Reflection

on my Studies
Carmen Durham

The Master of Arts in Foreign Language Teaching (MAFLT) program almost completely

changed the way I see language education. Before the program, I taught ESL and Spanish. I
saw these languages as subjects that students needed to learn in order to be part of the
globalized world that almost every schools mission statement specifies. In many ways, I was
an effective language instructor who cared about my subject and about my students. However,
I have come to realize that language is so much more than just a subject to learn. Language
forms who we are and what we do. It shapes how we perceive others and how others see us.
The MAFLT program helped me to study not just effective pedagogy but also helped me
understand what language is and how it is used to express an infinite amount of needs,
emotions, opinions, identities, etc.

Through each class, I learned new materials that I can use when teaching and

researching. Through the assessment class, I learned the immense thought process that goes
into planning an assessment. Assessments are much more than a big test at the end of the
chapter; instead, an assessment should give students opportunities to use language
appropriately in real world scenarios. Assessment helps students see their progress and helps
teachers understand how to improve curriculum. The technology course helped me see the
potential of new technology within the foreign language setting. It is very beneficial for the
productivity and efficiency of the class but can be used for so much more. It is also a way of
connecting persons from all over the world and a method to build a cooperative learning
atmosphere in the class and between teachers. The internet alone has an infinite amount of

opportunities to practice language with various types of audiences, including native speakers,
language instructors, and language learners. It also provides a large variety of authentic
cultural elements that give students the opportunity to learn about the target language culture
as well as critically analyze viewpoints toward dialects, countries, races, etc. Moreover, it
provides communities of practice among teachers to share materials, insights, and techniques.
The culture and sociolinguistics classes opened my eyes to how language forms the identity of
people and of communities. Culture cannot just be a set of facts that students memorize.
Culture is all around us, and we create it and change it daily as we move from context to
context. We must first learn to view the diversity in our own culture from a critical stance in
order to decenter and really appreciate the beauty and the diversity of the target culture.
Along those same lines, spoken language, the major goal of many language classes, is as diverse
as the people who speak it. Exposing students to just one dialect does not expose students to
the diversity that language truly holds.
Before I started the MAFLT program, I was not sure what a complete online
environment would be like. I knew I needed an online program because I would be moving a
few times while working on my Masters degree, and I hoped that an online program would be
an effective way to learn. To my delight, I learned so much and had many new experiences
because I chose to complete my program online. The discussions in the online environment
helped me to be more focused and reflective. In a classroom, it was sometimes hard to listen
to the opinions and insights of others because I was always thinking about what I wanted to
add to the conversation. In an online discussion, I can take the time to truly listen to my
classmates and learn from them. The MAFLT program connected me with other students and

professionals from all over the world that I may never have had a chance to interact with
otherwise. The diversity of the students in turn brought a diversity to the curriculum. In our
little online community, we shared our experiences, examples of our work and curriculum, and
our teaching methods, all of which I took to heart and applied to my own practice. On top of all
my new knowledge about Spanish and ESL in my personal teaching context mainly in K-12
education, I learned about adult education, elementary school language programs, a school
system in Africa, dialects of Arabic and Chinese, indigenous languages spoken in Michigan, and
so much more. All of this new information has opened my eyes even more to the diversity of
the world and of educational contexts around the world. I will take this knowledge to better
empathize with my students and co-workers, all of whom come from such diverse backgrounds.
Moreover, this online learning experience has helped me realize that effective instruction does
exist online. I have learned how to effectively create online curriculum and facilitate beneficial
conversations where mutual learning occurs between students. I hope to use all of these
factors in my own future classroom.
The MAFLT program has also taught me to continue researching language, not
necessarily just how language is taught effectively but how language is used in context and how
it builds identity for those who use it. I have felt so informed throughout this program as
knowledge was flowing between myself and other students, and I do not want that flow to
stop. It has allowed me to grow as an instructor and researcher and to contribute my strengths
and ideas to my classmates as well. I am not satisfied with just taking what I learned and
applying it in the future. I will instead continue reading and researching and in turn
transforming the way I teach and the way I understand my students and pedagogy. I hope to

continue to a PhD or EdD. However, even if I do not pursue a more advanced degree, I see the
value and importance of teacher researchers. Many teachers are not interested in publishing
work, and there is a huge disconnect between researchers and practitioners. I will gladly stay in
the K-12 environment and continue doing action research, ethnographic field work, and critical
discourse analysis within my own classroom context so I can continue learning about my
students and co-workers and so that I can share my experiences with others as I have
throughout my Masters program.
Through the MAFLT program, I have grown infinitely not just in my knowledge but also
in the ways that I reflect on language and teaching practice and strive to understand and learn
from others. Language is a powerful element that has the ability to change lives and change
the world. Wherever I end up, I will continue utilizing the knowledge and experiences I gained
about teaching interculturally, using technology effectively, assessing appropriately, learning
from other language instructors, and researching to always learn more and gain new insights.