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Chalsie Kennedy

Professional Portfolio

November 17, 2014


Language Journey Reflection

In my Teaching Second Languages: Theory into Practice class (FL 561), I was
asked to complete a biography of my journey as a language learner. Since this is such
a big part of my life, it was interesting to sit down and document how I have gotten to
where I am today. At times, while I was writing this, it was like I was in the shoes of my
students, back in high school where my love for lSpanish began.
The paper details my educational journey from preschool until when I wrote the
paper in November of 2009. Middle school and high school were the first time I was
introduced to the Spanish language. In middle school I wasnt fond of my teacher, but
in high school Mrs. McGahey made learning exciting and fun. Her love for teaching
made a lasting impact on my life and education to the point that I wanted to follow in her
footsteps.
Therefore, after high school I decided to continue my education at Slippery Rock
University. During this time, I acquired the content knowledge and knowledge of
pedagogy that I needed in order to be a successful language teacher. Grammar,
conversation, culture, and literature classes are just a few of the different types of
Spanish courses I took. All of these were essential in the development of my language
skills.
During my fourth year at SRU, I studied abroad for a semester in Spain at the
University of Alcalingua. This was by far the greatest experience of my life. In fact, if I
could do it all over again, I wouldve studied abroad for an entire year. Living in a
Spanish-speaking country was extremely beneficial to my language acquisition. In fact,

I believe I learned more in that one semester than in all of my previous Spanish classes
combined. This is also where all of the Spanish I had been learning seemed to finally
come together.
My education classes werent any less important. It was during these classes that I
learned how to teach. I learned about child development and classroom management.
I was also taught how to write unit plans and lesson plans that helped me address
standards and keep students engaged. I learned the best ways to assess students, and
the best ways to communicate with students and parents.
The courses and classroom activities I experienced were great, but I really learned
once I got out into the field of teaching and was able to experience things first-hand. I
finally got this opportunity during my last semester at SRU when I was assigned to
student teach at Reynolds High School. This was where I had to prove I was capable of
using all of the information I learned the last five years in order to be a successful
Spanish teacher. This was a great learning experience that prepared me for my first
job.
Student teaching went fast, and here I am now in my eighth year of teaching at a
small rural school in northwestern, Pennsylvania. I think teaching has been the best
thing for me. It is amazing how much I learn every day, not only about teaching and my
students, but also about the language. I am the only language teacher in my district so I
am kept busy by teaching all levels of Spanish: Levels 1 4 as well as Exploratory
Spanish for seventh graders.
Reflecting on my own language journey was very enlightening. It made me think
back to my first impression of foreign language learning and why I chose to follow it as a

career path. I know it is unreasonable to think that all of my students may want to follow
in my footsteps, but it is a realistic goal for me to want to have the same impact on them
that my high school Spanish teacher had on me. This reflection also required me to
think back to what worked and what didnt work for me in my own journey to acquiring a
second language. This information is important to keep in mind when teaching my own
students because what may have worked for me may also work for them. Lastly, this
assignment made me think about what I wouldve done differently along this journey. If
I could go back in time, I wouldve studied abroad more. Rather than studying abroad in
Spain for a semester I wouldnt gone for a year and I wouldve chosen to live with a
family so that I was more immersed in the language and culture. If possible, I wouldve
also taken advantage of one of the summer study abroad programs in Costa Rica for a
month. Thinking of things I wouldve done differently, allows me to not make the same
mistakes in the future and hopefully share those mistakes with my students so that they
dont make them either.
Learning is not something that is meant to end. It is my goal to continue working
on my language acquisition for as long as I am a teacher. This may include traveling in
the summer, attending conferences, reading, or becoming an active member of
professional organizations. Three summers ago, I spent a month in Peru to touch up on
my Spanish and currently I have been working on my Masters of Arts in the Teaching of
Languages (MATL) with an emphasis in Spanish. I will be graduating in December of
2014. These two recent experiences have provided me with the most up-to-date
teaching methods and have also perfected my language skills.

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