INTRODUCTION

If I was told I am a born teacher, I would tell anyone that they were lying. I have never taught before and to be honest I am very nervous but excited to be teaching for the first time. I believe I was born a learner and for this reason I can learn to do anything and I believe as I progress on this TEFL course I will eventually learn how to teach and develop my very own teaching style. Once I start teaching , my technique and teaching style will evolve every day as I learn through professional development  by observing and studying my fellow teachers and most importantly by listening to my students. Personally I think a large part of teaching is about understanding how my students will learn.  I have never taught before but I am passionate about education because every day I am constantly learning something new.

PERSONAL TEACHING STYLE

I believe that a key element in teaching English as a foreign language in the classroom is keeping the students motivated. My personal style of teaching will bring cultural elements, enthusiasm and use technology to increase learning motivation.  I aim to teach with a constant smile on my face and my open personality will be key to helping me to interact with my students constantly as I guide them through their learning process. I believe teaching the English language will enable me to reflect upon my own culture and personal experience as a foreign language learner as I teach my students to effectively communicate with me and their peers using the English language and most importantly to gain an appreciation for another language and culture.

My main objective as a teacher is to motivate my students toward a level of independence where they develop a desire to learn and think for themselves.  To achieve this goal , I will I rely heavily upon many activities that involve a total physical response from my students. Instead of just reading about the English language from a text book, I want them to learn English from a cultural perspective by getting an appreciation for the English culture, by watching and listening to English music. By doing this my students can dance the steps and sing the songs, engaging in the action as they learn the language. Through this type of active participation, the students will be able to learn and form their own opinions and base of knowledge about the language. I will define my approach to teaching English as a foreign language as rational because I will encourage critical thinking and a desire to learn the target language among my students in order for them to communicate effectively.

It will be my aim to  develop independent thinkers and I will strive to also promote cultural awareness and appreciation for the language from my students. I will use technology to allow students to experience other aspects of the English culture for themselves. I plan to develop a platform online for various activities to allow the students to become responsible for their own education and interact with English native speakers via the internet. I want my students to be less reliant of me as the teacher  by putting more emphasis on group participation and collaboration. The online platform will allow my students to come up with their own questions and conclusions about the English culture as they navigate online chats with live English people, read current newspapers, and listen to popular music, all of their own choice. I want my students to be responsible for their own learning at the end of the each week I will ask them to come up with a play  imitating a traditional English family using the knowledge and understanding they have acquired  with their own critical thinking. I believe the results will be remarkable  and will show each individual students unique perspective of the English language.  

SYLLABUS

A course syllabus is very important to every teacher. My syllabus will consist of four main elements. Namely : 

General information about class

This section will highlight the class name, the level of the students, my name and my contact information and my available hours.

Course objectives

This section will talk about what my class will aim to achieve and that for me is that each one of my students becomes an independent learner and they obtain as much knowledge about the English language from the class as possible.

Expectations

My expectations – I expect my students to use critical thinking to get a better understanding of the target language – I expect them to work hard as individuals and as collaborate effectively as a group - I expect every student to attend class and participate in class discussions

Student expectations – good grades and pass the class – teacher to be approachable – be able to apply for university in English speaking countries  - Interactive classes.

Course Schedule

This section will provide the students with a guideline of all the class Reading material, the assessment dates and when assignments will be due.

Assessments

An outline of the requirements of the assessments to be given in order for students to adequately prepare for them. Weekly assessments will be given to the students and these will be administered online. Results will be given immediately after the assessment and feedback will be given to the students by myself to show them areas of improvement and their areas of progress. 

Grading scheme

This section will breakdown how each individual assessment will be graded and how marks will be awarded to students for their participation in group assignments.

In addition, Having stated this my preferred student age would be teenagers as they are more conversant and interested in technology. I believe this would motivate them to want to learn the language at a faster pace. I intend to teach the target language to teenagers who speak the language at all levels. My aim is to teach English for a specific reason. I intend to specifically teach English to teenagers who intend to study abroad and enroll into universities that teach in English. Having gone through the process of applying to college and university as a Zambian student, I understand how challenging the English entry exams for universities can be. For this reason I would like to prepare my students for the process and ensure they are confident enough to know that they can be successful. My classes will focus on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. 

Furthermore, for every student a positive classroom learning environment is very important. My aim is to have an environment where students feel comfortable , can develop a good connection with both me as the teacher and their fellow students and believe they can be successful in learning the target language. Building a sense of community among the students in the classroom is important to fostering positive attitudes towards learning.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion I believe that effective teachers understand what knowledge their students already have and find a way to capitalize on that knowledge and build upon it in every lesson. Personally I think technology is one of the most important tools a teacher can use in the classroom to address different learning styles of students in order to create a productive learning environment and to increase motivation among students. I plan to develop a platform that will allow students to access videos of their own classroom presentations ,use discussion boards and find copies of lesson hand outs.

I believe that a cultural and technological approach to teaching English helps students to acquire language skills in a way that keeps them motivated, interested and requires their own critical thinking of topic areas which makes their learning process their own and not one fully and wholly facilitated by the teacher. My aim is to ensure that my students gain the confidence to study in English speaking countries as many of them reflect on the colleges and universities they would like to enroll into.