My Teaching Philosophy

• What is teaching?

• What does good teaching look like?

• What are qualities of a good teacher?

• What theories guide good teaching?

• How is language best taught?

     Teaching is the giving of new knowledge, perspectives, or ideas from one person to another. Good teaching can take many forms, but I believe that some key indicators that one’s teaching is “good” are as follows. First, good teachers maintain an environment conducive to learning by being “warm demanders.” This means that they must express their belief in the students and establish a kind, encouraging, and caring yet professional relationship with their students (Kleinfield, 1975). This approach results in engaged and motivated students that are especially eager to learn and excel. For good teachers, being demanding means that their tasks cannot be too difficult for students to do but that they should be challenging enough to stretch the students and extend them into the next proficiency level with some support. This idea is founded on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development. Continuing with Vygotskyan theory, good teachers must also clearly explain each step of the process and model how to do things when applicable through a scaffolded approach. As such, examples and extensive practice are crucial.

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     Other indicators of good teaching include that the teacher understands learners’ differences and adapts or adjusts accordingly. Good teachers have a rich understanding of the subject they teach and can smoothly convey knowledge. They use motivational strategies and engage all learners through creative and interesting activities. They constantly assess student understanding, give feedback, and plan ahead. They use and know a variety of instructional strategies and methods that are grounded in research. They are focused on the job, always reflecting, and are looking for opportunities to teach and improve. They are empathetic towards their students and are passionate about teaching. They are patient and flexible with learners and their progress and are effective communicators—not only with students but with other professionals with whom they should collaborate. Finally, a good teacher is firmly committed and determined to help their students succeed. Success is best measured through assessments tied closely to course objectives which ideally serve student’s needs, interests, and goals.

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     I believe that the most key factors of learning a second language involve constant guided practice integrating all language skill areas, constant and personalized feedback, and focused strategy instruction. In teaching speaking, teachers should balance fluency and accuracy and consider the appropriacy and authenticity of their tasks. Pronunciation and the grammar of speaking must be addressed when inhibiting comprehension. In listening, the six core listening skills introduced by Vandergrift and Goh (2012) should be the focus. This means creating tasks in which students listen for details, for global understanding, for main ideas, selectively, to infer, and to predict. To develop students’ reading skills, a teacher should provide substantial vocabulary instruction, and should teach students how to fluently read, scan for specific information, and skim for a general idea. For writing, a teacher must emphasize one’s audience, purpose, context, formatting, and genre; in addition to one’s lexical, mechanical, and grammatical use. Grammar should be taught in preparation before productive tasks and in response to common student errors.