home

I am writing this portfolio as a requirement for the Technology class I am taking at West Chester University. I will be able to see the progress I made in this technological journey I started when I enrolled in this course. I want to be able to use as much technology as I can to enhance my teaching. I have been integrating technology into my classes throughout the years. The problem is that technology advances at such a fast pace that I feel I have miles to catch up in very little time! Still, I am trying hard to use different tools and programs in order to integrate them into my teaching.

I am a native Spanish speaker. I have been teaching Spanish for more than 12 years. I have taught Pre-K 3 to 8th grade and I would like to teach High School in the future. I moved to Pennsylvania 11 years ago and I started working at a Quaker School as the Lower School Spanish teacher (Pre-K 3 to 2nd grade). Last year I was appointed the new 4th - 8th grade Spanish teacher. I really enjoy working with Middle School students. It is fun to interact with them and help them learn a second language. I like the fact that we have small groups at my school because I get to know each of my students very well. I have a lot of freedom creating the curriculum for my classes. Values and conflict resolution are important factors in our curriculum as well as community service. Last year I asked my school's Principal if I could take all of my groups to the Computer Lab once per week. She loved the idea and I have been doing this ever since. During our time at the Lab my students get to interact with different websites in Spanish. I also asked my school to pay for my membership at Quia. This website is a very good tool for learners of world languages. I like creating my own games, quizzes, and tests. My students enjoy "playing" with the games while at the same time they are reinforcing what they learn in class. I also like to use the SmartBoard, a very practical teaching tool. My students watch instructional videos, listen to music and at times sing along reading the lyrics.

At times it has been difficult managing work, studying, I'm currently taking two courses at WCU, and raising my three children. Now that two of them have graduated from college, and my youngest one has started High School, I am finding time to think a little more about myself. I am working hard on my professional development and hopefully my teaching will be greatly improved.

My Teaching Philosophy During the last years, there has been an increasing demand for Spanish in many school districts. So much, that in some schools, traditional languages are being been replaced by Spanish. Therefore they have added more classes, and hired more teachers to respond to the student’s preferences in foreign languages. This shows, that politics aside, there is a great need for Spanish Teachers. Consequently, this also requires from me to keep learning new methods and theories, to improve my teaching style so that I can help my students to achieve their goal of learning a second language. As a Teacher, there is so much to learn in Education, and in Foreign Languages, that at times it is hard to decide what book to read, conference to attend or technology to apply. I am constantly asking myself: Am I doing enough? Are my activities interesting and/or challenging? Is my Teacher Talk on target? There is such a large amount of methods, materials, websites, to use that at times I am just overwhelmed and I end up doing the same things and later regretting it. Still, there is one thing that I have done throughout my years of teaching and I will continue doing. Ever since I started teaching at a large bilingual Prep School in Mexico City, catering to the children of Ambassadors and CEO’s of large international companies, and at Media-Providence Friends School, a Quaker school with about 150 students, I have always shared my pride in my Hispanic heritage. Whether it is Day of the Dead and my students assemble the altar to honor a famous person known by children like: Dr. Seuss or Steve Hunter, the Crocodile Hunter, to creating a traditional Christmas piñata with my students, to cooking quesadillas or baking a Three Kings Day ring with the hidden little baby for someone to find. I try to incorporate into my lessons, many aspects of the Hispanic culture for my students to absorb and enjoy while learning Spanish. I think this is very important because they are getting the information from someone who was born in a Hispanic country. Whether life takes my students to other countries, or if they always stay in the same city, I try to give them a glimpse of a culture that has such a rich history, amazing artcrafts, beautiful traditions, and colorful people, that they can say: “I not only speak Spanish, I also know the culture of different Hispanic countries.” I like to distance myself from all the controversy around bilingualism, official languages and Immigration. In my opinion, these are issues that will always generate polemics, and I am beyond that. My interest is in Teaching Spanish to the students who want to learn it, and to be a bridge from my students’ culture to the Hispanic one, to help them make connections that will let them discover so many other aspects of this world in which we live. I believe learning takes place when the curriculum is relevant to the students’ lives and experiences, the material is interesting and helps them organize new information, the teacher’s input (teacher talk) is on target to the level of Spanish of the students, the students are motivated to learn a second language, and they are given plenty of opportunities to practice it. I like to take into account my students’ learning styles to enrich their learning of Spanish. I like to have kinesthetic activities in my lessons. Listening to authentic music and songs for their Musical intelligence, allows them to hear different accents and intonations in Spanish. It is a fun way to memorize words because of the rhythm involved. Music is the perfect companion to dance, and I like teaching them simple choreographies that get them moving and singing enthusiastically for their Spatial intelligence.Visual elements are everywhere in my classroom. I created a "Tienda” (small grocery store) in my classroom where I showcase a wide array of Hispanic products that my students can "buy or sell". There are real ads of groceries on the doors. They all take turns to be the buyer or the seller (with the apron) behind the counter. Using greetings and basic conversation skills, they have engaged in varied unscripted dialogues to acquire the merchandise of their choice. Sometimes, the students only use the ads to engage in Math activities that have to do with specific lists of products they have to buy. They have also learned that countries have different currencies, that is why they see different prices compared to what they pay here. Overall I think this was a good accomplishment of mine when I created this concept several years ago. I like to make learning, a fun activity, that is why I like to include the fun factor into my teaching. I like to play games during the last 10 minutes of class like Bingo with different themes, Memory games, Simon says, Basta!, etc. Regardless of what I do, there is always room for improvement of my teaching. There are many things that I have to do or change to be a better Spanish Teacher. I have high expectations of each of my students. I have the obligation to have their needs and preferences in mind. I have to be aware at all times of my students’ backgrounds and to show respect for their culture. I am a very expressive person, so I use my body language to stress something that I want to say. On the other hand, I have to provide opportunities for my students to generate output, since this is the way they can practice their second language and self-correct. I have to keep in mind that I am not only a Teacher but a model in some way. I am a linguistic model when I speak and my students listen. My intentions for the school year 2009-2010 are to implement changes in several areas of my Teaching. The majority of my Unit plans have to be student centered. These plans should be concentrated around the 5 C’s of Foreign Language Standards: Communication, Comparisons, Communities, Connections, and Culture. Since I want my students to acquire a specific objective, I have to present it in context, applicable to the real world so that they can integrate it to their past knowledge and use it accordingly while reading, writing, speaking and listening in Spanish. I have to present my students with a second language that is comprehensible and challenging. Of great importance is also to consider the emotional factor in the lives of my students. Being aware of how concentrated or stressed out they seem to be with respect to Spanish, I can help them overcome some of the obstacles in my classroom. I have to integrate more technology into my class so that my students can benefit of all kinds of experiences in their foreign language learning. Another accomplishment of mine was taking all of my groups, 3rd. grade to 8th grade, to the Computer Lab once per week. This is a great opportunity for them to practice what they have learned in many different interactive websites. I will try to improve my assessment methods so that they will reflect more accurately what my students have learned and where do they need extra help. I have to use all kinds of materials and tools to help my students in their learning. It is very important to provide them with different kinds of organizers, so that they can work with all the information they are getting and process it accordingly. I have to continue working to keep my students motivated in their learning of Spanish. Observing colleagues, going to workshops and conferences organized by Language Associations such as ACTFL, continue taking classes, and more. I have to continue adapting, changing, implementing new methodologies and technologies, ideas, and theories. I believe that the more variety I offer, the more interested my students will be in learning Spanish. I enjoy when students enter my classroom or see me around the school, and spontaneously start a basic conversation with me.Being awar that these young children are understanding a story, is one of the best rewards I can have. I enjoy to hear their laufhter during a funny situation, and to see their gestures of sadness or worry because of a specific moment in a story. It is during these moments that I think "They are learning, they are understanding." and I love this feeling. It is at this moment when I think, I love being a Spanish Teacher. This is a great time to be one!