There are many roles I would like to take on for the sake of my students. I would like to be their aid in learning the English language, I would like for them to see me as the authority on the English language, I would like to see them excel with my help. With the right mindset and motivation, anything is possible within my classroom. I know learning English is not the easiest thing to do. In fact, learning any new language is difficult for a beginner. It can be very intimidating to speak in another language for fear of embarrassing oneself. I hope that my students will be comfortable speaking in my classroom, and I hope they will understand that it is okay to make mistakes. Their mistakes will be corrected, and they will not be shamed for something like mispronouncing a word or using the wrong verb tense. I know what it is like to learn a second language and how anxiety-inducing it can be. I hope that my experiences can translate into their experiences.

            I hope that my students will be more than just students in my classroom. I would like them to be comfortable with one another, and not treat each other like fellow students but fellow peers learning together. After all, they are there to learn together. I want them to be able to aid their fellow classmates and be able to lift each other up when one makes a mistake. It should be more like a small community rather than a suffocating classroom. I do not want my classroom to be just filled with memorization, test-taking and homework. I know how it feels to be “learning” within the classroom where the teacher’s only goal is to have us memorize the material rather than actually learning it. While I will not discount how important it is to track my student’s progress through tests and homework, that is not what I want my class to solely be about. The students should be able to have times where they take control of the activities, rather than having me take full control of everything.

            Learning is not as straight-forward as many people seem to think it is. Learning is different for every individual. There is no one way where learning is achieved. Every student has a goal for themselves, and I believe that is where the basis of learning begins. Whether they have several objectives, or just one long-term goal does not matter. Those are the building blocks in which they will learn to do their best to excel in my classroom. While memorizing things like conjugations and vocabulary is important, it should not be the only thing that my students are doing. Along with the memorization, it should be applied to everyday life, so these concepts stick in their minds rather than wilting away once they leave my classroom. Being able to apply everything my students will learn in the classroom to their everyday lives is important. It shows that they have truly learned the material, rather than it just sitting in their brain for eternity.

            The Communicative Language Teaching method is one of my favorite methods to utilize. Rather than just focusing on written work within the classroom, my students will be able to have opportunities to interact with and communicate with objects/people that pertain to learning the English language. I find it to be much more effective for language learning. However, that does not mean I shy away from other methods. I find it best to integrate a mix of methods, rather than just sticking to one. For example, Game-Based Learning is also something that interests me teaching-wise. I have always been a fan of using games to help people learn, as it is something that helped me learn when I was younger. I know how excited I was when the teacher told us we would be playing a game, so I expect the students to also receive educational-type games well in the classroom. It is a good change of pace from the typical classroom setting of work and memorization.