Teaching Philosophy

I was drawn to the teaching profession because of my love of working young people. After
college, I received several job offers in various other fields but decided to give teaching a one
year trial. The rest is history. I feel lucky and blessed personally do not look at teaching as a job
but I see each day as an opportunity to mentor young people and contribute to their intellectual
growth. I do not remember much Spanish from my high school Spanish classes (I can only
remember three words from those days: manzana, puerta and cabeza) and so I decided early in
my teaching career that I would strive to help my students not only learn the Spanish language
but help them apply what they have learned to real life situations. I enjoy sharing my passion for
the Spanish language and Latin culture, which I experienced firsthand while living in Chile, South
America for two years.
All children learn differently, and so I help them learn through a variety of methods,
including trying to incorporate all the senses (Auditory, Visual, Touch, Smell and Taste).
Everybody loves food, right? I mentioned earlier that I do not see teaching as a job and I hope all
my students do not see my class as just another class in school, but that they will look forward to
the experiences we have together as we explore another language/culture together. I feel that
learning about other cultures is vital aspect of language learning. Learning a language without
incorporating culture would be like learning math without using numbers. I came to love the
Chilean people and appreciate their culture during my time there, and love sharing my
experiences with my students. Todays students will need to understand others cultures in order
to become world leaders. I also feel it is my job to connect learning in ways that will inspire kids
to learn more and strive for greatness. I hope to help my students become creative, critical and
reflective thinkers. It is my belief that everyone can learn a second language with the
combination of proper instruction, personal motivation, low level of anxiety and the opportunities
to communicate in the classroom.
There are different reasons why a student chooses to acquire Spanish as a second
language. One reason might be in order to advance in his/her career; another reason might be,
to better relate to a different culture. Regardless of the reason, the ultimate goal of students
learning a second language is to acquire the ability to communicate in that language. My
objective as a Spanish teacher is to facilitate my students to reach communicative competence
in Spanish along with the successful development of their personal and academic skills, i.e.
listening, speaking, reading and writing. In order to achieve this objective, I adhere to the
Communicative Teaching Method with its central tenet to ensure students develop
communicative competence in the second language. Communicative competence would allow
my students to use Spanish in any situation, ranging from performing a business transaction,

perhaps at the bank, to participating in intercommunication in any social context such as a

party.
My goal for my classroom is to create an environment that resembles as much as possible
a target language setting. In addition to materials created for teaching, I post real-life materials
such as posters from events, photos of places in Spanish-speaking countries, art by Spanish
speaking artists, etc. In addition, I like to play Latin music and teach the students the words to
songs. Music is a powerful tool in learning another language and I take advantage of music of
contemporary artists including Shakira, Enrique, Pit Bull, and many others. Music is often referred
to as the universal language. By its very nature, music transcends boundaries of time, geography
and culture. One of the highest forms of expression, music is a powerful force that brings people
together and has the uncanny ability to draw an array of emotions from any individual. Just
imagine for a moment what life would be without music? Have you ever been moved by a piece
of music even when you didnt know the lyrics or had a song stuck in your head for several days?

Today we live in a world dominated by technology. We are connected with the world by
computers, tablets, and smart phones. I also am passionate about helping students learn and
develop 21st century skills which help prepare them to compete in a global economy. Critical
thinking and problem solving, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Innovation are the
type of skills this upcoming generation will need to develop in order to be successful. I work to
incorporate 21 century technology and real world application in all aspects of my teaching.
The students need to feel comfortable and regard their Spanish class as an enjoyable
experience. Because I believe that in order to be proficient real language needs to be spoken ad
heard by the students, I provide them with plenty of tasks and opportunities to speak in the
target language. I want to immerse them in the language for the duration of the class period. I
also want the learning to continue outside the class and try to expose them to varies types of
music and technology which will they can enjoy 24/7. My goal is for the students to become
lifelong and continue learn Spanish outside of the classroom. I also encourage no English is to be
used in the class after we have learned certain phrases; routine items such as asking permission
to go to the bathroom or ask any questions need to be in Spanish. It is also important to keep in
mind that language classes differ from other academic subjects in that they do not serve their
purpose unless they are used for real life situations- in other words, languages need to be
acquired, not learned. I try to create real life applications for all that we do in class.
The role of the teacher is to be a facilitator; he or she lets the student make mistakes and
discover the language while the teacher guides the way. In a typical classroom situation, the
teacher introduces the vocabulary and grammar in an intrinsic or indirect manner, letting the

students discover it by themselves. Then the teacher explains rules and throws the ball back to
the students: he gives the students the language, so they can apply it in a task or simply make
the necessary connections with their previous knowledge of the language.
If I am true to my philosophy I am very confident that my students will be able to acquire the
necessary competence to become fluent in Spanish and have fun along the way. I am preparing
my students to be well-rounded in the target language. This means more than mastering the four
skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking; it involves the capacity of knowing how to use
different registers and the knowledge of the cultures and customs of Spanish speaking
countries. I believe that by believing in the capacity of my students to acquire a second
language and in helping feel that they are the most important person in the room. I hope to not
only prepare them for the next step in their education but to help prepare them for lifelong
success and personal fulfillment.