C&T 491

Dr. Cho & Annette

July 26, 2017 Teaching Philosophy Hazara Leon 1

Over the course of our six-week practicum my understanding of what it is to be an

EFL teacher deepened. My views evolved from that of an ESL student whose love for

languages stemmed from her need for communication with the people in her environment

to that of a teacher. Although I have just now begun to open my eyes to world of

teaching, I have developed my own teaching philosophy based off of my experiences at

Kyunghwa EB School.

Initially, my goals coming into this practicum were to learn to embody the beliefs and

principles of an educator and learn the skills needed to become a great teacher. As an

ESL student I had witnessed how difficult it was to be on the receiving end, so I

acknowledge how important it is to have a great teacher. English to me was a universal

language that opened up the door to millions of opportunities. However, to grasp such a

complex language there is a need for teachers that not only know how to teach, but ones

who understand the system, culture and beliefs of their students. During my time at

Kyunghwa I carried forth some of my initial teaching beliefs while developing my

understanding of English as a tool for communication.

In many countries around the world, English is viewed as a tool for sociopolitical

advancement rather than a tool for pure communication. While I see how important it is

to take a communicative approach for language teaching, I believe it is more helpful to

take on a cognitive approach in the initial stages of language instruction as well as with

lesson concepts that are foreign. During the initial stages of language instruction there

was a need for more structured and formatted lessons that would allow the students to

build a framework of their own. By stressing the acquisition of these patterns and rules,

the students could then be prompted to apply their learnings to new circumstances or
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Dr. Cho & Annette
July 26, 2017 Teaching Philosophy Hazara Leon 2

problems. Through this view, language learning is through the acquisition of rules rather

than habit formation.

At the same time, an affective-humanistic approach is needed for student-teacher

interactions to develop in a positive and comfortable environment. The class was always

arranged in a manner that allowed for small group work in order to provide the students

with an opportunity to interact with one another. The building of a small support system

made it possible for the students to help one another understand the lesson materials.

Classes were then carried out in a teacher-centered classroom so that I could ensure the

full participation of the classroom and the learning of the set rules and forms. After

ensuring that the students had reached the lessons objectives, through a formative

assessment of the lesson materials, I would move towards activities that were student-

centered. These activities would reinforce the material they had previously learned and

allowed for practice/application of the forms. This move towards a student-centered

classroom allowed for the application of a communicative approach. Students would

engage in role-playing activities that would allow them to test their learnings and apply

them to real-life situations with the teacher and their classmates. In addition, students

would be given the chance to negotiate meaning with their peers and practice of the

forms through writing/speaking/listening activities all while the teacher serves as a

facilitator. In order to reach this point, it was vital to ensure that the forms were learned,

so that the students could tap into their higher-level learning skills and carry out

communication activities.

In the end, I hope to carry forth my initial beliefs as a teacher, and highly

emphasize the need for a teacher that truly knows her students. Getting to know your
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Dr. Cho & Annette
July 26, 2017 Teaching Philosophy Hazara Leon 3

students is key for teaching instruction. At the same time, it is essential to emphasize the

importance of the students own backgrounds in order to get them to realize that English

can be used as a tool for communication, not just for power.