Abstract
This study examines the dimensions in teacher-student relationship in the language classroom. It also explores the most and the least desirable qualities of the language teacher as perceived by a cohort of Malaysian university students, and the hierarchy of these qualities. It has been proposed that cultural mores predominant within a particular society would determine the patterns of teacher-student interpersonal communication and influence the learners’ perceptions of their teachers. The present study adopts some relevant frameworks developed in other academic disciplines to examine these issues. Participants in this study were one hundred students learning the Russian language at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. This study employed Gardner’s (1985) instrument as a research tool; two open-ended questions about language teacher’s most and least desirable qualities were added to the instrument. Results of the quantitative analysis of the data showed that teacher-student relationship is built along clearly identifiable dimensions. Qualitative analysis of the open-ended questions revealed that the students’ perceptions of a “good teacher” are less culturally bound than it has been reported in some previous studies; three most desirable for the teacher qualities (i.e., caring/empathetic, patient, friendly) are all relationship-oriented. 

Key words: teacher-student relationship, language teaching/learning, teacher characteristics, culture, Asian educational context, Malaysia