Amanda Lundquist 1737

LING 429
Prof. David Catterick
3 December 2014
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.
-Benjamin Franklin

My experience as a student has confirmed that involvement is the key to learning. I have
been in classrooms where the teacher stands at the front and talks through the material with the
class. I have also been in classrooms where we do hands-on activities, group discussion, and the
teacher engages with the students. The year after I had taken those classes I could remember
most of the material covered in the interactive classroom, whereas the material from the lecture
classroom was foggy and I could only remember general ideas. There is a gap between how the
teacher and the learners see the classroom, and though the teacher may control the
experiences...it is the learner who selects what is learnt from them (Bailey & Nunan 1996).
Therefore, the concept of an interactive classroom has followed me into the classrooms where I
have taught. The more I involved the students in the learning process the more open they were to
learning, the more engaged they were in the activities, and the more fun they had in the process.
One way in which I involve my students is showing interest in their lives inside and
outside of the classroom. I make a point of learning as much as I can about each of their learning
styles; such as how they learn best, what they enjoy doing, what they need to work on, and what

their educational background is. Knowing what my students need from a programme helps me to
know how to help them and how to keep them involved in the learning process. Not only do I
learn about my students as learners, but I also build personal relationships with each of my
students. An example that I have modelled myself after is from my practicum sponsor teacher,
Sasha Sahlmueller. I taught Sasha's class for ten hours in total at Regina Open Door Society. The
students were all immigrants from various countries with different backgrounds. They would
come to Sasha with personal questions or problems and she would provide guidance, care, and
friendship to each student. Not only did she know almost everything about her students, they
knew quite a lot about her as well. There was a high degree of transparency which made building
relationships easy in that classroom. In order for this kind of relationship to function well, the
teacher needs to have three basic attributes: empathy, acceptance, and congruence (Dornyei &
Murphey 2003). Sasha possessed these three attributes which made building relationships a
smooth process. I make a point of exercising those attributes every time I teach.
Another key aspect of involvement is developing a safe learning environment. Learning a
new language in a classroom environment is one of the most face-threatening
[experiences]...learners are forced to 'babble like a child' which might just be the last straw for
some whose personal identity is already unstable or damaged (Dornyei 2001). Learners need to
take a considerable amount of risk to produce answers because there is a lot to pay attention to
such as grammar, pronunciation, and intonation. However, in a safe supportive classroom
students feel comfortable taking risks because they know that they will not be embarrassed or
criticized if they make a mistake (Dornyei 2001). Last summer I went on my internship and I
taught for four weeks in QingTongXia, Ningxia. My students were all Chinese English primary
teachers. During the first couple days they were so afraid of losing face that they would rarely

talk in class. I kept encouraging them to make mistakes because if you make a mistake then you
learn what you did wrong and how to fix it. Eventually my students became less afraid to take
risks because they knew that I was supportive, non-judgmental, and encouraging. The other
students followed this trend and by the end of the first week the classroom was a supportive
atmosphere. Friendly and supportive behaviour by the teacher is infectious and students are
likely to follow suit (Dornyei and Murphey 2003). I believe that the teacher's behaviour and the
classroom environment are inseparable. The classroom environment stems from how the teacher
acts and treats his/her students. This is why investing personal interest in your students is key in
creating a safe and supportive classroom environment. The element of trust has already been
established which allows for mistakes to be made without condemnation.
Building relationships and creating a safe classroom environment are both important
aspects to have. Yet you can have both these things and your students may still find it difficult to
be involved in the lesson. For this reason I believe that it is crucial develop lesson plans with the
needs of my learners in mind. Lessons that have been developed through joint learners-teacher
efforts, are more likely to stir learner interest, create interesting opportunities...and equip learners
with the language skills necessary for coping with their language needs (Egbert 2003). I am a
big believer in personalizing the lesson and doing active tasks to stimulate learner interest and to
make the lesson fun. Even in the case of set curriculum, there are and will be lessons that are not
necessarily the most appealing. So in order to make these texts motivating, we need to relate the
subjects to the everyday experiences and backgrounds of the students (Dornyei 2001). It is my
job as the teacher to spend time making sure that the learners stay engaged and interested in what
they learning. They need to see the relevance of what I am teaching them.
In looking for ways to make learning more fun and topics more interesting, I am to a

certain degree letting the learners guide my teaching. I observe my students on a daily basis so
that I can base my lesson plans around the areas that need improvement, what they find exciting,
and do this in a way that they learn best from. Not only do I observe my students in order to
know what they need from each lesson, but I also encourage them to give me feedback. This is
something that I did on my internship during the first week. I asked my students what I could
improve on as a teacher so that they could get the most out of the material. This chain of open
and honest communication enhanced their learning experience and I also learned how to be a
better teacher from their feedback. If this communication is not present in the classroom then
there is likely to be confusion, tension, and even conflict. If these are not resolved through
discussion and negotiation, the effectiveness of the classroom will most certainly be affected
(Richards 1996). Teaching and learning is a two way street that I hold at high value in my
classrooms. Obviously there will be some decisions that have to be made by the teacher, but
having the learners involved in some decision making in the classroom allows for a higher
learning quality.
As seen from my practicum and internship, learning a second language opens up many
doors. My role as a language teacher makes me a facilitator of life in a new country and I am
excited to provide help and more opportunities for my students. My favourite lessons that I
taught during my practicum were practical ones that applied to the students' daily lives. Since
they were all immigrants I taught them how to apply for jobs, proper interview etiquette,
banking, and budgeting money. Knowing how important those lessons were to their overall
living made me enthusiastic about the material I was teaching. Also, during my internship I was
teaching Chinese English teachers new methodology that would help them in teaching their own
classrooms and through this they became more confident in using English in front of their

students. What I teach in the classroom is only the foundation to what they will be using in the
real world. I do my best to prepare them and equip them with what they will need to continue
learning outside the classroom independently.
I have had many language learning experiences in the past but only two took place in the
classroom. I took twelve years of French (grades 1-12) and I took one year of Mandarin in
college. Interestingly I learned more Mandarin in one year than I did French in twelve years.
This was all due to level of learner involvement, relevance of the material, and the use of
interesting activities. My mandarin teacher practiced these three things which made learning
much easier. On the other hand, my French class was repetitive, disengaging, and intimidating. I
have learned from both of these experiences and I know which classroom I want to model mine
after. With each teaching opportunity I am presented with a new challenge that I learn to
overcome which helps me gain professional knowledge and experience. I have grown
tremendously as a teacher over my four years of schooling and I will continue to grow with each
new teaching opportunity. Learning is a never-ending process and I look forward to what
challenges await me in my teaching career, for that builds a more knowledgeable teacher.

REFERENCES

Bailey, K., & Nunan, D. (1996). Voices From the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Dornyei, Z. (2001). Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Dornyei, Z., & Murphey, T. (2003). Group Dynamics in the Language Classroom. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.

Egbert, J. (2003). Becoming Contributing Professionals (Vol. 1). Arlington, Virginia: Kirby
Lithographic Company.

Nunan, D. (1988). The Learner-Centered Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Richards, J. (1996). The Self-Directed Teacher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.