My Teaching Philosophy
My love for language teaching stems from my passion for languages. Growing up in China’s English learning frenzy, I have learned English in various settings, and have always wondered how I would be like if I myself were the teacher—how I would have done things differently. I still find myself thinking the same question after I have become an English teacher myself.
I find the theories of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) the most appealing. I have found from both my learning and teaching experience that communication is highly effective in arousing interest and participation levels. I also firmly believe in using real-world tasks. They are relevant and interesting for learners, and allow certain flexibility for multi-level groups.
I am also a firm believer in the power of learner autonomy. Learning does not mean “being taught”, but should be an active process of exploration and trial and error. For me, the primary role of the teacher is to assist the learning process. This means that the teacher takes on multiple roles in the classroom—a guide, a teammate, an evaluator, and more. I am still experimenting with them to find the balance. I have found that activities that enables students to bring their own expertise—probably talking about their native languages, home cultures or any topic they are particularly interested and knowledgeable about—can greatly promote student agency. (For an example, please watch my ESL sample teaching video.)
Coming from an assessment-centered language learning background, I acknowledge the role of assessment on motivation, but I believe that ideally, assessment should be broken down into a continuous process that is closely connected to the learning process. Instead of formal final exams whose format and content deviates from the class, assessment can take the form of informal, performance-based sessions evaluated by teachers as well as peers.
Teaching, as in any other profession, always has room for improvement. It is important to remain open-minded, reflective, and eager to learn more. I have benefited greatly from the courses I took in second language education and in language pedagogy, and also from personal interactions with my colleagues. Keeping track of current happenings of the field, new tools and ideas being proposed, as well as regular self-reflection can all promote self-enrichment for teachers.
I have great passion in languages. Through my teaching, I hope to create a friendly and effective learning environment where learners, whether they like languages or not, be comfortable and joyful not only in seeing the results, but also in the process.
I find the theories of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) the most appealing. I have found from both my learning and teaching experience that communication is highly effective in arousing interest and participation levels. I also firmly believe in using real-world tasks. They are relevant and interesting for learners, and allow certain flexibility for multi-level groups.
I am also a firm believer in the power of learner autonomy. Learning does not mean “being taught”, but should be an active process of exploration and trial and error. For me, the primary role of the teacher is to assist the learning process. This means that the teacher takes on multiple roles in the classroom—a guide, a teammate, an evaluator, and more. I am still experimenting with them to find the balance. I have found that activities that enables students to bring their own expertise—probably talking about their native languages, home cultures or any topic they are particularly interested and knowledgeable about—can greatly promote student agency. (For an example, please watch my ESL sample teaching video.)
Coming from an assessment-centered language learning background, I acknowledge the role of assessment on motivation, but I believe that ideally, assessment should be broken down into a continuous process that is closely connected to the learning process. Instead of formal final exams whose format and content deviates from the class, assessment can take the form of informal, performance-based sessions evaluated by teachers as well as peers.
Teaching, as in any other profession, always has room for improvement. It is important to remain open-minded, reflective, and eager to learn more. I have benefited greatly from the courses I took in second language education and in language pedagogy, and also from personal interactions with my colleagues. Keeping track of current happenings of the field, new tools and ideas being proposed, as well as regular self-reflection can all promote self-enrichment for teachers.
I have great passion in languages. Through my teaching, I hope to create a friendly and effective learning environment where learners, whether they like languages or not, be comfortable and joyful not only in seeing the results, but also in the process.