teaching philosophy

I have always had an enthusiasm for teaching that is being a teacher. When I started going to school my grandfather gave me some nice notebooks as a present. I was very happy because my grandfather was a school principal and I always tried to do my best to make my granddad and parents happy. That enthusiasm and desire to be a very nice and respectful teacher like my grandfather bring me into this career.

My main teaching philosophy is having communicative, learner-centered, and friendly environment, and using technologies and also applying my own method according to my learners’ needs. 

 Firstly, my teaching philosophy includes providing students with a supportive learning environment by helping them achieve communicative competence through meaningful and enjoyable activities. Secondly, I believe that when students are given importance and respected they will learn more actively and they will be more motivated. I will do it by giving chances to choosing discussion topics or listing classroom rules all together and etc. Thirdly, my philosophy that by providing students with a friendly that is stress-free environment, I mean that I can help them to reduce learning anxieties in order to improve their learning progress. The other significant feature of my teaching philosophy is the incorporation of technology and media-based instruction in the classroom. For example, I will use PPP, Task-based learning, movies, YouTube, and etc. to make my lessons more appropriate to digital age learners. Finally, a teacher needs to keep an open mind about the different teaching approaches, methods, and techniques however, all of them have advantages and disadvantages so he or she should select parts which will be helpful. I will do just like that. I believe that with more experience in teaching ESL, my teaching philosophy improve for the better. 

week 6

My reflection on my first teaching experience

The first strong aspect of my first teaching is classroom management. I did not expect it as even my mentor teacher has classroom management problems in that class usually. I had had many concerns before that teaching but thanks to God the students were so nice, respectful, and active. The other strong aspect of my teaching is I am getting used to teaching that is I can say I am making improvement. For example, while pre-reading I asked to students some questions and students answered but one student, who is very lovely, said ‘comedian’ instead of clown and some of the students just began to laugh, I immediately said ‘O you mean clown who is very funny’ then he said ‘Yes, clowns are funny and I like them’ and other students stop laughing, and that student was very active during my teaching.

The thing which I am very happy with is I was so relaxed or calm. Before my teaching I was a bit nervous or stressed but when I began to teach I feel like a real teacher. I think, it is because of my mentor teacher, who lets or says to me to walk around while they are doing group works and lets me to prepare the short activities and games and make students do or play them. Also, students are respectful and willing to participate to the lesson.

If I had a chance to re-do my first teaching, I would redesign my post-reading activity. Actually, it was taboo game but some of the students were confused about pointing part and I have to admit that they were right as pointing part was a bit confusing. I think, the name of the game confused them, that is, they thought they would play it only with their group members but it was whole class game. Therefore, if I had a chance to re-do it, I would prepare taboo cards for all groups and make them play within their groups.

Another thing which I would change is a rewarding part. After, students had finished the game, I wanted to give chocolates to the winners and also to whole class but my mentor teacher did not let me, because it was forbidden. I had not known it and I was a bit sad and also students. After, the lesson the teacher explained why it was banned (some students may have allergy or some kind of diseases). In short, if I had known about it, I would gave different things which are not eatable.  

My mentor teacher mentioned that the preparation of the lesson was good. Also, she said that I have had a good interaction with the students. I hundred present agree with her because I felt like their real teacher as I said before and I have had a good interaction during the lesson. Also, the students were great; for example, when I ask question like ‘Do you like circuses?’ most of them answered ‘Yes’ and before I asked ‘Why?’ they explained it. Moreover, my mentor teacher said that I had a good time management and I used transition between the activities. I am very happy with them especially about the interaction with students and transition between the activities. However, she said that my tone of voice is low. Whenever, I hear it (all of my micro-teachings and teaching tasks I hear it) I smile because I used to hearing it. Most of the time I think that I should speak louder as it will be good during my teachings but I cannot do anything about it unfortunatelyL

To sup up, I am very happy with my first teaching and I hope after my second and final teachings I will have the same happy feelings.

Some of my materials that I used in my 1st teaching:)

week 5

Observation

During the last and this week’s observations I tried to learn students’ names. I wrote most of their names on my notebook and also I wrote an adjective near each student’s name in order to not confuse the names. For example, in 5D there have two students whose names are Zeynep and I wrote Zeynep 1 (hard working) who usually does homework and actively participate and Zeynep 2 (dancer) I have seen her while she was dancing very nicely in the break so I remember her as the dancer, and also Naz (blond) or Bora (lovely). This technique really works:)

The first and the second lessons were homework check as usual and the last two lessons were very beneficial both for students and for me (as I did not know some vocabulary like juggler). The mentor teacher writes every day’s plan on the board like 

                                                                                                      Today’s Plan

                                                                                                    - Power Point

                                                                                                    - Mind Map

                                                                                                    - Notebook Record

                                                                                                    - Homework

and it is very useful I believe as students know that lesson’s plan and when they finish each of them they draw a smiling face near them. After, students found that day’s topic, that the teacher explained it with some sentences, my mentor teacher showed several videos. After each video students supposed to say word such as juggler, human statue, or magician. Then, the teacher asked them to go to the book and discuss key words with your peers. Also, she asked to them what other performances do you know and students answered. After all she wrote all vocabulary or performances on the board and students wrote them down on their notebooks.

Then, she gave homework and their previous written homework. The last few minutes she asked to students ‘What did they learn?’ or ‘Which words did they learn?’ and I think it is a very meaningful and useful closing of the lesson.

The last hour of a week which I observed on Wednesday, my mentor teacher towards end of the lesson make them play a ‘Musical Ball Game’. I very much liked that game and I will definitely use it whenever I teach grammar topics like can/cannot and do/do not have to because it was very fun and very effective. The ball was made of papers which have written sentences on it; for example, my mother does not have to____________. The teacher plays a music and students give or through the ball each other. Whenever the music stops a student who has the ball should read the sentence and fill the blank.

To sum up, during this week’s observation I have learned lots of things which will be helpful to me in my prospective teachings and I am very happy with it.

week 4

ERROR CORRECTION

Generally, the teacher uses unmarked recasts feedback type while correcting students’ errors, that is, she does not highlight or mark the correct version of the errors. However, students have ability to catch or comprehend the corrections. In my opinion, the teacher knows that her students will get the idea and also she does not want her students’ get shamed because of their errors. Moreover, during the pair work which was making a dialogue, two girls was reading their dialogue in front of the class and one girl made a mistake (I am run away) but the teacher did not correct the error. I think, the teacher did not hear it or did not want to make her embarrassed as she was a shy student and not willing to come in front of the class. If I were the teacher of that class, I also would not correct it in front of the class but I would take a note and say her after the lesson. 

DEALING WITH DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOR

I was impressed by my mentor teacher’s action and students’ performance especially a girl’s. Again, it happened during a pair work which was making a dialogue. The teacher selected students randomly to present their work in front of the class. First, two boys (who were playing with empty bottle and throwing it into the dustbin during my first week observation) read their dialogue. Then, two girls began to reading theirs but those two boys who did a few minutes ago made fun of the girls by making strange voices. The teacher stopped the girls and said them to wait on the hall and she asked to the boys what were they doing or why were they doing it. Also, she said to all students to respect each other. Then, she said to those boys ‘You know what to say when the girls come in’ and she called the girls. They came in and finished their dialogue and sat down in that time those two boys said ‘I am sorry’ and the shiest girl said ‘Thank you’. I said to me that if I were that girl I would not say thank you but only I would say okay. In short, the mentor teacher was successful in dealing with disruptive students’ behavior. Particularly, I liked the idea of making girls leave the class and saying the boys what they have done and also saying them that they should apologize for their misbehavior. I will try to use this strategy when I will have to deal with disruptive behaviors in my own classes.     

L1 & L2 USE IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

My mentor teacher generally, does not use L1 during the lesson but she uses it when she warns students. I mean, when there has misbehavior the teacher warns the students in Turkish and I think it is effective. Using L2 to warning, in my opinion, is not effective as it seems too polite to the students. I think that I will also use L1 in my prospective teaching when it is necessary.In conclusion, this week’s observation was effective as I have learned new things related to classroom managing or other things. Besides, I was impressed in my mentor teacher’s problem solution, that is, a voice of the smart board or computer was low and while listening activity students could hear it, and she tried to solve it but she could not. Then, she read the passage within two different voices one was a girl’s and the other was a boy’s voice. Moreover, she had asked me to prepare a small activity about 5-10 minutes related to ‘some’, ‘any’, ‘a lot of’, and ‘no’. I went there with dies and papers and make them play a game which was making sentences by using the words (some and any). They enjoyed and after that game one girl came and said ‘I liked it very much’. I was happy and my mentor teacher said that it was good and each week it will be nice if you prepare something like that and also you will have practice.

Week 3:

 Observation

      This week I went there 30 minute earlier even I had known that day students do not have any exams because I have had a trouble with exam day or hours. Last week when I asked to my mentor teacher about exam day she said that next week we will not have an exam. Anyway, I waited in the library until the lessons began. Monday was homework check day so nearly all lesson the teacher did the same things, that is, showing the answers of the questions by using smart board, collecting their written works, and giving mines to the students who forget their homework. I want to mention that I like her homework check part which is very practical. I mean, by using technology the teacher does not spent much time, she only asks if students have questions about answers. After two lessons I have free time about 2 hours so in that time as usual I read their written homework and counted their exam grades and wrote them their exam papers’ front page in the library. Also, I look at some books in the library. Moreover, my mentor teacher and one of her student have studied there during lunch break.

      After the lessons my mentor teacher said “I wish you had come another days as well because Monday is always homework check day”. I also thought about it and I was going to say her because every week’s lessons were similar to previous week’s lessons. In addition, I have no idea what should I will do in my teaching. Therefore, we looked at our programs together but it was not comforting. I have free time only Monday and Friday afternoon which suits her routine but she did not recommend me to go there on Friday as well. Therefore, we were not successful about it but the only thing I can do is go there on Wednesday morning from 09:00 to 10:00 and the rest are on Monday. Still, I hope that I will see what kind of strategies my mentor teacher uses when she teaches new things like new grammar topic. I once saw how she teaches past continues but it was repetition of the last week’s grammar topic. However, it was effective in my opinion, she showed part of a movie and after that the students supposed to say those actions by using past continue.

        To sum up, I like the school and especially students’ education. Also, I am sure that I will have very good experience there which will be helpful in my prospective language teaching career.  

Week 2:

 Observation

     Again, it was an exam day. Therefore, the lessons began at 9:00 o’clock and I was there ten past nine. Was I sad? Yes, of course. After, that day I decided to go there before nine o’clock in every week. Then, I waited on the hall. While I was waiting a secretary invited me her room, which was next to the class that I supposed to go, and said that I can wait there. After, two or three minutes later my mentor teacher came and said to me that I can go to the class and control it. I went and all students looked at me and they began to ask questions; for example, where are you from or how old are you and etc. I answered their questions and then said to them “You should continue your writing and if you have questions related to your writing you can ask me”. However, they were not likely to do their work and one girl said to me “You should not come to this class because we are so ‘yaramaz’ students”. It was my first time there in 5I class and they were sitting in a U-shape. When the teacher came they calm down and continued writing and both the teacher and I answered their questions. Then, the teacher said we should not help them because it was their homework but they did not do it at home.

     After lesson before they had an exam, I asked to my mentor teacher if there have any work to do, then she gave me students’ writing homework to check. I went to the library and checked their writings. Most of the writings were very good but I had a difficult time to understand some students’ hand writings. Then, I went to 5C class but it was a very short lesson and then, my mentor teacher and students all went to the Kultur center.

     Again, I waited in the library. After lunch I observed 5Dclass. The teacher showed the answers of their homework and students read their writing homework to their group members. I liked a strategy that the teacher use, that is, as I mentioned previous week’s dairy they sit as the groups and they read their paragraphs to their own group members and then, with group members they choose the best writing. Every group does the same thing after that, the chosen students read their paragraphs on the board to the whole class. The students who did not do their homework get mines but still they have right to participate and chose the best one. The last thing I want to mention that the teacher showed some new words and their explanations with power point presentation like we do in our micro teachings and the students write those words on their notebooks. 

Introduction

    Hello, I am Arzuv and I always wanted to be a teacher. However, before I started to the university I did not have enough idea or philosophy about how kind of teacher I want to be. Now, I want to be a humanist teacher. I decided it after I have observed some of my instructors, that is, their teaching style and personality. I hope and a bit sure that I can manage to be that kind of teacher and be helpful to my students.

My teaching philosophy

I have always had an enthusiasm for teaching that is being a teacher. When I started going to school my grandfather gave me some nice notebooks as a present. I was very happy because my grandfather was a school principal and I always tried to do my best to make my granddad and parents happy. 

That enthusiasm and desire to be a very nice and respectful teacher like my grandfather bring me into this career.My main teaching philosophy is having communicative, learner-centered, and friendly environment, and using technologies and also applying my own method according to my learners’ needs.  

Firstly, my teaching philosophy includes providing students with a supportive learning environment by helping them achieve communicative competence through meaningful and enjoyable activities. Secondly, I believe that when students are given importance and respected they will learn more actively and they will be more motivated. I will do it by giving chances to choosing discussion topics or listing classroom rules all together and etc. Thirdly, my philosophy that by providing students with a friendly that is stress-free environment, I mean that I can help them to reduce learning anxieties in order to improve their learning progress. The other significant feature of my teaching philosophy is the incorporation of technology and media-based instruction in the classroom. For example, I will use PPP, Task-based learning, movies, YouTube, and etc. to make my lessons more appropriate to digital age learners. Finally, a teacher needs to keep an open mind about the different teaching approaches, methods, and techniques however, all of them have advantages and disadvantages so he or she should select parts which will be helpful. I will do just like that. I believe that with more experience in teaching ESL, my teaching philosophy improve for the better.

First impressions

    During my first day at METU College I was both excited and anxious because I went there for the first time and I was alone. I went there early to meet my mentor teacher and then to observe her lessons but it was an exam day and their lesson hours were changed a bit. I had a difficult time to find my mentor teacher and classes. Also, I had to wait until the exam was over. Then, I met my mentor teacher (I even do not know is my mentor teacher was male or female as the name was Ekin Tekin) and we talked about routine and also about our department and Yasemin hoca. Then, she showed the way of school’s library and said that I can wait there. She was very busy in that day and breaks were too short at least it seemed me like that. Moreover, during break the corridors were full of the students who were taking their books or notebooks from their shelves and it was hard to walk there.

     I went to the class during the break and it was after lunch. In class, which was 5D, two boys were playing with bottle that is, they threw it to a dustbin like a basket ball and then take it out. They were enjoying and they played it like 4-5 minutes but I could not tolerate and said to them “Is not the dustbin dirty?” and they said “No,” and then they started to ask me questions like what is your name, where do you study, and etc. Then, the lesson began and I introduced myself to the class, and during the lesson I was so impressed that all students spoke English with the teacher and each other and they were used to it. Besides, there was another thing which drew my attention students sat like the groups (3-4 students in each group). I liked it so much and it was very practical to do group works. I decided that if I have chance I will make my students to sit like that when I become a teacher and have my own class. The another thing which was new for me the teacher let two students to look at the dictionary when the students could not understand a word’s meaning and then she make those students’ to write on board both definitions of that word.  I really liked that idea because students are active and also they learn how to use dictionaries in a useful way, and also they learn all meanings of the new words.

     During that lesson my mentor teacher said that we will control them together so you can walk and see their performance during the group or writing works. Also, she said to the students “If you have questions you can ask to Arzuv teacher”. When the lesson was over the teacher gave a kind of punishment letter to one of the students who were playing with bottle. Then, I understood that he was naughty student and that is why the teacher made him sit near her.

      After the lesson my mentor teacher gave me my internship kart and we talked about our private life a bit. I liked her personality and her teaching style. Then, I asked her “Is there anything that I could do or help like homework check” and she gave me students’ writing homework to check. I went to school’s library and looked at the students’ writings there. Then, my mentor teacher came and I gave writings and it was end of my first day internship at METU College. 

     To sum up, it was nice, that is, I had not needed to be worried and a bit scared about going there. After the first day I realized that I will gain knowledge about many things from my mentor teacher which will be very useful my prospective teachings.