My Teaching Philosophy. My teaching context is high school students (grade 9-12) in beginning Spanish courses in a

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1 Spronz 1 Kaki Spronz Dr. Sardegna EDC 382C 10 October 2010 My Teaching Philosophy Teaching Context: My teaching context is high school students (grade 9-12) in beginning Spanish courses in a Texas 5A school. The students in my classes will be native English speakers, although there will be some students who speak Spanish at home and English only at school and with friends. Most of the students in my classes will be required to take some foreign language credit to graduate on the Recommended and Distinguished Achievement program. Although I would like to think that the students are in my class because they have a desire to learn the language, they most likely will be taking the course to graduate on the Recommended or Distinguished Achievement programs. So, motivation to receive an A will be high, but motivation to actually learn Spanish will be relatively low. Depending on the school district, the class will meet every day (for minutes) or every other day (for 90 minutes). At a 5A school, each class period will typically have students. Resources will also be a variable depending on the district. Most classrooms are equipped with at least one computer (for the teacher) and a projector and projector screen. Also, all schools will have a library for student use, and most will have a computer lab in which the teacher can sign up for days to take her students.

2 Spronz 2 Principle 1: The teacher facilitates student learning through communicative activities, by providing integrated form-focused instruction, motivation, and by empowering students to learn in and outside the classroom. This principle relates mainly to the role of the teacher in the classroom and in the learning process. There are many varying views to what constitutes appropriate teaching methodologies, but it is my opinion that form-focused instruction leads to higher levels of language acquisition. For this, I will base a large part of my teaching on the Communicative Language Theory, and learner output will be essential. Among SLA researchers, there has been a general consensus that form-focused instruction helps learners in communicative or contentbased instruction to learn features of the target language that they may not acquire without guidance (Spada and Lightbrown 181). In the high school Spanish classroom, students are used to activities that consist of memorizing verb endings and rote activities that are supposed to drill the rules of grammar into the students. In my experience, I have seen that students listen to teachers lecture, take notes on grammar patterns and fill in worksheets independently. Even if they have the opportunity to work in groups or pairs, they speak English and look at the work as if solving a math problem: if this clue is here, it means we must use subjunctive. Now what s the ending in the tú form? Oh yeah, we use the opposite endings- it ll be es. Students look at the Spanish language as a separate system, valid for translating and figuring out their latest homework assignment, not as something that they can actually use to communicate. Opposite of this, I will rely heavily on communicative activities in the classroom. It is my desire that my students see that Spanish is something they can actually acquire, and something they can actually use. For this, there will be ample opportunities for the students to practice the language using planned and spontaneous

3 Spronz 3 speech. These activities will include full class activities such as class discussions and games and will also include pair work and some group work. With such big classes, it has been my experience that group work works best for games and for the learning of grammar points. Whenever students are allowed to work in groups, they will be required to speak only in Spanish so as to further their speaking abilities as well as allow the students to use learner strategies to negotiate meaning and get their point across. Having the students use Spanish will enhance fluency through the practice it provides (Swain 1995 as cited in Hadley 102). In using communicative activities, students will also be able to receive scaffolding which make possible the fine-tuned, context-based corrections (Horwitz 57) they wouldn t receive otherwise. This plays into the idea of integrative formfocused instruction. In a high school Spanish classroom, scaffolding is very important, because (1) it means that the students are actually being given the opportunity to need scaffolding (meaning they are speaking and using the language), (2) can be used as a form of error correction, and (3) helps students to notice a gap between what they want to say and what they can say (Swain 1995 as cited in Hadley 102). This, along with teacher support will lead to higher motivation levels, pushing students on to more acquisition. When the students realize the gap in their language, the teacher can then use this opportunity to motivate them to learn more. The teacher s role in student motivation is very large one, and the skills in motivating learners should be seen as central to teaching effectiveness (Dornyei and Csizer 207). From a general education standpoint, the teacher is able to motivate her students by simply showing them that she cares about and believes in them as individuals. When students know that their teacher believes them to be capable, they are more likely to work

4 Spronz 4 harder (Emmer 137) and many times, the students learning effort is energized by the affiliative motive to please the teacher (Dornyei and Csizer 216). There are also other ways for the teacher to help increase student motivation which I will incorporate into my classroom, such as creating and maintaining a positive classroom environment, (which will help to lower students affective filter) and to help lower students psychological filter (such as positive exposure to target culture). Both of which will be discussed in more detail later on. It is also important for the teacher to empower the students to become lifelong learners and to learn not only in, but outside of the classroom. Students in public high schools often have a preconceived notion that learning Spanish in high school will result in limited communication abilities. I understand that after one year of beginning Spanish my students will not be fluent, but it is my desire to empower each student so that they are able to continue their acquisition of the Spanish language. To achieve this goal, it is important to foster learner autonomy. One way to help students take control of their learning is through the teaching of learning strategies. In the book Second Language Learning and Language Teaching, author Vivian Cook states that poor students are those who depend most on the teacher and are least able to fend for themselves (117). When language teachers teach students various learning strategies, they are helping the student on to autonomous, self-directed learning, in which the students take responsibility for their own learning (Cook 118). To teach these strategies, the teacher must make students aware of the strategies they are currently using and the other strategies available (such as circumlocution, paraphrasing, recognizing Spanish as a separate system, etc), then practice them in the classroom (guided practice) then by encouraging students to implement in their daily use of the language

5 Spronz 5 (independent practice). Students may not be aware of other learning strategies, and may find that some of the learning strategies introduced in class may actually be very beneficial for them and their learning. They are then able to use these strategies to help them in and outside of the classroom. Principle 2: Students must be active participants in the classroom and to achieve this, the teacher must model the expected behavior. It is essential in the high school Spanish classroom that students are actively involved in the lesson and its various activities for learning to occur. When students are actively participating in the classroom, there is more of an opportunity for learning to occur (which seems like commonsense, when students are not paying attention in the classroom, it would be harder for them to learn the material). There are several ways in which to achieve this. First, the teacher must make it clear that she expects active participation. I will ensure that my students understand this from day one. It is hard (and unfair) to hold students accountable to standards in which they do not of. To follow through with this expectation, I must also (and will also) be an active participant in the classroom. It has been proven by research that student attitudes and orientations towards learning are, to a large extent, modelled after their teacher both in terms of effort expenditure and orientations of interest in the subject (Dornyei and Csizer 215). So whenever the students see my interest in the Spanish language and culture and my participation in their learning, they are inclined to model that same behavior. I will show to my students that I am engaging in each lesson by making the material relevant to each student, and show them that I am actually paying attention to what they are saying and how they are progressing in the class. This will motivate the students to engage in the class as well, take an interest in their own learning and will raise motivation overall, and high motivation is one factor

6 Spronz 6 that causes successful learning; in reverse, successful learning causes high motivation (Cook 139). When the teacher is able to help the students to higher levels of motivation, and model active participation in the classroom, in turn the students will begin to become active participants and more successful learners. Principle 3: A positive classroom environment is conducive to language learning. A positive classroom environment is conducive to language learning and personal growth within each student. To provide this environment, the teacher works as the facilitator as the students construct meaning and knowledge. In the book Classroom Management, the authors state that teachers need to have very clear ideas of the types of classroom conditions and student behaviors necessary for a healthy learning environment (xv). The teacher not only needs to have these clear ideas, but they should work very hard to create these conditions (Emmer xv). It is my desire that each student feels comfortable enough to take risks and actually use Spanish in the classroom. The lessons will be designed in a way where there will be plenty of opportunity for this to occur, but the students will not take this opportunity if they do not feel comfortable in doing so. If they feel anxious, or feel like they might be made fun of by other students, they will be unwilling to participate and communicate in the classroom. Dornyei and Csizer state that any practising teacher is aware of the fact that student anxiety created by a tense classroom climate is one of the most potent factors that undermine L2 motivation (215). Because of the extreme importance low student anxiety, I will make sure that students know they are not the only ones who feel anxious about learning. As noted in the book Becoming a Language Teacher, Horwitz suggests that teachers should acknowledge students discomfort. Many students are relieved to learn that they are not the only ones experiencing anxiety (11).

7 Spronz 7 Another important aspect of any high school classroom (and a major factor in creating a positive environment) is the establishment of rules, procedures, and disciplinary actions. It is not possible for a teacher to conduct instruction or for students to work productively if they have no guidelines for how to behave or when to move about the room or if they frequently interrupt the teacher and one another (Emmer 18). From the very first day of class, the rules (a concise list) and expectations of the students will be posted on the front wall of the classroom. As a class, we will discuss each rule, its implications in the classroom, and the consequences for rule breaking. Along with establishing rules, we will also discuss the procedures that will be used in class, such as procedures for entering and starting class, for group work, for turning in homework, class discussions, asking questions, how to leave the room for bathroom breaks, out of seat activities, etc. We will practice each procedure so that the students will understand how it works and in what context it is used. Rules and procedures (and their practice) are important in the high school Spanish classroom, because good classroom management is based on students understanding of the behaviors expected of them (Emmer 18) and that having a clear set of expectations of what constitutes appropriate behavior will be a major start toward establishing a well-managed classroom environment (Emmer 19). It has been my experience (as a teacher and a student) that when these two things are clearly communicated and understood by both parties, a positive classroom environment is able to be created. Principle 4: The students should be exposed to the target culture using authentic materials in a way that increases their cultural and linguistic competence. The teaching of the target culture by the means of authentic materials will introduce students to the lifestyles of native Spanish speakers. At times, it is difficult for high school

8 Spronz 8 students to see past the lifestyle they are given and learn about the cultures and lifestyles of others across the world. The use of authentic materials will allow students to see outside of their own lives and help them to acculturate to the target culture. In Schumann s Social Theory, Schumann holds to the idea that if learners acculturate, they will learn; if learners do not acculturate, they will not learn (Selinker 404). According to this theory, students must also have a low affective filter and low psychological distance to better learn the target language. By a positive introduction to the target culture, students will be able to lower both affective filter and psychological distance. In my class, I will use authentic materials such as books, movies, magazines, TV commercials, websites, etc. The use of these materials will lead to a heightened linguistic competence because the students will be hearing, watching and reading things that native Spanish hear, watch and read. For this, they will learn the slang as well as the popular phrases of native speakers. This will also allow students to achieve a more native like proficiency in their language use. It is also important in helping the students understand the Spanish culture, and even to participate in the Spanish community in their area (and around the world). Along with using authentic materials such as literature and videos, I will invite native Spanish speakers of the community to come and talk with the class about the way the culture of their country (whether Chile, Mexico, Argentina, etc) influences the way they live here in America. This will give the students the opportunity to see how the two cultures can combine quite harmoniously and help them to appreciate the diversity of their community. Principle 5: Lessons be geared towards all learners; lessons must be pre-planned, organized (while allowing controlled-flexibility) and efficient.

9 Spronz 9 In each classroom, there are as many types of learning styles as there are students in the class. In the book Secondary School Teaching: A Guide to Methods and Resources, Kellough and Kellough state that teachers who are most effective are those who adapt their teaching styles and method to their students (222) and that the high school teacher needs to consider both the nature of adolescents in general and each student in particular (222). While this may seem like an overwhelming task, it is essential, otherwise the student may be bored and inattentive in class and may conclude they are not good at the subject of the course and give up (Felder 1995). The teacher is able to meet all of these criteria by including various teaching methodologies in each lesson. In my classroom, I will be sure to incorporate activities and tasks that connect to each learner such as using visuals, giving ample opportunity for oral communication, providing written assignments, group work, using listening activities and presenting the same information in several different ways. This will ensure that in each lesson, there is something that appeals to the learning style of each individual student. Along with this, the teacher must come to class prepared, and not wing it. This means that the lessons need to be planned in advance, allow room for flexibility, but ultimately remain under the control of the teacher. In Jack Richards article Teachers Maxims in Language Teaching, Richards presents the maxim of planning as well as the maxim of involvement (7; 8). These two maxims encompass the idea of have a planned lesson while allowing flexibility. In the prior, the teacher plans the lesson and tries to stick to it while in the latter, the teacher begins the lesson, but allows for (and expects) changes to the plan to maintain student involvement and peak their interest. A combination of these two maxims would make for a lesson that is both planned and sequenced, but also has alternative activities that the teacher can choose from, based on the students responses to the material.

10 Spronz 10 Additionally, the teacher must also keep in mind the objectives of the class as well as the objectives of the school. The objectives of the public high school Spanish classroom on based on the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). Teachers must be able to show how they incorporate each of the TEKS objectives into their lessons throughout the year. Also, depending on the school district, there may be mandated end of year test for the foreign language department. So, it will be necessary to keep all of this in mind while creating lessons. It will need to be a conscious effort to not teach to a mandated test, but to teach towards language proficiency, which will in turn result in success on a mandated test, and in the TEKS objectives.

11 Spronz 11 Works Cited Cook, Vivian. Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Hodder Education, Dornyei, Z., and K. Csizer. "Ten Commandments for Motivating Language Learners: Results of an Empirical Study." Language Teaching Research 2.3 (1998): Emmer, Edmund T., Carolyn M. Evertson, and Murray E. Worsham. Classroom Management for Middle and High School Teachers. Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon, Gass, Susan M., and Larry Selinker. Second Language Acquisition: an Introductory Course. New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, Hadley, Alice Omaggio. Teaching Language in Context. Boston: Heinle & Heinle, Print. Horwitz, Elaine Kolker. Becoming a Language Teacher: a Practical Guide to Second Language Learning and Teaching. Boston: Pearson, Allyn and Bacon, Kellough, Richard D., and Noreen G. Kellough. Secondary School Teaching: a Guide to Methods and Resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Richards, Jack C. "Teacher's Maxims in Language Teaching." TESOL Quarterly 30.2 (1996): Spada, Nina, and Patsy M. Lightbrown. "Form Focused Instruction: Isolated or Integrated?" TESOL Quarterly 42.2 (2008):