What is your teaching philosophy?

My teaching philosophy is, above all, tailored to individual student need. I try to engage all of my students in the course material by tailoring it to their individual interests and learning styles. My lessons are interactive and frequently incorporate creative interpretation of the curriculum.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

I would first open up a dialogue with the student to get a sense of what they may like (or dislike) about the subject to be taught. I'd also evaluate their potential weaknesses and strengths. From there, I'd figure out what their main interests are outside of the topic to see if there is a way I can bring the two together.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

When it comes to language instruction, the best way to help a student become an independent learner is to build an adaptable base they can work from. By slowly introducing new grammatical concepts and vocabulary concepts, you can help them gain a sense for the structure of the language. From there, you can show them how those bases are applicable to their day to day life, which allows the student to apply their knowledge in a fun and meaningful way.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

I find that students stay motivated when the course material is presented in a lively and creative way. If the student is struggling to understand the material in class, using a similar approach will most likely not work. As such, I try to make the material come alive by using a more interactive and engaging pedagogy tailored to the student's preexisting strengths.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

First, I'd ask questions of the student to try to understand what exactly they understand (and what they do understand). Then, I'd evaluate my own approach: am I expressing myself clearly? Am I pitching the material in a way that plays to the student's strengths? From there, I'd work out a different method to see if that would make the concept click.