Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Rebekah Diser
I am one of the very lucky few people who actually get to pursue their dream job. I have
the opportunity to share the French language and culture with my students. Since most of the
different world view with my students. Each student will react differently to the revelation that
their perspective is not the only one, and that it may not always be the right one. It is my hope to
help them develop an openness toward other cultures. Each student will start this journey at a
the target language, it will be my task to make sure that the language is comprehensible. If my
students cannot understand the language, they will not acquire it. This is paramount if I am to
help them discover other cultures through the target language (Shrum & Glisan, 2015).
As my students develop an openness toward other cultures, they will acquire skills that
will help them succeed in their future endeavors. They will develop empathy as they learn to
perceive the viewpoints and perspectives of others. This will help them understand the
motivations of others as they make decisions that will affect others as well as themselves. They
will learn to communicate with people from other cultures as they acquire cultural
understandings as well as language. This will help them understand that what is appropriate in
one society may not be appropriate in other societies which will help them tread cautiously as
well as confidently as they engage in new and challenging environments. This will also help
them understand if someone from another culture does something outside the norms from their
perspective that it may be normal in the other persons culture (Brown, 2014).
Achieving these objectives requires me to build a good rapport with my students. This
positive relationship is essential because it develops trust (Fay & Funk, 1995). Language
FL 561 TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 3
learning can be intimidating; this trust allows me to guide the students in their language learning
interesting and salient for my students. We can tell a story centered on an activity that is
important to the students. While we are telling the story, the students focus on the story enabling
them to forget that we are speaking a foreign language. This allows the students to focus on the
message. Students desk can be arranged in a theater in the round configuration to allow all
students to be able to focus on content. This also allows an open space for other classroom
activity.
As the focus becomes the message, students develop more confidence in the language
and are more willing to speak (Brown, 2014). As I ask questions about the story, this allows me
to delve deeper into higher order thinking questions to move beyond the story into natural,
salient, and relevant communication. The grammar, vocabulary, and culture become more
apparent as the students focus on meaning and context. The story can be broken down into
different parts to examine different concepts. Since the story is familiar, the new concepts are
less threatening. The students can then be asked to apply the concepts to other situations.
In addition to stories, I can ask my students personalized questions in the target language.
This allows my students to engage in real communication since the information is not scripted. I
can ask other students the same question and we can compare the students interests, likes, and
dislikes. This can help me build a good rapport with my students. It will also assist me in
creating a positive, caring, and accepting classroom environment where all students ideas are
valued. It also allows my students to acquire language about topics of interest to them as well as
others.
FL 561 TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 4
After my students learn to talk about their interests, we can connect the difference
between expressing oneself and the ability to address larger issues. They can research global
issues on Chromebooks using their interests as a springboard to much larger issues. If a student
likes hiking, we can link that interest to a larger issue such as the environment. This not only
illustrates a larger issue; it does so in a way that invests the student in the issue. This would push
them to find solutions to global issues. It is amazing to witness my students language growth as
References
Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching A course in second language
Fay, J., & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic Taking control of the classroom (1st
Shrum, J. L., & Glisan, E. W. (2015). Teachers handbook (5th ed.). United States of America:
Cengage Learning.