Everyone has a list of things that they want to accomplish in their life before they die. On my list, I want to travel to every single country in the world at least once and be fluent in every country’s language, including their sign languages. I’ve already traveled to Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Morocco, and Costa Rica. My next stop may be Pakistan because I’m learning how to speak Urdu. While traveling, I like to explore more of the local areas in order to embrace the countries’ cultures. When I’m not dreaming of traveling, I’m an English as a Second Language teacher at a community college and a communications professor at a state university.
Ich als Lehrkraft
I see my relationship with my students as an opportunity to work as a team. I’m supportive and encouraging but I won’t hold their hands to make the process easy for them. I challenge my students, and I like to put my students in real-life situations so that they feel prepared for anything that comes their way. My teaching philosophy is simple: in order to improve, you have to put in the work. Learning a language requires students to be patient with themselves and to accept that they are not perfect people. I’ve taught all levels of language learning from A1 to C2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. I’ve also taught classes on conversation, writing, and pronunciation.
Meine Stunden und mein Unterrichtsstil
Every minute of my lessons is filled with activities that will help students improve their skills. I have high expectations for myself, and I never begin a lesson unprepared; I ask the same attitude from my students. I work with them to determine what they need and what they would like to improve on. During the beginning of every lesson, I like to review what my student studied in their previous lesson. I implement different learning science strategies such as the retrieving, interleaving, and generating practice. For example, quizzing is one part of my teaching because it forces a student to recall the information that they studied and to see where they are thriving or need to improve.