Lawrence

Certified Tutor

The impetus behind every learning experience integrated within my English teaching is a focus upon student-centeredness, content-specificity, and a project-based methodology. I especially enjoy teaching English academic writing to elementary, middle, high school, university and adult students in a wide variety of subject areas. In doing an ongoing needs assessment of each student's learning goals, I continually strive to improve my effectiveness as an educator who integrates the his/her existing cultural framework of reference with that of an American social context so as to bridge the gap between L1 C1 and L2 C2 competencies. In Japan, Qatar, UAE and the US, I have used the most modern instructional technology available in computer-equipped writing labs with course platforms such as Canvas, Moodle, and Blackboard. For the past fifteen years, I have implemented anti-plagiarism software such as Turnitin and Safe-Assign to provide a consistently clear blended learning approach for my students to enhance their paraphrasing skills. My philosophical approach toward teaching English scaffolds a positive educational learning environment which focuses upon: acknowledging student learning style diversity, helping students to transition smoothly from present levels toward future goals and progressing with systematically formative feedback through different levels of proficiency.

As a starting point, I acknowledge student learning style diversity and implement an eclectic teaching style. I enjoy using socio-cultural practices along with meta-cognitive strategies adapted to a wide variety of students in a learner-centered English classroom. The goal of my teaching is to develop students beyond their preferred mode of learning within a social-constructivist context. Through interactive collaborative exercises in analysis, reflection, and problem resolution of social, scientific, humanities, or engineering issues, I believe that academic progress is fostered by offering students challenging tasks within their own zones of proximal development along with teacher mediation. In addition, I believe it is necessary to dynamically and alternatively test what students have or have not yet learned through discussions, presentations, and research papers, so as to revise lessons and qualitative rubrics with the greatest possible focus on strategies and skills leading toward autonomy in critical thinking outside of the classroom. I think it's important to discover what intrinsic motivation, personality factors, learning styles, difficulties, and educational goals my students have in developing their academic English so as to most effectively design lesson plans which meet their needs and raise their levels of proficiency. In all of my current classes, I use instructional and collaborative action research as the basis for innovation to implement aspects of developmental, personality, and cognitive psychology along with critical thinking in lessons that will result in an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for students.

With student success foremost in my mind, my efforts are aimed toward making the tutorial environment a challenging, interesting, creative, and comfortable learning experience. I design a clearly outlined strategic plan integrated within a sound curriculum which provides the framework from which focused lesson plans guide the learner toward achieving course objectives and personal learning goals. These must all conform to appropriately pitched subject matter within the realm of comprehensible input for each student through interactive collaboration to establish harmony in fostering optimal learning gains. To achieve these gains, my lessons are geared toward addressing a broad range of student abilities. In preparing students to take the TOEFL exam during 3 years of teaching in the former Soviet Union and 9 years in Japan, I have implemented a learner-centered needs analysis which identifies proficiency levels. After determining individual fluency-literacy and individual learning style preferences, I have used a prescriptive approach of teaching comprehensible input within EFL composition, discussion, listening comprehension, reading, seminar, presentation, and content-based classes. In each class, I try to tailor effective lesson plans to a diverse range of students at beginning, intermediate, and advanced proficiency levels. Even with the best-designed placement exams, students of varying proficiency levels are mixed within every class, requiring a multi-faceted and flexible approach so as to integrate all students and prepare them to achieve learning objectives.

In addition to being cognizant of proficiency variation among students and adjusting lessons to suit individual needs, I have been strongly motivated to teach in post-conflict societies, such as in Poland, Ukraine, the Middle East, and Kazakhstani Central Asia. Pursuant toward peace, conflict resolution within multi-cultural environments remains an integral part of all my lessons. The group seminar research projects which I have set up in my classes utilize a problem-solution genre to scaffold analysis and innovation in all coursework. This has consistently harnessed the student's intrinsic motivation, providing him/her with a methodological window into practical applications of knowledge with which to rebuild and heal societies that have disintegrated because of war and continued divisions. I utilize the Thomas-Kilmann Indicator as an instrument which analyzes the negative dynamics of conflict and proposes five modalities of competition, avoidance, accommodation, compromise, and collaboration which can be strategically applied to any situation. When students interactively participate in role plays to simulate chosen issues which are relevant to them, they learn how to implement this method, to develop his/her own capabilities and contribute to personal growth in a global context. As a teacher and facilitator in each foreign language tutorial, I also encounter the implicit task of transcending my own culture to learn that of others so as to bridge gaps in our communication and understanding. For me then, it follows that fostering global awareness and multi-cultural respect must be essential educational practices in my ESL classes. As a prelude, I always ask a student on the first day of class to write a little about his/her cultural/linguistic backgrounds, foreign language studies, travels to foreign countries, problems with other cultures, and goals in studying English. These profiles provide valuable insights from which I can then further develop and design lesson plans which teach the subject matter of English in content-based topics pertinent to each individual's needs and interests. As important issues emerge, they can then be analyzed and resolved by studying techniques of conflict resolution which lead toward greater tolerance for and appreciation of diversity.

In sum, my teaching purpose is one of empowering, encouraging, and motivating students who encounter learning and social difficulties which erode their self-confidence and paralyze them from becoming self-actualized. I enjoy serving as a mentor within the context of mediation, to patiently analyze the student's difficulties while helping him/her to develop problem-solving strategies which lead toward greater academic success, intrinsic motivation, and lifelong learning which nurtures inner peace that will be reflected outwardly within and beyond the tutorial session.