我的教学哲学是指导下我的经验as an instructor and a student. Communicative Language Teaching motivated me to keep studying Spanish as an undergraduate, and it also orients my teaching goals in four areas: proficiency, flexibility, social engagement, and intellectual growth. Students of a second or foreign language should be provided with instruction, activities, and tools that promote the functional use of the language that they are studying. The inextricable link between language and culture must be consistently displayed so that students end the course with both linguistic and cultural competencies that allow them to participate in their academic, professional, and personal lives as responsible global citizens. Flexibility in instruction is needed because each classroom and student is unique. I implement activities that can be differentiated for learners of varying language strengths and interests. For example, when teaching a mixed proficiency level class with Upward Bound in 2013 students worked in groups to narrate a fashion show for their classmates after a shopping unit. Students were grouped so that each group had at least one higher proficiency learner and one beginner. This allowed them to learn from each other or lead others while producing language at their level. Meaningful social interaction is also a goal in my teaching. In a student-centered class, collaboration is key. I use activities that allow students to socialize so that collaboration can occur comfortably. By promoting these relationships, students become more engaged, and this helps them to perceive the relevance of using the language and relate to it personally. When students can relate to a topic and find the related language meaningful, language acquisition is more likely to occur. For these reasons I have implemented experiential learning into my courses with visual art in a variety of formats. Finally, I want to provide an intellectual challenge that promotes student introspection and personal growth. College is also about students learning what their own opinions are, and a language course should help them discover those. Whether they are studying Spanish for use in their personal or professional lives, I want students to leave class knowing that what they learned is relevant to the world around them. With each lesson that I teach I believe that I move closer to reaching these goals for my students’ benefit.

It's important for me to know what a student's goals are for our sessions together. Also, if I know what a student already does besides tutoring in terms of studying, homework, or classes, I can guide our sessions to be as productive as possible.

Being an independent learner is all about having a learning tool kit that works for you and knowing how to use it. I try to arm students with several different strategies that work well for them so that they can use those on their own to learn independently.

We're all motivated by different things, so it's important for a student to know what his or her specific motivation is. Maybe it's a certain letter grade, a trip abroad, or advancing on to the next level. Whatever it is, I can help students keep their eyes on the prize be reminding them what it is they are working toward.

It depends on the student. Some learners need to take a break to practice a skill that comes more easily to them for a bit. This reminds them that they can do it! Later, it's important to look at a concept or skill from a variety of perspectives until we find one that makes sense to the student. Then, practice is key.

A good strategy to employ initially to help reading comprehension is to slow down, focus on what you can understand, and draw logical assumptions. Through that process we can generally identify together what the specific issue is- vocabulary, particular grammar constructions, the text theme or style, or some other factor. Then, we can work on those specific problems.