Creating an effective learning environment is paramount to the success of my students. This can be accomplished by developing and nurturing rapport between me and my students. Rapport strengthens relationships and ensures communication which is open and genuine. It creates an educational climate which is collaborative, positive and goal oriented, allowing students to face challenges and take risks. It gives them space to explore the foundations of their knowledge and construct new learning.

Rapport requires trust between two people, and is accomplished through empathy, respect and authenticity. In seeing through the eyes of my students, remaining positive and non-judgmental towards them, and being myself in the classroom, I can create an ideal atmosphere for learning. Rapport, however, is not a skill or technique which can be mimicked. Likewise, empathy, respect and authenticity are not gimmicks which I can bring to class with me. These are factors which contribute to every exchange between me and my students. An effective learning environment is hinged on my genuine intentions, and my ability to enter the classroom as a human being – taking the risk to be vulnerable, open and honest.

Like me, my students are also whole, complex human beings who bring many attributes to the classroom, including their own beliefs, assumptions and background knowledge. They are not receptacles who can be filled with knowledge, but intelligent, fully-functioning human beings. When they enter the classroom, they bring their pencils and paper, as well as their intellects, their hopes and fears, their past learning experiences, and everything else which contributes to the experience of life. To recognize this, means to teach to the whole person. It means understanding that learners make sense of the world by intersecting new information with what they already have experienced and know. Every student, however, has different learning needs, and every student speaks from a different perspective, so I must be flexible in my teaching.

One strategy which can aid in achieving this level of flexibility is by effectively utilizing new educational technologies in the classroom. Many of our students are digital natives who already use technology with excellent proficiency. By bringing this technology into a learning environment, I can make content more engaging, motivating, interactive, responsive, and personalized. Technology can give students new opportunities to contribute to their learning in a way that is meaningful to them. Through technology, students can explore topics that they find interesting, connect with peers and experts, and can also become experts themselves.

In the field of English language teaching there are various contexts in which materials and lesson plans need to be tailored to specific needs. In English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in particular, there are relatively clearly defined goals and needs which must be met throughout the course of a semester. By adopting a ‘content based’ approach in the classroom, I am able to meet these needs by integrating the learning of content with language teaching aims. In preparation for academic proficiency, students simultaneously develop their English proficiency while learning subject matter. They use the target language to build background knowledge, and, through critical thinking, make connections and develop concepts.

Although the development of academic English proficiency takes place as a process of the mind, as teachers we can only infer that it has occurred by assessing the products or performances that our students produce. Since content-based instruction (CBI) is multi-faceted, assessment in CBI must be as well. In this, content knowledge and understanding, development and use of content specific vocabulary, and improved English proficiency are assessed through formative and summative evaluations.

I believe that learning is accomplished when people do things for themselves, not when they are told about them. As a teacher, I urge my students to participate in the learning process, while offering information, guidance and support along the way. I cannot learn for my students, and the more I do myself, the less space there is for my students to learn. It is OK for students to make mistakes, to make attempts without success, and to learn from what they have done wrong. Likewise, this is true for me as a learning teacher as well.