1. Min Sun (Aaron)
San Francisco State University
Teaching Philosophy Statement
“I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think” ― Socrates
In China, many teachers like me usually consider themselves as authority in the classroom,
hence, they would lecture and have students listen and take notes, and students should be
respectful and obedient to their teachers. Nevertheless, I believe, teaching is not a one-way street;
it involves communication and interaction between the teacher and students. And it is when
students are engaged in thinking and communicating by using the target language, can they get
the most out of the class. Therefore, I try to engage my students in thinking by embodying the
following elements in my teaching: motivation, student-centeredness, and community building.
First off, I always try to motivate my students to learn English, as I have observed
that only when students have motivation to learn, will they enjoy learning, can they
utilize their potential, and can teaching and learning be effective. For a lot of EFL
students in China, they are unmotivated because they have to learn English in order to
pass different kinds of tests, and classroom instruction is mainly drill and memorization.
However, I would like to try different ways to motivate them. For example, I would
encourage my students to think and articulate their future goals and identify how learning
English can help them achieve these goals, through which they will become aware of the
importance of learning English and be willing to take the initiative and responsibility of
learning for themselves.
I also seek to promote student-centeredness in my classroom,, as I believe that
teachers should engage students in thinking about learning rather stuffing them with
knowledge. In other words, learning happens when students communicate and use the
target language. Thus, I try to make it student-centered and promote communication
between students and the teacher. In China, English classroom is always teacher-centered
because it is assumed that a teacher should “stuff ” knowledge into the students’ brain.
However, through my learning experience in the MA TESOL program and teaching
experience in the U.S., I realized that true education should be learner-centered and
teachers should elicit knowledge from the students, and students should be allowed to
communicate with their classmates and teachers, and express their ideas and perspectives
in class. Therefore, I usually assign group work where students need to either work
together to figure out the answer to a question or discuss a topic. This would empower
them and engage them in the learning process, and allow them to orally communicate and
practice using the language. The group work is usually followed by report or discussion
in which I get to know what they think and provide feedback. By following these steps,
students can discover and learn the knowledge by themselves rather than being a passive
recipient.
Additionally, I strive to create a sense of community in the classroom, because I
believe that it would make my students feel secure and supported by the environment, by
their classmates and me. I know that each student comes from different background, has
different interests, and abilities, and if they can feel a sense of belonging within the

2. classroom and respect each other, they are more likely to feel comfortable participating in
the activities, working in groups, interacting with their classmates and me, and engaging
in learning. In order to achieve that, I would try to help my students get to know each
other through mingling and group work. I would also encourage them to speak up and
listen to their classmates during class discussion. For example, I would use warm-up
activities which allow students to get to talk to each other and know about their
classmates’ background, interests, etc. I would also assign group works and discussion so
that they don’t feel like individuals but working as a team. In addition, I would validate
students’ opinions and give compliment, to ensure they feel heard, validated and
accomplished after participating in the activities.
One thing that I learned from my MA TESOL classes and teaching experience is that
learning is most effective when students are motivated, engaged in activities, and
encouraged to take the ownership of learning, in a safe place. Thus, part of my
responsibility as a teacher is to create such a positive and safe classroom where
everybody is active and engaged in learning. I would take every opportunity to reflect on
my teaching, revise my teaching plan, and keep practicing, in order to enrich my teaching
experience. I would also spend time observing other teachers, communicate with them
about any issues I have with teaching, and continue to study about teaching and second
language acquisition.