Experience Summary
Ihave taught in Minnesota, Texas and South Korea. I have earned a Bachelor of Science in English Language Arts Secondary Education, and I am currently working on my MA in TESOL. I have extensive knowledge in grammar, the English Language, poetry writing, novels and teaching reading. I have tutored students of all ages and have a great deal of experience in teaching reading.
Teaching Style
I like to teach ESL from the Communicative Competence ideal. Integrating reading writing speaking listening into thematic units. Learning a new language requires hands on experience. If for example we are doing a unit on weather then my students may role play a weather man. Gather vocabulary from a newspaper. Count change as if they were really buying something. Read and write from a reporters perspective, or even travel to a museum with a reoprt and description of things they have seen using adjective and adverbs for color and detail. I also believe reading should be taught at the appropriate reading level for comprehensions sake. If a reader is below the 98% error level, they will not succeed. Frye's reading level test determines the reading level. Vocabulary is very unique in that there are many fun activities to spur children into acquiring a huge vocabulary. Word walls are excellent tools for making a room multiculutral and interesting. Think Alouds help determine the reaction a student is having to the text they're reading. This is very critical in that some students use their background knowledge for meaning while others may tear into the text for meaning and learning. It is wise to determine what is happening and develope strategies for them to use for reading. Reading, spelling, vocabulary, speaking, listening should all be taught at once. A tops down bottoms up integrated strategy is most comprehensible for reading.
A writing workshop is the best for teaching writing. Library books and reading out loud for listening with retelling is one of the best practices for speaking and listening, however the students must use the exact verbage when retelling. Hispanic students are field dependent, however they do well with a field independent teacher.