Amani Itani's Page

Which best describes your current role?

CELTA Trainee

Where's your CELTA center?

Teaching House Los Angeles

Where have you worked?

North America

Where would you like to work?

The Middle East

Share more about yourself.

I am a fresh graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a double major in English and Applied Linguistics. At UCLA, I took classes such as Imperial Culture, Medieval Literature, Argumentation and Debate, Shakespeare, and Performance Studies. In each of these classes, I analyzed and discussed books in class, close read passages from books, wrote research papers on chosen themes, and disciplined my academic writing. Furthermore, Applied Linguistics combined my interest in Linguistics and Education. Classes such as Introduction to Language Learning and Language Teaching, Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition, Phonetics, Phonology, and Syntax have encouraged me to pursue teaching as a career, and to apply for graduate studies in English Language for Fall 2018 at the American University of Beirut. I have also been awarded the CELTA. In addition to the extensive language teaching strategies I acquired from CELTA, I had part-time exposure to teaching high school students English as a second language.

My teaching philosophy improves my students’ written and spoken discourse, and this is done through reading, reading comprehension, written drafts, and oral fluency. I also integrate multimedia in the classroom because it expands the students’ imagination by transforming words into visions, and it abolishes monotony in the classroom. In addition, I include cooperative learning in my lesson plan. Group work and group presentations are an integral part of my lesson because students learn how to cooperate in groups, and they improve their oral fluency skills by practicing speaking English to an audience. I also motivate my students through positive reinforcement. I cultivate a classroom environment that is inclusive of all cultures, and choose topics students are interested in to build academic and behavioral engagement with them. I want my students to implement the skills they learn in the classroom in their everyday lives.

My professional experience began when I assisted a fourth-grade homeroom teacher at Holder Elementary School. By the last month of my classroom observation, I explained lessons to the students once a week. I wrote an extensive lesson plan before each lesson I taught. This position taught me the importance of classroom management, and encouraging creativity and higher-order thinking in a way that increases my students' performance. Also, I was a one-on-one tutor at A Better Tomorrow Education where I concurrently tutored six students language arts and math. Through this position, I independently sculpted individualized curriculums based on every student’s needs and in correspondence with Common Core State Standards. Lastly, I was an after-school Science teacher for students in Kindergarten to 6th grade at Star Education. I independently taught two classes, each containing 15 students, twice a week. This experience gave me significant exposure to classroom management, collaborative learning, active learning, and inclusive teaching strategies in the classroom.

As an entry-level teacher, I look forward to utilizing my energetic attitude and instructional abilities, and maximizing my teaching experience, training abilities, and student developmental skills. I appreciate you taking the time to review my credentials and experience. I look forward to meeting with you and discussing my qualifications in more detail.

Sincerely,
Amani