My Teaching Philosophy
I wanted to become a world language teacher after my freshman year in high school when I enrolled in my very first French class. I had chosen French because it was the language of my family, my grandfather was from New Brunswick, a French speaking territory in Canada, and I wanted to be able to converse with him in French. I’d always been fascinated whenever he would speak French to me and that’s when my love of language began. My first year in high school I had a French teacher who changed my view of the world and ultimately shaped my future career path, the way she connected with each and every one of her students and got us to love the French language inspired me to do the same in my future. It is because of her that I have traveled the world, learned two new languages and learned so much about not only other cultures but about myself as well.
I strongly believe that learning a second language is something that all students need to do at some point throughout their education. Having learned two languages has changed the way I see the world and has ultimately shaped the way I want to live my life. Traveling is a huge passion of mine and has opened my eyes to amazing sights, people and places that I most likely would have never experienced had I not pursued an education in foreign languages. I want my students to see what life is like outside of the United States and see that not everyone has a McDonalds on every corner and that there is a huge and amazing world worthy of exploring out there.
The environment in a world language classroom is unlike any other and that is part of the reason I was so excited to come to French class every day in high school. I strive to create a classroom that has a fun, laid back feeling to it where each and every student feels comfortable and appreciated. I want my students to be excited to come to class and experiment with another language and culture other than their own. Learning in a foreign language classroom has a lot more freedom than many other classrooms, we have the ability to play games and listen to music all while learning new things. It gives us as foreign language teachers the ability to diversify the learning process, which gives all of my students a chance to learn the content in their own way and at their own pace.
I’m all about hands on learning where students learn by doing rather than reading a textbook and writing down notes. My dream is to turn my classroom into a Flipped Classroom where my students learn the lessons online either at home or after school and we spend class time actually using what they learned. For many students traditional homework is a frustrating experience because they don’t have access to their teacher for help but by flipping the classroom this frustration is no longer an issue because not only do they have their teacher present but their fellow students as well. By cutting out the need to take notes in class this gives me the time needed to focus on Project Based Learning where students learn by doing various projects that connect to the real world. In a traditional classroom there simply isn’t enough time to work on these big projects and it is a detriment to our students learning. Being able to flip my classroom would take a lot of work and resources but overall it would provide my students with much higher level of learning in the end.
When my students walk into my classroom I want them to feel at home and consider it a place of peace and comfort if they’re having a bad day. I want them to let loose in class and try new things in a language that may be foreign to them but that will end up being second nature by the end of the year. I want to incorporate technology into our classroom on all levels to not only increase their understanding of French but their understanding of the digital world we live in today. I want my students to enjoy their learning experience and gain not only an understanding of the language but an appreciation for the people and culture as well. But most of all I want my students to love learning.
“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.”
-Rita Mae Brown