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One of the indispensable elements of education in general, and language teaching in particular, is building good rapport in the classroom. A classroom with strong rapport promotes a learning environment through friendly relationships, trust, respect, and mental engagement between the teacher and students, as well as among students. Senior (2006) stated that the rapport teachers develop in their classes seems to them as significant as the pedagogy itself. Harmer (2015) identifies the ability to build rapport as one of the essential qualities of good teachers.  He states: “In classes with good rapport, anything is possible because the students believe their teacher is a good teacher” (p. 114). He refers to this as the magic of rapport. The interactions between teachers and their students significantly influence both the classroom environment and learning outcomes (Wang,  Continue Reading →