Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Portugal, Jose Alberto

Area of Concentration

Spanish Language and Culture

Abstract

This thesis examines second language teaching methods and practice in a focused manner. I aim to illustrate how I developed as a teacher as a consequence of the combination of academic study of pedagogy, classroom experience and reflection. Teaching requires an understanding of the available methods and techniques in addition to continual research into trends in the field. The first part of this thesis represents my own research in this direction and aims to provide other pre-service language teachers with a historical understanding of methods from which to begin their own research and teaching. In the second part of the thesis I state my teaching philosophy as a Spanish language teacher, which represents my goals in future teaching endeavors. I find that a focus on creating community by building strong individual relationships with and among students and paying constant attention to student motivation are essential in any learning environment. In the Spanish language classroom, using the target language to communicate fosters language acquisition. Finally, I present and analyze the experiences I have had as a Spanish Teaching Assistant at New College of Florida and counselor at Concordia Language Villages’ Spanish immersion summer camp through the lens of both teaching practice and research. This work represents on the one had my own journey as a language teacher and on the other hand wishes to be a resource for other beginning language teachers from which to shape their own individual philosophy, methods, and academic interests.

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