SCOLT Teacher of the Year Interview

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.

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. In your opinion, what is the most challenging aspect of being a WL teacher today?

A. There are so many and so big. For instance, there is a lack of understanding and support to World Language programs in a lot of States, counties, and schools. We have incredibly big classes with little resources and little time. Often, our resources are 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.

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 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 will be more willing to take risks in your class if they feel safe. There is also a big trust factor. When we ask students to say something they aren’t sure how to pronounce or answer a question they don’t totally understand, they need to be able to trust us. I spend at least 5 to 10 minutes of every class building connections and a safe and caring culture in my class. That has allowed me to try so many different activities, to fail, to try again, and to grow.

Q. How do you motivate students to learn language?

A. It depends on the student. There are going to be students who are motivated intrinsically. You don’t need to do much. However, there are other students that before they come into your class they already decided that they are bad at the language and that learning a language is not worth it. First, I remind myself that it’s not personal. It’s not about me. Then, I focus on creating experiences in the class where students feel competent. Once they realize they can understand a class in Spanish, and they can even start saying things in Spanish in the first or second week of class, their motivations increase. Once they feel competent, I’m very intentional about providing content that is culturally rich and that connects with them. I believe you cannot love what you don’t know. Our classes are more than teaching words. The heart of our classes is on the people who speak that language. When students learn about them, their products, practices and perspectives, motivation will rise. Also, when they see themselves in our curriculum, they connect and they engage so much more. Our students bring a lot to our classes. We just need to tap on those interests and experiences to make them part of our classes. I’ve found that when I intentionally do that, my students want to be in my class. They feel that the class belongs to them.

Q. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

A. I just want to say that we should try to celebrate our work more often even when we think we’re not doing a great job. I believe that even in our bad days, we’re still impacting students because we truly care about them. A few years ago one of my former students knocked on my door. He was not a fan of my class and we just had so many instances where he would tell me he didn’t care about Spanish or the class. It wasn’t great, and I wasn’t the best. When I opened the door, he said how much he appreciated that I never gave up on him. He was wearing a military uniform. He was proud. He gave me a big hug and said thank you. What we do matters even in our worst days.