A letter to my future employer

Maria Katondo

186 Mill St, Apt 212

Athens, Ohio 45701

Phone: (740) 591-9582

Email: mk462914@ohio.edu

My interest in teaching languages has been gradually shaped by all the different ways in which I have experienced languages: as a learner and as a teacher.  Born in a country that speaks English more as a foreign language than a second language, I developed an immense desire to learn and speak English language. However, it was not until I joined High School that I started to realize that language is more than just speaking, listening, writing and reading. That was 2006 when I was first exposed to such linguistics modules as Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, and Semantics.

This experience was very significant in my choice of linguistics as a discipline when I was admitted at the University of Dar es Salaam for my undergraduate studies in 2008. This gave me the chance to study more the linguistic aspects of different languages, contrary to the studies in the Secondary School which were mainly in the English language. After my university studies in August 2011, I worked as a Secondary School English teacher in Tanzania. As a language teacher, I developed a greater understanding of questions about language proficiency and linguistic knowledge.

In August 2013, I won a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship (FLTA) at Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, where I worked as a Swahili language Teaching Assistant in the Department of African Languages and Literature, for the academic year 2013/2014. Teaching English in Tanzania, and then teaching the Swahili Language in the US gave me a very special experience in teaching languages to foreigners.

My philosophy of teaching has been formed since I started my teaching career in 2011. I learned that teaching and learning have to student-centered, it has to involve ‘to and fro’ communication between the teacher and the student. It has to involve collaboration among students themselves and not competition. A good teaching method has to base on discovery learning in which students themselves through the guidance of the teacher have to learn new contents through observation and discovery. A teacher has to facilitate teaching and learning process in the classroom and he or she is not supposed to mouth feed students but rather students have to learn themselves through the teacher guidance. A good teaching practice has to involve the performance of what has been taught in real life.

In my teaching practices, I have always encouraged pair work in the class. I believe that in language learning there are some shy students who do not feel comfortable talking or speaking in the target language in front of other students in a class so through pair work it helps them to communicate with another student in the target language. I normally use scenario questions in my evaluation of a topic as well as sub-topics which I have taught. Scenario questions help students to apply what they have learned in real life settings. In most of the time, I use role plays in my teachings because I believe that it is also one of the ways which can facilitate a student to speak in the target language.

I believe in teaching a foreign or second language a teacher has to give as many exercises as possible in both written and spoken forms to students and he or she has to provide an immediate feedback. Feedbacks are very essential in language learning, helps learners to know their mistakes and areas where they are improving well. Positive feedback can also motivate a student to learn more about that particular language as well.

Being a foreign language teacher, I normally immense my students to the target language culture through watching movies. Language is part of a culture and if you are teaching a foreign language you have to introduce the culture of people who speak that language to students. My students watch episodes of English movies in classes and then they have to go and write a summary of what each episode was all about using their own words, this helps them to use and manipulate the language knowledge they have in written forms, as well as they, get the chance to know the total ways of life of the people who speak the language.

I consider myself a good teacher because I am a young, energetic, hardworking, visionary, and self-motivated person who always aim at improving individual student's performance. 

Thank you,

Maria Katondo.

Here is my resume

MARIA ADON KATONDO

Department of Linguistics

Ohio University

Gordy Hall, room 360

Athens, OH 45701

Phone: 740 591 9582

Email: mk462914@ohio.edu or mariakatondo@gmail.com

HOME ADDRESS: 186 Mill St, Apt 212, Athens, OH, 45701

FORMAL EDUCATION

M.A in Linguistics, August 2014 – May 2016, Ohio University, United States.
Post Graduate Non- Degree Program, August 2013- May 2014, Tulane University, United States.

B.A with Education (Linguistics and Geography), September 2008 – July 2011, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Advanced Certificate of Secondary School Education, February 2006 - February 2008, (History, Geography, and English), Barbro Johansson High School, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Certificate of Secondary School Education, January 2002- October 2005, Forodhani Secondary School, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Certificate of Primary School Education, January 1995- October 2001, Mapambano Primary School, Tanzania.

AWARDS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND GRANTS

Aug 2014 – May 2016: Teaching Assistantship / Swahili Instructor – Ohio University, Ohio, United States.

Aug 2013 – May 2014: Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistantship / Swahili Instructor - Tulane University, Louisiana, United States.

June 2013: The Julius Nyerere Master’s Scholarship – The University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Nov 2011: Bachelor of Arts with Honors “First Class” – University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Feb 2008: Certificate of an Outstanding Academic Performance – Barbro Johansson Education Trust, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

·         Chama cha Ukuzaji wa Kiswahili Duniani: CHAUKIDU

CAREER PROFILE 

·         Excellent Communication Skills.

·         An active listener, presentations and motivator.

·         Strong background in facilitation and rehabilitation.

·         Extremely adaptable works well in multicultural groups or independently.

·         Flexible with multi-task management skills.

·         Great at following laid out procedures and policies.

·         Speak fluently Swahili and English.

·         Great at emphasizing with customers/students and quickly finding a solution.

EMPLOYMENT AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

•      Billing/ Sales Rep: Assisting inbound customers with billing queries about our products, discounts, item availability mostly on orders placed online. Assisting customers to place orders over the phone. Processing returns. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nov 2016 to Present.

•      Technical/Billing Support Agent:  Troubleshooting and (creating escalation tickets) internet and voice connectivity issues, offering billing support to help customers understand their billing statements, Frontier Communications Corp, July 2016 - Oct 2016.

•      Teaching Assistant: Teaching Elementary & Intermediate Swahili Courses, Department of Linguistics, Ohio University, Fall 2014-Spring 2016.

Duties: Teaching Swahili and Tanzanian culture, leading conversation groups, tutoring, supervising language tables/events and acting as a resource person for students’ interest in the study of Swahili language and culture of Tanzania.

•      Foreign Language Teaching Assistant: Teaching an Elementary Swahili Course, Department of African and African Diaspora Studies, Tulane University, Fall 2013 - Spring 2014.

Duties: Teaching Swahili and Tanzanian culture as a Fulbright Scholar, supervising language tables/events, occasional lectures and acting as a resource person for students’ interest in the study of Swahili language and Tanzanian culture.

·         Research Assistant: Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Nov 2011 – June 2013.

     Duties: Supporting research, training and policy recommendations for sustainable development and Climate Change adaption mechanisms to the government of Tanzania.

• Geography Teacher: St. Mary’s High School, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, November 2011- June 2012.

Duties: Teaching Physical and Regional Geography to High School Students in Tanzania.

• Research Assistant: Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Mar 2009 – Oct 2011.

     Duties: Research and training community groups on Climate Change and Security.

COMPUTER SKILLS

Good working knowledge of computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Email, and the Internet.

HOBBIES

Learning and teaching languages, watching soccer, swimming, traveling, listening to music, meeting and talking to people and watching movies.

REFERENCES

Jacob Okumu, Associate professor

Department of Diversity and Inclusion

Ohio University

Office: 31 South Court

Phone: (740) 597 9373

Email: Okumu@ohio.edu

Michelle O’Malley, Assistant Professor

Department of Linguistics

Ohio University

Office: 383, Gordy Hall

Phone: (740)593-4321

Email: haugh@ohio.edu

Gabriela Castaneda-Jimenez, Professor

Department of Linguistics

Ohio University

Office: 358, Gordy Hall

Phone: (740) 593 4633

Email: castaned@ohio.edu