Voice, Identity, and Writing
As a composition teacher, I put my pedagogical emphasis on students’ understanding of “selves” within their academic fields. In my basic writing course, I keep asking students their desire and motivation as college students, from which I believe students can have opportunities to think about what they hope to accomplish and/or who they want to be through their college education. In my research writing class, I encourage students to make connections between their significant life experiences and their research topic. This life-research connection can help students realize that their life experiences are meaningful, which can be turned into “researchable topic.” Writing is not only a way to show ones’ inner voices, but also a way for ones to explore their inner selves. I hope students will have opportunities to communicate with themselves through writing assignments offered in my composition courses.
As a teacher in general, I always try to follow what Douglas H. Brown, a well-known TESOL scholar, said in his teaching method book:
Teaching is no easy profession. It requires deep dedication, a willingness to work long hours, a genuine desire to help other people, a commitment sometimes to “walk the second mile” in facilitating students’ best performance, cognizance of a professional core of knowledge, and ability to be “on tap” in front of students many hours in a day, and more. (Brown, 2007, p. 488)
I hope the miles that I walk will contribute to the students in my classrooms no matter what I teach.
Teaching Philosophy Statements
My Teaching Philosophy as a Writing Teacher
My Teaching Philosophy as a Language Teacher
My Teaching Philosophy as a Teacher Educator
My Teaching Philosophy Related to Writing and Technologies
Teaching Materials
Please visit my Teaching Materials page for the handouts and/or PowerPoint slides that I often use in my Rhetoric and Writing classes.
Research Statement
Please visit my Research page for my resarch interests and record.
Jun Akiyoshi 