Language Teaching Philosophy

 
  Humanism: My language teaching philosophy is rooted in humanism whereby the function of education is to create conditions where learners develop their own skills and knowledge in which learning is seen as a process of self-discovery. My role as a language teacher is therefore not only to help my students become better language learners but also to help them become better human beings.
 
 
 
 
     
  Learner-Centeredness: Learner-centeredness also forms an important element in my language teaching philosophy. I always try to connect my lessons to my students own lives and to what is interesting and relevant for them. By doing so, I increase my students motivation and at the same time I show students that learning English can be very enjoyable. In addition, I give my students freedom to choose through negotiated curricula.
 
 
 
 
     
  3 Essential Conditions for Successful Language Learning:
   (1) Motivation
   (2) Exposure to Authentic Language
   (3) Use of Language Not for Display but for Real Communicative Purposes
 
     
    Motivation: As mentionned above, motivation is enhanced when the lessons are interesting and relevant to the students. I also develop motivation by creating a positive classroom atmosphere and by establishing a good rapport with the students. I also try to promote a positive outlook on learning and on life in general by making them realize that learning can equal happiness.

Exposure to Authentic Language: It is important that students are exposed to authentic/real language and not artificial and scripted language. As a result, I expose my students to authentic language through newspapers, internet websites, TV, video, radio, magazines, etc.

Use of Language(for real communicative purposes): Use of language forms the most important aspect of my language teaching methodology. In Korea, most students have a good knowledge "about the English language" through vocabulary and grammar but they often do not have a good knowledge "about how to use the English language", especially through speaking. As a result, my lessons focus on maximizing speaking time(using language) in which I create interesting and challenging speaking activities whereby students are producing language not for display but for real communicative purposes.

Learner Autonomy: An additional element to my language teaching philosophy is the promotion of learner autonomy. Good language learners are good independent learners. I therefore teach my students how to teach themselves outside the classroom. I teach them useful language learning strategies which they can then utilize on their for the rest of their lives.
     
   
Personal Philosophy of Education
     
   

Introduction
My personal philosophy of education is based on three educational theories: constructivism, humanism, and social interactionism. Combining all three they are referred to by Williams and Burden(1997) as a social constructivist approach to education.

Constructivism
Centered within a constructivist or transformational model of education, my personal teaching belief system sees the function of education as creating conditions where learners develop their own skills and knowledge and where learning acts as a process of self-discovery. This is contrasted with the behaviorist model of education which believes that the purpose of education is to transmit an established body of knowledge from the teachers to the learner. Constructivism derives in part from cognitive psychology which is concerned with the way in which the human mind thinks and learns. According to cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget(in Williams and Burden 1997), the human mind learns by constructing personal meaning, i.e developing personal understandings from personal experience. Consequently, the process of learning and learning how to learn assume greater importance than the product of learning. Educational concepts from a language learning perspective such as learner centeredness, meaningful learning, discovery learning, independent learning, consciousness-raising, learner strategy training, communicative language teaching, and task based learning are all rooted in constructivism. Summarizing the ideas of cognitive psychologist George Kelly, Williams and Burden explain the importance of the relation between meaning and language learning:
 

....language is not learned by the mere memorization of discrete items of grammar,
discourse, function or other aspects of language. Rather, learners are involved in an active
process of making sense, of creating their own understanding of the world of language
that surrounds them. A meaningful activity, in Kelly's sense, is one that encourages this
process of making sense, of fitting or mapping the new onto the old to create a new
understanding.(1997, p.28).

Humanism
Within my constructivist approach to teaching also lies humanism. Unlike cognitivism which focuses mostly on the development of cognitive skills, humanist educational theory believes in the importance of affective and emotional factors in learning and on helping learners change and develop into the best they can possibly be. Based on the belief that all human beings have an intrinsic motivation to learn and better themselves, humanist educational psychologists such as Carl Rogers(in Williams and Burden 1997) argue that learning will occur if the subject matter is personally relevant to the learner and when it involves active participation. Rogers also argues that classroom tasks need to be challenging and need to encourage curiosity. In addition, learning should take place within a trusting environment in which the teacher conveys warmth and empathy towards the learner. Williams and Burden outline a series of maxims which highlight the humanist approach to language teaching:

 
  o create a sense of belonging;
o make the subject relevant to the learner;
o involve the whole person;
o encourage a knowledge of self;
o develop personal identity;
o encourage self-esteem;
o involve the feelings and emotions;
o minimize criticism;
o encourage creativity;
o develop a knowledge of the process of learning;
o allow for choice
(1997, p.38)

Humanism thus supports and complements the constructivist approach in that both are concerned with the learner's search for personal meaning.

Social Interactionism
A further school of thought which has influenced my belief system is social interactionism. The basic premise of this approach is that learning occurs through interaction with other people. One of the most well-known social interactionists is the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky(in Williams and Burden 1997) who argued that the human mind does not make sense of the world independently (as Piaget argued) but mostly through day to day interactions with others. Central to his theory is the concept of mediation:
  Basically, the secret of effective learning lies in the nature of social interaction between
two or more people with different levels of skill and knowledge. The role of the one with the
most knowledge, usually a parent or teacher, but often a peer, is to find ways of helping the
other to learn. Particularly, this involves helping learners to move into and through the next
layer of knowledge or understanding. This important person in the child's[learner] learning is
known as the mediator.(in Williams and Burden 1997, p.40)

Second Language Acquisition(SLA) Research Studies
My social constructivist belief system is in many ways influenced by and supported by SLA research studies. It has been discovered , for instance, that it is through interaction and the negotiation of meaning that learners modify and develop their language system. SLA research also found that the presentation of specific language items in isolation will not lead to acquisition. This finding consequently lead to the advocation of more communicative activities in which learners use the language to interact meaningfully with other people and to discovery learning through consciousness-raising activities where learners are encouraged to try and discover grammatical rules and patterns for themselves.

4.3 Personal Teaching Practice
To represent the link between my belief system and my teaching practice, I present the following goals and principles which presently guide my classroom actions:

1-Create a positive classroom atmosphere by bringing a smile and positive energy to the classroom and by showing genuine concern for students and their learning.

2-Promote in learners a positive outlook on learning and in life in general.

3-Create interesting lessons and tasks that will motivate and challenge learners and that will be personally relevant.

4-Promote genuine language use and interaction through communicative tasks where learners use language for real purposes(Task-based learning approach).

5- Expose learners to authentic language(listening and reading).

6-Help learners become better independent language learners.

7-Incorporate a lot of group work and student group projects.

8-Provide variety in both content and task types.

As a developing teacher, it is essential that I act in accordance with my stated beliefs. Otherwise, as Williams and Burden(1997) point out, my learners will be subjected to confusing messages. It is thus important to clearly understand and apply one's beliefs and to subject one's practices to on-going critical reflection.
     
   
   
References

Williams, Marion and Robert L. Burden. 1997. Psychology for Language teachers. Cambridge University Press