Many participants mentioned the rapport between teachers and students. According to Tilda, Leó, and Izabella, a global teacher always considers the students’ interest and if they feel the students need it, they are ready to improvise, “throw away the coursebook” (T/T-8) and dedicate the whole class to an issue. Izabella also emphasised that there should be a partnership between teachers and students because this is a feature that affects the atmosphere of the class. As she saw it, in a global teacher’s lesson, there is an agreement between the participants and “everyone knows what their role is, what they need to do, and they act accordingly” (T/I-8). Édua and Emma also remarked on the importance of creating a positive and democratic atmosphere. Apart from the positive and safe ambiance in a global teacher’s classroom, in Tilda’s views, unexpectedness should also be present, because this is “when students can thrive” and learn (T/T-8). What she was referring to is that for students to learn, creating a safe space, where they can genuinely express their opinion, is not always enough, it may be more beneficial to create a brave space (Arao & Clemens, 2013), where the teacher moves the students out of their comfort zones.

Global teachers also like to bring local, global, and intercultural issues to their classes, even if they are controversial (Á, B, K); or when the students bring them up, they are likely to elaborate on these topics and lead a discussion on them (Á, I, K, T). Tilda regards global teachers as “cool teachers” because they have the right skills and some self-knowledge, they know exactly how to behave and they “have the guts to handle these situations” (T/T-8).

Nevertheless, how can one become a globally competent teacher? All the respondents claimed that they considered themselves to be global citizens, and they listed very similar ways they develop themselves in this role. As being well-informed was deemed very important by the participants, Áron, Béla, Édua, Hedvig, Leó and Tilda reported that they follow the news on several news platforms and Áron, Hedvig, Izabella, Szilveszter and Tilda read a lot about different topics. Áron highlighted that apart from reading, he also watches numerous videos (on Youtube) and listens to podcasts. Édua underlined the importance of self-development and self-reflection in becoming a globally competent teacher, and she justified it by saying that she is consciously working on becoming more open and tolerant. Others emphasised the relevance of interpersonal relationships. Áron, for instance, loves debating with people. Szilveszter and Leó make every effort to build intercultural relationships, so they travel abroad and make friends with pleasure. Izabella, Hedvig and Klára attempt to link this to professional development, and what helps them in becoming globally competent teachers is belonging to global teacher communities, e.g., learning together with teachers from different parts of the world and participating in international projects.