"Candidates demonstrate an understanding of language as a system and demonstrate a high level of competence in helping ESOL students acquire and use English in listening, speaking, reading, and writing for social and academic purposes." --- (TESOL, 2000)

I have studied languages in many different ways.  I have analyzed and discussed them in the  linguistics courses and pedagogical grammar courses I took for my M.A.  I have studied them as a language learner in classrooms.  I have struggled to acquire them in various immersion situations such as home stays.  And, I have learned a lot about them from trying to help others learn.  All of these experiences with language have helped me to understand language as a system, and understanding language as a system has been essential to teaching it.

Having direct experience with many of the world's languages has proven very useful to me as a teacher.  For example, my experience with language has helped me to learn what the differences are between my students' first languages and their target language, English.  When helping learners I often know what the cognates are between their first language and English and I even know how those cognates are pronounced differently and when those cognates have subtle differences in meaning or usage.  Moreover, I know how to use this knowledge when teaching.  Experience with languages has also helped me to know that languages can differ greatly in what they consider to be "good" writing based on rhetorical structures and writing conventions, and I know how this can sometimes cause learners who are skilled writers in their first language to have difficulties learning English composition, rhetoric, and conventions.  Moreover, I know how to explain these differences so they can understand them and accept them. 

Having direct experience as a language learner has also helped me to become a better teacher.  I know that languages are developed in stages, and I know that a learner sometimes won't be able to fully grasp a form until they are ready.  I know that learning a target form often requires that one has already learned some other prerequisite forms.  I know that actually acquiring a form takes a long time and requires that one be given opportunities to experience that form and experiment with that form in a variety of meaningful contexts.  Moreover, I know that knowing about a form often is not enough for using it without error.  Language learners will still make errors with a form despite having studied it a great deal.  Being a language learner has been very enlightening for me as a language teacher.

"Candidates understand and apply concepts, theories, research, and practice to facilitate the acquisition of a primary and a new language in and out of classroom settings." --- (TESOL, 2000)

Over the last ten years as a teacher and learner of languages, I have become very confident in my knowledge of SLA theory and how it relates to practice.

My first experiences with SLA were direct experiences as a language learner.  Since I started my career as an untrained teacher, I did not have the benefit of having studied SLA theory in any program, but I did have the benefit of experiencing language learning firsthand.  In my life, I have tired to learn German, Chinese, Korean, Thai, and Nepalese.  Having been unsuccessful at most of my attempts and having struggled for many years to learn enough Korean just to carry on a conversation, I know how hard it is to learn a second language.  I know that it takes a lot of concentration, time, and energy.  Having studied both independently and in classrooms, I know what works for me and what doesn't work.  Moreover, I know how it feels.  Experiencing language learning has given me insight into the process which I must facilitate when I teach.

Other experiences with second language acquisition came from watching people struggle to learn my language.  Some of these people where strangers, but some of them were people very dear to me---my own wife for example.  Watching them has made me more sensitive.  They are not strangers and I cannot look down on them or relate without some sympathy for their frustration.  Being with them has sensitized me, and this sensitivity is very important for language teaching.

After working and living overseas for a few years, I eventually returned to do an Ed.M.A. in TESOL.  It was there that I got my first formal study of SLA theory and TESOL practices.  I loved it and I did very well in the program.  For our projects, we not only studied SLA in books, but we also did actual research on SLA and analyzed as well as developed activities for instruction.  Besides that, I also chose to do a masters thesis.  In my thesis research I used a wide variety of data collection methods to better understand the effects of my own teaching practices on my students' language acquisition.  It was very helpful to learn how they viewed my instructional practices and how they each reacted differently to them.  Researching the effects of my own teaching practices was a wonderful growing experience for me.  I learned a lot from being able to combine teaching with research and study.

Upon the completion of my Ed.MA in TESOL, I was fortunate enough to have the ultimate reinforcement of my learning; I was able to pass my learning on to others.  For the two years after I finished my Ed.M.A. I worked for the SMU TESOL Program in Seoul, South Korea as an instructor of Second Language Acquisition for EFL Teachers.  This program trains Korean non-native speakers of English to teach English as a foreign language using modern methods.  The program was designed and administered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and shares credits with that and many other universities worldwide.  Teaching SLA helped me to understand SLA much better, particularly when I tried to relate it to the EFL teaching practices we were promoting and the language acquisition process I was experiencing while learning Korean as a second language.   Furthermore, I learned about SLA from designing my own materials to teach SLA to non-native speakers in the Korean EFL context and maintaining a discussion board for the students to use for negotiating the meaning of those materials.  Teaching others about the theory and practice of modern language teaching really helped me become more confident in my knowledge of the subject matter.  Because this knowledge is so much a part of me, I try to find ways to apply it when I am teaching. 

Since returning home and becoming a public school ESOL teacher I have done a lot to maintain and build my knowledge of SLA theory and practice.  I have maintained membership in both local and international chapters of TESOL.  I have attended meetings and conferences.  I have continued to subscribe to and read periodicals such as the TESOL Quarterly and the TESOL Journal.  I have expanded my knowledge of practices such as Cooperative Learning and the Situational Reinforcement method.  And, most recently, I have returned to college to take more classes for Maryland Certification.  I never stop developing myself. 

I will continue to develop my knowledge of language acquisition and development.  I will spend two months this summer in Korea, only speaking Korean---in total immersion.  I will reflect on my own language learning and classroom experiences.  I will research, write, and publish.  And, I will eventually pursue my Ph.D in Applied Linguistics.

I have a very strong, demonstrated commitment to pursuing a better understanding of the learning process my job revolves around.  I know that my job is to facilitate this process, and that in order to facilitate it I have to understand it.