Running head: FL 561 TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 1

FL 561 Teaching Philosophy

Rebekah Diser

University of Southern Mississippi

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FL 561 Teaching Philosophy

I am one of the very lucky few people who actually get to pursue their dream job. I have

the opportunity to share the French language and culture with my students. Since most of the

United States is comprised of monolingual English speakers, it is my privilege to share a

different world view with my students. Each student will react differently to the revelation that

their perspective is not the only one, and that it may not always be the right one. It is my hope to

help them develop an openness toward other cultures. Each student will start this journey at a

different place. It is my duty to guide my students in this undertaking. As we communicate in

the target language, it will be my task to make sure that the language is comprehensible. If my

students cannot understand the language, they will not acquire it. This is paramount if I am to

help them discover other cultures through the target language (Shrum & Glisan, 2015).

As my students develop an openness toward other cultures, they will acquire skills that

will help them succeed in their future endeavors. They will develop empathy as they learn to

perceive the viewpoints and perspectives of others. This will help them understand the

motivations of others as they make decisions that will affect others as well as themselves. They

will learn to communicate with people from other cultures as they acquire cultural

understandings as well as language. This will help them understand that what is appropriate in

one society may not be appropriate in other societies which will help them tread cautiously as

well as confidently as they engage in new and challenging environments. This will also help

them understand if someone from another culture does something outside the norms from their

perspective that it may be normal in the other persons culture (Brown, 2014).

Achieving these objectives requires me to build a good rapport with my students. This

positive relationship is essential because it develops trust (Fay & Funk, 1995). Language
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learning can be intimidating; this trust allows me to guide the students in their language learning

journey. It also allows me to personalize instruction in order to make my lessons more

interesting and salient for my students. We can tell a story centered on an activity that is

important to the students. While we are telling the story, the students focus on the story enabling

them to forget that we are speaking a foreign language. This allows the students to focus on the

message. Students desk can be arranged in a theater in the round configuration to allow all

students to be able to focus on content. This also allows an open space for other classroom

activity.

As the focus becomes the message, students develop more confidence in the language

and are more willing to speak (Brown, 2014). As I ask questions about the story, this allows me

to delve deeper into higher order thinking questions to move beyond the story into natural,

salient, and relevant communication. The grammar, vocabulary, and culture become more

apparent as the students focus on meaning and context. The story can be broken down into

different parts to examine different concepts. Since the story is familiar, the new concepts are

less threatening. The students can then be asked to apply the concepts to other situations.

In addition to stories, I can ask my students personalized questions in the target language.

This allows my students to engage in real communication since the information is not scripted. I

can ask other students the same question and we can compare the students interests, likes, and

dislikes. This can help me build a good rapport with my students. It will also assist me in

creating a positive, caring, and accepting classroom environment where all students ideas are

valued. It also allows my students to acquire language about topics of interest to them as well as

others.
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After my students learn to talk about their interests, we can connect the difference

between expressing oneself and the ability to address larger issues. They can research global

issues on Chromebooks using their interests as a springboard to much larger issues. If a student

likes hiking, we can link that interest to a larger issue such as the environment. This not only

illustrates a larger issue; it does so in a way that invests the student in the issue. This would push

them to find solutions to global issues. It is amazing to witness my students language growth as

they conduct all of these tasks in the target language.

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References

Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching A course in second language

acquisition (6th ed.). White Plains, NY: Pearson.

Fay, J., & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic Taking control of the classroom (1st

ed.). Golden, CO: The Love and Logic Press.

Shrum, J. L., & Glisan, E. W. (2015). Teachers handbook (5th ed.). United States of America:

Cengage Learning.