About Daniel
Education
My teaching journey started when I enrolled in education courses at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California. I took courses in lesson planning, classroom management, teaching methods for various age groups and disciplines, and students with special needs.
In addition, I enrolled in workshops provided by the California World Language Project. These workshops provided the pedagogical skills necessary to teach a second language without the use of the native language.
My next step was earning his teaching credentials and Master of Arts in Teaching. Working with mentor teachers, I taught Spanish classes at the high school level as well as 5th grade students at the elementary school level. I also took courses related to the role of gender in education, conducted field research, and wrote my Masters thesis on the intersection of gender, perceived language competency, and classroom discipline.
Upon arriving in Chile, I received my TEFL certification through Pragmatic English. I attend language conferences and workshops when possible.
In 2021 I reconnected with the California World Language Project and took a course about mindfulness and coaching for educators. In the course I learned the power of using carefully crafted questions to help students further their learning and decide their path forward. I don’t have a complete coaching certification yet, but it is a goal of mine to become completely certified.
Teaching Experience
As an undergraduate, I worked as a teaching assistant in bilingual kindergarten classrooms at Toland Way Elementary in Los Angeles, California. Working with students in small groups as well as seeing how teachers taught and organized their classes using a bilingual curriculum was an invaluable experience.
Student teaching was a key part of my education, and with the help of mentor teachers I started developing my teaching skills while working with students at the elementary and high school level. This gave me a wide variety of experiences that has prepared me to teach students of any age today.
I began my formal teaching experience teaching kindergarten to primarily Spanish-speaking students in California in 2006. The following years I taught Spanish and German at the high school level with classes of up to 42 students. Those experiences taught me the importance of keeping students engaged in their learning and showing the relevance of what they were learning in their everyday lives.
Since arriving in Chile, I’ve continued to have a wide variety of experiences. I started out as a teaching assistant at a school in Santiago in 2010 working with Chilean English teachers, and after that I made the transition to teaching individual, small group, and university classes at Grants English and Eclass. I additionally started teaching private classes to adults and children. All of these experiences helped me become familiar with teaching in the Chilean context.
The years after that involved teaching larger numbers of students. I also taught 100-hour CORFO classes in 2012 and 2013, helping students develop their listening and reading skills for better work opportunities, and in 2014 I worked with the English program at the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (Chilean Internal Revenue Service) teaching small group classes. During the beginning of 2015, I taught university students at the Talca and Santiago campus of University of Talca.
Since April 2015, I have dedicated 100% of my time to teaching independently.
Teaching Independently
I believe that students learn best when they are able to make a personal connection with the subject matter. Learning can be related to a wide variety of concepts: grammatical structure, vocabulary, pronunciation, cultural knowledge and competence, and the development of skills in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. What each student needs to learn and how they need to learn it is unique in each situation and is influenced by their prior learning experiences.
My teaching involves an array of materials and methods. I include materials from textbooks, web resources, podcasts, video clips, and materials that I have created to expose students to a wide variety of media in English. The methods used in my classes are interactive and often include discussion questions, activities that get students curious about the nuances of grammar and vocabulary, written exercises, and games that help develop competency related to the necessary skills.
As for the learning process, I believe it is best to start with what the student can already do and what knowledge they already have. From there, I work with error corrections as necessary and the development of competency in the areas necessary to fulfill a student’s goals, starting with a demonstration of the skill and making the transition to working together until the student is able to demonstrate the skill independently.
Last but not least, I believe that professional development is an integral part of being a teacher. I attend teaching conferences and workshops each year, presenting teaching strategies and also learning from what other teachers are doing with their students. In addition, I meet with other teachers to reflect on our teaching practice and share ideas and strategies. I also participate in webinars and online courses related to teaching English with the goal of providing my students the best learning opportunities possible.
My Story
Growing up, I was interested in music, languages, videogames, and helping others. I learned to play the double bass and participated in the school orchestra, South Jersey Orchestra, New Jersey All-State Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. In addition, I was an active member of Interact during high school. We planned coat and food drives to help the less fortunate, volunteered our time at football games to run the concession stands, and planned Pacesetters dances for people with Downs Syndrome.
Upon graduating from high school, I spent a year in Germany as an exchange student. Living with host families, going to school in another country, making friends in another culture, and traveling were all enriching experiences, and they set me on the path to international living.
I started college in 2001 initially with the goal of becoming a music teacher. After a semester, my love of languages prevailed, and I changed my major to study Spanish and German along with education. My undergraduate years involved working multiple jobs, spending a semester in Spain and a month in Germany, and participating in various music ensembles.
After graduating with my teaching credentials and Masters in Teaching in 2006, the economy wasn’t looking good in California. I lost my teaching job three years in a row. It was difficult moving from one city to another and starting over again teaching a new subject area each time (kindergarten, Spanish at a charter school, and then Spanish and German at a high school). I didn’t see finding a steady teaching job in the United States as a viable possibility.
I then decided to get in touch with my spirit of adventure and travel, making the move to Santiago in February 2010. After being a teaching assistant at a school and working at an institute during my first year, I bought a one-way ticket back for the following year. Since then I have taught in a variety of settings including schools, institutes, universities, and now freelance.
I spent the pandemic in Santiago, and I was fortunate to be able to work online. It was a difficult time, but working on the ELT in Chile podcast and connecting with friends and other educators online helped make it easier.
In my free time I enjoy traveling, playing videogames and Catan, eating pizza and Peruvian food, and going for bike rides.
