ASU Tesol Capstone 1 philosophy

https://www.coursera.org/learn/teaching-english-capstone/supplement/WLjAR/sample-teaching-philosophy

Sample Teaching Philosophy

Since this is the first time you're being asked to write a teaching philosophy, here is an example of a strong, well-written teaching philosophy that includes a clear, detailed explanation of  teaching purpose, style and techniques, written by one of our very own Teach English Now! learners.  Please use this as a guide/model for what you're expected to write.  

My Teaching Philosophy, by Robert Errington

Teaching Purpose: When I arrived in Germany I barely knew a word of the language.  I could say, ‘Ja’, ‘Nein’ and ‘Danke’ but that was about all. I spent the first few months terrified that anyone would start a conversation with me or ask me a question.  I was like a frightened mouse, hiding away from social situations and people in general.   Gradually, thanks to some great teachers, I got to grips with the language.  It was tough, but with really good support I developed a real enthusiasm for learning a new language and through that, I learnt about a whole new culture.

This is why I teach English.  I know how important learning a language can be to someone.  Learning a language can lead to a job, friends and can even make the difference between being happy to face new challenges or hiding in an apartment and being a frightened mouse.   To me, teaching is about giving someone the confidence, the skills, the motivation and the enthusiasm to learn.  It’s like opening a door to a new world and encouraging the person to step inside. 

At the moment I am mainly teaching Business English.  My short-term teaching purpose is to equip my students with the vocabulary and grammatical structures to enable them to communicate effectively with customers from around the world.  However my long-term purpose is to help my students develop an enthusiasm for learning – not just a language but anything.  Some people think that once they have left school or college, their education is over.  But we can, and do, learn new things every day.  Sometimes what we need is someone to open a door for us and encourage us to step inside.   At first we might feel a bit like a frightened mouse.  But with the right support, we can achieve many things. 

My teaching style is rooted in the Communicative Approach (1980).  This approach particularly appeals to me because I teach English Business to Managers and Consultants.  My students want to learn all four skills (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking) and need to do this through resources relevant to their professions.  As a result I often use authentic materials (magazine articles/blogs) and carefully levelled books with high interest themes (management books etc.)  I like to use the language games, group and pair work, dialogues and conversations used in both the Communicative Approach and the Direct Approach (1900).  Through these approaches the learners get a chance to develop and practice their skills in situations that mimic, or are related to, real-life situations.

I also recognise that students have different levels of confidence and abilities.  To help motivate them to learn I also draw on other approaches.  I like the way that the Affective Humanistic Approach (1970) respects the feelings of students as they learn a language.  I try to use positive reinforcement as much as possible and hope to lower their ‘Affective Filter’ through games.  Meanwhile from the Comprehension Approach (1980) I really like the idea of Role-Reversal.  Encouraging the students to take the initiative and become the teacher is something that can really help some people to gain confidence and be more willing to produce language.  And it allows students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they already have. 

I use a number of teaching techniques in my lessons.  One of the most important for me is finding ways to gain attention and to motivate my students.   The lessons take place in training rooms in their workplace.  When the students come into the lessons they are generally thinking about the meeting they have just come from, or the emails they haven’t replied to.  Therefore I have to find ways to quickly gain their attention and to motivate them to learn.  This means that I spend at least the first 5 minutes in every lesson plan, sometimes more, on a warm-up activity.  To gain their attention I sometimes use music, or videos to ‘mark’ the start of the lesson.  I also try to use warm language and humour to help the students relax into the lesson. To recall prior learning I sometimes start off with a quiz, based on what we have learned in previous weeks.  It is also important for me to remember that my students are not empty vessels.  Many have a lot of professional and life-experience.  When introducing a new topic or I try to draw on their experience through questions and answers and allowing role-reversal where they can become the teacher.  I also encourage learners to use a range of Language Learning Strategies. I encourage them to take notes, ask questions, use imagery and even look ridiculous.  The classroom should be a safe place where mistakes are not only accepted but sometimes encouraged.  We can take risks here.

I try to stick to the 80 (practice)/20 (teaching rule). It is important that my students spend as much time as possible practicing the language they will be using in their workplace. I do this by encouraging Guided practice and Independent Practice, making sure that there is an element of both every lesson plan.  The Independent Practice often takes place during the session because the students, as full-time employees, have only limited time for homework.  The advantage of using Independent Practice in the lessons is that I can use this time to speak to the students individually while they work and give some formative assessment.  Generally the learners are not working towards any qualification, but I do schedule regular quizzes which allows for an element of summative assessment.