Firey Freire

Before I even getting into the meat of Paulo Freire's theologies about the pedagogy of oppressed people and how teachers are cultural workers, I was blown away by and drawn to the introduction by Joe L. Kincheloe. He writes about the affect Freire's words had on his life. He is from the Appalachia mountain area in Tennessee. Before this fall break, I was not too sure what all that entailed, but now am aware of the systemic poverty in that area that has a greater affect on its people than anyone other than these oppressed people can imagine. I met a few of these families when working with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) for a week and saw first hand how lack of education and job opportunities impacts people. I have been on mission trips to Mexico and some of the poorest villages in Guatemala where I expected to see tragedy, shattered integrity, and extreme poverty, but I have also thought of the United States of America as the land of opportunity where everyone has the chance to be successful and live a happy, fulfilling life. I saw first hand that with the current political, economical, and educational system, this is not the case. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. As Freire suggests, it is our job as teachers to be aware of this issue and its oppression on people and alter our teaching theologies, pedagogies, and practices in order to help end the terrible cycle.

Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate

In Chapter 13, Kuma wraps up his book about teaching methods and material by stressing how important it is for teachers be self-reflective of everything they do and constantly evaluate not only their students, but themselves as well. This is the only way to improve and learn from past mistakes or failed attempts. If you don't even recognize your faults or weaknesses through self-reflection, there is no way to fix the issue. Evaluation are extremely important for this process as well. Teachers should not only evaluate themselves, but also have their students and whoever has been in the classroom evaluate them so they become aware of other points of view. I personally do not remember filling out an evaluation forms for any of my high school teachers, but since starting college over three years ago, I have evaluated every instructor that I have had. To be honest, up until this year I have not put any thought into those evaluation forms. I simply fill in the bubbles as quickly as I could so that I could leave class earlier. Sometimes I would skip the short answer questions on the back completely. However, this year, after taking reading Kuma's book and learning more about teaching methods, theories, and practices as well as the importance and value of evaluation and constructive criticism, I actually put thought into filling out those annoying forms because I do not find them quite as annoying as I used to...

Final Project Udate

Not much has changed except that I have observed for nearly 80 more hours at Kingsley Junior High School. I have been taking notes and drawing pictures religiously, but I still need to write more reflections about each week. Then, I am planning on writing a final paper about how my observations and classroom experiences have changed me. Is this what I am supposed to do?

"Waiting for Superman"

What can I say? I am not even sure how I feel after watching the film "Waiting for Superman" about our current education system. I was really excited to see it, thinking that it was going to greatly impact my life and someone inspire me. I guess it has, but not exactly how I suspected it would.

I knew that our education system was poor. Worse than poor. I know that it has been failing students and than there are a lot of politics involved that have corrupted it. One sad fact about me, however, is that I do not follow politics all that well. I know I should. But I don't. Therefore, I am not well versed in all the laws and legislation involved in our education system. This film really opened my eyes to some of the politics. For example, I understand the idea of tenure, but I never really saw how terrible it can be for a teacher to have all the power that goes along with that title. The scene in the film when Michelle Leeds is at the Teachers' Union in attempts to sway its members to accept a pay increase instead of having tenure, and the mass refuses to even vote on the issue, made me sick to my stomach. I understand that directors of films, such as this one, put specific scenes in certain lights, but I just felt like every teacher in the audience appeared to be pure scum. As if they knew that they were terrible teachers and did not deserve their jobs, but were holding on with all their strength to not be fired. I was disgusted by them, and I honestly still am if I think back on that scene.

But maybe I am wrong. Maybe I am disgusted in the wrong people. Sure, some of those teachers are probably worthy of my disgust, but perhaps the others are good. Maybe it is just the whole education system in general that has corrupted some teachers into lazy, uninspired "educators" that care more about themselves that their students. If so, the education system includes countless people and factors. Where do we go from here? How do we fix it for good? Is it by getting rid of all the "bad" teachers? What does the rubric for that teacher grading process look like? Is there something above teachers that needs to be changed? I am not sure. I am also unsure if I should take it upon myself to answer these questions, or if I should just sit back and wait like everyone else appears to be doing.

SLAM Poetry

So I was SUPER excited when I heard that our class was going to watch the SLAM Poetry on campus. I have never been before but have seen some similar events on television and I quite enjoyed them. As we walked into the room where the event was held, there was coffee, tea, and pastries to nibble on which I personally loved. The atmosphere was pretty lively and soon every seat was filled and people were standing in the back. The first two or three acts were what I was expecting: students reading or reciting their poems. Most of the poems were about who the poets actually were and involved a lot of their life experiences. Some were better than others in my opinion, but I enjoyed them all. One person sang instead of reciting poetry which I did not exactly understand, but I guess song lyrics are a form of poetry. The last act I saw, however (because I had to leave early), confused me and made me feel awkward. I still do not completely grasp the concept of the routine that was performed by a trio from Chicago. It started with a woman reading "poetry" at the podium while two others sat across from each other at a table with laptops, typing random words and phrases as she spoke. Some of the things typed did not make much and, at times, were creepy. Other media was used like video clips shown on the screen and props and costumes used by actors. I think that the whole act was supposed to be about people's subconscious minds and how we think. Maybe? Like I previously stated, I am not sure. All I know was that I was not a fan of this last performance, but I would definitely go again to a poetry Slam. I would also recommend others to go because it really opens your eyes to another culture and gives you an inside look into other people's personal lives an histories.

Linguistic Diversity and Instructional Practices

When I first started reading Ann M. Johns' article "Linguistic Diversity and Instructional Practices", I wondered why on earth was my teacher making me learn how to better understand linguistically diverse college students and how to best instruct them? After all, I am not planning on getting my Master's Degree in order to teach at a university. My certificate is only K-12. Soon I realized that the information that Johns provides is not reserved solely for college-aged students, but can be applied to most linguistically diverse students, no matter what their age.

This article started by defining who our linguistically diverse students really are and how extensive that diversity is within each specific linguistic group. Some native Spanish speaking students, for example, were born and raised in the U.S., but Spanish is spoken in their homes while others are a part of Generation 1.5, foreign born, but not very literate in their native tongue. They do not feel like they are truly American or truly Mexican/Colombian/Peruvian/etc.  Obviously these students with different backgrounds need to be taught differently. Johns stresses that we teachers need to figure out who our students are and where they come from if we want to teach them to the best of our abilities. She suggests having the students fill out a questionaire about where they were born, what languages they can speak/write/read and how well they do so, how they would describe themselves, etc. Doing this allows us teachers to know more about out students so we can relate to and instruct them better.

As stated in the conclusion, it is easier to teach people that are culturally the same as us because we know how to relate to them and how to phrase things so that they can understand. When we add culturally diverse students into the classrooms, it also adds to the difficulty level of instruction. However, despite any extra work or thought it takes to instruct this group, it is undoubtedly worth it because it is necessary and beneficial for all. People in general-from all cultures, backgrounds, age and gender groups-deserve the best education we can offer and we should constantly be bettering ourselves as teachers in order to offer the very best.

Module 5: Learner Feedback

The concept of giving proper feedback has always been a bit intimidating to me. When should I correct a student's mistake? How exactly do I correct it? I decided to watch this video clip in particular with hopes of having my questions answered. In the end, I think I just realized that providing good feedback is something that I will learn over time with practice and experience.

The main point that this module expressed is that teachers need to make their classroom environments safe and open where students feel comfortable to speak and make mistakes in doing so. Students need to practice speaking in order to learn a language. They cannot hold back or be afraid. We must encourage our students rather than discourage them. Through trial and error, students will eventually learn a new language. We can assist them by providing proper feedback.

Before we even make any attempts to provide feedback, we must identify an error/mistake (was it a guess, careless mistake, or an error?), diagnose it (vocabulary, pronunciation, pragmatic, etc.), and then determine whether is needs to be corrected (does it hinder understanding?). When providing feedback on oral production (during a greeting, telling or retelling of a story, debating, etc.),  teachers can use on-the-spot feedback techniques which include: correction, reformulation/repetition, asking for clarification, and using gestures/silent mouthing. Sometimes recording students with a tape recorder or even video is beneficial and allows them to self-reflect and get feedback from peers and their teachers. Actually, the in ESL class I am currently observing, the teacher videotaped the students' "book talk" presentations and hey are going to do some self-evaluations. I a anxious to hear what the kids have to say.

When it comes to written production (job applications, essays, plans for the future, etc.) teachers can give good feedback through modeling, providing self-edit checklists and resources, focusing on fluency and comprehension, and allowing peers to give feedback as well. This module also provided some questions  to ask oneself before giving feedback, which I found extremely helpful. For example, if I ask myself when someone makes an error, "Are many students making this same mistake?" and the answer is yes, I would then know that is should probably teach that certain point during class so that everyone can learn. If one one student is struggling, I can go to them individually and explain to them how to correct their speech, writing, etc. If I ask myself, "Is this the first time the student has spoken up during class in a long time?" after a student makes an error in class, I would know whether or not I should correct that student  immediately or not and how I should go about doing so. Other questions include: "Is this error offensive or irritating?", "If this 'mistake' actually 'wrong'?", and "Does the error affect communication?".

Although this video clip did not tell me exactly how to and when to provide my future students with the perfect feedback in order to best assist them in learning English, it did give me some great tips and advice on how to better give feedback. I feel more comfortable with this concept just knowing that I am not alone in the struggle and that I will get better over time.

Kuma Chapter 9

In chapter 9: Contextualizing Linguistic Input, Kuma describes the four realities of teaching and learning a second language. Theses realities include linguistic, extralinguistic, situational, and extrasituational. Linguistic context “refers to the immediate linguistic environment that contains formal aspects of language required for the process of meaning-making.”  I think this is very important yet extremely difficult to not only teach, but to now when it is appropriate to teach.  In the ESL class that have been observing, I notice that the teacher realizes this is an important reality to teach her students and she does a great job, but I wonder if at times she should go more in depth and perhaps tell them what are other meanings that, for example, their vocabulary words have.  Just the other day they learned the word “mob” as in a large group of people. I wondered if they should also be taught in that same moment about gangsters (Italian mob) and what it is to “mob” someone.  I think that the age of students and their level need to be considered. Afterall, this was in a Basic ESL class with 6th and 7th grade students. If this words came up in an Intermediate or Advanced level class, more definitions might be showed in context.

Even though English is my native language, I am still confused by it.  Sometimes I am asked questions such as why people have two shoulders and two eyes, but not two foots.  In those instances, I tend to get nervous and uncomfortable since I do not have a good answer and I respond with, "Because English is crazy." As I read about extralinguistic context, I got that same feeling.  After learning what a prosodic signal even is, I realized that I do use them corecctly (usually), but I have no idea 1.) why or 2.) how define the ways inwhich to properly use them or 3.) how to teach those ways to ESL learners. I realy liked the examples on p. 208 that show what words need to be stressed when answering a question.  Honestly, it was a "light bulb moment" for me to see that when somene asks me a "what" question, in my response I emphasize the "what." This is just second nature for English natives, but if features like these are never taught to ELL, then there will be a lot of confusion and miscommunication.

Curriculum Design and Materials Development

In the article, “Curriculum Design and Materials Development,” Murcia-Celce did a nice job defining curriculum and showcasing it's depth and importance to not only teachers and students, but also to other stakeholders such as text writers, teacher educators, teaching aid developers, etc. Before reading this article, I already had an idea what curriculum was. I previously knew what a syllabus was as well. However, my mind was stretched as I continued to read and know I am sitting in awe, wonderment, and confusion. How can anyone create a curriculum that is suitable for one diverse class, let alone an entire school or program? There are so many factors to account for. Plus, the general field of curriculum development is constantly changing, so how do we know if the curriculum that teachers are currently using is up to date? I realize that my questions are nothing to really be concerned with, but I cannot help wondering. It seems like such a daunting and time consuming task to develop curricula that by the time everything is set in stone, it is out of date because new research had been done during the development. The never-ending process overwhelms me. Thankfully I will not have a huge role in the process.

I will however have to implement it into my classroom. Part of that implementation includes finding a textbook that correlates with the curriculum that my school has selected and then incorporating it into my classroom.  From my experience, most schools already have textbooks designated for each course. In that case I would just have to familiarize myself with the ENTIRE text-front to back (according to Patricia Byrd) and figure out how I can use its content, exercises, quizzes, etc. in class and find other texts to improve/add to the course. If I actually have to or get to choose the textbook for the classes I will teach (which are normally chosen by a board), first I will probably freak out and become stressed. Then I would follow the guidelines for analyzing a text provided in the article, "Textbooks: Evaluation for Selection and Analysis for Implementation."

Getting my Intuitive Heuristics on!

Sorry for the lame title. I was trying to be creative, but failed miserably. Better luck next time. Anyway, what is intuitive heuristics? Kumaravadivelu's Chapter 8 says that as a method of teaching, heuristics allows students learn by finding the answers themselves instead of being spoon-fed by their teachers. I think this is a great method. The only times I remember things I have learned at school and in life are when I have to struggle in some sense in order to reach a solution or find the answer. I have to have a personal connection and apply the particular fact or concept with my life, experience, background knowledge if I ever plan on recalling it in the future. I think most if not all learners function the same way. In the future, I want to be sure to help my students "activate their intuitive heuristics and discover the linguistic system by themselves", however, it is easier said than done. Some times it is easier and faster to just tell students the answers rather coaxing and encouraging them on their path of discovery. I can see my future self getting flustered and incapable of really explaining myself and the situation and simply reverting to saying the answer and moving on, even if not everyone is on board. That is definitely something I need and want to work on and I especially liked this chapter because if provides great examples of how to better teach (both deductively and inductively) intuitive heuristics.  As I read the sample microstrategies, I envisioned myself in the classroom implementing them, thought of ways to apply them to Spanish language classrooms, and tried to think of others. Microstrategy 8.1 about teaching the articles of trouble to ELLs really hit home with me. Article are second nature for native speakers, but they are quite troublesome for those just learning English. This example broke down the teaching of them into steps that helped give me a better idea on how I can teach other grammar points so that my students truly understand. Honestly, I kind of got excited reading about these different strategies. I feel as though my passion to teach is like a roller-coaster. One day I cannot wait to get my own classroom and create relationships with my students, and the next day I try thinking about other careers I can get with a Spanish Education degree. Knowing that there are so many resources with excellent teaching examples/activities out there at my disposal and seeing this specific samples helps calm my nerves about completely ruining the lives of children by not teaching them properly. I just do not want to fail, like I did with the title of this blog...

Do Whites Make Terrible Teachers?

In her article titled “Preparing Teachers for Culturally Diverse Schools”, Christine E. Sleeter argues that data-based research studies on preservice teacher preparation for multicultural schools show that Whites tend to lack knowledge, experience, and the ability that people of color naturally have in order to teach in the aforementioned schools. I found this article to have stereotypical undertones and make jabs at whites for being white.  Despite slight unease I had reading this, I did agree with a lot of it.

I actually just watched a video called “Eye of the Storm” in which a third grade teacher, Jane Elliot, introduces her class or white students to the evils racism and discrimination by treating them terribly based on their eye color.  She did the same experiment on adults in recent years.  In one of the video clips, a white woman in the “bad, stupid, and ignorant blue-eyed” group gets so upset about being treated poorly by Elliot that she leaves the room. When she tries to come back in, Elliot lays into her telling her that she is not allowed back until she apologizes to everyone.  Elliot says that what she did was basically a slap in the face to all people of color who never have the opportunity to leave a room or an area when they are being discriminated against because no matter where they go, discrimination and racism will follow. The white lady in this case could just leave the room and find refuge from being persecuted for having blue eyes.  People of color do not have that luxury.  I think that is the point that Sleeter is trying to make in her article.  No matter if a colored person has grown up in an all white, all black, or multi-cultural environments, they still are a part of a group of people that is discriminated against in some way, everyday, all day.  They know exactly how it feels and despite whatever stress, fear or hurt they feel, they have to keep pressing on in school, their career, and life in general.

That is why Sleeter says that people of color make the best teachers in multi-cultural settings, because they can relate with the students and they know how to handle situations dealing with hate and violence better than white people. Yes, there are other factors that make up great teachers, but having to live your life as a member of a minority group is an experience that cannot be taught or explained.  The lessons learned throughout their lifetime automatically put people of color a step above “normal” white people in the multicultural and culturally responsive teacher category.  I understand the message that Sleeter is sending, I just hope that I am able to relate and respond properly and sensitively to my future students despite the fact that I am white because if I cannot, why was I even allowed to enter the field of education?

My Final Project

For my final project, I am observing/assisting in an ESL classroom at Kingsley Jr. High School. I have only been there three days now, but I have already learned so much. I will be writing a reflection paper after each week I observe talking about what I have learned and how I have grown. I will be setting goals for myself each week trying to become the best teacher I can be and taking every opportunity available to grow. I really like my cooperating teacher and the students are phenomenal. I look forward to the rest of this semester and I will definitely keep you posted!

Pedagogy of Practicality and Engagement

Methods  is a frequently used word in the field of education.  There are countless methods for classroom instruction, none of which is the "end all, be all".  Methods are good to have, however, there is more to teaching than this concept.  In B. Kumaravadivelu's article "Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy", he visualizes a "three-dimensional system consisting of the parameters of particularity, practicality, and possibility" and argues that a postmethod pedagogy must (a) facilitate the advancement of a context-sensitive language education based on a true understanding of local linguistic, sociocultural, and political particularities; (b) enable teachers to form their own theory of practice; and (c) to aid participants' quests for identity formation and social transformation by shaking their sociopolitical consciousnesses.  I definitely agree with the three parameters, especially the second: practicality.  Throughout my education here at ISU, I have heard a lot about what I should and should not do in the classroom reguarding teaching methods, strategies, classroom mangagement, providing feedback, etc.  That is all well and good, but I know that I will only truly understand what works best when I am thrown into a classroom to fend for myself.  The pedagogy of practicality, in Kuma's view, "seeks to overcome some of the de￿ciencies inherent in the theory-versus-practice, theorists’-theory versus-teachers’-theory dichotomies by encouraging and enabling teachers themselves to theorize from their practice and practice what they theorize." A theory of practice must actually be practiced by individual teachers so they can work out the kinks and thus facilitate in the education of their students in the best possible way. 

When I think of the classroom and actually putting this pedagogy of practicality into action, I think of diversity.  Not just based on race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc, but also students with learning disabilities (LD).  In another class that I am currently taking, we are discussing incusive classrooms that have both "normal" students and students with LD.  How do we teach so that every student understands and learns?  How do we manage a class with such great diversity?  Alastair Pennycook touches briefy on this subject with his theory of pedagogy of engagement: "an approach to TESOL that sees such issues as gender, race, class, sexuality, and postcolonialism as so fundamental to identity and language that they need to form the basis of curricular organization and pedagogy."  I think that what Pennycook is talking about here is simply making students more aware of different types diversity and putting then in the light of "everyone is different, so we are all the same."  In the case of having studens with LD in the classroom, it is imporant to not focus on their "disablilities", but rather their abilities and what they are good at.  This is important not only for the learners with LDs to feel included and accepted, but also for the "normal" kids so that they can see first hand how to treat people of all kinds-with respect and love. 

What I really liked about this pedagogy of engagement is how it encourages students to invest in particular discourses not only intellectually or rationally, but because the "conform to the shape of our desires."  We should desire to invest our time and our hearts into better understanding and engaging diverse people because we want to, not because we have to or should.

Reflecting on Kuma's "Maximizing Learning Opportunities"

          B. Kumaravadivelu has a lot of good insight on how to best create conditions in which students can learn the most.  Learning is primarily controlled by the individual learner however it is the teacher's responsibility to provide as many opportunities for learning as possible. Those opportunities must vary in all aspects due to the fact that every student is unique and has different learning styles, abilities, interests, etc that affect his/her learning.  Therefore, both teachers and students play a huge role in classroom education.
          Kuma also talked about how, as teachers, we cannot be held back  by our personal agendas, teaching materials, or syllabus specifications. I am glad he spoke of these limitations because I have seen teachers struggle with these factors and I worry that I might as well in the near future. I tend to get really nervous speaking in front of people, especially when I am instructing the group or informing them of something. I think my main fear is that I will be asked a question that I will not know the answer to. I do not want to tell someone the wrong information and I do not want to appear incompetent. Knowing this about myself, I can see it being difficult for me to stray away from a detailed lesson plan I created when perhaps I need to do so in order to better get a point across or when my students take me on an unexpected detour. I need to take Kuma's advice now and ingrain it in my head that teachers "cannot become prisoners of their own agenda."
          Another point that Kuma touched on was how textbooks should act as source-books rather than just course-books. As I am preparing for student teaching in the spring and then for teaching as a career, I am overwhelmed with the idea of not only lesson planning but creating an entire course. How am I suppose to know what a Spanish level II class needs to learn during the course of an entire year? I have asked teachers this question before and most reply by telling me to find a good textbook to base my course on. I guess this is a good base for starting off, but I now realize how important it will be for me to find other sources, activities, information, etc to best interact with my students and maximize their learning opportunities.

Language Teaching Approaches

          As a Spanish language learner I have experienced various language approaches. The two main approaches my teachers used throughout high school and college in the United States are the Cognitive Approach and Communicative Language Teaching. The Cognitive Approach was probably used the most. I remember usually learning the grammar rules first and then practicing them whether with the teacher, individually or in groups. We made errors because that is inevitable, but my teachers only corrected when the deemed it necessary. We did a lot of reading activities (usually about cultural aspects of various Spanish speaking countries) and were required to express our ideas and knowledge frequently through writing activities.
          Another approach I experienced while learning the language is Communicative Language Teaching. This approach was introduced in more advanced Spanish classes in which the students knew a lot of grammar and were able to converse with more ease. We were encouraged to use only the target language in class even though most of us students still reverted back to our native English tongue more often than our teacher preferred. We worked in small groups frequently and were required to engage in dialogue.  During my freshman year of college, our first test was giving an oral partner presentation.  We drew a role-play situation out of a hat and had to create dialogue for ten minutes in the target language (TL). In my opinion, communicative language teaching was in a sense “scarier” because I felt as though more was expected from me, however I learned more and enjoyed the classes.
          I spent the second semester of my sophomore year of college in Granada, Spain and there I experienced the Direct Approach for the first time.  My teachers (all natives of Spain) did not use English at all during class and reverted to actions and showing pictures when students were not able to understand them. At first, I felt overwhelmed and confused but I soon got used to the different accents and hearing the TL.  By the end of my studies abroad, my comprehension of the Spanish language improved immensely and I was quite glad that the direct approach was used.
          I am not sure if I felt most comfortable with any one approach to teaching a language.  I think all of them were implemented at appropriate times.  There is definitely not “one best method” that fits for all students’ needs because everyone is unique and learners differently. However, I do believe that the TL needs to be used as much as possible during class so that learners can hear it and get it engrained in their heads so speaking and hearing it comes as second nature.
          As I am on my way to becoming a foreign language teacher, I need to figure out what and how I am going to tech my students. In the second chapter of Beyond Methods: Macrostrategies for Language Teaching, B. Kumaravadivelu introduces the idea of macrostrategic framework.  This is formed of both macro and micro strategies for teaching a language. Kumarayadivelu lists ten macrostrategies in order to help future language teachers create their own theory of practice.  I found this list very insightful.  Some of strategies included are maximize learning opportunities, promote learner autonomy, integrate language skills, and raise cultural consciousness.  One macrostrategy that stuck out to me was “ensure social relevance” which refers to the need for teachers to be aware that not every student has the same societal, political, economic, or educational background and be sensitive to that.  I recall my high school Spanish teacher, Señora Kunz, saying that she may not treat everyone equally, but she treats everyone fairly. Some people may need a little more assistance, attention, encouragement, etc than others. I will definitely take that statement to heart as well as implementing Kumaravadivelu’s macrostrategic framework.

About me

          ¡Hola! I am a senior at Illinois State University and I am majoring in Spanish Education with a minor in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  It is obvious that I know what I want to teach, but I am not as certain as to the environment in which I would like to teach in.  I feel like I would be able to teach at any type of school whether it is rich or poor, diverse or not, in the United States or a different country.  Ideally, I would want to work in an urban setting, teaching underprivileged children from all different backgrounds.  I feel as this environment would be the most satisfying and fulfilling if, and only if, I am successful at it. If I am not able to motivate my students, encourage them and actually teach them, then I will more than likely completely FREAK OUT on a daily basis and mess up some kids’ lives as well as my own.
          TESOL, though a very common acronym in our field of teaching, is unknown by most people.  When one learns the words that these letters represent, TESOL might not seem that difficult or complicated. It is just teaching English, right? Wrong. Most English teachers in the United States teach native English speakers.  In TESOL courses, the students are non-native English speakers, which makes teaching them all the more interesting. Not only are the teachers responsible for helping their students learn the English language, they also have to teach about our culture, social customs, etc. while being conscious of the other cultures and values represented in the diverse classroom. I think it is very important to show respect for other cultures, learn more about them and encourage students to, yes, learn English and take part in American culture, but to not turn their backs on their own language and rituals.  Language is a beautiful thing.  To lose one’s language is to lose part of one’s self.
          As a language educator I want to inspire my students.  I want them to love coming to class, learning and growing.  I want my passion of language to spread into the lives of my students.  I want them to want to learn languages not because their parents, guardians or other people told them to, but rather because they see the importance and excitement of being able to communicate with people that normally they would not have been able to.  I want my students to understand that they are a part of a WORLD, not just a nation, that is full of people of all different races, economic statuses, heights, weights, religions, and personalities, and that is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
         I am hoping to gain more knowledge, methods, strategies, and confidence from this course in order to become the best language teacher I can be.