Teaching Philosophy
When I moved to Ecuador as a nineteen-year-old, my first few days were a blur. Although I had studied Spanish for a couple of years in high school and two months intensively before going to South America, I still struggled to understand everything in basic conversations. I tried to recall how to structure the language in an understandable way while at the same trying to understand the speakers’ native accent. I began to appreciate the struggle that many immigrants from Central and South America—like those I grew up around in Southern California—face when they move to the US.
Fortunately, I had time in Ecuador to study Spanish for an hour every morning, and spent the remainder of every day speaking with people in the local communities. Of course, this is a luxury not afforded to many. My primary goal in teaching Spanish is to give my students opportunities to learn and use Spanish in real-life situations. As I prepare to teach each class, this goal of practical communication is at the forefront. Nearly every class period we have an activity that requires my students to stand up and mingle while trying out a new language concept that relates to a practical situation they would encounter in a Spanish-speaking community. Today’s students are immersed in social interaction and entertainment through technology, such as Facebook, online forums, YouTube, and iTunes. Thus, in teaching Spanish, I find it not only convenient and entertaining, but also practical and educational, to implement these technologies, which already form such an integral part of my students’ everyday lives. I have done activities with them using their Facebook pictures to practice descriptive adjectives, Spanish music to improve their understanding of verb conjugations, and online wiki presentations to help them work collaboratively. I am continually experimenting with new ways to teach with technology, while never forgetting to implement the textbook methods that I have used and found to be effective in teaching Spanish concepts.
Gaining access to a new language literally opens a completely new world to students. My second goal in teaching is to increase students' level of comfort with the language to the point of engendering further interest in new areas, such as literature. Spanish playwrights such as Calderón de la Barca and Lope de Vega; novelists like Cervantes and Rojas; and short story writers including Borges, Rulfo, and Bécquer, were all completely unknown to me before learning Spanish. I was completely unaware of any Spanish creative literary development and likely would have remained largely ignorant of this vast world of enjoyment had it not been for my initial positive experiences in learning Spanish. Reading the works of these great writers has broadened my way of thinking and made me examine why I do and think the things I do. As I have taught Spanish, it has been exciting to me to see my students progress beyond simple language comprehension and help them develop the desire to truly understand the language and culture on a deeper level.
My third goal in teaching is to increase students' awareness of different politics, cultures, and ideas. Because I cannot take all of my students to another country, using technology is key in this objective. Being the official language in more than twenty countries, Spanish is an important tool to be able to communicate with a large part of the world. With the continual development and spread of communications technology, it is becoming increasingly easy to reach out and experience different cultures, politics, and ideas, without having to physically leave home. Media from each country is very reflective of culture and values, and helps students evaluate differences between other countries and their own. Having students find online media and news articles in Spanish and take turns discussing the things that they have found can help them to gain a greater understanding of the Spanish culture today. As we better seek to understand others, this in turn helps us to understand ourselves. As I continue to teach I look forward to helping students understand, appreciate, and explore this new world I have discovered by learning Spanish.
Fortunately, I had time in Ecuador to study Spanish for an hour every morning, and spent the remainder of every day speaking with people in the local communities. Of course, this is a luxury not afforded to many. My primary goal in teaching Spanish is to give my students opportunities to learn and use Spanish in real-life situations. As I prepare to teach each class, this goal of practical communication is at the forefront. Nearly every class period we have an activity that requires my students to stand up and mingle while trying out a new language concept that relates to a practical situation they would encounter in a Spanish-speaking community. Today’s students are immersed in social interaction and entertainment through technology, such as Facebook, online forums, YouTube, and iTunes. Thus, in teaching Spanish, I find it not only convenient and entertaining, but also practical and educational, to implement these technologies, which already form such an integral part of my students’ everyday lives. I have done activities with them using their Facebook pictures to practice descriptive adjectives, Spanish music to improve their understanding of verb conjugations, and online wiki presentations to help them work collaboratively. I am continually experimenting with new ways to teach with technology, while never forgetting to implement the textbook methods that I have used and found to be effective in teaching Spanish concepts.
Gaining access to a new language literally opens a completely new world to students. My second goal in teaching is to increase students' level of comfort with the language to the point of engendering further interest in new areas, such as literature. Spanish playwrights such as Calderón de la Barca and Lope de Vega; novelists like Cervantes and Rojas; and short story writers including Borges, Rulfo, and Bécquer, were all completely unknown to me before learning Spanish. I was completely unaware of any Spanish creative literary development and likely would have remained largely ignorant of this vast world of enjoyment had it not been for my initial positive experiences in learning Spanish. Reading the works of these great writers has broadened my way of thinking and made me examine why I do and think the things I do. As I have taught Spanish, it has been exciting to me to see my students progress beyond simple language comprehension and help them develop the desire to truly understand the language and culture on a deeper level.
My third goal in teaching is to increase students' awareness of different politics, cultures, and ideas. Because I cannot take all of my students to another country, using technology is key in this objective. Being the official language in more than twenty countries, Spanish is an important tool to be able to communicate with a large part of the world. With the continual development and spread of communications technology, it is becoming increasingly easy to reach out and experience different cultures, politics, and ideas, without having to physically leave home. Media from each country is very reflective of culture and values, and helps students evaluate differences between other countries and their own. Having students find online media and news articles in Spanish and take turns discussing the things that they have found can help them to gain a greater understanding of the Spanish culture today. As we better seek to understand others, this in turn helps us to understand ourselves. As I continue to teach I look forward to helping students understand, appreciate, and explore this new world I have discovered by learning Spanish.