Teaching Portfolio for Shelley Harris
My Teaching Philosophy

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"The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible."

- Albert Einstein  

Crayons

My Philosophy of Teaching

 

     To a child the world is huge. 

     It is hard to master. 

     Even more so for children who do not have the language skills to understand what their teachers and classmates are saying, or what the letters mean in a book they are trying to read. 

    

     My goal as a teacher?

     To make the world comprehensible to students who need English language skills while they are learning academic skills.  

 

     My role as a Teacher of English as a Second Language?

     To help children use what they already know about the world to learn new things in a different language.

Science Beakers

 For many of the students I teach this is enough. However, many other students come from families with limited literacy, few books at home and no tradition of scholarship in their families. These students must start from scratch to learn what it means to be literate.

This is a difficult juggling task and raises the question:  How can we English Language teachers do it?

Colored Chalk with Eraser

Luckily much research has been conducted in this area in the last couple of decades. Gone are the days of simply teaching grammar and pronunciation, with rote drills and memorization. 

 

 The latest techniques make use of new technology and approaches that address all the ways students learn.

"Only learning that is enjoyed will be learned well."

- Judah Ha-Nasi

 

 

In the limited amount of class time that I have for my lessons, I create lesson plans that combine the goals of the state and county curricula with the techniques I have learned from my ESOL training. Language skills are taught within the context of classroom subject content.

 

In my instruction I make use of music, arts and crafts, dance movement and hands-on experiments. I try to connect what we are learning in class to real-life situations outside of the classroom. And I always strive to make lessons fun and interesting.