Teaching Philosophy

I was drawn to the teaching profession because of my love of working young people. After college, I received
several job offers in various other fields but decided to give teaching a one year trial. The rest is history. I feel lucky and
blessed personally do not look at teaching as a job but I see each day as an opportunity to mentor young people and
contribute to their intellectual growth. I do not remember learning much Spanish during my days in my high school
Spanish classes (I can only remember three words from those days: manzana, puerta and cabeza) and I decided early in
my teaching career that I would strive to help my students not only learn the Spanish language but help them apply
what they have learned to real life situations. I enjoy sharing my passion for the Spanish language and Latin culture,
which I experienced firsthand while living in Chile, South America for two years.
All children learn differently, and so I help them learn through a variety of methods, including trying to
incorporate all the senses (Auditory, Visual, Touch, Smell and Taste). Everybody loves food, right? I mentioned earlier
that I do not see teaching as a job and I hope all my students do not see my class as just another class in school, but that
they will look forward to the experiences we have together as we explore another language/culture together. I feel that
learning about other cultures is vital aspect of language learning. Learning a language without incorporating culture
would be like learning math without using numbers. I came to love the Chilean people and appreciate their culture
during my time there, and love sharing my experiences with my students. Todays students will need to understand
others cultures in order to become world leaders. I also feel it is my job to connect learning in ways that will inspire kids
to learn more and strive for greatness. I hope to help my students become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. It is
my belief that everyone can learn a second language with the combination of proper instruction, personal motivation,
low level of anxiety and the opportunities to communicate in the classroom.
There are different reasons why a student chooses to acquire Spanish as a second language. One reason might
be in order to advance in his/her career; another reason might be, to better relate to a different culture. Regardless of
the reason, the ultimate goal of students learning a second language is to acquire the ability to communicate in that
language. My objective as a Spanish teacher is to facilitate my students to reach communicative competence in Spanish
along with the successful development of their personal and academic skills, i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing.
In order to achieve this objective, I adhere to the Communicative Teaching Method with its central tenet to ensure
students develop communicative competence in the second language. Communicative competence would allow my
students to use Spanish in any situation, ranging from performing a business transaction, perhaps at the bank, to
participating in intercommunication in any social context such as a party.
My goal for my classroom is to create an environment that resembles as much as possible a target language
setting. In addition to materials created for teaching, I post real-life materials such as posters from events, photos of
places in Spanish-speaking countries, art by Spanish speaking artists, etc. In addition, I like to play Latin music and teach
the students the words to songs. Music is a powerful tool in learning another language and I take advantage of music of
contemporary artists including Shakira, Enrique, Pit Bull, and many others. Music is often referred to as the universal
language. By its very nature, music transcends boundaries of time, geography and culture. One of the highest forms of
expression, music is a powerful force that brings people together and has the uncanny ability to draw an array of
emotions from any individual. Just imagine for a moment what life would be without music? Have you ever been moved
by a piece of music even when you didnt know the lyrics or had a song stuck in your head for several days?
Today we live in a world dominated by technology. We are connected with the world by computers, tablets, and
smart phones. I also am passionate about helping students learn and develop 21
st
century skills which help prepare them
to compete in a global economy. Critical thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and
Innovation are the type of skills this upcoming generation will need to develop in order to be successful. I work to
incorporate 21 century technology and real world application in all aspects of my teaching.
The students need to feel comfortable and regard their Spanish class as an enjoyable experience. Because I
believe that in order to be proficient real language needs to be spoken ad heard by the students, I provide them with
plenty of tasks and opportunities to speak in the target language. I want to immerse them in the language for the
duration of the class period. I also want the learning to continue outside the class and try to expose them to varies types
of music and technology which will they can enjoy 24/7. My goal is for the students to become lifelong and continue
learn Spanish outside of the classroom. I also encourage no English is to be used in the class after we have learned
certain phrases; routine items such as asking permission to go to the bathroom or ask any questions need to be in
Spanish. It is also important to keep in mind that language classes differ from other academic subjects in that they do
not serve their purpose unless they are used for real life situations- in other words, languages need to be acquired, not
learned. I try to create real life applications for all that we do in class.
The role of the teacher is to be a facilitator; he or she lets the student make mistakes and discover the language
while the teacher guides the way. In a typical classroom situation, the teacher introduces the vocabulary and grammar
in an intrinsic or indirect manner, letting the students discover it by themselves. Then the teacher explains rules and
throws the ball back to the students: he gives the students the language, so they can apply it in a task or simply
make the necessary connections with their previous knowledge of the language.
If I am true to my philosophy I am very confident that my students will be able to acquire the necessary competence
to become fluent in Spanish and have fun along the way. I am preparing my students to be well-rounded in the target
language. This means more than mastering the four skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking; it involves the
capacity of knowing how to use different registers and the knowledge of the cultures and customs of Spanish speaking
countries. I believe that by believing in the capacity of my students to acquire a second language and in helping feel that
they are the most important person in the room. I hope to not only prepare them for the next step in their education
but to help prepare them for lifelong success and personal fulfillment.