1. Garrett Richardson
4-13-15
11-1215 MW
Teaching Philosophy Part 2
Being a teacher to me means a lot because I enjoy seeing others happy. I have always been
good at teaching things and helping others to understand a complex idea from a basic level
which will allow them to become a complex thinker based off of the basic meaning. My
grandfather is the one I should give credit to for this concept because growing up; he told me
that when teaching something to someone, you have to make it so simple that even a baby can
understand. This idea comes from Christianity in the fact that Jesus said this to his disciples
before they taught about whatever they were going to teach. But because of this small concept,
it has made me contemplate whether teachers knew how to get their students to learn
effectively. Were they just teaching and not understanding that learning is a process? As I look
back, I can see that the teachers I had did not understand this concept and for that, I was not
able to learn certain things that I should have because it was too complex. The purpose of the
concept is to make something simple enough for a baby to understand but to also keep its
complex identity by having the learner make it complex based off of what they know from the
basic meaning. In other words, if I work hard to make something complex, simple, then I am
able to teach from the ground up instead of the top down. If you think about it, babies cannot
eat whole foods like adults can because they do not have the tools that are developed enough

2. for it. But if the food is cut into smaller, basic pieces, they are able to eat the same amount as
the adult without any trouble.
Now that I am able to understand that my future students will not learn the whole idea of a
complex concept unless simplified, I can now focus on the other aspects of teaching language
that I think play a role in learning a language. The first step is to break it down. The next step is
to teach your students in such a way that they do not lack in an area. I like to think of myself as
an Interactionist accepting the views of both nature and nurture, or Empiricism and Nativism. I
think that when it comes to learning language, the environment and the innate abilities one
may possess play a role in learning. It is true that you adapt to the environment you are in and
it also true that while you are in that environment that you can be better at things than the
other people around you. When it comes to learning a language, we must understand that both
play a role and not one way is right. Because I believe that one way of thinking is not good for
learning. I must embody all the ways of thinking in order to help my students be good students.
We see this with the Direct Method in the fact that the teacher mainly focuses on oral
expression of the L2 and no attention is paid to the L1. The opposite of this would be Grammar
Translation where the teacher focuses on reading and writing and not speaking. So in both of
these methods, the student thinks that they are proficient in a language but when they arrive in
the country of their acquired L2, they then see that they lack in a certain area. There have been
countless methods trying to counter one another but still recognizing that the student still lacks
in some area. So when the dust is cleared, you can see that nothing has been accomplished to
help the student not lack in an area but still to only promote a target area in which the last
method lacked. But because of this phenomenon, there is a method that encompasses all

3. methods which is known as the “Post method Perspective.” It means for teachers to apply any
of these methods to certain contexts in which the learner needs it. This method receives
criticismin the fact that it is still a method and because of that, it has limits. But the man who
created it, Kumaravadivelu, suggests that while there are limits to it, they only apply when
using a certain method based on the context it is used in. Because he still thinks that the
methods of the past are good for learners and that there must still be organization in learning. I
agree with this method because it makes sure that your student learns all they need to know
based on what the teacher teaches and its context.
So far, I have talked about making the material taught to your student simple and how to go
about teaching them in such a way that they do not lack in area. The next step I would like to
talk about would be the emotional and motivational factors that play a role in learning.
Vygotsky talks about the Zone of Proximal Development and says that there is a level of actual
development and a zone of potential development based on the problem solving of an adult.
This resonates with me well because as a teacher, I can see a student learning language and
struggling in one area that is preventing them from moving on into the next area. For myself, I
am learning a language that is different from my native language in the fact that its syntax and
form are different. Any adult native speaker of my L2 will tell you that my grammar is not good
and that I should study more. But as an ESL teacher, I hear what they say but see it in a
different way. Based on the ZPD diagram, I now know that I have an opportunity to improve
and increase my profiency level in my L2. This gives me hope and motivates me to want to
study more and impress the adult native speakers who told me to go study more. If this is true
for me when learning a language, I would not be wrong to think the same for others. But of

4. course I do understand that everyone is different as well and that they are not me and that
everyone learns differently. In order for me to motivate my students when they struggle, I must
understand there point of view. If I cannot feel there struggle then I cannot understand them
and help them in the way that they need. For this reason, I am learning a new language and
struggling so that I can be a better teacher to my students who understands what they may or
may not go through. If I can understand just a little bit of what they might experience, then I am
able to help them. I am able to scaffold them and motivate them on an intellectual level and an
emotional level as well. This idea would be what I would call the “Cool Teacher Idea.” This
concept is basic in the fact that if I am a teacher, then I understand my students and can talk to
them on their level even though I am much older than them. This allows me access to motivate
them knowing that they trust my words of encouragement because I understand them from on
their level. This not only will build separate relationships with my students, but will also make
them encouraged to learn despite the complexness of the task.
I have talked about three ways in which I would teach language and they are, making a complex
idea basic enough for a baby to understand, Making sure my students do not lack in an area,
and connecting with them on an emotional level so that I can motivate them. These concepts
are what makes me who I am as a person and as a teacher who wants to see people happy but
also smart and knowledgeable in what they do.