A bit about me
Male | | from: United States of America
I am currently in Pyeongchon
I am currently in Pyeongchon
I would like to introduce myself by explaining my philosophy behind teaching. Should this interest you, please feel free to download my resume and contact me via email.
James Daniel Blalock's Philosophy of Teaching
First, I'd like to say that I have had the luck to learn from many different culture's in what their methods of teaching are. I have spent time in rural America, urban America, rural Japan, urban Japan, urban China, rural China, and urban Korean. All of these places I have either been a student, a teacher, or both. As well, all of these places have deeply influenced me into what my current methods are.
From my university time in studying second language acquisition thoroughly, including writing my thesis on the topic, I have been fascinated with how people learn another language. However, I noticed an important thing. The people who spoke English well, yet weren't native English speakers, tended to be uneducated people rather than those doing a study abroad. Japanese and Korean alike had low abilities compared to many African refugees that I met during my field studies. Why is this? The answer to this question is my teaching philosophy.
In order to truly learn a language, the student must have confidence. Not confidence necessarily in being correct, but confidence in getting a general point across. The problem with the Japanese and Korean students was simply that they were ingrained in perfection, while the African refugees, already among many languages back at home, were ready to adapt and give up perfection. What I want to do is to let the students know that they don't need to speak a language perfectly in order to speak it. There is no learning without trying, and my goal is to make the students try their hardest. However, this is easier said than done, as no one can turn a culture on top of itself overnight.
In my time doing teaching in Korea, my method has become somewhat of a game. Not literally, but in essence I have to constantly be thinking ahead as to how to make the student do what I want them to do. Since, as I said before, the problem is usually a lack of confidence, I have to build their confidence. Either form letting them show off an ability in class, talk about a subject they love, hold small talk after class, and other such things. But more importantly, during all of this, I do not correct every error made. Errors get stamped out, but there is a time and place. Instead of singling out the student, I usually integrate these common errors into lessons and fix them as a group. That way, everyone gets a chance to fix their mistakes with no embarrassment.
You may ask, is there anything else? In my entire university experience in the linguistics department, no, there isn't. Second language acquisition is all about confidence and necessity. Even my own mother learned English with no schooling. Only confidence and necessity. I feel that as long as I'm friendly, and that students wish to talk to me, then they can learn a great deal.
James Daniel Blalock's Philosophy of Teaching
First, I'd like to say that I have had the luck to learn from many different culture's in what their methods of teaching are. I have spent time in rural America, urban America, rural Japan, urban Japan, urban China, rural China, and urban Korean. All of these places I have either been a student, a teacher, or both. As well, all of these places have deeply influenced me into what my current methods are.
From my university time in studying second language acquisition thoroughly, including writing my thesis on the topic, I have been fascinated with how people learn another language. However, I noticed an important thing. The people who spoke English well, yet weren't native English speakers, tended to be uneducated people rather than those doing a study abroad. Japanese and Korean alike had low abilities compared to many African refugees that I met during my field studies. Why is this? The answer to this question is my teaching philosophy.
In order to truly learn a language, the student must have confidence. Not confidence necessarily in being correct, but confidence in getting a general point across. The problem with the Japanese and Korean students was simply that they were ingrained in perfection, while the African refugees, already among many languages back at home, were ready to adapt and give up perfection. What I want to do is to let the students know that they don't need to speak a language perfectly in order to speak it. There is no learning without trying, and my goal is to make the students try their hardest. However, this is easier said than done, as no one can turn a culture on top of itself overnight.
In my time doing teaching in Korea, my method has become somewhat of a game. Not literally, but in essence I have to constantly be thinking ahead as to how to make the student do what I want them to do. Since, as I said before, the problem is usually a lack of confidence, I have to build their confidence. Either form letting them show off an ability in class, talk about a subject they love, hold small talk after class, and other such things. But more importantly, during all of this, I do not correct every error made. Errors get stamped out, but there is a time and place. Instead of singling out the student, I usually integrate these common errors into lessons and fix them as a group. That way, everyone gets a chance to fix their mistakes with no embarrassment.
You may ask, is there anything else? In my entire university experience in the linguistics department, no, there isn't. Second language acquisition is all about confidence and necessity. Even my own mother learned English with no schooling. Only confidence and necessity. I feel that as long as I'm friendly, and that students wish to talk to me, then they can learn a great deal.
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