Experience comes from taking risks and learning from execution

Embarking on this teaching journey from novice to expert will put your mind, body, and soul through tasks that would have made ancient Greeks cringe. Since 2004, I have taught high school in Southern California. Every teacher has stories about their highs and lows and so will you. Teaching is a journey; there is always research to read and new students you must get to know in order to affect their lives positively. Reflective teaching does not happen after school, it happens from period to period, you'll need to make adjustments on the fly. Let go don't be afraid. Language acquisition is messy and piecemeal; go with the flow, not lesson plans from a textbook. Most importantly, be YOU!

Some of us forget what it feels like to be students learning a new language or shun change even though it is researched based. Not me. In 2016, I attended the International Forum on Language Teaching (iFLT) and realized that I could do a much better job at teaching language proficiency, not just reading and writing. In 2017, I took a Fluency Fast Mandarin class that lasted 4 long days. I knew a few words, but now I can speak enough to be dangerous; I have a better control over tones and can construct sentences with the vocabulary I know in a way that native speakers understand what I am saying. Nothing motivates like success! My placing myself in my students shoes allowed me to slow down and move at their pace and not some pacing guide and actually acquire language.

As I begin my 16th year of teaching, I continue changing the way I facilitate language in my high school classes based on an amalgamation of academic study as well as the various professional development and research institutes I participated in. I made a decision to obtain a Masters degree in teaching languages, not a language or education. I am so glad I did! I feel now know the history of the field, but I am now able to defend my pedagogical beliefs with research that pertains to my context. Second Language acquisition encompasses many other scientific fields each with their own lens and foci. I blend findings from several of these to create classroom experiences involving tasks. One of the biggest changes I'm making is teaching interculturally where culture is the key vehicle in which to provide language acquisition.