Teaching Philosophy

What do I believe about teaching and learning foreign languages?

I’ve been intrigued by language learning since I can remember. My goal was always to learn a second language, if for nothing else than to say I could speak it. I signed up for high school Spanish in the eighth grade excited at the opportunity to learn another language. I loved the class, continually doing well on tests and projects. However, after my first year I still couldn’t interact with the language. After high school into college, I still wasn’t able to communicate in Spanish until I studied abroad and was immersed in the language. Once I was able to connect the grammar and vocabulary knowledge with the communicative competences, I instantly loved the language and wanted to pursue a career in teaching it. Through the rest of this philosophy, I will explain how I came to become a Spanish teacher, how I view my teaching practices, and what I believe to be the most effective manners of instruction and assessment based on the literature I've read and my experiences.