beliefs & Practices

I believe that the focus of a language class should be what students can actually do with the language. Students need input of the target language in order to produce output, which means that approximately 90% of instruction should be in the target language. Students should be aware of where they currently are with their language skills and what they need to do in order to increase their proficiency. I am still on a journey to make my classroom more proficiency-based.

Learning a foreign language is a lot of work and can be frustrating for some students, so it is important to keep them engaged and motivated. In class, I include the students in the process of creating stories and other resources to aid in their learning, which makes the material more engaging. I try to incorporate different kinds of activities that appeal to students in various ways. I also make a point to check in frequently with students to in order to better support their individual needs.

In traditional language classes, the main focus is on grammar and vocabulary, which are usually taught explicitly and out of context. I have done this in the past, but have shifted to teaching these topics in a more contextualized manner. I want students to see the necessary words and verb forms in readings and stories and learn the meaning before form. After that, we can then bring specific attention to the grammar and discuss how it works, which allows them to put all of the pieces together.

Culture is typically taught as a list of facts that can be learned about a specific group of people, and can be seen as something that is separate from language. However, I have come to realize that that is not the case. Therefore, I strive to promote interculturality within my students in order for them to better understand other people. It is ideal to have intercultural elements built into the instruction and activities to show students how culture and language are intertwined. I want my students to realize that "Other" does not mean wrong.