Daniel Rodríguez Arciga Powell

Teaching Philosophy: Empowering Learners’ Polyglot Voices

Teaching allows me to contribute to learners’ social and linguistic development. This is
important to me because I believe others can take everything from us in life, except an education.
As an immigrant who has had to call multiple places home, I value ideals above materialistic
possessions. Also, as an immigrant, I have learned our ability to communicate, our voice, is the
most important tool we possess. “Es verdad que la pluma es más fuerte que la espada, la
educación asusta a aquellos que usan el terror,” Malala Yousafzai suggests education, therefore,
allows learners to problem solve sociocultural challenges. Facilitating educated, polyglot voices
is synonymous of equipping students with tools for success across culturally diverse settings.
Second Language Acquisition and Cultural Relativism
Implicitly learning grammar to negotiate meaning across descriptive and prescriptive
scenarios, students in my classroom make use of Web 2.0 Tools to engage in authentic
applications of the language. Additionally, learners strengthen their reading comprehension skills
by effectively implementing graphic organizers, participating in discussion webs, using context
clues, and developing strong note taking skills such as the Cornell Style which can be used
outside world language classrooms. Learners best acquire a second language in safe, academic
environments where mistakes are part of the learning process. Subsequently, critical thinking,
literacy across disciplines, and meaningful use of language skill areas are at the forefront of my
instruction. We are never done learning, and my students have adopted this point of view to
spearhead collaborative dynamics with classmates. Ultimately, learners’ diverse intelligences are
activated in culturally and lexically rich instruction I meticulously plan.
The Natural Approach and Direct Method
Learning a new language is fun! Creating a classroom atmosphere conducive to
collaboration where students feel heard, and challenged with critical thinking tasks, is crucial in
the language acquisition discipline. My teaching approach is student-centered, and through TNA
and DM, I model the target language for students in order to build confidence, accuracy, fluency,
and autonomy. My enthusiasm for language acquisition motivates students to become successful,
active participants. These instructional methods allow me to build a solid foundation in the target
language, simultaneously breaking away from the reliance on L1 with audiovisual content as
well as through listening and reading comprehension tasks. Ultimately, immersive, multicultural
acquisition allows me to differentiate tasks for students at various stages of the learning process.
My experience as an English learner in American classrooms was sometimes met with
underprepared educators who tasked me with busy work; on the other hand, my academic
journey was also enriched and supported by adept instruction which highlighted strengths in my
native language. I inform my instruction with the same drive to identify student strengths, and
capitalize on these skills in order to meet academic needs. Since not all students will apply the
content learned to problem solve the same sociolinguistic challenge, my driving force is to
provide diverse learning opportunities to empower unique learning processes. I follow the I do,
we do, you do classroom dynamic in order to equip learners with linguistic and academic tools
they can then apply to negotiate language development in both their native and target languages.
Consequently, previously underserved student demographics can excel in multicultural contexts.
Restorative Discipline and Assessments in the Classroom
Discipline in the classroom is clear from the beginning with respect as an initial point:
students are encouraged to build accountability by understanding how their actions and
contributions impact the classroom culture. I implement restorative discipline where learners are
part of policy creation and this results in them promoting interpersonal connections. Therefore,
while working in teams, students can hold each other accountable. Once the classroom
atmosphere consists of teamwork and mutual respect, formative assessments act as constant
reinforcement over the mastery of new content. Assessments include Web 2.0 Tools such as
Socrative, Kahoot, and traditional methods like tests, and daily journals. Unit projects such as
oral recordings where learners can survey their linguistic progression are also a component of my
classroom so students can be self-critical of their own acquisition.
Additionally, by assessing students’ literacy in the target language through reading and
listening comprehension as well as written and presentational tasks, I quantify how close learners
are to reaching learning objectives and standards. Consequently, this information allows me to
differentiate future content in the classroom to strengthen learners’ areas of improvement via
visual aids, extended time, and review sessions. Specifically, diverse evaluations in the
classroom give students multiple, culturally authentic settings to excel in the use of the target
language by correlating cultural practices, and synthesizing a fluent use of vocabulary,
grammatical accuracy, and confidence in pronunciation. All in all, I promote students’ ability to
engage in academic and creative writing in spontaneous settings. Assessing students also
facilitates dialogue during parent-teacher conferences where we can devise strategic, academic
plans to reinforce classroom content at home.
Academic Engagement
Learning a second language means learning culture. Simultaneous to scholars in my
classroom participating in foreign language exchanges, everyone understands his or her input
contributes to the development of valuable ideas related to culturally appropriate practices. In the
past, when learners have felt a sense of belonging and when they have felt heard, interpersonal
connections and proactive, cultural comparisons shaped the student-centered classroom. When
the classroom culture promotes tolerance to diversity and champions equity, learners visualize
how proactive behaviors correlate the diversity found in school to outside communities.
Ultimately, authentic text and audiovisual content from Hispanic cultures allow students to
undergo a comparison contrast of their community and other demographics’, facilitating
interpretive and intercultural communication.
Education opens doors, but alone, it is not enough to make change happen. Education
plus a voice allows individuals to express unique thoughts and to thrive in new environments. I
enrich my Mexican perspective with multidisciplinary contributions: culinary awareness,
regional variants in pronunciation, indigenous perspectives and linguistic presence, and an
integral worldview in order to encourage my students to become lifelong learners. My students
learn not only to open doors but to create them when these are not available to them. In the
classroom, all of this translates into activities which activate listening, speaking, reading, writing,
and cultural awareness. My students can expect to draw correlations between their own culture
and diverse perspectives across linguistics, socioeconomic, and sociocultural contexts.