TESOL Newsletter, 2018 Fall

Spotlights

Student Spotlight: Melissa Krut

"Teachers and students often have goals, but the whole scheme is most successful when there's a shared understanding."

Melissa Krut Profile

Alumni Spotlight: Silvia Hildesheim

"I think it is crucial we advocate for ourselves as professionals and push for the resources, time, or pay that we need to be successful and for our students and programs to be successful."

Silvia Hildesheim Profile

Recent TESOL Graduates

Congratulations to our Recent TESOL Graduates!

Graduation

MA TESOL

  • Nejoud Almayman
  • Kinza Cooper
  • Allison Crolla
  • Jessie Ebersole
  • Yulia Khoruzhaya
  • Jiayuan Ling
  • Elizabeth Quillin
  • Jorge Rivera

TESOL Graduate Certificate

  • Ian Bonanno
  • Katie Pettet

Allison Crolla

MA TESOL

Allison CrollaShortly after graduation, Allison Crolla has accepted two adjunct faculty positions at AU'S English Language and Training Academy (ELTA) and Community College of Baltimore County's (CCBC) Academic ESOL program. She began teaching in the summer at ELTA with a content-based course called American TV and Culture Studies. In the fall, Allison will continue teaching ELLs in an Advanced Academic Writing course at CCBC and another content-based course at ELTA. She plans to remain in the DC area for some time and would like to welcome the new TESOLers to the program!

Jessica Ebersole

MA TESOL

Jessie EbersoleJessica Ebersole was an independent contractor for BlueCanoe Learning during Summer 2017. In Summer 2017-Winter2018, she was an adjunct instructor at ELTA. She currently works full time at Washington English Center as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction.

Yulia Khoruzhaya

MA TESOL

Yulia KhoruzhayaYulia Khoruzhaya was admitted to the PhD Program in Applied Linguistics at the Pennsylvania State University. She is excited to start the program in the fall of 2018. Her research interests include the role of metalinguistic awareness in multilinguals and translanguaging practices. She will also teach an academic English course at Penn State’s intensive English program.

Jiayuan Ling

MA TESOL

Tina LingJiayuan Ling went back to China after summer. Now, she is working in an English learning institution and teaching reading and vocabulary class to high school students. She is considering to apply for a position in a middle school, so she is also preparing herself to be familiar with the textbooks and overall curriculum for middle schools these days.

Katie Pettet

TESOL Certificate

Katie PettetKatie Pettet finished the TESOL certificate in August 2018, just in time for the arrival of her first child due in September! Katie and her husband, Nick, will welcome their baby any day now, after which Katie will be on maternity leave for the rest of the year. In January 2019, Katie will return to her day job as an advisor at AU’s International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) office and use the new skills she gained from the TESOL certificate in her work with international students. Katie hopes to tutor ESL students in the future or teach ESL to adults part-time.

Welcome the new TESOL Students!

Debora Amidani MA TESOL Student

Debora Amidani is from Brazil and she has been an English teacher for 13 years now. In the beginning of her career, she took the CELTA course in Perth, Western Australia. This fall she moved to DC to start her MA in TESOL at AU and she is also working as a Graduate Assistant for the TESOL Program. Her ultimate goal is becoming a university teacher back home.

Liju Feng MA TESOL Student

Liju Feng is from China and was born in Qingdao, which is a beautiful coastal city. She loves languages. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and literature and then decided to study TESOL at AU to learn more about English. She loves food and traveling. She is looking forward to exploring more cities in the United States with friends.

Tyler Hill MA TESOL Student

Tyler Hill is pursuing a master’s in TESOL after spending the last three and a half years teaching in Southeast Asia. After completing a TESOL certification course in Phnom Penh Cambodia, he moved to Thailand where he gained the majority of his teaching experience. He is currently teaching in the DC area while studying at AU, and hopes to live abroad again after graduation.

Meng Li MA TESOL Student

Meng Li holds a BA in English Education from Harbin Normal University in China. In addition, she has learning experiences in UCLA andCalifornia State University as an exchange student. In China, she has had extensive experience teaching IELTS in EFL settings. She also used to be a reading tutor at Centronia in DC.She can fluently speak Mandarin, English and French. Linguistics and language teaching are always her favorite topics.

Anqi Sun MA TESOL Student

Anqi Sun grew up in Harbin, a city in the northeast of China. This is her second year in America. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Shanghai Ocean University. She was a teaching assistant for American English teachers in an English teaching training program in China. She thinks it is exciting to join the TESOL program here at AU.

Yixuan Wang MA TESOL Student

Yixuan Wang is from China. She graduated from Guangdong University of Education in China majoring in English Education. She is interested in teaching kids. She had her half-year internship in a public middle school in China and worked in an English training center for one year. That teaching experience inspired her to be a professional English teacher in the future. Therefore, she chose the TESOL program at American University and hopes that she can successfully graduate.