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STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

As a Spanish teacher, my ultimate goal is to provide my students with a new way of

understanding reality. The linguistic systems of different languages partially shape the way
reality is viewed. People, places, objects, and actions are all communicated through unique
ways in which they gain a particular meaning. Being able to broaden my students’ minds so
that they can understand and participate in this notion is the foundation of my teaching
philosophy. I wish to help them find new ways of expressing themselves and understanding
others’ points of view through the acquisition of a second language. Nevertheless, achieving
this is not an easy task. Respect, organization, consistency, patience, and technology are the
five main values I consider necessary for a successful teaching and learning environment. It is
also these five core values that I expect my students to learn, along with the Spanish language,
when they walk out of my classroom.

A LEARNING COMMUNITY OF RESPECT

Any good relationship begins with respect. The minute my students enter my
classroom, I expect them to walk in with the comfort of knowing that they are in a safe
supportive space. I want them to feel that the class is a community where everybody is safe to
express their thoughts and doubts. At the same time, students should be aware that, as a
community, they can ask their peers and their teacher for help if any questions or doubts arise.
Without a sense of community and respect, it is difficult to maintain order and consistency in
the learning space, but even more importantly, it is difficult for students to learn.

ORGANIZED SPACE AND TIME

It is essential to organize the classroom space as well as the time used during the lesson
time. By maintaining an organized and clean space, energy and focus can be directed to the
material. Seating arrangements in groups of four allow for a student-centered learning
environment to flourish. The collaborative setting not only creates a sense of teamwork while
completing activities, but it also helps promote a safe learning environment where students feel
secure to ask their peers for help. Likewise, organizing class time is essential. Time
organization concerns establishing routines in the classroom and lesson planning. Routines for
students at the beginning of class, as simple as sitting in one’s desk and having one’s textbook
and notebook out, are essential to keep the learning experience flowing. Clear classroom
norms are also paramount for a successful learning space. I ensure clarity while establishing
these so that my students are always aware of what is expected from them. Time management
and clear norms lead to an efficient use of classroom time and allows greater time for learning.
Lesson planning is the second most important way I maintain an organized classroom. Since
each class tends to have its own energy, whether it be in elementary, middle, high, or higher
education, being able to tailor language class activities to the need of each group also allows me
to create an environment that ensures the retention of the material being learned while the
students have an enjoyable time learning. By studying my different classes, I can better
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determine what kind of activities work best while advancing the curriculum at an equal pace.
While teaching in Spain, I would often apply this customization with my fifth-grade students.
With one class being a high-energy group, I would limit the time allocated to high-energy
activities that required singing and dancing. Another group I would teach in the late afternoon
had a lower energy level, so I would try to include more activities that required students to
move around. With a finite amount of class time, understanding the students’ limitations and
needs allows me to tailor my lesson plans to ensure my students profit from their class time.

CONSISTENCY

I am convinced that being consistent with the routines and following through with the
established norms and consequences established at the beginning of the year is an important
way of ensuring the success of the organized classroom. Consistency is also important to the
actual process of second language instruction and acquisition. Effective language teaching
requires both the instructor and the students to remain in the target language as much as
possible in order to enhance the learning experience. This usually prove challenging at the
beginning of the course, but the organization of the classroom’s time and space helps both
students overcome this and achieve the learning goals. Collaborative learning sitting
arrangements help maintain consistency in communicating through the target language.

PATIENCE, POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT AND MOTIVATION

Learning a second language is a long, slow and complicated process since it opens a
new line of thinking and it is important to constantly remember this. Nothing hinders learning
more than an impatient teacher. I seek to create a comfortable learning environment where
students are not afraid to make mistakes and feel safe enough to open up with regards to
doubts and problems understanding concepts. As a third-grade student, nothing would
discourage me from learning math more than the impatience of my teachers and my parents.
As a teacher, I want my students experience to be the opposite. I want them to know that
learning is not a race, but a rich journey where one advances at a different pace while enriching
oneself with the knowledge gained. I am determined to ensure this is the case for all of my
students despite whatever background they may come from. During my time working as an
English Teacher in Madrid, I learned how my students’ economic, ethnic, racial and gender
differences can become an obstacle to learning. Many of the issues my students were dealing
with were reflected in their work and participation in class. Patience and empathy are crucial to
helping students succeed and feel supported. Positive reinforcement, along with patience and
empathy also goes a long way when it comes to motivating students. I always highlight the
positive things I see in the classroom while encouraging others to do the same and the results
during my seven years have always produced engaged students.
Along with positive reinforcement, I have found that encouraging my students to draw
on their previous knowledge gives them a sense of security while communicating. This
technique is quite motivating since they realize that they are capable of much more than they
think! Allowing students to make their own connections in the classroom during activities is
another way of motivating them to enjoy since it leads them to start down a path of inquiry on
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their own as I guide them. Not only does this make learning for students more enjoyable, but it
also promotes the student-centered learning environment I wish to achieve.
Linking the language class to current and historical cultural references has also proven
to be highly effective towards teaching students. Given the vastness and diversity of the
Spanish speaking world, I have learned that bringing authentic materials into the classroom,
such as newspapers, music, television, pop-culture and even food, is a fantastic way of
captivating my students. Intrigued by the many different cultures of the world’s Hispanic
population, students become motivated to learn Spanish as they link the course material with
contexts outside of school.

TECHNOLOGY

Technology allows me to create a multidisciplinary learning experience, so students can

immerse themselves in, not only the Spanish language, but also in the diverse Hispanic cultures
that exist around the world. By responsibly using smart-phones, tablets and laptops in the
classroom, students can have access to authentic reading and listening materials. While
completing my M.A. in Spanish Language Education, I developed a website that implements
the use of “web quests” in which I provide students certain links to find certain material on
which they are later asked follow-up questions. Another website I developed gives students
access to current news from the Hispanic world in articles I have adapted to their reading level.
The use of this website was a success with my classes while teaching Spanish at the University
of Oklahoma as students expressed their preference for real news over some of the more
uninteresting material in their text book. The use of software such as skype is another resource
I like to use in class as it allows me to invite special guests from abroad with different
professions whom students can communicate with. The guests are aware of certain vocabulary,
grammatical formulas and phrases they should use. By using technology, my students can
immediately see the advantages of learning a second language.

5 CORE VALUES

My personal approach to pedagogy and classroom management revolves around these

core values. Respect warrants my class the safe and nurturing environment needed to learn.
Organization makes the classroom efficient in every sense of the word. Consistency of second
language communication and enforcement of the classroom norms ensures that my students’
learning goals are achieved. Patience allows me to motivate my students while meeting the
needs of each individual student with positive reinforcement. Technology helps my teaching
adapt to the way students learn in 2019 by integrating different types of authentic multimedia
resources. By combining these values, my Spanish classes develop a sense of community,
friendship and an interest in learning. This is how I can provide students with a new way of
understanding the reality they participate in, the community they form a part of and the
advantages of expressing oneself in more than one language.