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My Teaching Philosophy

Mary K. deWolff

School of Leadership and Education Sciences

EDUC 549P: Practicum in TESOL

Dailyn Brown

April 28, 2022

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My Teaching Philosophy

While searching for an inspirational quote that could capture the essence of my teaching

philosophy, I came upon a quote attributed to the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius:

“Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.” In reflecting on

this quote I thought it fit with my conception of teaching. I want to instill confidence in my

students by helping them learn English as a second or other language (ESOL). Many students in

my classroom will be in need of hope. They will be hoping to be able to speak, read, write and

understand English at a level that will afford them opportunities they would otherwise be

excluded from. I want to watch my students become more confident as they make progress in

acquiring their new language skills. Then, as they become aware of the improvements they will

become more hopeful for their future. Job opportunities that had once seemed out of reach will

be conceivable. Trips to parent-teacher conferences or appointments with the doctor will no

longer be as exhausting because they don’t need an interpreter to understand how their child is

doing in school or what their doctor is prescribing. Some students may simply want to be able to

communicate more easily with their neighbors, be able to watch films in English without

subtitles, feel comfortable going to the grocery store independently or pass a driving test. It is

hoped that as my students are able to attain more confidence and brighter prospects, they will be

able to build a more secure, comfortable and peaceful way of life for their families, their

communities, and society at large. While every student’s journey will be different, that is my

hope for them. I hope that they will know that I care for them and want them to feel a sense of

belonging and integration within their communities.

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Future Teaching Contexts

When finished with the M.Ed. in TESOL program, I would like to apply to work at the

English Language Academy (ELA) at the University of San Diego. I am interested in this

program based on a few factors. First, I would like to begin by teaching adults. As an adult

foreign language student, I have firsthand knowledge of the challenges adults experience

acquiring a new language. My knowledge helps me see things through the eyes of a language

learner, and have a better understanding of their need for support and encouragement. Second,

my mentor professor who has worked there, believes that I would gain a lot of valuable

experience working with international students who come from different parts of the world.

Third, I’m interested in the programs the ELA has to offer such as the Intensive English

Language Program that prepares students for meeting university academic requirements and the

Undergraduate Pathway Program that helps international students prepare to become full-time

students at the University of San Diego. After gaining experience teaching students from

multicultural backgrounds, I would eventually like to find work helping refugees and immigrants

in courses offered at institutions that provide continuing education. It is likely that I will be

working with students who may only know a few words of English, which can be very

challenging. However, I think that I would like to have the opportunity to work with beginners

because it would be very rewarding to help those who are most in need and who often have very

few resources at their disposal. I would like them to know that there are people they can count

on to give them the help and support they will need as they begin the acculturation process.

Linguistic Considerations

As a language teacher I believe it is helpful to have some basic knowledge of languages my

students speak. Having some familiarity with how their languages differ phonetically,
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syntactically, grammatically and/or pragmatically will help me find more effective ways to

explain English language norms based on either their similarities or differences. For example,

unlike English, in Latin based languages, adjectives are normally placed after nouns. It is

expected that students who speak Latin-based languages will need practice to overcome their

habit of placing adjectives after nouns. In Mandarin Chinese, verbs are not conjugated, that is

they do not take different forms depending on the subject. In English and other Western

languages, there must be subject-verb agreement. Additionally, English has numerous

irregularities that have no rhyme or reason, they must simply be memorized. In Japanese the

word order for sentences is not the same as in English. For example, Japanese sentences

typically follow this order: Subject, object, verb. In English, sentences are normally arranged in

this order: Subject, verb, object. In cases where I’m not familiar with linguistic characteristics

of a certain language, I would try to learn some fundamentals in order to be able to make lessons

more comprehensible. I could also ask students directly how their first languages differ from

English and specific areas they may need extra instruction on.

Because of the linguistic differences between languages, I believe there is no one-size-fits-all

approach to use when teaching a language. I like to tell my students that mistakes are signs that

they are learning. Similar to how a child first begins to walk, they first stand on their own two

feet, take a step forward and then fall, get back up, and try again. While adult students are not

children, the acquisition of language is similar in that it does not occur in a purely linear fashion.

There will be stumbles. Students will make utterances that are imperfect. Nevertheless, we want

to instill a belief in our students that each step is a step forward even if they fall and have to try

again. As I see mistakes and errors as part of the learning process, I do not believe in correcting

or pointing out each and every false step. This can be discouraging. There has to be a balance
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between providing encouragement and providing instruction. Over-correction is a depressant

and could lead some to decide that learning a new language is not worth the effort. Therefore, I

believe in finding more constructive ways to address areas of improvement such as creating

mini-lessons that target grammar or other types of linguistic challenges. In the event there are

errors on the part of an individual that need to be addressed, I can discreetly ask the student if I

can have a moment to talk to them after class. I can then ask the student if they would like to see

me during student hours or perhaps work with a tutor. Together with the student, we can work

on finding a solution.

Cognitive Considerations

In addition to being familiar with linguistic components, there are three key types of teaching

and learning theories that I feel are important to my overall philosophy. These fall under the

categories of cognitive, affective and socio-cultural domains. I will begin by describing how I

incorporate cognitive learning theory into my teaching practices. Widely renowned as a pioneer

in cognitive learning theory, Jean Piaget (1986) created his theory called the Four Stages of

Cognitive Development. In it he explained how children move through stages of mental

development, entering the fourth and final stage called the Formal Operations Stage, around age

12 and up. As I am most interested in teaching adults, my students will reside in this fourth

stage. Piaget hypothesized that as people “interact with the world around them, they continually

add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas to

accommodate new information.” (Piaget, as quoted in Cherry, 2020). In keeping with theory, I

believe in building on existing knowledge so that my students have a point of reference to hold

onto as new information is introduced. This can be done by simply reviewing for a few minutes

what was learned in the previous lesson to bring their mind back to newly learned concepts. At
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the end of the lesson I will let my students know how we will build on what they learned in the

next lesson. In this way, students are able to begin to organize and conceptualize patterns that

will facilitate their subsumption and retention of new knowledge. It is also necessary to make

sure that students are ready to move on to the next level through formative or summative

assessments or some combination of both.

Affective considerations

Regarding the affective domain, I believe in cultivating a classroom environment that is

supportive and inclusive. As stated previously, students are going to make mistakes. Knowing

they are going to have to speak in front of others often makes students reticent or even unwilling

to speak out of fear of looking or sounding ridiculous in front of their peers. This frequently

occurring phenomenon has been described by Krashen as described in his Affective Filter

Hypothesis (Krashen, 1982). Because language acquisition requires that students take risks, it is

important for them to feel they will have a soft landing. Additionally, Krashen states:

"Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in

which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they

are conveying and understanding." (Krashen, 1982, p. 1). In other words, authentic and

meaningful communication between speakers is what motivates students to continue to want to

put forth their best effort. As language is a medium for communication, I believe in giving

students ample opportunities to express themselves, be seen, heard and understood.

Socio-cultural Considerations

Finally, I find that there are elements of socio-cultural learning theories in nearly all of my

lessons. Specifically, it is imperative that my lessons will land in my students’ zones of proximal

development (ZPD). This term, coined by Lev Vygotsky (Vygotsky, 1978) refers to teaching
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students at a level that is just slightly above their current level of development. If an assignment

or activity is too far above the ZPD, students will become confused, frustrated or even angry. If

the ZPD is too far below, students will become bored and distracted. Therefore it is necessary

for teachers to continuously assess the needs of their students. The goal is to consistently set

expectations that are focused on effort rather than perfection. Another aspect of Vygotskyan

theory that is present in my teaching is the use of More Knowledgeable Others (MKO)

Vygotsky, 1978). Teachers are by default considered MKO’s, but there are students in the

classroom who may be more knowledgeable than their peers in one aspect or another. For

example, a student may be confident with using technology while another is more confident in

their speaking ability. When assigned group work or in pairs, students can learn from each

other by expressing themselves in low-stakes situations and combining their strengths when it’s

time to give a group presentation. Additionally, group and pair work requires more participation

from students and places more personal responsibility on them than if the teacher is standing and

lecturing.

A final socio-cultural consideration is that it is important to me personally to include topics

that are culturally relevant in the classroom in order to present who I really am to my students

and model how I would like them to also share their own authenticity. As a White teacher, I am

cognizant of the fact that there are power dynamics and social justice issues that some students

have to live with on a daily basis, that do not impact me. Marginalization and social injustice

can complicate and hinder my students’ desire and even ability to acquire a new language. One

of the things I consider when creating curriculum is inclusion of stories that are culturally

relevant with characters that students can identify with. Specifically, I look for stories of people

who are not part of the dominant culture, and those who face setbacks and or roadblock that may
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seem insurmountable. However, these individuals are able to get around or push these obstacles

out of their path through perseverance and patience. For example, one of the lesson plans I

created is called “From ESL Student to ESL Professor.” For this lesson, I asked if my friends

and cohorts who were once ESL students can come and talk to the class about their journeys. In

every class, I want to affirm that I respect my students’ cultural backgrounds and treat all

students with dignity and equity. I want them to know that I am an ally and advocate in the fight

for social justice.

Conclusion

Just as my students are multifaceted, so too is my teaching philosophy. There is no one

single theory or methodology that encompasses all my beliefs. Through my courses at the

University of San Diego, through my interactions with students as a teacher candidate, and by

receiving feedback and support from the TESOL professional learning community, I have

developed a teaching philosophy that considers the linguistic backgrounds of my students, and

incorporates a variety of cognitive, and sociocultural learning theories that can be applied to

students at the very beginning stages of English language acquisition to highly advanced and all

stages in-between. My personal belief is that I have an obligation to uplift others and in doing

so, help make the world more just, more equitable and more humane.
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References

Cherry, K. (2022, May 2). What is Piaget's theory of cognitive development? Verywell Mind.

Retrieved May 9, 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-

cognitive-development-2795457

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in Second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.

Piaget, J., & Gabain, M. (1975). The moral judgment of the child. Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: the Development of Higher Psychological Processes.

Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

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