English Language/Literature Acquisition Teacher

Teaching Statement for English Language Aquisition

My teaching philosophy is to be interactive, supportive, highly adaptable, and results driven. It is a hybrid method that encourages students to have a voice in the classroom, ask questions, and participate actively and confidently. I would also describe the way I teach as coaching rather than lecturing which enables students to develop critical thinking and creativity. I do not favor one teaching method because each class is different. Despite this open style, I develop a clear plan for the entire year with regular milestones and tests to evaluate student progress, adjusting my teaching methods around the classroom dynamics.

I believe in building a rapport with students by learning what makes a student tick; this enables me to build a nuanced, student-teacher rapport. Discovering what they care about, what motivates them, and how they can apply their own experience to an assignment or discussion topic, enables me to engage students to excel in ways they could never have imagined.

Teaching during the pandemic presented a whole range of challenges. Whether it was learning how to engage and teach effectively online, modifying pre-planned course material, or adapting an in-class assignment to a virtual experience. Students who were inspired, became less-so as the year wore on. One of the ways I motivated students who seemed to lose interest was to give them agency; to learn by teaching, themselves. For example, I’d assign meaningful and relevant activities that were driven by their interests. I would help them create and deliver their perspective on a topic, such as a chapter from Strunk and White “The Elements of Style”; something self-initiated with appropriate guidance from me. It gave them a voice and they felt empowered about what they were learning and improved learning engagement.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I have over fifteen years’ experience as an intercultural adaptation facilitator, which would serve me well in any international school context. I can anticipate subtle questions and concerns that students may have and implement better processes for solving learning problems through intercultural awareness. I feel this aspect of my background is an asset and something that sets me apart from other candidates.