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In my teaching philosophy, I detail how the quote "Whatever you are, be a good one." drives my desire to be an effective language teacher that cultivates a love for language learning in my students. Being a teacher is also a commitment to being a lifelong learner. I am always seeking to improve my teaching practice and language skills as I progress throughout my career. My desire to "be a good one" is what drove me to pursue admission to and completion of the MAFLT program at Michigan State University and is what has made me into the language teacher I am today. The brief summaries below, my teaching philosophy, teaching demonstration, and teacher research provide insight into who I am and strive to be as a teacher.
How I Promote Proficiency
How I Promote Proficiency
I promote proficiency in my classroom through target language use. I, myself, of course use the Spanish as much as possible in the classroom and encourage students to do the same. I provide opportunities for students to use Spanish authentically and incidentally in a variety of contexts to promote the development of their communicative competence.
How I Engage and Motivate Learners
How I Engage and Motivate Learners
For me, engaging and motivating learners begins with a solid foundation of a strong relationship between us. From day one I ensure that my students are aware that respecting each other and the language learning process is our highest priority. As I continue to cultivate a positive, comfortable classroom environment, I love to provide encouraging feedback (even negative feedback can be presented in an encouraging way!) that reinforces students' learning efforts. Tasks and activities that draw on students' interests are key to keeping their interest. My goal for engaging learners is that they are so consumed by the task that they are hardly aware of their learning.
How I Teach Grammar and Vocabulary
How I Teach Grammar and Vocabulary
Input enhancement and student noticing are two key strategies for how grammar and vocabulary and acquired in my classroom. Rather than handing students a list of vocabulary and a few grammatical rules, I prefer to highlight/bold text, emphasize audio from videos, etc. to help students figure out on their own what a word means or notice something grammatically. This is always my goal, however teaching middle school, sometimes in order to maintain student engagement there are times that students simply request an explanation. I find that by meeting students where they are at and providing that explanation is what keeps them motivated and continues to build our relationship.
By holding myself to this lofty goal of allowing students to implicitly take up vocabulary and grammar, students develop their skills in a more authentic manner.
How I raise Intercultural Awareness
How I raise Intercultural Awareness
I raise intercultural awareness by designing activities that are designed to do so. As the teacher, I am the facilitator of connections that students will make cross-culturally and I allow them to do so implicitly rather than explicitly. Rather than providing "cold hard facts" about cultures in Spanish-speaking countries I provide students with authentic resources and allow them to form opinions, make connections, and develop their intercultural competence.
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