Educational Philosophy The principal motivator that drove me towards teaching as a career was the possibility of imparting the knowledge that I have acquired onto others. This theory is still a major part of my teaching philosophy today. Teaching a foreign language has helped me to develop my educational philosophy in a number of ways. First and foremost, I view teaching not only as a chance to provide students with the knowledge that they are seeking, but to also provide them with a role-model that they might not have elsewhere. Working in the community college environment, this happens to be the case often. Many students I have grown to know over the years have had no one else in their lives to fill this role. This is why I believe that this is a very important aspect of teaching. I also feel that students should feel comfortable and at ease when learning a foreign language. Having taken language classes myself while growing up, I understand the fear of speaking in the foreign language. In order to create an environment where students feel comfortable trying out their new language, I feel the teacher must have a certain level of humility in their classroom. I tell my students about silly mistakes that I would make, or funny related stories, to show them that even if they make mistakes, they can then grow from them and excel in the language. To help students excel in any subject matter, a teacher must be aware of the different learning styles. Not all students are alike. However, they must be treated with the same respect, but at the same time, their individual learning styles must be catered to here. There are seven general learning styles in students: Visual (spatial), Aural (auditory-musical), Verbal (linguistic), Physical (kinesthetic), Logical (mathematical), Social (interpersonal) and Solitary (intrapersonal). In order to appease all seven, one must have varying activities throughout the course, unless you can rule out any of the styles from the current class you are instructing. In order to do this in my 2-hour long classes, I had to provide classes with some lecture, some PowerPoint, music that was related to the lecture, hands-on activities, the logical breakdown of grammatical structures, group and/or pair work, and solitary work as well. This is challenging; however, a 2-hour class is a long time for students in foreign language classes, and this variation keeps the students busy and alert, especially at 8 in the morning. I also feel that it is important to keep authenticity in the classroom alive. Being a non-native speaker of French, this can be a challenge too. However, I did live in France for three years, and I have plenty of stories about France and the French people to share with students when discussing cultural points in class. As a foreign language teacher, I understand and utilize the National Standards in Foreign Language Education, the 5 C's. To have my students ready and able to demonstrate the first C (Communication), I give them homework assignments to prepare short dialogues with a classmate, and then have them all demonstrate their conversations in class. These dialogues are related to everyday, real-life situations that you encounter in France. The second C (Cultures) is a fun aspect to add to the class. I have my students prepare orally for our fieldtrip to La Craperie. I set up a reservation with my French friend Lucie who works there, and my students are only allowed to speak in French. In Fort Collins, this is a very authentic experience. For the more advanced students, I set up tours at the Cheese Importers in Longmont with French speakers, and then we go on a Cheese tour in French. These two different field trips show my students that French is applicable and can be, used even in Colorado. I largely incorporate the third C (Connections) into each lesson plan, as this is easy to do in a foreign language. I teach them about the different regions in France, the history of many different subjects (including, but not limited to, the language, the culture and the habits of French people). We also discuss the daily life in France (including, but not limited to, their schooling systems, their transportation, their way of life, and their politics). The fourth C (Comparisons) was often very enjoyable to teach, and I believe the students loved it as well. I have students reflect upon how the activities, events, or daily life tasks are done in our own culture. This often throws the students off for a minute because they expect class to be all about French. However, it is very difficult to understand another culture if one does not understand their own. I then ask them to compare this reflection to the French equivalence. This also allows the student to reflect more deeply upon their own culture and many students experience an epiphany about their culture while completing this activity.