I believe that all students deserve to have a safe, understanding, and supportive learning environment. A place where they come to not just learn, but grow into themselves as they take in more of the world and the different viewpoints around them. It’s why I became so invested in becoming and English teacher, I want to help the students I meet to walk away from my class with not only a better understanding of English as a language, but also of the world around them and where they see themselves in it. I will use strategies which incorporate students personal experiences and culture so that they are able to reflect and grow, and able to take pride in their heritage and culture without it feeling that I am forcing my own on them.
The classroom is a place of not just learning, but discovery. Students start to see the world in a different light when they enter new classrooms and encounter new people, especially when they meet those from different parts of the world with different values and culture. I want to give students the chance to share these things with each other through a Communicative Class, working together to further their learning and understanding of the world around them. Using a class where students are free to share their culture and ideas, I will encourage dialogue and discussions in the classroom, showing them that their thoughts and opinions are welcome, and while they may be challenged by others, they are valid and just as important as anyone else’s views. I would work to show my students that I want them to talk and question in my class, that mistakes they make are not a fault in their character, but a learning opportunity. Students that feel like they can embrace their own culture while taking in the new things they learn is important for helping a student be able to stay engaged and motivated to learn no matter the subject, and remembering that in every class a student is being presented with not just new knowledge from the subject, but also a changing of their self identities, is something I know is important as an educator. I will help my students as they learn about themselves, encouraging them to explore these new facets of self they find, and how these new discoveries can help make them more successful in the classroom, like a student from China learning to voice their own ideas or opinions on class, or a student from Mexico learning that can rely on me for questions if they have any, even outside the classroom.
My goal is to become an educator that can help students find the strategies they need to learn, and enjoy their time doing it. During my time working as an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan, I made it my goal to incorporate students interests into the lessons, and to encourage them to participate by offering their own thoughts and ideas about a topic. It didn’t work with everyone, but every year there were students who came to me saying that I was able to encourage to try speaking English a little more, and that they had become interested in learning more about English and being able to use it. Hearing how I was able to help those students, that my want for them to feel comfortable in the class and that I wasn’t forcing English upon them, encouraged me that my way of managing the classroom works, that allowing students to use their native language to work through problems and incorporating things about their culture they could connect with truly does help improve a students attitude towards learning. I wish to continue to work with students, and improve my approaches and methods to teachers, so that I will be able to reach more students in my classrooms and help them find the motivation and interest to want to learn.