Running Head: PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHTNG

PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

NERISSA YEPEZ

UCR: TESOL PORTFOLIO

JUNE 2,2017
PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

I became interested in teaching when I started volunteering at a local school as a freshman at'

Long Beach State. I found the classroom environment very attractive and encouraging. I observed

teachers and how they conducted their classrooms. Their lesson plans were filled with engaging and

exciting activities. I noticed their joy in learning. I believe students should feel confident in their abilities

and challenged as they progress in their learning.

As an upcoming TESOL teacher, I plan on going to a professional development CATESOL

conference. I want to sit in on the workshops so I can gather great ideas. This will help me become an

outstanding TESOL teacher. I also would like to read more peer reviewed literature to understand the

dynamics of 5 classroom. I believe these studies can help me be aware of strategies that worked well

with students. I would also like to understand more of my students' cognitive styles. Since each child

learns differently, I need to understand what classroom activities and styles of teaching work best for

them. Creating a portfolio can help me organize my ideas and give me direction on my professional

goals.

The two approaches I will focus on will be the communication language teaching approach and

the direct method approach. Both approaches can help facilitate learning in my classroom.

Communication language teaching is communicating not only for functional purposes but to

communicate with competence. Communicative competence is knowing what to say to someone at the

right situation. (Freeman and Anderson 20L1). CLT is also an approach to language, task-based

activities, and communication for real-world, meaningful purposes (Brown 2014). Realworld

communication could involve ordering food, asking for directions, and asking for favors. To incorporate

the CLT into the classroom, techniques such as information-gap and opinion ga| tasks will be
 3
PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

implemented. In my listening/speaking class, I recently demonstrated an information gap activity. The

lesson focused on prepositions. I printed out two forms. One for A and another for B. Students were

paired up and had to ask for the location of certain items in relationship to a furniture in a room. This

activity was successful. Students were speaking and using target prepositions. Students understood the

function and importance of prepositions.

Another activity that facilitates communication competence is opinion information gap.

Students expressed their personal preferences, feelings, or attitudes to complete a task. A few days

ago, I was involved in a small classroom discussion in my listening and speaking class. We were working

on an information gap activity. During role play, we expressed our dislikes as roommates. We came up

with ideas on how to problem solve so we can live harmoniously. Students learned phrases such as

"Could you please..." and " lt would be nice if you ...". We voiced our opinions for a positive cause. As

we discussed, we moved forward in problem solving because of the listening and comprehending skills

that we obtained during the task. We communicated effectively as our knowledge and understanding

became clear in our discussion.

The Direct Method approach is another affective approach to reach communication

competence. lt is a method when the goal of instruction became learning how to use another language

to communicate. (Freeman & Anderson lO1-Ll. The Direct Method allows students to learn and

communicate using only the target language. Students begin to think in the target language in

association to meaning. This can help as students write in journals or respond to blogs.

Demonstrations and visual aids allow audio and visual learners to complete this task. Students create

meaning through pictures and realia. Vocabulary over grammar will be emphasized. As oral

communication becomes the foundation of the lesson, reading and writing exercises will eventually

come into play. When learning a language, students will be speaking for functional reasons. They will
 4
PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

eventually start reading at their level and can start writing in simple sentences. This is very important as

students progress in their learning. They gain confidence as they master skills gradually.

The conversation practice technique, map drawing technique, and the fill in the blank exercise5

are a few techniques that demonstrate the Direct Method. As I observed a listeninglspeaking class, I

witnessed students in a conversation practice activity. They were given an opportunity to talk about

their successes in their lives. Each student shared their success. When they switched partners, the

students had to share the information given by their previous partner to their new partner. Students

practiced the target language through listening and understanding content information.

The next technique includes the map drawing activity. The teacher gives instructions in the

target language to students. For example, students will label the map. Students in turn can give

directions to 1he teacher to find or label something else on the map. Teachers and students work

together: as partners in the teaching-learning process. ln my foundations of TESOL class, we had a

simple activity. Students pointed to a map of their country of origin and gave a short explanation of

their country. This simple but very effective activity allowed students to demonstrate geography,

listening, and speaking skills.

Another technique includes the fill in the blank exercise. This common exercise checks for

understanding. When given a handout, students use prior knowledge or new information to fill in the

blanks. No specific grammar rule will be applied to this activity. Teacher can also have visuals such as

PowerPoints to complete the fill in the blank forms. This again allows students to listen and

comprehend information without any support in the student's native language.

PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

Conclusion

Overall, I will be using the communication language teaching approach and the direct method approach

in my teaching. lnformation gap and opinion gap task would be helpful in my communication language

teaching approach. ln addition, the conversation practice, map drawing, and fill in the blanks exercises

would also be beneficial in the direct method approach.

PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING

References

Richards,J.C. ,Farrell, T.S.C.,(2011). Practice Teaching A Reflective Approach. New York, NY: Cambridge

University Press

Freeman, D. 1., Anderson, M., (211ll. Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford, NY: Oxford
.:

University Press
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