Observation of Teaching English. Language Learning and Teaching Autobiography - Essay Example

We have been categorized as a bilingual country, were residents speak both Arabic and English. However, majority of the people predominantly use Arabic in daily conversations, and see the need to speak in English only when communicating with non-Arabic citizens. I have dreamed of studying abroad, particularly in the United States, to pursue higher education. Early in life, therefore, I was already immensely interested in English, not only as a second language, but as a future career. I therefore pursued a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Jeddah Teachers' College in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

I remembered vividly the courses taken during my bachelor degree that included: Applied Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, General Teaching Methods, Trends in Language Teaching, Psychological Linguistics, Education Technology, Educational Psychology, Educational Evaluation, and School Management. I graduated in 2006 and became an enthusiastic English teacher for 3 years; all have been in middle school. I am currently on my Master’s Degree level in the USA; where I have taken the following courses so far in my first year in the program: Introduction to TESOL, TESL/TEFL Methodology, American English Grammar, Materials and Media, Cross-Cultural Communication, and Introduction to Research in TESOL.

My goals in completing the program are as follows: To become an effective language learner and educator and thereby, enable me to share best teaching practices in teaching English as a second language; To be a valuable contributor through communicating my knowledge, abilities, and skills gained through the course: either through verbal means or through writing; To discern particular factors in the learning environment that would facilitate exchange of knowledge between teachers and students and therefore enhance instructional approaches in TESOL; To leave a lasting contribution in the field of TESOL by sharing relevant experiences through the journey in language learning and teaching.

I recognized, that as early as 2006, students in Saudi Arabia have increasingly acknowledged that speaking in English is trendy. Checking on this trend in the current papers, I found out from Al Arabiya News (2011) that “a new growing trend among Saudi youth is to speak English to one another, in aim to look trendy, modern and professional” (par. 1). I do not want my students to learn English only to be trendy. I want my students to realize that English, as a second language, is immensely beneficial due to learning the beauty of the language, per se; as well as the different literary elements and styles that make one an effective communicator, negotiator, educator, and also a continuous