Andrea's Portfolio

A High School German Teacher?

As a high school student, I enjoyed volunteering in my former third grade teacher’s classroom on a weekly basis. It was in high school that I also began my formal study of German, something I had been excited for since I was just six years old. It was during my sophomore year of high school that I had the idea to teach the third graders a little bit of German. I had always wished I learned more German as a young child, as I know that children pick up a second language much quicker than adults. After talking with my former third grade teacher, she agreed to help me make my idea to teach elementary students German a reality. For half an hour once a week, I would teach her third grade class (which happened to include my younger sister) introductory German. I ran this program throughout my high school career, and continued it at two other elementary schools in my area while I attended the University of San Diego (USD) to pursue a degree in teaching.

During my junior year at USD, I connected with a German professor who was teaching German with a group of German students at her child’s elementary school. She recruited me to help her run the program and write formal lessons for the student teachers. This would be part of an independent study program to finish up my German minor at USD. My experience teaching at my former elementary school was a perfect fit. Not only did I help her run this program at her child’s school, I also brought the program to the elementary school where I completed my student teaching.

Independent Study in Lesson Design

The lessons you see with this reflection are part of the unit I created for my independent study program at USD as I was finishing up my German minor and preparing to become an elementary teacher. Prior to writing the unit, a local journalist wrote a newspaper article about the classes I was teaching written for our city newspaper, The San Diego Union Tribune. You can access both of these in the links above.

I included the instructional unit for several reasons. It is important to show my progression in lesson design as well as my ability to write lessons as a pre-service teacher. Prior to becoming a teacher, I knew I had to make lessons engaging and interactive in order to engage students, something I still continue to this day.

Teaching German to elementary students was an important stepping stone in my decision to live abroad and teach as it gave me the confidence to teach in a foreign language and to live in another country. My German heritage is an important part of who I am, and I maintain close ties with my family that still resides in Germany. I travel back to Germany every few years to keep those ties strong, and, of course, to practice my German. My love of the German language, my heritage, learning, and traveling all influenced my decision to live abroad. Living and teaching in Germany has been one of the most positive, influential experiences of my personal and professional career. It was a crucial step in gaining independence and confidence as a classroom teacher.  

Learning German Through Song and Dance

In the lessons throughout this unit, students were actively engaged through song, dance or games. Students loved coming to German class, because they were playing while they learned. I still maintain a belief in active engagement, and have found many students today do not move enough. Rarely in my class, both when I taught the German classes and today, will you find students sitting for a long period of time. Two of the favorite activities from the German unit were learning the body parts, or Korperteile, and learning the song “Heute gehen wir auf Barenjagd” (Today we’re going on a bear hunt). They were favorites because of the singing and acting out, which also aided in solidifying the new words they learned.

Transforming Deer Canyon Deutsch

Teaching German to elementary students helped solidify my decision to become a teacher, as it was something I was unsure about upon entering college. It goes without saying that there would be several changes I would make to this unit today if I were to teach it again. We have access to so many new language learning tools and technology that could extend student learning in ways we couldn’t before. DuoLingo is a great online language learning tool that I would incorporate for individualized learning into the lessons. Digitally gamifying the lessons by using tools such as Kahoot! would help increase engagement for today’s digital citizens. However, even with the evolution of tools, there are still several components I would keep without modifying. The songs and games are student favorites, and would definitely remain integral to the unit.

This unit was originally geared for elementary students grades three and below; some modification to the lessons would be required in order to maintain engagement for upper elementary students. For instance, some of the songs are appropriate for younger students; however, would not be well-received by the older crowd without some updating.

Using My Skills Abroad

Teaching German to elementary students helped give me perspective when I taught abroad at a German international school, as all of the students I taught were learning at least one second language, whether it was German, English, or a variety of other languages. Having taught students a second language helped me understand some of the struggles students go through when learning a new language, and I felt equipped to assist them. I am confident that this experience will continue to help me when I teach abroad in the future.