Running Head: A TESOL TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

A TESOL Teaching Philosophy

Kimberly D. Bressan
University of San Diego
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A TESOL Teaching Philosophy

Introduction
“Only through communication can human life hold meaning.” This statement by

renowned teacher and activist Paulo Freire reveals the awesome opportunity that English

language teachers have to help their students create even more meaningful lives. English is the

current lingua franca, so knowing how to communicate through this medium is key to unlocking

international relationships and accessing global culture as well as stores of knowledge. As an

English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instructor, I am committed to helping students

gain English language skills in a fun, meaningful, and effective way. What I value most as a

teacher in this context is building a safe environment, a community where trust exists between all

members. I promote active, fun, meaningful learning that honors autonomy and creativity.

Through ample feedback, partner and small group work, encouragement and praise, I work to

support student learning. As a teacher and mentor my purpose is to guide and support, inspire

and encourage, share knowledge and shape global citizens. The responsibility I have toward my

students is to do the same things I expect from them—be on time, show respect, actively

participate, and take charge of my own learning/teaching.

The ability to cause others to fall in love with learning is one of the distinguishing

characteristics of a great teacher. Passion is contagious. As a teacher, it is important that I

regularly meditate on my own teaching philosophy and assess its evolution allowing me to

uncover my own best practices to assist students with their second language acquisition. Having

a concrete understanding of my personal philosophy will aid me as I create syllabi, develop

lesson plans, and decide on classroom activities. After considering my teaching trajectory, I will

contemplate the following question: What linguistic, cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural

considerations currently shape my teaching philosophy?

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Future Teaching Contexts

I have had the distinguished privilege of completing my Master of Education in TESOL,

Literacy, and Culture while teaching at Ubon Ratchathani University (UBU) in Thailand. On my

return to the United States, I will spend the summer teaching at Language Studies International

(LSI), a private language school in downtown San Diego. This will be my third summer as an

ESOL instructor with LSI. In my time there, I have taught the teen program, the young children

(5-11 years old), and across all levels in the regular classrooms. One thing I really enjoy about

teaching at LSI is that after four hours of classroom instruction in the morning, the afternoon is

spent participating in activities and field trips around the city. I have witnessed the immense

value of the students getting a chance to practice and play with their emerging language skills in

an authentic context while they interact with others in the community. Additionally, when the

groups consist of students from a variety of language backgrounds, the power of English as the

common language allowing for cross-cultural relationships to be built is evident.

In the future, I aspire to teach students 18 years and older at the community college or

university level (public or private). While my family obligations require that I stay in the United

States for the next two years, I ultimately desire to teach English internationally. After my

semester in Thailand, my heart belongs to Asia, so I am considering Vietnam, Thailand, South

Korea, or Japan as possible teaching locations. As part of my TESOL program at USD, I

conducted a case study on the education system in Thailand. From this research and my recent

teaching experience, I have come to understand the following. In Thailand, English is

compulsory from 1st grade through university. Thai students largely learn English with their

eyes. Therefore, their reading and writing skills are substantially more advanced than their

speaking and listening skills. Many Thai English teachers use very limited verbal English in their
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classrooms due to their own insecurities with speaking the language. Due to this, by the time

students reach university, they can translate lengthy texts, but they cannot hold a conversation.

Listening skills must be built up simultaneously with speaking skills. Other challenges arise

when dealing with institutional factors. Curriculum is set by a course coordinator, and all

teachers must follow the structure of grading which is largely quizzes and tests. So while a

teacher might aspire to bring in meaningful and authentic materials, if the course materials are

not also followed, the students will struggle to pass the tests. Grades are inflated, and grading

intervals are widened to ensure most students pass on to the next level regardless of their actual

ability. From speaking with other teachers who have taught in Asia, all of the above factors tend

to be a normal occurrence. When I first faced these dilemmas, it was frustrating. However, I

learned how to adapt and teach my students to the best of my ability within the boundaries set.

Even though my role as an Instructional Assistant at Miramar College placed me in

writing classes for two semesters, I grew very fond of teaching speaking and listening during my

time in Thailand. Again, as these skills are a bigger challenge in many Asian countries, I feel this

is where I can best serve the needs of students. Creating a safe environment is the essential first

step to helping students overcome their fear of and or insecurities with speaking English. The

following considerations will explore ways that my teaching philosophy allows this environment

to form and flourish.

Linguistic Considerations

Two years ago, my perspective on the English language was quite different than it is

today. Before my time spent studying in the USD Master of Education TESOL program, I was

very narrow in my interpretation of what constituted acceptable English. This view widened

considerably as I studied and researched English as an International Language (EIL).

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Understanding the degree to which English has spread around the globe and the fact that 80% of

English is spoken between non-native speakers altered my mindset (McKay 2012). The EIL

framework now greatly affects my approach to teaching. If the main function of language is to

communicate, then as long as there is no communication breakdown, the pronunciation and

grammar need not be drilled to perfection. Additionally, depending on the context, pragmatics

may play a lesser role in an EIL classroom. This would be the case in an EFL context where I

would not be as concerned about teaching idioms or slang with which other non-native speakers

will be unfamiliar. On the other hand, a community college or private language school ESOL

class in the United States would want to focus on these pragmatic aspects as students will hear

and need to make sense of these words and phrases in their local setting. When teaching English

with a view towards EIL, students may need to be advised of academic vs. communicative

English. Furthermore, if communication is compromised, then lessons to remedy this will be

necessary. In Thailand, the pronunciation of /l/ and /r/ are exceedingly difficult for most students.

As I had Tourism majors in my class, the words fright, fight, and flight became grounds for a

pronunciation lesson on how to physically form the mouth and tongue to make these sounds

distinct. In any class, informal assessments can inform the curriculum.

The constructs of EIL also inform how I view the popular linguistic principles. For

example, concerning the Native Language Effect, while teaching in Thailand I noticed many

students transferring the Thai practice of emphasizing the final syllable to their English

pronunciations (hap-E instead of HAP-e). Instead of correcting this, I started saying it like my

students. That is the Thai English way of pronouncing happy. It is understandable. This is an

example of allowing non-native speakers a chance to make the language uniquely theirs,

claiming ownership of their version of English. Another element to consider is the Monitor
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Hypothesis which suggests teachers focus on fluency in the early stages of second language

acquisition and then turn to accuracy so that student speech is not choppy. I agree with this

method. In order to accomplish this, I limit translation devices in the classroom. Instead, I

encourage students to speak while relying on self-correction, peer support, pictures, and teacher

rewording when further assistance or correction is needed. Framing a classroom around EIL is

helpful in this regard as it takes the pressure off students thinking their grammar and/or

pronunciation has to be perfect and permits them to speak more freely.

Cognitive Considerations

Language learning that follows a building block manner is “a meaningful process of

relating new events or items to already existing cognitive structures” (Brown, 2014, p. 83).

Concerning my own teaching philosophy, I value the cognitive perspective and cognitive

constructivism because this method of adding to existing knowledge in a structured fashion

serves to support learners in a healthy way. Students will not be overwhelmed; instead, they will

be guided through the learning process in a logical manner. Bridging is one way to accomplish

this, tying past learning to a new concept or introducing a new concept slowly and seeing how it

links to the students’ schemas. The warm-up is a great time to make connections or reveal new

topics. Through quick writes, pictures, short dialogues between peers, or videos, students can

begin to get their minds in line with the upcoming content. I found myself using a lot of quick

write warm-ups in my speaking and listening class as it afforded an opportunity to bring in one

of the other skills that was not the main focus of the class. Perhaps in a reading or writing class a

verbal or audio bridge could serve the same purpose.

When I was working as an Instructional Assistant in ESOL 30 (an intermediate writing

course at Mirarmar College), the professor conducted an exercise on precise language. In order
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to facilitate the learning, he began with the students’ current level having them write a basic

description about their reaction to a picture. Then he showed them how, by adding descriptive

language that involves all the senses, they could make their written language richer and more

vibrant. This type of modeling is an additional technique to help students slowly stack their

blocks.

Meaningful learning also has purpose. Students benefit from explicit objectives with clear

explanations. What are they learning? Where will they use this? Why is it important to know this

tense or vocabulary? In my classrooms, isolated handouts with meaningless examples have no

place. Instead, it is far more engaging and significant to bring the classroom to life with real-

world situations. One example of this is a mock restaurant. In this way, students are able to use

the language for their own purposes not just fill in the blanks about how Sally would tell her

server she does not have enough cheese. This type of activity also benefits kinesthetic learners.

While it is recommended to teach to a variety of learning styles (Brown 2014), I also included a

direct question to each of my students when we met for one-on-one conferences asking them

how they learned best. Many of the students indicated that they learned best through music and

song. This information was then used to inform the future curriculum. Finally, scaffolding is a

technique that further allows students to progress in a methodical sequence. Moving from full

support to partial support to no support allows students to gain the skills and confidence to

complete a task on their own.

Affective Considerations

Affective factors are, as Brown (2014) writes, the emotional side of human behavior.

Self-esteem, inhibition, motivation, anxiety, confidence, and willingness to communicate are

some of the affective factors oft considered in second language acquisition (SLA). Motivation is
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considered “one of the most powerful affective variables in accounting for the success or failure

of virtually any complex task” including learning a language (Brown, 2014, p. 158). What

motivates a person? Many things do Brown (2014) asserts: rewards, achieving goals, meeting

underlying needs like stimulation or knowledge, and social and cultural influences. There are

two types of motivation as discussed by Brown (2014). Extrinsic arrives from outside a person:

rewards, money, prizes, and grades. Intrinsic motivation relies on the doing of the activity itself

and feeling competent or self-determination from one’s accomplishment. In my classroom, I like

to have a mix of motivators both intrinsic and extrinsic. Although I do not emphasize grades in

my personal philosophy, most institutions do. I try to instead honor those students who exert

effort and complete a task well by sharing their work as an example. Another motivator I have

had success with is the reward of playing competitive games like the online quiz Kahoot.

Students are so enthusiastic to play and are always eager to see who earns the top three positions.

I further work to motivate my students by giving them autonomy and encouraging creativity.

This is accomplished from day one when students create classroom guidelines and help to co-

create the syllabus. Additionally, I think giving students opportunities to analyze their

motivations for learning English and sharing these as a class is up building. In my English and

Communication class in Thailand, we made posters exploring “Why English is Important to

me?” This was guided by the EIL perspective. Explicitly helping students to understand the

benefits of learning the English language as well as uncovering their own reasons for doing so

may increase their motivation.

Some affective factors to consider that are more prominent in adult learners include

anxiety and inhibitions. Teachers should do what they can to create a safe learning environment

to encourage communication and lessen student anxiety. One tactic I appreciated that my mentor
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professor at Miramar College used in his classroom was to show an episode of Mr. Bean before

the students took an exam. The humor lessened their apprehension. In my own teaching, I would

like to employ such aids. Goal-setting is another technique I have not experimented with yet but

plan to use in the future. This practice can encourage students to stay motivated and has also

been linked to increased confidence (Bandura 1994). I like to celebrate the cultural diversity that

exists in the classroom (or the world in an EFL setting) by creating an inclusive environment

with materials that are derived from various sources and cultures. Students are encouraged to

share their perspectives and backgrounds as well as dispel misconceptions and stereotypes.

Having open communication and building a sense of community in the classroom helps to

counterbalance affective factors.

In my recent action research considering ways to increase student confidence to speak

English, I explored various facets of dealing with affective factors. From this research, I learned

that the teacher has a great responsibility when it comes to lowering the affective filter.

Successful ways I have found to do this include having a student-centered classroom, teaching to

various learning styles, being available to students, conducting one-on-one conferences,

continuously using pair and small group work, and participating in community building activities

such as entertaining guest speakers and going on field trips. I also was able to lessen anxiety

through the use of written materials and subtitles for all teaching instruction since this is how my

students best understood English. The overarching theme is build bonds—student to student and

student to teacher. Be kind and stay relaxed because the students will feed off of your energy.

Socio-cultural Considerations

Social-constructivists, such as Carl Rogers, Paulo Freire, and Lev Vygotsky, analyze the

social factors involved in learning. The social-constructivist perspective moves away from an all-
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powerful teacher lording over the class. Teachers should instead be “seeking to become involved

in their students’ curiosity” (Freire, 2005, p. 32). Brown (2014) indicates how this mentality

allows the focus to then change to the students’ learning and empowerment. One way I have

incorporated this into my classrooms is by, as previously mentioned, making them learner-

centered. Another example of this type of teaching can be observed in a new methodology

termed the flipped classroom. The CATESOL Journal describes the flipped classroom as a

classroom “transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator

guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter” (Doman and

Webb, 2016). In order to accomplish this, teachers assign readings or videos to be completed

outside of regular class time thus freeing the time spent together to be used for group

collaboration, hands-on learning, and creative projects. As a teacher, I have implemented the

flipped classroom in a Presentation Skills class. I feel this approach not only gives students the

responsibility to prepare for the class but also allows much more interaction and collaboration

during class time. Instead of just listening to a teacher give information and take notes, students

are able to take the information they have already consumed and delve into it further through jig

saw activities, poster projects and gallery walks, and other games and activities. Time in the

classroom is much more interactive and productive.

Freire (2005) cautions teachers that if the level of instruction is too far from the level a

student is at developmentally, comprehension will be unattainable. This same concept is

expressed in the zone of proximal development or ZPD, a concept coined by Vygotsky (Brown,

2014, p. 13). Brown defines the ZPD as “the distance between learners’ existing developmental

state and their potential development” (Brown, 2014, p. 13). It includes tasks that a learner is

able to learn with the guidance of a teacher. Brown (2014) also mentions Stephen Krashen who
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echoes this in his Input Hypothesis where i+1, or input just a step beyond one’s competence, is

the optimum learning situation. In Thailand, I saw firsthand how students’ ability to learn a

language is extremely compromised when they are placed in courses far beyond their language

level. Firstly, the book used was from Cambridge and highly ethnocentric. It would best serve

students living in what Krashen terms an Inner Circle country. Teaching an A1 level class from a

B1 book clearly impressed upon me the importance of ZPD and i+1. When I first comprehended

my situation, I went to the course coordinator but was told “this is how it is.” I decided in order

for my students to learn how to speak English, they would need different activities than what the

book offered. I took the main themes for each lesson (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) and created

lessons closer to my students’ ZPD. However, the set grammar points (1st conditional, 2nd

conditional, past perfect) which were introduced at the alarming rate of two a week were still too

advanced, yet the students would be tested on them, so I felt obligated to try to teach them. I saw

students being forced to use language they were not fully understanding and forcing that

language to fit into situations ineffectively. During that time, I just kept thinking how much more

they would be advancing if their lessons fully matched their level. If I were staying on at this

university, I would definitely champion for a different book for this course. Interestingly, the

reading and writing course linked to my speaking and listening course uses an A1 book. To

streamline the courses, the same book could be used for both, and the speaking and listening

class could reinforce the grammar and vocabulary taught in reading and writing.

In Teachers as Cultural Workers, Freire emphasizes the need for teachers and students to

constantly observe, analyze and negotiate the classroom. By building the course alongside their

learners and relying on student feedback, teachers can have a positive impact on learner

empowerment. I am in total accord with this style of classroom management. I have used one-
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on-one conferences, surveys, and whole classroom discussions to try to keep the dialogue

flowing about what best suits the class needs.

Conclusion

Meditating on my personal teaching philosophy affords me the opportunity to have a

clearer understanding of what is important to me as an ESOL teacher. Overall, I desire to create

learner-centered classrooms with language-rich environments that use culturally diverse

materials. These classrooms revolve around the EIL paradigm. They have a needs-based

linguistics component and are guided by purpose, meaningful content, and scaffolding. Through

a learner-centered approach, one-on-one conferences, realistic goals, and humor and play,

student anxiety can be lessened while motivation and confidence can increase. Socio-cultural

aspects of these classrooms include the ZPD, the expert other, and applying the flipped

classroom method when it is suitable. Grades are based on consistent participation in classroom

activities, conversations, and projects instead of on quizzes and tests.

One of my main goals as an ESOL teacher includes providing a safe and supportive space

for students to learn and practice the English language, helping students reach the ultimate goal

of communicative fluency to the best of my ability. To accomplish this, I include my learners in

the process of defining what best suits the needs of the class. Through open dialogues in class,

co-construction of the curriculum, one-on-one conferences, surveys and my own “critical

analysis of my practice,” I can achieve this goal (Freire, 2005, p. 32). Another personal objective

is to provide meaningful and fun language opportunities incorporating technology to better

prepare students to participate in our global community. This can be achieved through authentic

and meaningful materials and activities along with field trips, guest speakers, and cross-cultural
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communication exchanges. Finally, along with my teaching, I aspire to conduct research in

various capacities to advance the pedagogy of TESOL teachers.

In order to maximize my learning from my master’s program and to support my personal

development as I strive towards these goals, I will keep up with new advancements in SLA

theories; I will preserve my papers, books, and research from my program for reference and use

them to help construct my classroom; I will continue to read journal articles from various

TESOL sources and make an effort to attend and present at local conferences; I will continue to

collaborate with my peers and mentors at USD and UBU for there is greatness in diversity of

thinking.
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References

Bandura (1994) Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia

of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71-81). New York: Academic Press.

Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching. Pearson. White

Plains, NY.

Doman, Evelyn and Webb, Marie. (2016) Does the Flipped Classroom Lead to Increased Gains

on Learning Outcomes in ESL/EFL Contexts? The CATESOL Journal. Vol. 28, No. 1.

Wordpress.

Freire, Paulo. (2005). Teachers as Cultural Workers: Letters to Those Who Dare Teach.

Westview Press. Boulder, CO.

McKay, S. L. (2012). English as an International Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Molina, Sarina. (2013). Linguistics for Teaching English in Multilingual Classrooms. San

Bernardino, CA.