Anne Ralston Teaching Philosophy My role as an educator in ESL instruction has much in common with my hobby of traveling.

I had the marvelous opportunity to travel extensively over 3+ years throughout Europe while I completed undergraduate studies in France and Spain. During these travels, the exploration and discovery of differing cultures and languages instilled in me a fascination with the diversity of linguistic systems. Teaching ESL is a continuation of this exploration as I share my knowledge of American English and culture while enriching my cultural explorations through the linguistic diversity of my students. Valuing the tapestry of individual backgrounds and experiences of my students, I encourage them share and to teach me as I teach them. Providing my students with an educational environment that is encouraging and positive as well as upbeat and fun creates an atmosphere of respect and conviviality. In a classroom of multiple nationalities, I strive to build a foundation of respect that fosters genuine interest in our diversity. Having taught in a variety of contexts including a French elementary school, a private, American institute for college-bound adults, a private institute contracting with international businesses to provide intensive training for executives and in a high-school for at-risk youth in urban Chicago all have enriched and helped shape my teaching philosophy. I hope to provide the skills and tools necessary for success and foster the individual talents of each student, be they young or old, giving them the confidence to embrace their dreams and make them a reality. I sincerely hope that my students will look back on their time with me and remember me as a teacher who genuinely cared for their well-being. Experience with the Wilson Language System and its effectiveness in teaching my dyslexic son to read sparked an interest in the cognitive science of reading. This spark lead to my training as a certified Wilson reading tutor. This reading system is based on the OrtonGillingham model of systematic phonics instruction. My research proposal Systematic Phonics Instruction and Adult English Learners proposes an investigation into the effectiveness of explicit phonics instruction as part of a balanced approach to reading instruction for adult ESL learners. In my research paper, The Importance of Phonemic Awareness and Early Reading, I further investigated recent research on the importance of phonemic awareness and reading education. The research clearly demonstrates its effectiveness and beckons further research and implementation to provide more effective, balanced reading instruction for ESL learners. I subsequently chose to develop an ESL reading curriculum that specifically addresses this need in A Balanced Approach to ESL/EFL Reading Instruction. This proposed curriculum proposes a reading course that incorporates the five necessary components required for fluent, efficient reading: vocabulary, comprehension and fluency development as well as phonemic awareness and phonics. My goal is to develop this curriculum further with implementation in an actual classroom. To broaden my horizons a bit, I reviewed the textbook Grammar and Beyond, Level 1 by Randi Reppen. The fact that this series was corpus-based, using every day language, while also focusing on academic writing piqued my interest. I am a firm believer in a strong foundation of

grammar skills and much repetition to develop automaticity of language skills. I was curious to thoroughly examine the lessons of Grammar and Beyond, Level 1 to see how effectively beginning language skills can be taught and how much automaticity can be gained. While I felt the series lacked engaging technological presentations and sufficient fluency drills, the series does an excellent job of balancing language-focused learning with meaning-focused input in an engaging manner. I hope to have the opportunity to work with this series and chose to adapt a unit for application in a classroom. My adaptation of Unit #26 supplements the lacking fluency component with fluency exercises and drills as well as a more upbeat PowerPoint presentation for the units grammar structure. My final project builds on my interest in reading instruction and phonological awareness as well as my prior reading instruction experience. Working with adult learners with beginninglevel reading skills presents challenges and opportunities. A classroom that supports and respects the learner as well as providing a fun and engaging atmosphere promotes a desire to learn. Inspired by the genius of Dr. Seusss writings, students will have the opportunity to build fluency, automatize critical reading skills and build confidence in their speaking, writing and reading skills while having authored their own books. A formidable but obtainable goal for the student entering a beginning-level reading course! My ultimate goal in teaching is to provide requisite knowledge in a caring and supportive environment. I hope to stimulate the natural curiosity of my students and to model my own love of learning and, in doing so, to somehow make a difference in the lives of my students.