Final Reflection When I registered for this course, my intent was to gain the knowledge and skills to become

a better candidate for TEFL positions. Coming from a background in anthropology, I had no formal education in teaching prior to this course. As a teacher at a daycare, I have had the opportunity to see how young children learn, as well as follow designed lesson plans, but have had little training in specifically teaching English and no formal training to teach older students. I believe the learning opportunities provided in this course helped shaped me as a teacher and have better prepared me for the EFL teaching context. In this course, I found footholds in educational theory and practical methods that I previously had no knowledge of. For example, communicative language teaching is a method that I strongly associate with, and will include in future teaching contexts. Similarly, the concept of Funds of Knowledge is one that I will take with me into future classrooms, because based upon the evidence we were provided with, it seems to be a great way of building on student background knowledge and stirring interest in topics. I have more to learn about teaching English, but feel I have developed a concrete foundation that I will be able to build from. The basics we learned (such as how to develop a SIOP and how to better ensure student learning) are concepts that I will be able to use during my first teaching position abroad. From here, I hope to refine my lesson planning skills and develop an arsenal of personal teaching materials that I will be able to use in future situations. The e-portfolio assignment was a good way for me to begin culminating this information into one useful, easy to navigate space. I hope to continue to build this portfolio so I can use it not only for personal reference, but also as an aid in finding teaching jobs.

Kimberly Guppy ~ Final Reflection ~ CT 820 ~ Fall 2012