DESCRIPTION:

The artifact for Outcome 5 is derived from several discussions written for (TESL 505) Spring I 2020 Second Language Acquisition taught by Professor Richard Robison and revised for (TESL 580) TESOL Portfolio taught by Dr. Tasha Bleistein in Fall I 2021. The paper reflects thoughts from a Christian perspective that science and God can coexist and reinforce each other that God is the originator of language.

REFLECTION:

God outfitted man with physiological and psychological consciousness to hear and respond to God's voice. As the originator of language, He directed the ability to archetype our perceptions and conditions to change lexico-grammatical structures and necessary features needed to employ and construct speech to communicate. Thus, demonstrating God's will to gift us with a holy possession is an aspect of the Imago Dei (Robison, 2011). As revealed in the Bible repeatedly, God is the Word, and the Word was God. I think about the divine inspiration of the Great Teacher on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit imparting God's truth to man, God made it personal to each one under the sound of His voice to experience God's Word in their language to grow their faith and worship. This event illustrates the importance of other languages, to which God said, "None of them is without significance" (1 Cor:14:10). Thus, Smith (2008) encouraged us to remember that our students are spiritual beings requiring renewal and inspiration in acquiring language. It is a reciprocal process. Just as God feeds us, I believe as Christians, our access to God provides us with the capability to provide spiritual growth to our students, which God loves in a manner of His will.

APPLICATION:

In using the precious gift of sharing language, I will emulate the examples found in the events of Pentecost. Specifically, how God effectively created a dynamic environment and utilized the "hearer's" language as a relatable experience to teach and capture the hearer's attention. This experience led the hearer to see and believe differently through the connection between God and the hearer. I, as the Teacher, am gifted with a power that carries the responsibility "to help the learner learn what they are as learners by the ways that I teach them to see themselves" (Bruner, as cited in Smith, 2008, p.48). As part of my pedagogy, my goal is to adopt the practice of designing relevant and challenging lessons from a conception of learners that will explore ways to connect with the them. This includes considering ways to build community and stir up one another to love and do good works (Hebrews 10:24). In the classroom, I will model (Ephesian 4:29) "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."