Teaching philosophy

Since the birth of civilization the unifying tool of human existence has always been Language. Language is used to create utterances and written input for means of communication. In order to create such masterpieces we need to develop our skills in manipulating and using our language. It is a combination of those innate skills and acquired ones. I believe that Language is part of our nature, a piece of our identity. Language creates culture and culture makes our language, either way it is crucial to our existence. This so called first language is a foundation for the connection of us as individuals with the rest of the world.

“Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language, natural communication, in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances, but with the message they are conveying and understanding.” (Stephen D. Krashen, 1983) By making input interesting to the students, by relating it with past experiences meaningful interaction occurs, allowing the student to do learning and not just simple acquisition; also we have to keep in mind that the facts of quantity and quality of input are to be taken seriously. My ESL teaching philosophy revolves around integrative, pragmatic and constructivist visions and can only be accomplished during the set of an appropriate learning environment in which levels of anxiety are excluded. (Krashens affective Filter hypothesis).

 Learning has to take place in ways of non present defensiveness; on the contrary, motivation has to be the center of enhancement. While the students develop a sense of confidence they develop language ego, self esteem and a positive attitude towards learning. This way they will interact among each others, they will participate and produce. As a future teacher I think that selecting the appropriate teaching approach is the hardest work educators have in their hands. In second language teaching I consider the Communicative language approach, Suggestopedia, Content based learning, Natural approach and some other necessary inside a classroom. Errors are not always necessary to correct with irritating impulse, errors must be handled with understanding. This is what the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis states, and what I follow. A teacher must understand the interlingual transfer and the intralingual processes the learner will be exposed to. This will help to understand why these errors are taking place to know when or how to correct them. Affective and cognitive feedback will mark a difference in the learner instead of monitoring aggressively for language production and comprehension. Because remember, knowing the grammar rules of a language will not mean one will be able to be competent in communicative interaction. I am all about constructivism.

 My pragmatic philosophy is based on the importance of creative ideas of learning. It consists in giving the students the opportunity of being creative during the usage of their skills in the multiple intelligences. For example, if the student is musical let’s give him activities in which he can maybe create song lyrics in the L2. It is basically taking an advantage of the skills the students have to help them be more engage in learning. Using language arts, fun but also meaningful activities, like plays, creating short stories etc… The intention is to let the students be creative by following the teachers expectations of the objective that he/she wants to accomplish. It can also be done by taking an advantage of hi-tech devices in the classroom. Teachers must expect the students to use Technology that can be reachable for them, like computers. For me, second language acquisition does not only consist on doing PowerPoint, presi or word presentations, it is also about using what other teachers consider antique; books.

My ESL teaching philosophy consists in giving the students the tools they need by making sure that the input will have a lifetime meaning in their lifes, not just to follow academic goals. It is about creating the appropriate environment for leaning while understanding the students first. Understanding how to approach them, what strategies must be used to teach them and to create a conscious vision of their particular needs. There is no wonder that diversity is present in all classrooms but my theory is based in the expectations of understanding the student’s uniqueness and molding them to feel motivated for learning more in the future. My teaching philosophy does not consist in opening doors for the students, it consists in helping the students to board Plaines to view the world and know they can make it anywhere.