John's ESL Wiki - home

<h1>John's ESL Wiki</h1>
 <br />
<img id="wikitext@@toc@@normal" class="WikiMedia WikiMediaToc" title="Table of Contents" src="/site/embedthumbnail/toc/normal?w=225&h=100"/><img src="/file/view/indian-summer-classroom_l.jpg/372031360/420x278/indian-summer-classroom_l.jpg" alt="" title="" style="height: 278px; width: 420px;" /><br />
<br />
<h2>My Classroom Philosophy</h2>
 <br />
I believe that the most effective way to learn a language is through complete immersion in that language and the associated culture. Thus, my approach to teaching ESL is a social one that emphasizes English language interaction between students. However, I also recognize that written language is one of the greatest tools that we as humans possess and that many students are visual rather than auditory learners. Therefore, I believe that it’s important not to neglect the written word in favor of a predominantly conversational approach. Students have different needs, language has many aspects, and balance is key. Furthermore, it is essential for students to become intimate with the cultural backdrop that holds sway over this ever-changing language. And though I believe that American culture must come hand-in-hand with English language learning, it is also true that the U.S. is a nation that celebrates diversity in the meeting of many cultures, as will I in my classroom. My role as a teacher is to guide my students through the new environment of the English language and to instill in them not only the knowledge necessary to utilize English as a communicative tool inside and outside the classroom, but also an appreciation of the language as a means of personal expression. Also, it is vital for students to have a desire to learn the language, and therefore the learning process must be enjoyable. Finally, I believe that it is the responsibility of teachers in the twenty-first century to take full advantage of new technologies in the classroom in order to provide students with the skills they’ll need to thrive in this evolving world.<br />
<br />
<h2>My Academic Interests</h2>
 <ul><li>English Language</li><li>Foreign Languages<ul><li>Languages I've studied:<ul><li>Spanish</li><li>Italian</li><li>German</li><li>French</li></ul></li></ul></li><li>Linguistic Theory<ul><li>Morphology</li><li>Semantics</li></ul></li><li>Linguistic Anthropology</li><li>Literature and Creative Writing</li><li>Education</li></ul><br />
<h2>ESL Websites</h2>
 <ol><li><a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://eslus.com/eslcenter.htm" rel="nofollow">http://eslus.com/eslcenter.htm</a></li><li><a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.eslcafe.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eslcafe.com/</a></li><li><a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.eslpartyland.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eslpartyland.com/</a></li><li><a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://esl.about.com/" rel="nofollow">http://esl.about.com/</a></li><li><a class="wiki_link_ext" href="http://www.eslflow.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.eslflow.com/</a></li></ol><h2> </h2>
 <h2>Extras</h2>
 <h3>Education Week RSS Feed</h3>
<img src="https://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/rss/http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2FEducationWeekEnglishlanguagelearners" class="WikiMedia WikiMediaRss" id="wikitext@@rss@@url=&quot;http://feeds.feedburner.com/EducationWeekEnglishlanguagelearners&quot; link=&quot;true&quot; number=&quot;10&quot;" title="RSS Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/EducationWeekEnglishlanguagelearners" />
<br />
<br />
<h3>Plight of the ESL Teacher</h3>
 <br />
<img src="https://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/youtube/uvpikUEIaLI?h=315&w=420" class="WikiMedia WikiMediaYoutube" id="wikitext@@media@@type=&quot;youtube&quot; key=&quot;uvpikUEIaLI&quot; height=&quot;315&quot; width=&quot;420&quot;" title="YouTube Video"height="315" width="420"/><br />
<br />
<h3>My Final Project Proposal</h3>
 <br />
<img src="https://www.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/file/ed%26comp%20final%20project%20proposal.docx?h=52&w=320" class="WikiFile" id="wikitext@@file@@ed&amp;comp final project proposal.docx" title="File: ed&amp;comp final project proposal.docx" width="320" height="52" />