My Teaching Philosophy

When I see people attempting to use American Sign Language in public places, they are unaware of how much they inspire me. That's why I enjoy teaching ASL. I invest a lot of energy into my teaching beginning on day one.

"The Art of Teaching is the Art of Assisting Discovery." -- Mark Van Doren

I welcome you to my teaching philosophy and classroom vision. My students are exposed to an organic, natural experience in my classroom. I use the Natural Approach for beginner students, which consists of natural daily conversations and hands-on activities focusing on movement that evoke a Total Physical Response. The goal is to help students to immerse in a new language in natural ways. This approach helps students reduce anxiety in the classroom by increasing their confidence. The theorist Stephen Krashen suggests that "input+1" will raise the students' motivation and prepare them for the next challenge. Lastly, I use the Community Language Learning approach to expose students to Deaf culture. This adds a new awareness of ASL and its role in the Deaf community and increases students' language competence in the real world. I teach ASL as whole language and cultural experience.

References:

Brown, H. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. White Plains, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

Richards, J. & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge , NY: Cambridge University Press.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ASL

[vadimsf]

ha! you have cute models! where do you get 'em for your demo ;-)

[OccupyNAD]

in reality, 99% hearing women in ASL class. why? (wondered) Love your NEW ASL for "Philosophy" Borrow from Swedish Sign Language?! lol... although I love it!

[saphira1015]

... so cool and inspiring!!! : )

[live4yorkies]

great video except that I don't like the way you fingerspell your E.

[TheBlueJason]

Hey Ben,

It is great video. I post it on my facebook! Thanks for sharing! :)

[Joyoftea]

Ur ASL works always inspire me. Make more and more, so I can use for my ASLL1 instruction. xo

[woofiegrrl]

Great video Ben! Now I am even more excited and hopeful to get the job in Japan! :)

[edtheglobetrotta]

Love your philosophy!!! Can I join your ASL class? LOL