beliefs & Practices

How do I promote proficiency? I believe that students can only become proficient in language by using the language as much as possible. They need to be provided with opportunities to communicate, both orally and written, where the primary goal is to communicate, rather than to simply master a grammatical feature. I encourage my students to interact in the target language as much as they are able. I have them hold short conversations as an assessment. I also have them engage in impromptu conversations with me several times a semester.

How do I engage and motivate learners?

The best way is to make learning a language fun and meaningful. I do this by playing games, sharing songs, and showing short videos.

By exposing students to a variety of language input, they can experience the language in a more real way. By learning about the students' interests, I can provide suggestions of movies, articles, songs, or books to give them more opportunities to use the language. I can also have books on-hand or provide links to various materials that students can access at their convenience.

How do I teach grammar and vocabulary? In many language classes, grammar and vocabulary are taught very explicitly, and do not lead to communicative competence. As a more experienced teacher, I continue to teach grammar and vocabulary, but in a more communicative way. I try to teach the students that the focus is communication, not grammar. In my upper level classes, I teach grammar and vocabulary as it occurs in authentic texts. This way, students can use their own skills of discovery to learn new words and structures.

How do I raise intercultural awareness? In the past, I taught culture as knowledge about different countries. Now, I share authentic materials to give students opportunities to experience both the language and the culture simultaneously.