Statement of My Teaching Philosophy
First, I would like to mention that central to my teaching approach is to focus on the practical and communicative needs of my students. The goal of this approach is to go beyond just knowing the rules of grammar and drilling their forms, and instead show students how English is used in the real world. In most of my language instruction I develop activities that involve the production of the language in simulated authentic settings. For example, a group of business students may be asked to do a project where they will have to do some form of presentation. Additionally, they may be required to practice researching information in English and writing communicative correspondences summarizing their findings. These are just few examples that I have used and still use in some of my instruction. Second, it is important to motivate students in the language classroom. In order to do so successfully, I feel that it is important to make adjustments as necessary throughout the course since everyone learns differently and for different reasons. It is also clear that some language students may even have a low level of motivation to learn English. Yet with extra patience and empathy, I firmly believe you can prompt students to not only learn the required language skills, but also to make it interesting for them. Even with a rigid curriculum where the objective of the class is to improve performance on an academic or vocational test, it is important for me as an ESL instructor to have some flexibility in the language classroom so as not to demotivate the students. It is vital for me as a language instructor to make the language learning process meaningful for everyone in the classroom. Additionally I feel that it is important to collaborate with peers in order to improve the quality of one's instruction. Without feedback from peers, it may be difficult to gain new ideas for language instruction that focuses on developing the communicative competence of students. It is vital for me as a professional instructor to be in an environment where I can get immediate feedback from my colleagues and continuously evaluate my teaching methods. Finally, as one gains experience in the field, it is critical for instructors to share information through various publications in TESOL. For example when we try new teaching methods, it is important for instructors to meticulously log successful or unsuccessful outcomes and distribute the data amongst their peers. At the same time, we can build upon research done by others in order to make positive contributions to the TESOL community. It is also my intention in the future to make contributions to the TESOL community through original research and publishing my findings in various publications. In short, through out my career, I have dealt with a variety of individuals ranging from young adolescent students to well established professionals. My overall style has been to be patient with different individuals and their learning styles. My previous jobs have also allowed me to become a better observer and notice when individuals experience frustrations and difficulties in their learning. Based on my experience, I have learned that being patient and sensitive to my students' needs are the two things that will be central to my teaching style as an ESL instructor. At the same time, I want to make my career experience outside of academia available for my students benefit. Language teaching for me should not only be rewarding for the instructor, but instead it should be seen as a mutually beneficial endeavor that involves both the instructor and the students. Edward F. Morrow ESL Instructor |