When it comes to teaching there is no shortage of ideologies, methodologies, and pedagogies. Similarly, students may become English language learners for a variety of reasons. They may have an interest in learning the language, they may be preparing for their future, or they may have an urgent need to learn the language. Learning why the students are taking the class is an important first step in the teaching process. It is my responsibility to prepare the students for life as an English speaker, so it is imperative that I know their needs. It is also important to take time early in class to discover students’ schemata. For example, if a student has studied some British English, something that is very common for south-east Asian ELLs, they may struggle a bit with some of the subtle differences in American grammar. As Arkadiusz Janczyło (2015) points out, there are a surprising number of uses surrounding the word “have” among standard variations of English. For example, “have you any money?” is a perfectly correct sentence in the UK, but will get more than a few confused looks in the USA.
Personally, I like to have a very student-centric classroom. I want my students to be the center of everything going on. I make an effort to be as flexible as possible while lesson planning because the needs of the students may change throughout the time period of the class. I have a very conversational ideology in the classroom. I believe that student autonomy is the backbone of a successful classroom. I have noticed personally that the energy of a class gets turned up to 11, so to say, as soon as the students feel like they have an active say in how the class is conducted.
I also want the students to feel comfortable using the language outside of the scenarios that a textbook may set up. Of course, those situations are important, but it is my belief that a student who is comfortable speaking conversationally will find it easier to adapt to new situations. Comparatively, a student who drills what to say in certain scenarios, may panic if things go “off-script.” I consider my number one goal in the classroom to be helping the students reach conversational fluency with a heavy emphasis on being understood first and foremost.
Since some people learn better in a more natural, nonconstructed environment and others learn better when given structure and a task-oriented environment (Noel, 2017) I try to mix both together when lesson planning. I believe that students should have some agency in deciding how they learn and how the classroom functions. Although, in order to give them said agency, I show my students multiple styles of lessons. Perhaps we will spend some time going through a presentation about a topic or grammar point before having discussion around said topic, have an activity that allows the students to move around and converse with each other, or produce a full roleplay where the classroom turns into a supermarket for the day.
Most people are only highly developed in one or two intelligences (Christison, 1995/1996) and it is critical that this is taken into consideration. Students come in many shapes, sizes, and personalities. If we get discouraged by a student we perceive as too difficult to teach, or perhaps a student that we perceive as not really wanting to learn, I believe that we have to take a step back and ask ourselves questions about why this is happening. Most importantly, “is this student’s learning style not compatible with the way the class is currently being taught?” I’ve found that, in most cases, this seems to be true. This is why I always try to incorporate multiple kinds of exercises into my lessons. Of course, no lesson will be perfect for every student, but I attempt to have an even distribution of lessons for the learning styles and intelligences of my students to give them the best possible chance of success.
Another important aspect is to be a cultural ambassador of sorts for the students. In a multicultural classroom, the potential is limitless when it comes to the amount of cultural diversity. I like to help the students share and celebrate their own culture while also learning about, and perhaps participating in, both the cultures of their classmates and American culture. I believe that cultural participation in the classroom will lead to the students having a better understanding of the world around them as they continue to advance their English language ability. Exposure to culture allows people to recognize the importance of diversity (Anheier et al., 2016). Through this recognition, it is my hope that students will begin to make their own micro-culture as a diverse group with a common goal. Many students may belong to the same imagined community to begin with, perhaps successful non-native English speakers, so having them come together to create lasting bonds via sharing their culture in class is something that I strive to do.
Edward T. Hall (1976) is perhaps most famous for his iceberg theory, that only 10% of culture is easily visible while the remaining 90% lies beneath the surface. Although, from the same book, I like an idea he floats called the cultural unconscious. He says that out-of-awareness cultural systems probably outnumber explicit systems by a factor of one thousand to one. The reason I think this is relevant is because those out-of-awareness systems can end up playing a big role in classroom dynamics. Many of those hidden systems may have something to do with communication. If two students have cultural communication styles that don’t mesh well with one another, it could potentially lead to problems in the classroom. It’s necessary that I take up that cultural ambassador role to not only help the students come together into one unified group, but also so I can understand them and their needs to better help them succeed.
Currently, every scholar is a student but not every student is a scholar, a premise that places limitations on the academic ceiling of the majority of the population (Jean, 2018). Speaking personally, the first time I was referred to as a scholar was in my first class of graduate school. It was a title I felt like I didn’t deserve, however, it immediately showed that I was being given respect by the professor because I was pursuing a higher education. It is my belief that my students deserve that same level of respect. They are in the classroom to achieve a higher education. Perhaps it’s not a graduate degree, but, in my opinion, it is something that is even more valuable. So, while I may not refer to my class as scholars specifically, I treat them in such a way that they can feel like they are being respected academically. Ideally this, hopefully, mutual respect will create a classroom environment that will pave the way for constructive conversations and immersive learning. After all, an immersive learning experience is the best way, in my opinion, to learn an L2, as well as begin to feel accepted, or even adopted, by the culture a student may be trying to integrate into.
Lastly, I want to talk about self-reflection. In my opinion, it is incredibly important to take time to reflect on how I am performing as a teacher. I consistently ask myself if I am doing the best I can for my students, if there is more I can be doing for them, or how I can better understand them. As a teacher there is always the risk of getting stuck in your ways. Finding something that works one time and deciding to stick with it. However, teaching is a field that is always evolving. It requires us to evolve alongside it, not only for our own sake, but for the sake of our students who are putting themselves into a situation that many people could never even imagine. I intend to continue to better myself as I work toward my goal of becoming not only a more successful teacher, but also a published author within the field of TESOL. I have a strong passion for teaching CLD students. It brings me joy to see my students improve, grow, and succeed both in the classroom and in life. So, I intend to do everything in my power to help them reach their full potential.
References
Anheier, H. K., List, R. A., Kononykhina, O., Cohen, J. L., Haber, M., Berneaud-Kotz, M., Kaufmann, S., & Mejia, L. (2016, December). Cultural Participation and Inclusive Societies: A thematic report based on the Indicator Framework on Culture and Democracy.
Christison, M. A. (1995/1996). Multiple intelligences and second language learners. The Journal of the Imagination in Language Learning, 3, 8-13.
Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond Culture. Anchor Press.
JANCZYŁO, A. (2015). Cultural identity, language, and narrative. Forum Filologiczne ATENEUM, 1(3), 35-45.
Jean, D. (2018). Dear Educators/Administrators: EVERY Student is a Scholar. Diverse Education, 1.
Noel, J. (2017). Developing Multicultural Educators. Waveland Press, Incorporated.