Hi everyone!
My name is Christine Arwakhi, but you can call me Tina. I am a Bilingual education major with a TESOL minor and Spanish minor. The context in which I would like to teach and live in is in an urban neighborhood, most likely Pilsen, a Mexican-American neighborhood. This would be a great place for me because I absolutely love students from diverse backgrounds and am very interested in learning about their cultures as well as their beliefs, morals, etc. At Illinois State, there is a program called PDS (Professional Development Schools) where the student takes certain classes at a nearby university in a certain neighborhood, and then student teaches in that same neighborhood the following semester. I am very interested in this program and hope to be accepted in the PDS program. For anyone who would like more information about this program, go to the PDS showcase in DeGarmo 551 on Thursday, September 9 from 10am-5pm. =)
I believe that it is very important to be knowledgeable about TESOL issues because as a I bilingual educator I should be aware of what is going on in this field. The most important is how to teach schooling in the US, because in many others countries schooling is totally different. I also believe that appropriate assessment for English language learners is key so that our learners improve in their literacy skills in English but at the same time preserve their native culture and speaking. My goals as a language educator are to do all these things, as well as establishing a comfortable environment, assessing my learners through both content and language proficiency.
