My philosophy of teaching a foreign language is based on three basic concepts: in order to learn, the student needs to feel they’re in a safe, welcoming space; in order for the student to feel engaged in the lesson, it must be fun and active; and in order for the student to feel enthusiasm for the language they’re learning, they must be introduced to, and hopefully learn to appreciate, the culture or cultures that it is connected to.
The importance of creating a supportive learning environment in the classroom has become an accepted way of thinking over the last few decades, and something I have been doing intuitively since I first began teaching in 2001. I didn’t have any formal training when I began my first teaching experience, which was in an ESL program. The school in which I was to teach hired me because of my background in English and foreign language study, as well as in the theater. It was a good fit for me because I had a firm knowledge of English grammar, I understood what it was like to be a learner of a foreign language, and I was comfortable in front of a group of students. My acting skills enabled me to be outgoing, animated, and humorous in the classroom, as well as to be spontaneous, and to improvise when needed. I noticed right away that being warm and engaging made my students feel engaged as well. My students sensed, and still do in the courses I am teaching now, that I am a person they can trust not only to be a guide in foreign language learning, but for other needs they might have as students looking to succeed in an academic setting. Without this level of trust, and the sense of comfort, ease, and acceptance that I provide in the classroom, I do not believe the environment would lend itself to organic acquisition of knowledge.
The method I use in the classroom, and that which I have always used, is Communicative Language Teaching. In my experience, CLT lends itself to the use of fun and interactive activities that fits in with my teaching philosophy. One aspect of the CLT theory which is particularly important to me and that I always try to remain of aware is that, if I have a particular learning style, or styles, which contribute to how I learn best, then my students do too, and I have to assume they are varied. Therefore, I always incorporate a range of learning strategies into each aspect of the lesson. For example, if I’m focusing on a grammar point, I not only make sure they have visual and auditory aids (writing on the board, explaining verbally) but that there is a tactile aspect to the lesson which might include playing a game with dice wherein they might have to match a pronoun with a verb and then create a sentence using the correct form, and a kinesthetic one where they might get up and move around, asking and answering questions of each other, or possibly do a TPR activity such as charades. This not only ensures that my students will have fun while learning, thus remaining engaged, but that their particular learning styles will have been addressed, even though, clearly, not all students know what their own learning styles are. It is also important to state that I try to be aware of personality types in my classroom: introverts vs. extroverts; cooperative vs competitive types, etc. In conjunction with that awareness, I try to continually judge the classroom dynamics and remain aware of each students’ level of energy and engagement.
Another major goal I have as a teacher is that I want my students ultimately to be able to communicate with native speakers in the target language, which ties in with their understanding of the culture. That they have mastered the grammar and vocabulary is not as important as that they feel comfortable with conversation, even if they make mistakes, so that they will be able to connect with native speakers in authentic settings and make themselves understood while enjoying a certain level of exchange. Therefore, while I cannot re-create a totally authentic situation in the classroom, I periodically introduce cultural aspects to my lessons and activities that model the authentic experience as much as possible. I find that students become most interested in learning the language when they have the objective of using it in real-life situations with native speakers. I know these objectives are beginning to be met when the students seem relaxed communicating in a mock-authentic situation, and especially when they express that they plan to either travel to the country of the target language, with enthusiasm about trying out their abilities, or that they have used, or intend to use, the TL with co-workers, family members, or other native speakers that they know or might encounter.
While I’m realistic about the fact that some students in my classroom are simply there to fulfill an academic requirement, my purpose is always to provide an active and enjoyable experience for the learner and make sure they feel valued and comfortable. More than anything though, I constantly strive to ignite a spark of deeper interest in the language and the culture. Hopefully, my own passion and enthusiasm for the language I teach proves to be infectious to my students, and carries them forward to, if not further study of the language, then at least a deeper understanding of the world at large, and the people in it.
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