thinking critically, he then reflects and revises his teaching strategy. Moreover, before starting a new class, he always tries to go back to the previous lesson and asks for feedback from students as well by selecting them randomly. This is all about his reflection mindset. Moreover, another teacher complains that due to having outnumbered students in a class, it is tough to read each student’s mind, so sometimes reflection turns futile. However, among five teachers, four teachers more or less agreed with reflecting and revising teaching strategies. One totally disagreed with the fact that she needs any reflection. Though she has been teaching for more than one era, she never found any necessity to reflect on her thoughts. Behind this confidence, there might be a strong power of making great bonds with students that always work properly, so the teacher does not feel the necessity to revise it.
Mental health support. In terms of personal trauma, struggle, and anything regarding mental health, all the teachers agreed that they provided proper support. Moreover, due to any personal issue, if the student can show proper cause, they even give them a chance to sit for an exam again that they missed. However, being a tertiary student, a student should know where to stop, so something too personal can not be shared because, after all, "friendly teachers are not their friends." So, teachers approve or help students with their personal sufferings to a certain level, and they always invite students to share their problems which are hampering their studies, and teachers are always there to help.
Challenges of building rapport. In Bangladesh, the condition of classrooms is yet to be improved. Due to the large number of students in a small class, it is quite impossible for teachers to manage classes properly. Moreover, most of the teachers complained that there are almost 30–40 students in a class, so building rapport with each student is nothing but a fallacy. It is totally unattainable for a teacher to personally reach such outnumbered students and build rapport with each of them. However, students should be approachable in such aspects. They should come forward to share their issues. Almost all top private universities in Bangladesh have counseling hours for students, so students should take advantage of this opportunity. They should come and talk about their study-related issues as well as other problems that are shareable with the teacher.
However, according to some teachers, students in this context are quite shy and indifferent to building rapport with their teachers, even though most of the students here are not even aware of the term "Rapport." For this reason, they do not approach to create a healthy academic bonding with their teachers. As it was said before, there are too many students in a class to build rapport with each other; if the students do not step forward to make it, this bonding will never happen, and a prime aspect of education will remain in the dark.
Student's age can be a hurdle for young teachers to build rapport. At the graduate level, people from distinctive age groups come and attend. So sometimes teachers can not keep pace with their viewpoints and become confused- as per a young lecturer. However, age affects mentality, which sometimes draws boundaries of thought among people of different ages. So, this can also be considered as a challenge of building rapport in Bangladeshi private universities' ESL context.
According to a teacher participant, there were some unusual occurrences she had to face, but they usually happened very rarely. Some students, especially male students, tried to take advantage of her politeness, forgot their limits, and behaved awkwardly. She was again and again assured that it happens once in a blue moon. However, two other teachers said that being too friendly sometimes makes them take them for granted to their students. Some students think that friendly teachers are easily accessible, and they can say or do anything with them. For these reasons, sometimes the teachers themselves restrain from becoming so lenient even if they want to be. However, because of a scarce number of students, sometimes other students who really need the teacher's full support become sufferers.