As a teacher, I see myself as a facilitator of language learning, but also, I see myself as sort of a student because I strive to learn about other languages outside of my own beside teaching English. Even when teaching English is my primary role, learning the other students\u2019 languages of origin is an educational experience that I crave and also a strategy that I would use to bond with my students and show them that their languages are just as valuable as English. I would draw upon the knowledge of their languages in order to make parallels between them and the structure of English and show where English is different. In short, my job is to guide students through the vocabulary and syntax of the English language, while using their native languages as a guide wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a teacher, my responsibility is to empower my students by building upon their existing skills and desires to acquire the English language while validating their own linguistic backgrounds. I will accomplish this by getting to know my students and seeing what their strengths and weaknesses are when using English in the classroom. I will work to build the confidence of my students by highlighting what they are doing well and working with them to make corrections where needed. My job is to answer questions that my students ask and take the initiative to identify gaps in their understanding. I will not just identify misunderstandings but seek the reasons behind them. Students may learn something about English that is in conflict with their own linguistic background and that generates confusion, for example. I will communicatively walk students through their questions, drawing upon another learned language if it is relevant, and attempt to illuminate an understanding that makes sense to us both. This is the way to achieve mutually meaningful learning, and then students will practice to solidify their learning.
Students have a responsibility to do their utmost to learn and utilize the material being taught in the context of their own authentic desires and their reasons for learning English. However, they also bring with them their own linguistic backgrounds that inform their development of English and that also educate me and the other students on the languages that they know and whatever parallels and differences exist between them and English. The ideal student, first and foremost, is one who genuinely wants to learn English for whatever reason. They should demonstrate this desire by paying attention in class and doing their best to learn to emulate vocabulary and the syntax of English and learning to
apply it in meaningful contexts. They should ask questions and seek help whenever they need it, and they should practice their language skills until they are confident in their ability to navigate the anglophone world with minimal assistance.
I believe that the very first ingredient for genuine learning is a genuine purpose for the material that is meaningful to the student. The student could want to work in an English-speaking country, attend school in one, or they may just enjoy language like I do. This is critical because learning will not be retained without a genuine motivation for it. Once motivation is established, then the student should be taught the vocabulary and syntax to make coherent English sentences. I think that vocabulary should go with meaningful contexts in order to stick with students. For example, to teach food-related vocabulary, an activity about grocery shopping or ordering at a restaurant should be used. Universally recognizable visuals should be employed to teach students vocabulary, since it is engaging and because I cannot realistically learn every word in every other language. Then, students should have the freedom to explore their own authentic interests for contexts to learn to practice English. With enough practice, these students should achieve success.
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I will use a combination of both basic and interactional styles of language teaching. I will use more basic audiolingual and grammar teaching methods to teach dialogues and syntax, and I will employ communicative language teaching (CLT) so that students can use language within meaningful contexts and with the objective of meaningful output. As a teacher, my utmost priority is for students to build confidence in their ability to speak English meaningfully because meaningful language use takes priority over prescriptively correct language. From there, I would then correct minor grammatical errors in a way that doesn’t hamper the students’ confidence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a teacher, I see myself as a facilitator of language learning, but also, I see myself as sort of a student because I strive to learn about other languages outside of my own beside teaching English. Even when teaching English is my primary role, learning the other students\u2019 languages of origin is an educational… <\/p>\n