Exploring my teaching beliefs

a) Beliefs and assumptions about language learning and language teaching based on my English language development and teaching career

1. A Teacher should be a skillful and active Professional

“For me to be a teacher is a demanding job which requires a lot of abilities from the person who is going to carry it out. Besides, he/she must take risks all the time in different ways in a context which may not be easy to handle. This person must be prepared all the time with different tools when facing his/her lessons because every one of them is a different landscape with its own threats” (visual metaphor)

“Through the different courses I took in this undergraduate program at Surcolombiana University, a new perception of what being a teacher came to me. From that point I could understand that being a teacher was more than teach a specific subject” (autobiography)

“In order to accomplish this goal, I think the use of different materials like a video projector; computer, pictures and videos helped a lot to get students motivated and engaged with the topic” (Journal entry 1)

“So, I decided to change the activity at that moment in order to not to let the activity fails. I create a competition where groups of students had to run to the board, see a picture and write one description of the cartoon. Then, the group with the most correct sentences would win the competition” (journal entry 3)

“Through this art, teachers can related all kind of knowledge, practices and situations where humans being are involved in. in this way the scope of this profession gets bigger and gives the teachers the freedom to play with language in order to teach and show the world with the aim of using the language correctly” (journal entry 4)

2. Teaching is a reflective process.

“teachers have to bear in mind that this path is no longer easy in a world of unexpected changes and unseen endings which may not necessarily mean bad things all the time” (visual metaphor)

“after reflecting on this process now I recognize that being a teacher represents a lot of difficulties but at the same time gives the opportunity to grow as a human being through the reflection you are forced to do every single day from place of work” (autobiography)

“I think the best parts of my lesson were the anticipatory set and the activity to activate previous knowledge were good because they were carry out through electronic devices and these mechanisms increase students motivation and interaction” (Journal entry 1)

“Finally, I reflected on what I must do when something similar happen again. I came to the conclusion that simple warm activities which English lessons offer are quite enough catching students’ attention” (journal entry 2)

“Finally, after reflecting on what happened in that lesson, I came to the conclusion that if I were to teach this lesson again, I would probably bear in mind that many children are kinesthetic and also they like to move a lot” (journal entry 3)

3. Language teaching has to be based-content

“This is said because through this art, teachers can relate all kind of knowledge, practices and situations where humans being are involved in” (beliefs about language teaching)

“This is said because any real learning requires the interaction with the context and other people in order to validate that experience” (beliefs about learning)

“It is a language which represents a culture, a way of life, thinking and acting from a specific group of people” (beliefs about English)

4. English learning is an interactive process.

“The lesson allowed students to talk, had fun with the description of different people and shared information with the teacher” (journal entry 1)

“Many children are kinesthetic and also they like to move a lot. So, TPR activities are always good strategies to include in our lesson in order to motivate and engage students with our teaching objectives” (journal entry 3)

“Any real learning requires the interaction with the context and other people in order to validate that experience” (beliefs about learning)

b) Sources of my beliefs and assumptions

First of all I think the main source for creating my beliefs and assumptions is my own experiences. Though my personal, academic and professional experiences with different people and contexts I have had the opportunity to build some specific point of view about my teaching practices and the way I see learning along with students and education as an emancipatory process for shaping society. Besides, due to the fact that I have had the opportunity to work in different places with different kind of students, these processes have pushed me to open my eyes and learn what I can offer as teacher to my students depending on my students’ needs and my personal abilities. That is why experience is a very important source of information and learning process in my professional life.

Also, theory is another key component of sources of learning. Theory has represented a way to validate or confirm some personal experiences based on other people’s thoughts, actions and practices. As a result, I can rely on other people’s experiences which have been proved to be meaningful in the teaching and learning process. Moreover, theory has helped as a starting point of underrating a specific situation when my own personal experience is not enough.

Finally, the interaction with colleges is another key element for my professional growth as a teacher. Sharing experiences or observing some other teachers’ practices and beliefs have also helped me to create and validate my views about teaching and learning. This process of sharing ideas and experiences with our peers leads us to confront what we take for granted sometimes and reshape or validate our assumptions.

c) How would you challenge some of those beliefs?

I believe every single day in this profession we carry out we challenge our beliefs. This is said because every group is a different world we have to face and understand as teachers. Besides, every student in these groups has their own worlds with their own problems and aspirations. In this way, to stick to one way of thinking about how to do or apply our profession is quite impossible to my personal point of view. We always need to be opened minded to these worlds which may affect our beliefs and way to see the world.