Before explaining my approach, I want to state the following considerations that will apply throughout.  First and foremost, it applies principally to students ages 16+, since children, especially younger children, require a more specific teaching method that will be described at the end of this essay.  I have helped teach my own children (ages 8 and 10) for the past several years and these methods are of great interest to me. 

Secondly, my approach described here also does not contemplate large classes (although I am sure I will have the chance to discover those in the future), as Oxbridge classes will be with individuals or for groups of a maximum of 8 students.

Thirdly, regardless of the details of my approach, it is to be understood that I will follow The Oxbridge Model of teaching.  This means that the principal characteristics of this method – use of the Target language only, priority of speaking and comprehension over writing, and guidance (not protagonism) of the teacher – will be kept in place and my individual approach mixed in.

Lastly, in great degree due to my inexperience with formal teaching at the time of writing this essay, student levels have been brought into consideration only to a small degree.  The below is a general approach to teaching based on the methods thus-far studied and which will be adapted to the level of the student accordingly.

My Approach:

As a busy media executive and Mother, I empathize with my students and I realize what effort it takes for them to take an hour out of their day to study a language, regardless of the reason they are there.  The student must be extremely motivated not only to keep coming to the class but also to actively participate.  To achieve this the class must be:

• Dynamic, lively, and energetic, with adequate momentum (neither too fast nor too slow) to maintain the students’ attention
• Fun, enjoyable, comfortable.  SMILE and be friendly with your students.
• Motivational.  Congratulate the students often, however take note that there are certain students who are best motivated when you praise them only on work well-done (do not use continual praise).  Understand whether they prefer to be corrected immediately after making a mistake or whether they prefer to be corrected on all points once they finish speaking, as correcting them in a way they consider inappropriate can be very unmotivating.
• Stimulating / Interesting / applicable to the students’ daily life
• Clear and easy to follow. “Less is More.” “Quality not Quantity." It is more important to cover fewer topics / less vocabulary / less structure profoundly than to leave the student feeling overwhelmed with an array of activities he/she did not have the chance to fully absorb.  In addition, instructions given should be short and concise.
• Very well prepared on the part of the teacher
• Non-Stressful.  Anxiety is reduced because the student sees they are learning from the very first day (i.e. with use of cognates for beginners).  Evaluation of the student is perceived through day-to-day comprehension, pronunciation, participation and effort. 

Methodologies I draw from:

As a new teacher who has only recently been introduced to an array of different methodologies of teaching, I expected to find one certain method that I could consider my own and follow it in my classes, above all a method that would insure the information taught would reside in the long-term memory of the student.  This, however, has not been the case, and I have instead found certain factors of different approaches that I find attractive and which I will mix together when giving classes of my own.  These factors I wish to apply are as follows:

The Direct Method: The Oxbridge Model falls partially under this category

• Focus is on the development of oral skills
• LISTENING, REPEATING AND SPEAKING. This breaks down fear and anxiety the first day because the student can already speak.
• Concepts and vocabulary are taught visually, through pantomiming or real-life objects. 
• For beginners the focus is purely on vocabulary
• Grammar is taught inductively
• Native pronunciation is important and receives attention from the beginning
• Students are taught to ask questions as well as answer them (classes are dynamic, democratic, and constructive)

The Audio-Lingual Method:

• REPETITION is key, and for beginners repetition comes in the form of drills.  I do however feel that spaced repetition is key for the elements taught to be moved from the short to the long-term memory, and therefore the wrap-up questions from the previous class, as well as difficult vocabulary and grammar, will be applied as quick-questions to the following class, and sporadically in subsequent classes. 
• A great app to practice spaced repetition is ANKI.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVajQPuRmk8

The Silent Way

• Evaluation is carried out by observation, and the teacher may never set a formal test
• Students correct their own errors.  This of course will be applied when possible however under my personalized method I would provide assistance within a short period of time if the student was unable to correct his error on his own.
• Learning through problem solving (autonomous error correction and phrase creation) fosters long-term memory retention

Total Physical Response:

• This is wonderful when applied to beginners however the method can be used with students up to the highest level, for example through a game of charades, to teach new vocabulary
• Instructors give commands to students and students respond with whole-body actions
• Students give commands to teachers and the teacher reacts in a similar way (similar to the students asking questions just as teachers do in the direct method)
• Learning a language should not involve stress
• In my opinion this element would make the class dynamic and fun, as well as lower anxiety, while providing the most useful method of remembering new vocabulary

Content-Based Instruction / The Communicative Approach / The Participatory Approach:

• Introduction of authentic texts (Communicative) and stimulating content (Content-Based / Participatory) into the learning situation.  I will use three primary sources of text / content: music lyrics (choosing music that is age appropriate), clips from famous movies (Forest Gump, Avatar) and pop culture magazine columns. 
• Classes are adapted to student’s interests (Content-Based / Participatory).  Texts / Content will be personalized according to the interests of the student.
• Information is delivered through real-life contexts which leads to intrinsic motivation
• Teacher and students collaborate with each other with the teacher acting as a guide and facilitator.  As is suggested by the Oxbridge Method, the student should speak during 80% of the class and I will strive to apply this
• Especially with lower level students, I would avoid using over-complicated themes such as philosophy or technology as it could lead to a loss of motivation

Specifically for children ages three to eight, exercise must be mixed in with the lesson and the Total Physical Reponse method will be used to teach vocabulary and phrases.  Learning is also visual at this stage and pictures must always accompany anything written, above all in the form of flash cards.  The use of phonems is extremely important, and a series of short games and activities must be used in quick succession as the attention span of the students is short, although greatly lengthens in the older children in this age group.  Discipline is vital and I would find the most effective ways to correct bad behavior, making sure the student understands that misbehavior will be reported to his/her parents.  After the age of eight role-playing continues to be important however with more mature, age-appropriate themes, grammar can be practiced with more complex sentence structures, and little-by-little reading will no longer involve pictures.

Summing up, I will be lively, friendly and FUN. I will promote DYNAMISM in the class while being sure to allow the student to do most of the talking, and will keep the MOMENTUM at the right pace to insure I keep the students’ attention without going to quickly.  VISUAL and AUDIO aides will be used in class, along with WHOLE-BODY ACTIONS / MIMICKING to teach vocabulary.

I will CONGRATULATE the students often and CORRECT THEM ACCORDING TO THEIR PREFERENCES, although generally the mistakes of advanced students will be corrected immediately.  However, too much praise demotivates some students, and in these cases I will limit praise only to situations in which the student’s work (written or oral) is truly deserving of it.  This will inspire the student to work harder.

I will introduce INTERESTING CONTENT into the class that the student can apply to their OUTSIDE LIVES. I will use music lyrics, clips from famous movies and pop culture magazine columns as topics of conversation or activities, in addition to audiovisual material and texts catered to the interest of the student(s).

Spaced REPETITION and RECYCLING of difficult material is necessary for the elements taught to be moved from the short to the LONG-TERM MEMORY.  Wrap-up questions from the previous class, as well as problematic vocabulary and structure activities, will be applied as quick-questions to the following class and sporadically in subsequent classes.

Students will be encouraged to MAKE MISTAKES and try to correct them with minimal help from me. Learning through problem solving fosters LONG-TERM MEMORY RETENTION.

Extreme importance will be placed on correct sentence structure and NATIVE-LIKE pronunciation. The student will be made to REPEAT THE CORRECT RESPONSE at least twice once I correct him/her before moving on to the next question or activity.

In order to REDUCE ANXIETY, EVALUATION of the student is perceived through day-to-day OBSERVATIONS: comprehension, pronunciation, participation and effort.  No periodic testing methods will be used.