“Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things.” Flora Lewis
Teaching and learning a new language has evolved into much more than just another way to communicate with others. Rather, it has opened the door to explore new cultures and experiences and expand our perspectives of the world beyond ourselves. As students learn another language and culture, they begin to evaluate their own ways of thinking and viewing the world. Language learning also allows students to develop an appreciation for themselves and those who are different from them. By implementing foreign language learning, it can provide students the opportunity to engage in experiences that are different from their own and develop tolerant, well-rounded individuals.
There are a variety of methods that can be utilized to teach language, each with their own unique and beneficial facets. The method that I find most effective and plan on adopting is the Communicative Language Teaching approach (CLT) with aspects of a semi-flipped classroom. This CLT approach puts communicative competence in the forefront and emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of language learning. With this approach, students are able to engage in thoughtful interaction with relevant context as the basis. Also, by integrating a semi-flipped classroom model, students can focus on communicative practice in the classroom with the teacher as their facilitator, while mechanical practices can be used out of the classroom to bolster communication.
The first step to implementing a CLT model would be developing engaging, relevant topics that students want to interact with. Then, with an interesting topic as the basis, information gap and opinion sharing activities would be implemented to promote communication. Students will be asked to engage in these activities through pair and group work, where the primary focus would be communication. However, outside of the classroom, students would be asked complete task completion activities that utilize more mechanical and meaningful practices. This way, students can practice active communication, while still practice the particular grammatical uses.
My methodologies as a language teacher are constantly evolving and adapting as I continue to learn from my colleagues and students. I strive to create a welcoming, student centered classroom where all students feel comfortable and represented. I plan on achieving this by basing the content on topics that are relevant to everyday Japanese culture. I want to give students a better understanding of what life may be like if they were to travel or study abroad in Japan and base the conversations on potential encounters that may occur.