My Teaching Approach                                                         Sonia Makki

My teaching approach as a foreign language has really just begun. With the training, observation, and experience that I have, my interest of languages perked. As we know, English is incredible for diversity and we can thank the non-native speakers for expanding the cultural context.  Nowadays, English is the most common language used between people who have different native languages and I believe it will continue to be like that for a while.  Being a first generation American and also first generation native English speaker in my family, I feel that I embody a well-rounded cultural background. With language-comes culture, which is why I think this is very important. My mother is French, born and raised in France, and my father is Lebanese, born and raised in Sierra Leone. I was born and raised in Florida so I was able to experience the American culture wile also being raised with a unique combination of French and Lebanese cultures. My cultural background has greatly influenced who I am and how I view the world. My parents came to America from very different countries, and because of that, I have learned that it is important to view the world openly because there are so many diverse people who are part of so many interesting and differing cultures. I was able to start traveling the world at a young age and recently have been travelling the world alone getting a better understanding of different cultures at an older age. This has all inspired me to make a difference globally and with some experience in teaching English I knew this was my calling. Not only do I have some experience teaching English to French and Spanish speakers but I also have experience being and second language learner, which has allowed me to come up with what I would call my approach on Teaching English as a foreign language.  To me, having a student understand that it is possible to learn and do well is important, encouraging, making it fun but educational, and it shouldn’t be looked at negatively. For me, it is important for the student to understand the importance of English if motivation ever gets lost. I truly believe that motivation is the key to success. So in order to be satisfied, you must be motivated to reach the desired goal. I also think that teaching should be fun yet educational and encouraging. Education is powerful but should have more positive lights shined on it. I have come to the understanding that every student learns different. For example, I learn best visually and hands-on and that’s how it always has been. For me, I know I do better if I have material or a form of visual learning instead of just auditory. A student can be an audio, visual, social, logical, physical, or even a verbal learner. I can come up with many approaches of teaching but in the end, it truly depends on what type of learner the student is in order to use the best and most appropriate approach. Age can also be a huge factor in learning as well because depending on the age can also depend on what type of teaching seems to be the most effective for them. For children under the age of 12, I would use a more audial approach. Younger children are more engaged with sounds whether its music, funny voices, repetition, or tone of voice. Visual learning seems to be effective as well with this age group. I would prefer to make a lesson that consists mainly of games, interactive activities, and trying to just simply make the lessons more fun. Basic communication skills are also present at these ages so trying to expand their vocabulary is important as well. I would use a lot of positive reinforcement at these ages to ensure the student that I recognize the good work. With students ranging from 13-17 I would do a more mature approach to teaching but still keeping the fun lessons alive. At this age range, they are able to read and write lengthy amounts so continuing to level up the work to precede the language learning process is essential. With students 18+ we are dealing with a more matured group of individuals that have more prior English language knowledge so I would basically work with what they already know. They are pretty much able to have a basic conversation so at this point correcting any repeated mistakes and expanding vocabulary is more focused. I find it effective with the older group of students to use technology because it can be stimulating to them. For example, I like taking advantage of technology for researching when it comes to learning more vocabulary or Gamification, which is a strategy that gets students to learn while gaming. I do however respect parent’s decisions if they are against this approach. If I ever face a student that is not paying attention or is being disruptive then I will focus on trying to bring them back to the proper focus. If I notice it has not been a successful method then I will change my tone of voice to grasp the authority in the class and to set the boundary that I am in charge and its time to listen to me. I am a firm believer in making education fun but when it is time to break down and be more serious then I change the class energy accordingly. My class will consist of a flow that I find very effective. I will start out with a few quick questions just to get the class started. Then I would teach activities that are based on the topic that is being taught that day. The activities and range from anywhere between watching a video, playing a game, to reading a article. Making sure that I speak less and the student speaks more is also important because the class is really all about the student so allowing them time to shine and speak as much as possible is not only helpful in the language leaning process but also making the student feel more important, because they really are! At then end of class I like to have a wrap-up, which consists of questions that are based on the lesson that was taught that day to evaluate the student to check their understanding. I consider it an evaluation at the end of class and also a time to answer any last minute questions and that way the student and end class knowing that it was successful. Teaching ESL can be challenging, but with my dedication, the rewards outweigh the costs. The challenging part is exciting your students about learning to speak, read, and understand English.