Untitled Document

Teaching Philosophy
I remember the enthusiasm I felt many years ago when I decided to start learning a foreign language. Over the years my enthusiasm has never waned, but it was drastically influenced by the teachers I had, as well as the environment in the classroom. Now, many years later, looking back on all of the different experiences that I had while being a student in a foreign language classroom, all of the things that I liked and did not like, I have formulated my own opinions as to how foreign languages should be taught within the typical classroom, as well as in situations that vary from the normal classroom. In order to teach effectively, it is important to know why I want to teach and what types of resources I would use in the classroom to help make my students’ experience in my classroom better and more beneficial. Looking back over all the years that I have spent sitting in different classrooms as a student and all the things that I have experienced that work and do not work in a classroom, I definitely have a better idea now of what I can do in my classroom as a teacher that will hopefully engage my students and help them to learn and enjoy Spanish. Here at Penn State, we are lucky enough to have wonderful technological resources such as PowerPoint and Angel, not to mention the wealth of information and resources that can be found online. Both allow me to better structure classroom time and activities so that students are able to spend more time communicating in Spanish, as well as allowing students to be more proactive about their learning since they can access either resource at any hour of the day. This is especially true for the students that do not feel as comfortable communicating in class. Angel is especially beneficial for the students, as they are required to cover class material themselves before coming to class, where they then use the same information to communicate in the target language (Spanish). Having the crucial points of the lessons presented online and then augmented by the in-class PowerPoints allows students to really focus on the information that is being presented, and then effectively use that same information to communicate, rather than spending the entire class madly scribbling down notes in an attempt to capture everything that was said. Not only that, but PowerPoint gives me a means through which I can order and organize information so that what I am teaching for that day is in the most salient form possible. By giving the students with these additional tools that help them focus on the important information, we are better preparing them for success by making the learning and language acquisition processes much simpler and learner-geared. Using Angel and PowerPoint also allows the students to focus more on helping them to better their communication skills, rather than spending the entire class focusing on learning and memorizing grammar rules. In addition to these two wonderful technological resources that are available to the students, there are also so many other such invaluable resources, like the internet, that allow me to help my students to access the Spanish-speaking world through as many ways as possible. I not only want to ensure that my students have a solid foundation in good language skills, but I want to give them the knowledge about the many diverse cultures and peoples that live in Spanish-speaking countries. Most people will tell you that the best way to learn a foreign language is by immersing yourself in a country or situation where that language is the lingua franca. However, since that is not an option for all students, it is my job to help bring the Spanish-speaking world to them. With the internet, I can access all types of realia and many different types of media, such as books, music, movies, and newspapers, among other things, to help bring the world to my students. So in essence, my goal in the classroom is to effectively use the technological resources at hand to help improve the students’ acquisition of Spanish. As I mentioned before, both Angel and PowerPoint allow me to better organize class time and classroom activities so that students are able to glean the most out of the 50 minutes that they spend in class with me. They are able to focus more on communication than on taking notes and trying to remember every example and phrase that was said in class. Not only that, but through the available technology, I am able to provide them with real world scenarios in which their Spanish will prove useful. Hopefully this will help them to see the class not simply a requirement, but as a gateway to a whole other world full of new experiences and opportunities.
HOME

Teaching Philosophy

I remember the enthusiasm I felt many years ago when I decided to start learning a foreign language. Over the years my enthusiasm has never waned, but it was drastically influenced by the teachers I had, as well as the environment in the classroom. Now, many years later, looking back on all of the different experiences that I had while being a student in a foreign language classroom, all of the things that I liked and did not like, I have formulated my own opinions as to how foreign languages should be taught within the typical classroom, as well as in situations that vary from the normal classroom.

In order to teach effectively, it is important to know why I want to teach and what types of resources I would use in the classroom to help make my students’ experience in my classroom better and more beneficial. Looking back over all the years that I have spent sitting in different classrooms as a student and all the things that I have experienced that work and do not work in a classroom, I definitely have a better idea now of what I can do in my classroom as a teacher that will hopefully engage my students and help them to learn and enjoy Spanish.

Here at Penn State, we are lucky enough to have wonderful technological resources such as PowerPoint and Angel, not to mention the wealth of information and resources that can be found online. Both allow me to better structure classroom time and activities so that students are able to spend more time communicating in Spanish, as well as allowing students to be more proactive about their learning since they can access either resource at any hour of the day. This is especially true for the students that do not feel as comfortable communicating in class. Angel is especially beneficial for the students, as they are required to cover class material themselves before coming to class, where they then use the same information to communicate in the target language (Spanish). Having the crucial points of the lessons presented online and then augmented by the in-class PowerPoints allows students to really focus on the information that is being presented, and then effectively use that same information to communicate, rather than spending the entire class madly scribbling down notes in an attempt to capture everything that was said. Not only that, but PowerPoint gives me a means through which I can order and organize information so that what I am teaching for that day is in the most salient form possible. By giving the students with these additional tools that help them focus on the important information, we are better preparing them for success by making the learning and language acquisition processes much simpler and learner-geared. Using Angel and PowerPoint also allows the students to focus more on helping them to better their communication skills, rather than spending the entire class focusing on learning and memorizing grammar rules.

In addition to these two wonderful technological resources that are available to the students, there are also so many other such invaluable resources, like the internet, that allow me to help my students to access the Spanish-speaking world through as many ways as possible. I not only want to ensure that my students have a solid foundation in good language skills, but I want to give them the knowledge about the many diverse cultures and peoples that live in Spanish-speaking countries. Most people will tell you that the best way to learn a foreign language is by immersing yourself in a country or situation where that language is the lingua franca. However, since that is not an option for all students, it is my job to help bring the Spanish-speaking world to them. With the internet, I can access all types of realia and many different types of media, such as books, music, movies, and newspapers, among other things, to help bring the world to my students.

So in essence, my goal in the classroom is to effectively use the technological resources at hand to help improve the students’ acquisition of Spanish. As I mentioned before, both Angel and PowerPoint allow me to better organize class time and classroom activities so that students are able to glean the most out of the 50 minutes that they spend in class with me. They are able to focus more on communication than on taking notes and trying to remember every example and phrase that was said in class. Not only that, but through the available technology, I am able to provide them with real world scenarios in which their Spanish will prove useful. Hopefully this will help them to see the class not simply a requirement, but as a gateway to a whole other world full of new experiences and opportunities.

HOME