The very early interest to teach was sparked in me as a child when I wanted to outdo my own teacher, thinking that coming from different language backgrounds should not pose a barrier to a student’s learning process. Making this experience of learning a second language in Germany has made me more aware of being welcoming to my students, who are learning German. And since 2008, I have been teaching German Beginners and German Intermediate at McGill University.
Adults learn a foreign language mostly out of interest rather than obligation, which means that they take responsibility to learn voluntarily. I therefore respect the free will of the students and prepare myself for each class as if I would learn something new as well as develop the course plan according to their level and needs. Since communication is one of the main factors in learning a foreign language, I encourage an environment where active participation plays a crucial part. As soon as the students are involved in conversation, they become active participants of their own learning process and discover their strengths and weaknesses more readily.
Learning can become less involving if there is no voluntary participation in conversations or discussions. However, the communicative approach helps me create a learning environment whereby participation is a natural part of the course. Additionally, I try to expand communicative methods in classroom by using a variety of language tools and mediums, such as films, songs, news articles, blogs, as well as Facebook. I experienced that Facebook groups for my classes were very useful for fast communication, sharing ideas relating to cultural events, while using the target language. Most importantly it created a learning community beyond the confines of the classroom. It also creates a different environment from the classroom, where I can observe their communication in German.
Undoubtedly, the use of the modern media does, according to my observation, help students acquire foreign words, idioms and expressions or the culture far more easily. The knowledge of the target language ceases to be something distant when used to understand other medium, like watching and understanding a film for example. It then enters a more practical area of knowledge: dialogues in relationship with actions illustrate the language in a specific context. The language then becomes more flexible and allows itself to be read, through acting characters via body language. This method is highly effective if the students have already had to read a text prior to class concerning the film that they are watching. The intermediate groups, for instance, find it much easier to relate “Nikolaikirche” to non-violence, after seeing protesters walking with candles in the same titled movie. Last year my students also expressed great interest in performing for the adaptation I wrote on the drama Der Besuch der alten Dame ("Kläris Besuch"), after working on Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s original version. This was the time when my students were not supposed to read and watch anymore, but read, perform and watch. We also have a YouTube-Video of our play now, which gave my students the chance to watch themselves, their acting by using the target language fluently without reading.
Lastly, my philosophy of teaching is constantly being fine-tuned thanks to the teaching workshops and seminars I attend, and, most importantly, by my in-class experiences with my students. Finally, I highly value course evaluations and try to adjust my teaching practice according to them. While I am teaching my students how to learn, I learn from them how to teach. Based on this relationship, I, as a language instructor, will be a lifelong learner.