An Interview with Claudia Elliott, 2022 SCOLT Teacher of the Year Q.
Tell us a little bit about your background as a world language (WL) teacher.
with the language and the culture. I love to hear them singing in Spanish, eating arepas, and talking about doing Spanish as either a major or a minor in college. This year I have at least 10 students who are going to continue with their Spanish in college. That part is by far the most rewarding one. I believe the work we do is hard but is also very important.
Q.
What advice would you give to new people coming into the WL teaching profession?
A.
I would give two pieces of advice. The first one is to connect with other World Language teachers. I didn’t do that at the beginning, and I regret it. I believe we grow the most when we engage in conversations with other teachers. We reflect on our practice, learn different strategies, and share our challenges. When you feel supported by a like minded group of teachers, your job is a little bit easier. The second is to connect with your students. That’s something that I did since day one and it served me very well. Our classes are very different and the unknown factor is huge. Students be more willing to take risks in your class if Q. In your opinion, what is the most challenging will they feel safe. There is also a big trust factor. When aspect of being a WL teacher today? we ask students to say something they aren’t sure how to pronounce or answer a question they don’t A. There are so many and so big. For instance, totally understand, they need to be able to trust us. I there is a lack of understanding and support to World spend at least 5 to 10 minutes of every class building Language programs in a lot of States, counties, and connections and a safe and caring culture in my schools. We have incredibly big classes with little class. That has allowed me to try so many different resources and little time. Often, our resources are activities, to fail, to try again, and to grow. selected by people that don’t understand language acquisition. Most World Language teachers have to pay out of pocket for training and resources for their classes. Also, there are communities that don’t value multiculturalism and multilingual education, and therefore a lot of our learners don’t come to class with the motivation. World Language teachers have to cultivate that motivation while trying to stay in the target language to support language proficiency and cultural competence. It’s a very hard task.
A.
I started teaching Spanish in 2004. I have taught mostly all the levels but right now I’m teaching Spanish 1, Spanish 3 IB and AP Spanish Language and Culture. I didn’t go to college to be a teacher. I went to Law School in Colombia, and I got my Master’s Degree in International Business Law at American University. I practiced law in Colombia until I moved to the United States. Then, destiny put me in a classroom and there my teaching career began.
Q.
What is the most rewarding part of your job as a WL teacher?
A. For me it’s the transformation I see in my
students. I usually meet my students in 9th grade, and then I have them again as juniors. They come to me mostly with no Spanish and no cultural competence in 9th grade. By the time they finish junior year, some of them have totally fallen in love 10
