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During the course of the MATL program I have grown interested in Content- Based and Communicative Language Teaching. I believe that students need to be actively engaged in using the target language in order
to learn a language. This is possible inside a classroom.
One way to get learners involved in a task is through the introduction
of interactive activities. Multimedia is a great learning tool because
it utilizes many skills involved in the process of language learning. Multimedia users have quick access to real audio clips, texts, videos, and pictures to illustrate a language item.
In addition, multimedia tasks are interactive. They can respond to
us and vice versa. There are many authoring programs available
with which teachers can create lessons specifically tailored to the needs
of their students. Unfortunately,
such resources are not available in some educational environments.
However, I think that when it is possible to use technology in the classroom,
its benefits are great.
An effective way to get students involved in a language task is by making
it one in which they are using the language in authentic communication.
Specifically, I believe in assigning learners to problem-solving groups in
which they are to complete goal-oriented projects. Methods such as Complex Instruction (CI) are useful in mainstream classrooms and other heterogeneous learning environments because they give each learner
a role in which he is able to contribute to the completion of the goal.
I am also an advocate of Learner-Centered classrooms. Enabling students to make decisions about their own learning environments increases
motivation. For example, if students are allowed to select their own due dates
for assignments, then they should ideally be more motivated to meet their
own deadlines.
In our increasingly diverse culture, bilingual education is affecting more and
more U.S citizens every year. Literacy in Spanish, for example, is as
important as literacy in English. If a bilingual student is only educated
in one language, I believe that more than literacy in language is lost: an
important part of a learner's culture is also lost. I would like to support
bilingual education and contribute in some way.
In addition, the United States is not a monoculture. We are a country of Germans, Mexicans, Irish, Taiwanese, and so many more. I believe
that our public education system should be better equipped to accomodate learners
who are native speakers to langauges other than English. The pull-out method
is not the best method. I would like to contribute to an increased awareness
of the importance of ESL programs in public schools as well as induce change
and encourage more advanced ESL programs.
Additionally, language cannot be taught in isolation. By that I mean that in real communicative situations, language is
often delivered through the target culture. It is important to teach culture so that learners have more exposure to diverse
cultures and communities. Also, the inclusion of culture in a communicative language lesson adds authenticity to a lesson.
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