Approach to Teaching / Philosophy
What is learning for me?
First of all, I think that we learn through experiences as well as from books. What makes the difference is how the material is taught. Courses have to be captivating and appealing for students. Students will also learn more from a dynamic passionate teacher than from a teacher who does not care about transmitting his/her passion about a subject to students. Furthermore, as teachers, we do not only transmit knowledge to students, but culture as well as our values. English teachers do not serve only to give and explain grammar rules: they have to give students the taste to discover more about the English culture from everywhere all around the world by using literature, movies, researches, etc.
Second, I think that using ICTs in class is a good thing. Teachers just have to use them properly. The overuse of them can lead to lack of learning for students. Teachers have to make the guidelines clear when it comes to use them to make sure that students understand well what they have to do. Moreover, the teacher has to show that there is a real purpose to use ICTs (that is strongly linked to the class content). As the MELS says, kids have to learn through tasks made up of a real life context. Students will enjoy more learning by using this strategy and they won’t feel bored after 10 minutes.
Third, I do believe that, to have a good classroom management, a teacher should come up with a way of functioning with their groups at the beginning of each year. If teachers make an agreement with their students and that they come up with a procedure for when things are not working out, students will tend to respect it more because they made it.
Finally, I decided to become an English teacher because I love English and kids as well as transmitting knowledge to someone. I think that it is important to form kids properly because they are our future and I want to be part of it and leave a trace.