An innovative foreign language teacher at Whitewater High uses fun, low stress techniques to get his students enthusiastic about learning Spanish. His innovative approach to learning has earned him one of the state’s top awards in foreign language.

The Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) has awarded Kris Muir its 2007 Teacher of Promise award. The award is open to all foreign language teachers who are within their first three years of teaching. It recognizes outstanding teaching practices of educators who are new to the field. Muir is in his second year of teaching Advanced Placement Spanish at Whitewater High.

Originally from Hackensack, New Jersey, Muir did not begin studying Spanish until high school. As a sophomore at Albemarle High School in Virginia, he found a job working with Hispanics that created an immediate and practical incentive to further learn the language.

“I found out very quickly that Spanish enabled me to communicate with my co-workers more effectively than English,” he says.

Muir knows that learning a new language can be stressful and intimidating for some students. He focuses on reading, storytelling and various communicative activities to help students feel comfortable and become enthusiastic about learning Spanish.

“I try to create a fun, low-anxiety atmosphere so that students can use the language in productive ways that allow them to feel comfortable and be successful. The more confident my students feel, the more likely they are to take risks and become more proficient language learners,’ he says.

The Teacher of Promise award is not the first honor Muir has received since becoming a teacher. Last summer he was selected from among the finest instructors in the state to teach Spanish to gifted and talented students in the Governor’s Honors Program.

“This was an incredible opportunity that allowed me to represent Fayette County, work with some of the best students in the state and bring fresh and insightful ideas back to my own school,” says Muir.

Muir has also been invited to present at conferences on the importance of reading in second language acquisition and will present this year at the annual FLAG and Georgia Council for the Social Studies conferences on ways to incorporate cross-curricular teaching.

login to post comments