At their core, I see teaching and learning as exciting, communal experiences.  In the social arena of the classroom, reciprocative connections are built on trust and the open exchange of ideas. To establish an environment where students actively participate and freely share their thoughts, I have established an ever-developing teaching philosophy which stands on the concepts of adaptability and synergy. With these core concepts in mind, I approach each lesson with the goal of inspiring my students to energetically and openly engage with the target language on both linguistic and cultural levels. By inspiring students to participate alongside and with one another in class, I help create a community that extends beyond the classroom, whereby students choose to work together in the common pursuit of mastery of the target language.

Teaching and learning in a diverse and international collection of schools and universities has shown me the importance of adaptability. The varied mixture of people, languages, and cultures I have encountered as both language instructor and language learner has led me to appreciate the meaningful lessons that can be gained from an eclectic and global society. My teaching style has sharpened due to this diverse exposure, inviting me to harness spontaneity, which at times has led me to supplant my planned activities for appreciation of the ‘moment.’ By harnessing the spontaneous, collective enthusiasm exuded by my students, I demonstrate that the experience of learning a language can be an exciting and inspiring pursuit. Recently in my German 101 course at Vanderbilt, a Chinese exchange student claimed that Nashville is a “small town” by Chinese standards. His remark led our course into a discussion of the German word “Dorf,” which roughly translates into English as “village” or “small town.” The linguistic ambiguity here seems to originate from the malleability of the modifier “small” in relation to the cultural and historical similarities and differences concerning living communities in Germany, China, and America, as well as other lands. What first appeared as a tangential detour quickly developed into a meaningful discourse on the nuance of translation in a global setting, featuring valuable cultural and linguistic task-based lessons concerning the target language.

Observing the innovative and ever-changing techniques of experienced language instructors has taught me that the teacher’s role is not a static one, rather it is continually developing based on classroom experience. After the midterm this past semester, I worked with the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching (CfT) on the implementation of a Small Group Analysis, whereby a CfT employee facilitated a discussion with my German 101 students regarding my teaching practices. Not present for this discussion as per protocol, I learned about my students’ responses in a one-on-one meeting with the CfT employee who had spoken with my class. While the positive feedback reinforced several of my teaching strategies, the critical feedback shaped the remaining weeks of the semester. Several students wanted more online pronunciation exercises, so that they could continue to improve their oral competency outside of the classroom. Their feedback was well taken and demonstrated that my goal of establishing a learning environment beyond the classroom was taking shape. In addition to assigning the requested online exercises, I introduced a ‘Weekend Film Series,’ whereby students gathered on Saturday or Sunday afternoons to watch contemporary German films – a great source of authentic German pronunciation and dialect. Students were also prompted to share their favorite phrases from the film on the following Monday, allowing for further communicative, task-based opportunities to improve pronunciation as well as develop an understanding of contemporary German culture. This activity was especially effective because it originated from the synchronous efforts of my students, who provided feedback, and myself, who listened and responded.

The adaptability and synchronicity I strive to create in and beyond the classroom allow for an atmosphere of trust and honesty where everyone enthusiastically participates and helps one another. Trust and honesty are perhaps two of the best attributes a student of a foreign language can count on when faced with the daunting task of learning a new language. By facing the challenge of language learning as comrades in pursuit of a common goal, my students obtain success by relying on each other as much as they rely on me.