I think what makes an educator a good educator is the ability to self-reflect on teaching experiences. Over time something we thought was okay in the past may not be true about us now as the more we teach and learn, the more we grow both professionally and personally. When I started teaching English as a Foreign Language in Russia in 2016, I had some views about teaching and learning languages that no longer align with my teaching beliefs. For example, nativespeakerism (Holliday, 2005) was a concept I often used in my classroom, especially in terms of teaching pronunciation. I would focus on how students should sound instead of helping them find their voice and identity. However, now in my classes, when I teach pronunciation I focus mostly on intelligibility (Celce-Murcia et al., 2010) and cover the features of pronunciation that are important for learners to understand and be understood by interlocutors. My self-reflection, professional development opportunities, and most importantly feedback from my colleagues and students have been important elements of my career as a language educator. In the MA in Language Teaching Studies program I was able to reflect on my experiences even more and be able to collect these thoughts in writing.
Statement of Beliefs (1).pdfIn my LT 548 Curriculum & Materials Development class, I developed a teaching beliefs statement or teaching philosophy statement — an important document that helps teachers showcase their approach to teaching and their beliefs on language education. As I wrote the statement back in January 2024, it will soon be updated as teaching beliefs change and evolve with the more experience I get. In my current version of the teaching philosophy statement, I outlined the following beliefs that are important to me both as a teacher and a human being: I pledge… (1) to create a brave space where learning is cultivated and mistakes are seen as part of growth; (2) not to perpetuate stereotypes about speakers of the languages I teach and members of communities and cultures; (3) not to promote the idea of nativespeakerism in the classroom and help learners find their voice; (4) to give students grace and implement error correction strategies that are humane and helpful for learners; (5) to include more voices and identities into my instruction to promote diversity, inclusion, and mutual understanding; (6) not to assume what my students know or do not know; (7) to create an equitable space for learners and follow Universal Design for Learning.
In my LT 537 Second Language Teaching Practice (or “Talking With Ducks”) class, I had the opportunity to try out some of the activities with ESL learners at the American English Institute. The important part of this experience was that I was able to not only get feedback from learners and peers but also to self-reflect on my teaching. It was helpful to watch the recordings of my teaching-in-progress and later think about what went well and what can be improved in the future. In my final reflection for the LT 537 class, I included the transcript of the second round of class sessions about holidays that I was co-facilitating with Iris Lai and a reflection on both my teacher talk and the overall class experience. In the reflection, I outlined that it was important to create a safe space for learners where they could practice their English without being judged and that the idea of fluency over accuracy (Thornbury, 2000) aligns with my teaching beliefs. I also included my reflection on collaboration with my peers as I think an educator must be able to work collaboratively.
Final Reflections Parts 1-3 A_Kotov (1).pdfTutoring Practice Follow-Up Report (1).pdfIn my LT 539 Design for Learning Language Pronunciation class, I facilitated two tutoring sessions on North American English (NAE) pronunciation to an international Graduate Employee at the University of Oregon’s Department of Anthropology over Zoom. The goal of the initial session was to conduct a diagnosis and outline the features of NAE pronunciation that the tutee needs some work on. During the second session, the tutee was able to learn about features and get to practice both the segmental (lax vs tense vowels) and suprasegmental (prominence) features of NAE that I outlined as those that need improvement for increasing intelligibility and comprehensibility. I also shared online tools that help practice NAE pronunciation. Afterward, I wrote a tutoring practice follow-up report that helped me reflect on the experience. In my report, I outlined my strong skills in materials development for the diagnosis and also included a reflection on my ability to explain the rules and material which I think I should work on to make it more concise and include less “technical” terms.
References
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D., Goodwin, J. M., & Griner, B. (2010). Teaching pronunciation: a course book and reference guide (Second edition.). Cambridge University Press.
Holliday, A. (2005). The struggle to teach English as an international language, Oxford University Press.
Thornbury, S. (2000). Accuracy, fluency, and complexity. ELT Professional, 16, 3-6.