The ever-changing nature of second language acquisition in a fast-changing globalizing world requires one to thoroughly consider a teaching philosophy. Today’s learners are different in that they have access to new modes of learning due to breakthroughs in online technology. Moreover, social interaction is regarded to be an integral component of the learning process, and therefore progressively becoming a crucial part of it. Therefore, my overall goal is to develop a student-centered environment where students learn through social interaction and collaboration with the support of technology. Students are provided with tasks that develop negotiation of meaning by means of communicative methodology grounded in constructivist theory in which the learners lead their own learning ,and learn by experiencing and being immersed in the learning process with the guidance of an instructor in a collaborative environment.
Although it is a daunting task to ‘’define’’ a role as a teacher, I have come to believe that I play the role of a facilitator, guide and learner inside the classroom. As a facilitator, the learning process is designed according to the needs of the learners, their skills, backgrounds and experiences. Therefore, I attach utmost importance to learning about my learners to inform my teaching and assist my learners in facilitating their own learning by means of autonomy and rendering them responsible for their own learning. This is fulfilled in two ways. Firstly, the learners are provided with the right questions and content designed according to the above-mentioned elements. This helps them question the content, material and motivate them to be curious to be able to find the answers to those questions. The second point is that the guide role I assume inside the classroom is related to invoking learner curiosity by means of provision of good feedback, questions that lead learners to discovering the content and methods of their own learning, therefore avoiding spoon-feeding as much as possible in certain instances. On the other hand, as a learner, I am aware of the challenges that the learners may undergo during language learning, and try to empathize with them, and increase their learning by means of using the data I gather from my learners and use this data to inform my teaching style and classroom management. For this reason, I learn from my learners which are also sources of knowledge with their own personal background, extant content-related and real-world knowledge which are both fruitful both for the teacher and the learners.
In a typical classroom I teach, students are active participants, team members, responsible collaborators (for their own learning and group work activities), autonomous and curious reflectors. I apply a learner-centered teaching approach which is based on the needs, skills and wants of my learners. We negotiate our expectations from each other (learners from the class, teacher from the learners, and learners from the course and teacher). Within this respect, the CEFR objectives for each skill strand (writing, reading, speaking, listening) is incorporated as a reflective tool for tracking progress and to take action if need be based on a CEFR sheet prepared by the teacher. On the other hand, the use of exit tickets during the week also endows the learners with a chance to reflect on their learning and assist me in understanding the design of the lessons better and take action upon any problems that may arise based on the feedback received from the learners. Furthermore, learners work in groups and share relevant knowledge with each other while helping one another discover content/ subject and use this content to achieve goals clearly defined at the beginning of a lesson or a course by means of collaboration for efficient learning.
At this point, it is worthwhile to state that provision of collaborative tasks inside the classroom raise learner awareness levels of their own learning in groups as they are actively engaged in reflection activities (of how certain content, materials and methods contribute to their own learning by means of question-sessions by the teacher and students). Last but not least, the learners use their curiosity to continue learning outside. I am also of the opinion that it is quite significant to benefit from students’ pre-existing knowledge and experiences (which help personalize learning and motivate learners as this provides them with a meaningful opportunity for discovering) and comparing, contrasting their knowledge with the content in question (i.e. a reading text).
I merge a collection of teaching methods (learner-centred which allows learners to collaborate and participate in their own learning actively) and approaches to meet the goals and objectives of the course or program being taught. Nonetheless, when relevant, weight is given to the Task Based Language Teaching approach. I try to design activities that allow participants to modify content to their own goals and to co-construct meanings that are unpredictable and personal. I aim to organize the learning process as meaningful and to consider learners' values, relationships, experiences, and prior knowledge. I also maintain that it is essential they be challenged to experience how to learn and to be engaged and involved in their own learning process (reflective learning). Thus, I embed language learning strategies into course materials and strongly reassure active participation both offline and online. As a teacher, I feel it is crucial to communicate a personal interest and enthusiasm for L2 acquisition. In my learning settings, I aim for an environment that accommodates open communication and where students are happy and complacent being active in their language without fear of making mistakes. However, it is also noteworthy that the objectives and goals of the course also shape the teaching methods to be utilized in my classes as well as learner profile, which has great impact on how to employ these lessons. Last but not least, a learner-centered class is mostly directed by the choices of learners themselves as each individual has abilities at a variety of levels.
As a qualified and experienced teacher, I am well aware of my own development (personal and professional) and benefit from reflective practices to monitor and improve my teaching skills. To be an effective teacher, I must also contribute to the field, institution, and community through research, as part of maintaining an open mind towards innovative teaching methodologies. I apply the best practices drawn from recent literature on foreign language pedagogy. I believe that the perfect teaching method does not exist, yet I try to apply a myriad of existing methods to increase effective learning