Teacher of French and German
In my teaching I have always striven to offer pupils a large variety of teaching methods with the hope to reach out to every individual child's own needs and interests. Consequently, I have used a variety of pedagogical approaches, notably ICT, worksheets, group and individual games, speed challenges, Grammar and lexical songs, tasting German and African food, dressing up, acting, visiting the school's farm, and the most rewarding, albeit challenging: the delivery of three self-created History and Science Schemes of Work that I delivered entirely in German across KS3 year groups. I am passionate about the transfer of language skills from teacher to learner.
My philosophy regarding the delivery of Modern Foreign Languages is largely culturally orientated owing to my residency in Senegal. Moreover, as a linguist I place a great focus on language awareness both of the Foreign Language, but importantly, of one's mother tongue. Through teaching several lessons in Dutch, students were required to use skills which they were previously not aware of: it was rewarding to see students using and identifying those abilities which helped them to direct themselves in a completely new language. Moreover, my understanding and approach regarding the teaching of MFL within the National Curriculum is currently very much CLIL and cross-curricular based, something which is largely based on my passion for History. During my PGCE it was evident that pupils enjoyed learning about the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the social and geographical effects of the Berlin Wall through the German language. As a teacher, it was a pleasure to speak with parents and colleagues about my pride regarding pupil achievement, and most importantly, to see pupils grow in belief and confidence at their extraordinary achievements. Of course, there is 'no size fits all', however, teaching through the medium of other subjects gave students who normally 'held-back' in the MFL classroom the chance to draw upon skills learnt in other subjects.
