AU TESOL SPRING 2016
F E B R U A R Y
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Read about
your fellow
TESOLers’
favorite
proverbs in
this issue!
Stay Connected
2
Program Calendar
3
Student, Alumni, & Faculty Updates
4
Upcoming Events
7
Student Spotlight
10
Alumni Spotlight
12
Faculty Spotlight
14
New TESOL Program Students
17
Zig Ziglar
Newsletter Editors: Aung Ko Zaw and Valeriya Minakova
2 0 1 6
PAGE
Stay Connected with
AU TESOL!
2
UPCOMING EVENTS
Long
time no
see!
TESOL Social
Join us in the TESOL office (MGC, 300) to snack
and chat with current AU TESOL students, professors, and alumni!
Thursday, February 11
4:00pm-5:15pm
Stop by to
say hello
during our
TESOL
social on
January 12!
Come for
good
conversation
and snacks
with even
better
company!
TESOL Program Lunch at
the TESOL International
Convention
Join fellow AU TESOLers for lunch during the
convention!
Wednesday, April 6
12:00pm-1:30pm
Location TBD
End of Semester Potluck
Celebrate the end of the semester and our
May grads with AU TESOL students, faculty,
and staff.
Thursday, April 28
4:30pm-5:30pm
TESOL Program Office
AU
TESOL
SPRING
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3
Dr. Robin
Barr
TESOL Program Calendar
Spring 2016
"Don't buy a pig in
a poke,"
meaning 'look
carefully at what
you're buying.’
I like this one because
it preserves an old
word for 'bag' or
'sack' that now is
used only in some
rural U.S. dialects.
The word 'poke'
comes from French
'poche' (> pocket)
and also survives in
the 19th century
pioneer women's
"poke bonnnet". The
proverb comes from
the same fable that is
the source of another
proverb: "Don't let
the cat out of the
bag" (meaning 'don't
reveal the secret.’)
Most English speakers
now don't connect
either proverb with
its original story, but
knowing the story
might make it easier
for learners to
remember the
proverbs and their
meanings.
AU
TESOL
SPRING
Spring Opening Reception
Tuesday, January 12, 4:30-5:15
MGC 247
Portfolio Session
Wednesday, January 27, 4:00-5:30
MGC 203
Program Social
Thursday, February 11, 4:00-5:15
TESOL Program Office
Pronunciation Workshop
Saturday, February 27, 9:00-2:00
Butler Boardroom
Categorical Pizza
Tuesday, March 29, 8:10-9:30
MGC 247
End of Semester Potluck
and Graduation
Celebration
Thursday, April 28, 4:30-5:30
TESOL Program Office
2016
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Student, Alumni, & Faculty
Updates
4
Amy Melendez-Benson
AU TESOL at the TESOL International Convention & English
Language Expo
MA TESOL
“If it was a
snake, it
woulda bit
you."
April 5-8, 2016, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Kim Herndon (MA TEFL): “Practical Multilevel Adult Community-Based Lesson
Plans”. Master’s Student Forum, April 5. Time and location: TBD.
Eda Aladagli Yoon (MA TESOL 2015): “A Case Study Investigating Interactional
Factors in Massively Multiplayer Online Games in Relation to L2 Development”. Master’s Student Forum, April 5. Time and location: TBD.
This proverb is
used when you
can't find
something and
the other person
notices that it is
right under your
nose. My mother
used this
expression all the
time when we
were growing up
in Texas. She
grew up in
southern Ohio
and northern
Kentucky. I
caught myself
using this proverb
with someone
recently and
smiled because I
realized that I had
done it
unconsciously.
Austin Kaufmann (MA TESOL 2006): “Instructor-Guided Peer Review: Maximizing
Benefits and Moving beyond Writing" and "Building Academic and Social
Competence Through EAP Speaking Circles." Time and location: TBD.
Dr. Robin Barr:
 Pre-Convention Institute “Phonological Awareness for ESL/EFL Educators: Sound
Practices” (with Karen Taylor and Shirley Thompson). April 5, 9am-4pm, Baltimore
Convention Center.
 "Using Phonological Awareness to Teach Tricky Vowels". April 7, 2:00 pm - 2:45
pm, room 338, Baltimore Convention Center.
Dr. Polina Vinogradova:
 “Digital Literacies and Multimodality in Second Language Writing” (with Katherine
Howard and Tamara Warhol). April 6, 3:00pm - 4:45pm, room 341, Baltimore Convention Center.
 “Translating Postmethod Pedagogy into Student and Teacher Empowerment” (with
Heather Linville). April 7, 11:30am - 12:15pm, room 316, Baltimore Convention
Center.
 “Fostering Reflective Practitioners: Effective Professional Development in Multiple
Teaching Contexts” (panel presentation with Heather Weger, Jennifer Uhler, Becky
Shiring, and Heather Zitlau). April 7, 3:00pm - 4:45pm, room 316, Baltimore Convention Center.
Other updates:
Eda Aladagli Yoon (MA TESOL 2015) has started working as adjunct faculty at theIntensive English Language Program (IELP) at American University.
Best of luck to all of our students, alumni, and faculty
members on their upcoming presentations, conferences,
and workshops!
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TESOL
SPRING
2016
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Student, Alumni, & Faculty
Updates
5
Silvia Hildesheim
MA TESOL
“You can’t
have your cake
and eat it
too.”
Louise Godley (MA TESOL 2015) has stayed on at American University, and is excited to be adjunct faculty in the English Language and Training Academy, School of Professional and Extended Studies (SPExS). Louise is an instructor in the new Intensive English Language Program, and is teaching Level 2 Speaking, Listening and Pronunciation. In
addition, Louise is working at Washington English Center as Volunteer Coordinator for
weekend and evening programs. In this role, she is recruiting, training, and managing volunteer teachers and tutors of English as a Second Language, as well as assisting with curriculum and instruction-related tasks.
Silvia Hildesheim (MA TESOL) has received a Travel Grant from WATESOL to attend the Low Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition (LESLLA) Symposium.
The conference is held in Granada, Spain in September of 2016. She is grateful for the
funding from WATESOL and is excited to travel to Spain to attend this important conference.
I interpret this expression as you
can’t have it all.
We make decisions every day
and sometimes
the choices oppose each other
(like saving the
cake or eating it).
If you choose to
eat the cake, don’t
be mad when it’s
gone, but… if you
only eat half the
cake maybe it’s
possible to eat
some and have
some left over.
Sometimes by just
changing our priorities we can
have our cake and
eat it too!
AU
TESOL
Austin Kaufmann (MA TESOL 2006) is currently working as an English Instructor at
Michigan State University's English Language Center, where he also serves as Educational
Technology Specialist and plans their annual NGL | MSU Learning Symposium, a professional development conference for Great Lakes area ESL professionals. Also, his band,
The Dangling Participles, (which is comprised of all ESL instructors), recently released an
EP of original acoustic tunes.
Erin Ross (MA TESOL) is now the Program Assistant in the AU TESOL Office. She is
excited to work more closely with the graduate assistants and faculty and to be a resource for students.
Mary Spanarkel (MA TESOL 2015) is working as the Director of Curriculum and
Instruction at Washington English Center. In addition to creating syllabi and curricula for
new textbooks and classes, she is responsible for volunteer teacher training and hopes
to develop a new citizenship curriculum, a computer literacy curriculum, and new workforce-related classroom materials to put in place in upcoming terms. She has also been
working with members of the Department of Labor to create materials to help inform
and educate students on fair labor and minimum wage laws. In October, Mary was an
invited guest speaker at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies'
Transatlantic Exchange Program for Young Minorities on ESL and bilingual education in
Washington, DC, where she talked about the challenges facing TESOL professionals and
their students today.
Rivka Yerushalmi (TESOL Certificate 2014) enjoyed teaching a ten-week, adult
education course for the Literacy Council of Montgomery County (LCMC) in fall 2015,
entitled "Understanding the American Workplace." During the course, she gave students the opportunity to write, and practice, authentic dialogues from their workplaces. In addition, they engaged in job interview role plays, used the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook to research career options, and wrote resumes,
cover letters and elevator "pitches." Teaching the course was a wonderful experience
for her, and she was truly gratified to see that many of her twelve students began paid
employment by the end of the course.
SPRING
2016
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Student, Alumni, & Faculty
Updates
6
Mary Mateus
MA TESOL
“A stitch in
time saves
nine.”
In addition, Rivka has been working at the Gilchrist Center in Wheaton as an assistant in
their pre-session assessment and placement activities, and has fun substituting for their
afternoon conversation groups. Now, she is looking forward to begin a new session with
LCMC, where she will be teaching a Level 1 course to ELL's with little or no English literacy skills. This will be a new experience for her (to teach at such a basic level), but she is
looking forward to the challenge.
Bryan Woerner (MA TESOL 2005) and his wife Cynthia are expecting their first
child in March. He'll miss seeing everyone in Baltimore, but he'll be back in the fall for
WATESOL as past past president.
I use this proverb
a lot because it
highlights the importance of doing
things on time and
taking corrective
actions immediately, rather than
waiting until later
when certain situations get worse
or develop into
problems. This
saying also reminds me to tackle any circumstance or challenges when I have the
opportunity, despite my tendency
to ignore things
that I dislike.
Dr. Robin Barr gave a talk "Using Psycholinguistics to Teach Pronunciation" at the Fulbright FLTA Conference in December, 2015 to about 150 attendees from around the
world - all with kazoos! In conjunction with the Washington Literacy Center and Local
23, she developed, prepared, and taught a pilot culinary literacy course in Spring 2015 for
AU food service workers at risk of losing their jobs because of Aramark’s new literacy
requirements. All students showed improvements. On April, 29, 2015 she was consulted
by WUSA Channel 9 on the history of the word “thug.” On June 26, 2015, she delivered
a public lecture “The Psycholinguistics of Spoken English,” sponsored by English Language
Teaching Solutions, Inc. She was also interviewed and quoted on the TESOL International
Blog, by Karen Taylor, “House Wheat This Hound,” July 3, 2015. http://blog.tesol.org/
house-wheat-this-hound-the-problem-of-listening/.
Dr. Polina Vinogradova participated in “Technology in English” event organized by the
US Department of State and hosted by the White House on September 15, 2015. She
also conducted the workshop “Pedagogical Uses of Digital Stories for Student
Empowerment and Egagement” for each group of the Panamá Bilingüe Program at
American University.
Prof. Sarah Young's paper "The Impact of Literacy on Question-Oriented Usage
Events in the ESL Classroom: A Case Study" was published in the 2013 proceedings of
the Low-Educated Second Language and Literacy Acquisition (LESLLA) symposium. She
recently presented her research on metalinguistic awareness in adult low-literate ESL
learners, titled "A sociocognitive perspective on metalinguistic awareness: Case studies of
four literacy learners" at the 2015 LESLLA symposium.
Please keep us updated on what you are doing!
We love hearing from program alumni and
current students.
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TESOL
SPRING
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Upcoming Events
7
Erin Ross
MA TESOL
Pronunciation Workshop
"You can't judge
a book by its
cover."
Dr. Robin Barr
Saturday, February 27,
9:00am-2:00pm
Butler Boardroom
We are a family of
readers so it is
easy to use books
as metaphors in
our discussions cover art can be
enticing or offputting, literal or
symbolic or even
misleading. This
proverb has come
in handy as we remind ourselves to
set aside assumptions, prejudgments, and stereotypes. Just as
you have to read
more than a title
to understand
what a book is
about, you must
see more than skin
color or style of
dress, hear more
than an accent or a
dialect to begin to
know a person.
AU
TESOL
SPRING
Dr. Barr takes you on a journey beyond vowels and consonants — into
syllables, rhythm, intonation, stress, linking, and even — the Brain! Learn
the suprasegmental tricks with rubber bands, kazoos, and songs that you
can use to help your students become more comprehensible, even if
they still have trouble distinguishing ship and sheep, or rake and lake. The
workshop features entertaining, low-cost activities that you can use right
away in your next class.
Categorical
Pizza
Dr. Robin Barr
Tuesday, March 29, 8:10pm-9:30pm
MGC 247
Dr. Barr explains the fundamentals of Categorical Perception- the way
that the language areas of our brains assign sounds to one distinct phonological category or another — and how it relates to pronunciation instruction. Pizza will be provided!
Robin Barr holds a PhD in Linguistics from Harvard with concentrations in both Indo-European and
psycholinguistics. Her research on morphology involves the relationship between language learning
and language change, and she is always happy to hear
of new irregular verbs or refinements for wug-tests.
2016
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8
Online TESOL Summer Institute
Calsidine
Banan
MA TESOL
Earn a TESOL Certificate Online!
“Don’t count
your chickens before they hatch.”
This proverb means
“don’t rely on something you’re unsure
about, making plans
based on assumptions can lead to disappointment.” This
is one of my favorite
proverbs because of
its wisdom. It prevents us from finding
ourselves in an uncomfortable situation. Interestingly,
the equivalent of this
proverb in French is
“on ne vend pas la
peau de l’ours avant
de l’avoir tué.” It is
literally translated as
«do not sell the
bear’s fur before
killing it». That’s the
beauty of proverbs:
they are learned
with the language,
and next time remember to count
your chickens after
they hatch.
AU
TESOL
SPRING
Session 1: May 9 - June 23



All classes meet online
TESL-400/600: Principles of Linguistics
TESL-401/601: English Language Teaching I
TESL-627: Cultural Issues in the ESL/EFL Classroom
Session 2: June 27 - August 11 All classes meet online
 TESL-402/602: English Language Teaching II
 TESL-623: Second Language Acquisition
º 8-week session: June 27-August 18
Three-day Intensive Summer Workshop, June 24-26, 9am - 5pm
(on campus): Laugh, Joke, Learn: Teaching with and about Humor in the
Second Language Classroom with Dr.Nancy Bell and Dr.Anne Pomerantz
TESL-096.N01 (0 credit); TESL-560.N01 (1 credit); TESL-560.N02HB (3 credits)


Instructional component for all credit options:
Friday-Sunday, June 24-26, 9:00am-5:00pm
Follow-up component for 3-credit option:
In-class meetings: June 30 & July 28, 5:30-8:00pm
Independent work and individual meetings: June 27–July 28 with Instructor
of Record: Polina Vinogradova
Registration begins in the second week of April 2016.
2016
PAGE
Upcoming Events
9
Prof. Sarah
Young
"Nothing ventured, nothing
gained."
Intensive Summer Workshop
“Laugh, Joke, Learn: Teaching with and about Humor in
the Second Language Classroom”
Nancy D. Bell and Anne Pomerantz
June 24-26, 9:00am-5:00pm
To me, this proverb
emphasizes the importance of trying
lots of different
things in life and not
settling for the status quo. We have
so many opportunities in life; some of
them are not always easy or fun,
but ultimately I
think we can learn
something from
everything. I want
to be "venturing"
throughout my entire life, and I hope
to encourage that
idea in my students
as well.
AU
TESOL
SPRING
Language educators often see playful, humorous language as either too difficult to teach or ancillary to their "serious" curricular goals. Yet, second language learners consistently report a strong desire to initiate and/or participate more actively in humorous exchanges. In this workshop, language
teachers will learn how to integrate playful language into L2 lessons in a
pedagogically sound and theoretically informed manner. Participants will explore how traditional lessons might be altered to include a greater focus on
non-serious language use and develop a repertoire of pedagogical strategies
for helping learners to develop key micro-skills related to the identification,
comprehension, production, and appreciation of conversational humor.
Nancy D. Bell is
an Associate Professor and coordinator of the ESL
program in the
English
Department at Washington State University. Her research
interests center
mainly on the discourse analytic investigation of conversational humor, language play, and
linguistic creativity, especially with
respect to second language users.
She recently authored a text on
failed humor (We are not Amused:
Failed Humor in Interaction), and, with
Anne Pomerantz, co-authored Humor
in the Classroom: A Guide for Language
Teachers and Educational Researchers.
2016
Anne Pomerantz is
a Senior Lecturer at
the University of
Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education, where she
works closely with
language educators
and intercultural
specialists. Her research focuses on
the role of humor in classroom discourse and language pedagogy. Anne
Pomerantz and Nancy D. Bell are the
co-authors of Humor in the Classroom:
A Guide for Language Teachers and Educational Researchers (Routledge).
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Student Spotlight
Emine Uzun DeLaitsch is currently enrolled in the MA TESOL Program and is in her second semester of study. In this Student Spotlight, Emine tells how she became interested in teaching and
how her learning experience in the US has been different from that in Turkey.
When did you first become interested in What do you plan to do after you complete the
TESOL? Why did you choose this field?
TESOL program?
TESOL had always been an interesting area for me
before I became interested in it as a profession. After
learning English as a foreign language for years, my
friends and I would discuss how to teach a language
based on our experiences in the class. I chose the foreign language division of the high school I was attending in my sophomore year and
studied only English for two years
until I graduated. I was lucky
enough to have very good teachers whom I took as an example.
That was how I started taking an
interest in TESOL as a probable
profession for myself, but my desire to be a translator overpowered everything until I started
teaching English in addition to
teaching translation. I came to realize that I enjoyed teaching English to freshman year students
more than lecturing on translation
methods and theories. Witnessing
how students started taking baby
steps in a foreign language, how it
made them happy to be able to
form a sentence after learning a new rule, and how far
they had come at the end of the academic year speaking a new language that they did not know only one
year ago, made my teaching experience priceless. That
is why I chose and decided to improve myself in this
field.
I have countless plans for my life after graduation! I
hope I can realize some of them. I will probably spend
some time doing nothing for a while and I would like
to travel and read more! I am planning to stay in the
DC area after graduation and try to get a teaching job.
Going back to Turkey to teach is always an option for
me. I also want to keep engaging in
academia so one path I may choose
after graduation is to get a PhD.
In your opinion, what are some
qualities which make a good
teacher?
I believe teaching is a complex profession considering everything that
goes into it, and the traits of a good
teacher are not clear-cut. As the
world conditions in general and
teaching theories in particular
change, the qualities that people attribute to good teachers also
change. I will answer this question
with my student identity rather than
teacher identity. For me, a good
teacher is someone who includes his/her students in
the decision making process regarding their class and
urges his/her students to think critically, plan in advance, reflect on their own learning, and give effective
feedback. A good teacher should create a safe environment for his/her students within the class and give
the students a chance to grow individually while emphasizing teamwork.
Did you have any teaching experience before
you enrolled in the TESOL program?
Are you currently teaching or working?
Yes, I worked as an English language instructor in
Turkey for nearly 5 years. I spent one year working at
Cappadocia Vocational College, one year at Yeni
Yuzyil University in Istanbul, and almost three years at
Istanbul Technical University before I moved to the
US.
AU
TESOL
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2016
Yes, I work as a part-time Office Manager at AU’s
Center for Teaching, Research and Learning. I like my
job because it gives me the chance to meet and network with new people almost every day. I am also
learning more about how an American university
works as opposed to a Turkish university. I also tutor
an international student from China, which has been a
lot of fun.
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11
Student Spotlight, Continued
What interests do you pursue outside of the Have you experienced any cross-cultural misunclassroom?
derstandings?
I may sound like a stereotype, but I really love
reading and watching movies. I try to watch one movie
every week and read as much as possible. I have been
doing Pilates for the last 4 years so I try to exercise
whenever I have the chance. My husband and I also
love going on road trips.
Are there any differences between studying in
the United States and studying in your country?
Yes, there are some fundamental differences between studying in Turkey and in the United States. In
Turkey, professors are the leaders of the class and it is
Emine in Istanbul with coworkers and friends
not common to challenge their ideas or criticize them.
It is a sign of respect to the more educated, and although this approach has started to change recently, I
still cannot say critical thinking is supported as much as
it is in the US. The second difference would be academic writing convention. I used MLA format in Turkey as opposed to APA in America. So, it was an adjustment period for me when I first started my grad
studies here. Another difference is the cost of education. In Turkey, it is almost free to attend grad school.
Lastly, and more importantly for me is that students
get more chances to be involved with their program in
America, as they are encouraged more by their professors and included in events. This is completely my
personal idea comparing my own experiences in Turkey and in the TESOL program.
AU
TESOL
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2016
Turkish culture and American culture are so different and I have experienced many cross-cultural misunderstandings when I first started living here. I remember some funny incidents. Americans hug and kiss
on one side, whereas Turks kiss both cheeks and give
big hugs on both sides when they greet people or see
each other after a long time. So people did not know
how to react when I pulled them in for a second kiss
and a hug! It was a habit for me that I did not even pay
attention to, but now I have gotten used to the American way and I have to think about the way to kiss and
hug the Turkish way when I go back to Turkey!
Also, talking about someone’s weight and asking,
“Did you gain weight?” or “Did you lose weight?” is
not really offensive in our culture. I asked a friend of
mine if he gained weight, rubbing his belly after winter
break and he was so offended, but he lived in Turkey
for 2 years so he was understanding of my action. I
would not have done it to somebody who did not
have the background knowledge. Then the same day,
we met a British friend who lived in Turkey for 12
years and the first thing he said to my friend was “You
gained weight!” This made all of us laugh and alleviated
my friend’s frustration with me now that somebody
who was not a Turk, but adopted the Turkish culture
said the same thing!
In this newsletter, we ask our students and faculty to tell us about their favorite proverbs.
Can you tell us about your favorite proverb?
It is so hard to choose one proverb from so many
in both Turkish and English; however, one Turkish
proverb that says “Bir elin nesi var, iki selin sesi var”
would be the one I would choose. This proverb may
translate as “Two heads are better than one” or “One
hand washes the other and together they wash the
face.” It stresses the importance of helping and supporting each other and signifies teamwork. It is an important idea that I try to apply to my life and my classes, particularly when I talk to my students about the
importance of group and pair work!
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Alumni Spotlight
Rebecca Wilner (MA TESOL 2009) discusses how AU TESOL Program prepared her for future jobs, tells about the benefits of teaching abroad, and gives advice to current students.
I came to American University because I wanted
a blend of theory and practice, and that’s exactly
what I got. I was able to apply the things I was
learning in class in my tutoring and teaching, and
for the most part the professors made sure that
the concepts we were discussing were grounded
in classroom practice, though some classes were
more theoretical and provided the framework
necessary to understand how language (specifically
English) works, and what is most important to
share with students. I
also made long-lasting
friends and professional
connections, and became
a part of the community
of TESOL in a way I never had before.
After I graduated from
the MA in TESOL Program in 2009, I taught at
Montgomery College for
a little while and did
some administrative
work at AU. Then, in the
summer of 2011, I went
to Panama as a Senior
English Language Fellow. While I was there, I
worked as the Academic Director of the Center
for English Language Immersion (CELI), a cooperative English language school, funded by the U.S.
Embassy in Panama and Universidad Latina de Panama. My job there required me to write curricula,
develop new courses, create and implement an
assessment plan for the whole school, and work
with the local teachers on professional development, among other things. I would have never
been prepared to be successful in that job if it hadn’t been for my experience in the TESOL Program
at AU.
I am currently working as a term faculty member (Educator in Residence) in the School of Education at American University. I teach a few cours-
AU
TESOL
SPRING
2016
es at the graduate and undergraduate levels, but
the real reason I’m here is to work with the Panama Bilingüe Program. This grant from the government of the Republic of Panama allows English
teachers from public schools across the country to
come to the US, Canada, or the UK for a twomonth or four-month intensive training program.
The Panamanian educators take English classes in
the mornings (9am-noon) to improve their language skills, and they also learn about and apply
best practices in language
and bilingual education in
an afternoon methodology class (1-4pm). I teach
the methodology class,
and help coordinate the
program in collaboration
with the Institute for Innovation in Education (IIE)
in the School of Education. I have been in this
position for a year now,
and it has been one of the
most rewarding experiences of my career. Again,
if I hadn’t made the connections I did at AU, and taken the opportunities
available to me after I graduated, I wouldn’t have
had access to or been prepared for this job.
Prior to coming to AU, I taught in Spain for several years. This experience combined with my
work in Panama as a SELF has given me a deep appreciation for teaching abroad. Not only did it
open my horizons to new cultures, experiences,
and languages, but it has also made me a more
confident, flexible, and capable teacher than I think
I would have been if I had stayed in the US only. I
strongly encourage anyone currently in the TESOL
program to consider teaching abroad at some
point in your career. Not only will you have access
to different and more varied job opportunities
than what you will find here in the U.S., but you
PAGE
13
Alumni Spotlight, Continued
will grow personally and proand administrators in the Panamanian
fessionally by dint of your new
public education system. I hope to
perspective.
have something concrete to report on
Though I don’t do much forthat at TESOL 2017.
mal research at the moment, I
My advice for current TESOL students
am extremely interested in
would be to take advantage of every
how the role of the right brain
professional opportunity that presents
in language processing and
itself to you, and be as flexible as possilearning, and I would very
ble in each one. I never could have
much like to do research on
predicted the path that my career has
the neural connections between music and language, so I
taken, nor how thoroughly each job
can continue to justify nonwould prepare me for the next one.
traditional methods of language
Also, keep (electronic) copies of the
teaching, specifically oral fluenactivities you do in class, your lesson
cy and pronunciation. If I ever
plans, materials, assessments, rubrics,
get around to doing a PhD,
etc. They will be invaluable as you conRebecca in a parade in Panama
that is what I would like to
tinue through your career. It’s much
study. In the meantime,
though, I am keeping track of the impact of the easier to adapt or restructure an idea than to think
Panama Bilingüe Program on children, teachers, one up from scratch.
Congratulations to our
December 2015 Graduates!
MA TESOL
Louise Godley
Eda Aladagli Yoon
Marcel Sain
AU
TESOL
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2016
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Faculty Spotlight
Dr. Paik discusses qualities of good instructors and successful online
learners.
How did you become a member of the AU
community and how long have you been
teaching here?
Before I joined the AU community, I taught at a
university in Seoul, Korea for six years as an assistant professor in the English Language and Linguistics Department and in the College Writing. Also, I
had the opportunities to teach
TESOL courses to pre-service
and in-service English teachers in
a few different TESOL graduate
schools in Seoul and participated
in several projects related to
English education, such as developing and teaching online English
courses, high school English
textbook publication, and province-based intensive summer
workshop for in-service English
teachers. After six years of busy
work in my homeland, I had a
sabbatical year and went to University of North Florida as a visiting research scholar in the
spring semester 2013. As I spent
a semester there with colleagues
and students in the TESOL program, I became more interested
in joining the TESOL academic community in the
U.S. When I found the teaching opportunity at
American University, I was so excited and applied
for the position immediately and began teaching in
Fall 2013. By the end of the spring semester, I will
have been teaching at AU for three full years and I
am still very grateful for this amazing opportunity.
In the TESOL face-to-face program, I have
taught ELT 1, ELT 2, Teaching Grammar, and Second Language Acquisition. In the online TEFL program, I taught TEFL 1 (same as ELT 1), TEFL 2
(same as ELT2), Teaching Listening and Speaking,
Second Language Acquisition, Curriculum and Material Design, and Principles of Linguistics.
AU
TESOL
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2016
What is your specific field or area of study?
I was interested in language education policy and
program evaluation as my doctoral degree was focused on this area. However, as I am gaining more
experience in teaching in the TESOL community in
the US and overseas, I have become more interested in teacher training and development. In particular, in areas like how
novice teachers apply their TESOL
training to practice in their teaching
contexts, the benefits of reflection
(and action research) for teachers,
whether TESOL curriculum and training properly meets the needs of
teachers and other TESOL-related
professions. These are the topics I
would like to keep pursuing to become more effective and resourceful
in the area of teacher training and
development.
Do you have any interests or
hobbies outside your work?
Well, I like travelling just like many
other TESOLers do, so I try to travel
as much as I can. Visiting close friends
and family members is fun, but going
to a new place where languages and cultures are
very different from what I’m used to is also exciting and meaningful as this stretches my understanding about the world, cultures, and people. Another hobby is cooking my favorite Korean dishes,
although I am not very good at it, or trying to explore a new place (a restaurant or a shop) in the
DC area.
What advice would you like to give to those
who are interested in the online MA in
TEFL?
If you are considering the online MA in TEFL at
AU and would like to make the most of the opportunity, I think it is very important to set a clear
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Faculty Spotlight, Continued
goal and ask yourself
if you are ready to
make a commitment
to serious work for
two years. It seems
that some people
think an online program is “easy” to
manage. Well, it is
definitely more convenient in some sense
as you can set your
own time and place
to work. However,
this actually requires
stricter time management skills and selfdiscipline to keep it
Dr.Paik with AU TESOL graduate going. Also, the online
Tanya Camp
courses are 8 weeks
long; therefore, it is very intensive in nature. The
good thing is you can take only one course at a
time, so you can solely focus on one subject (e.g.,
assessment) before moving on to another. Therefore, to be successful, you have to think and plan
carefully if you can afford the time and efforts required for the program, and once you decide to do
it, you should give this work priority over many
tasks that demand your time and attention. This is
particularly true when you have a full time or part
time job and trying to get your master’s degree in
TEFL. Another tip I’d like to give you is the importance of networking and participation. The
online TEFL classes I have taught so far were rather small; nevertheless, I was quite fascinated by
the diversity of experiences and ideas students
brought to each class. Thanks to the nature of the
online class, we tend to have more space and time
for peer-to-peer interaction and self-reflection
through assignments like Discussion Forum and
Task Analysis. This is a great opportunity to learn
from and share with one another your experience,
ideas, and expertise. In addition, you may meet
new people who are from the area where you’d
like to teach in the future or those who have jobs
that you are considering in your career path.
AU
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2016
What do you think are the most important
attributes of a good instructor?
I think a good understanding of the ‘needs’ of
students is critical. We actually discuss the importance of needs analysis in classes, which I think
is a very important step in teaching for any level
and in any context. Sometimes, however, grasping
the ‘real’ needs of learners/students is not so easy
because learners may not know what their needs
are other than having vague ideas or goals. For example, when I was teaching in Korea, I did a student survey in English Writing class asking students
what they expect to learn in the course. Most of
the answers were like “I really want to command
good English.” Or “ I want to write well in English.” So good instructors will help learners to real-
Dr.Paik at the AAAL conference in Toronto 2015 with a colleague
ize their ‘real’ needs and also help them establish
‘goals’ to meet the needs step by step. In order to
do so, instructors need to pay more attention to
whether learning is taking place, rather than
whether they are delivering the content as planned
in class. I believe this can be done effectively
through paying attention to students (their work
and participation) with genuine interest in them
and also being a good listener.
Another important attribute of good instructors
is being authentic. While learning skills and techniques to become a good/effective teacher through
the graduate program, I hope there will also be a
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Faculty Spotlight, Continued
time for teachers to find more about themselves:
strengths, weaknesses, and uniqueness, and how
to maximize all these features in teaching and
learning for self and others. We need all types of
teachers as we meet all types of students in the
classroom. By being authentic, I believe we can
learn and teach how to be more effective in communication. Finally, I’d like to say character matters. When we remember our teachers in the
past, we probably don’t remember them by their
teaching skills or techniques. We often remember
them by their characters and we cherish those
teachers who encouraged and inspired us to learn
and pursue our goals.
For overall online education? I think online
teaching/online education will definitely grow even
further and also become diversified in the future.
For MA TEFL at AU? There are so many competitors in the online TEFL/TESL sector. However, I
believe the AU TEFL program offers high quality
content with a good and well balanced curriculum
compared with any other program. To make it
even stronger and competitive in the sector, I
think the program should find a way to diversify
and specialize its curriculum even further to find
and meet the needs of specific target groups by
providing content, strategies, and resources eclectically. I hope the online MA TEFL program will
thrive and set a new trend in online education of
How do you envision the future of online the future generation.
teaching?
Online MA in TEFL
The online MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) program is designed specifically for students interested in teaching English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) in secondary schools, universities, and private language schools outside of the
United States.
Students take one course during each 8-week session and may complete the MA in
TEFL in eleven sessions (less than 6 semesters) of continuing coursework from locations in or outside of the United States.
Please visit http://www.american.edu/cas/tesol/ma-tefl.cfm
for more
information and to learn how to apply!
AU
TESOL
SPRING
2016
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Welcome to AU TESOL!
Jaime Ykemiyashiro
(Graduate Certificate
in TESOL) is from Lima, Peru. He holds a BS
degree in Decision Sciences and Management
Information Systems
from George Mason University and Graduate Certificates in Financial Planning and Wealth Management from
Georgetown University and American University. He spent the past 20 years working in the banking, finance, wealth management, and family office industries. He
stepped down from a successful career in a
single family office last year to pursue new
personal and professional interests in the
United States and abroad. These interests
include a career in TESOL, starting a business enterprise overseas, and traveling
around the globe. He strives to keep physically and mentally active. He enjoys playing
and watching sports, practicing yoga and
meditation, listening to music, being outdoors, and eating good food with great
company .
Dominikus Baok (MA
TESOL) prefers to be
called Dom. He is from
Retraen-Timor, Indonesia.
He came to the United
States in May 2007. Over
the last 7 years, he has
lived among, worked with and ministered to
numerous small Catholic Communities in
rural mountains of Appalachia, West Virginia.
Those communities are St. Thomas Catholic
Church in Gassaway, Risen Lord Church in
Clay county, St. Ann Church in Webster
Springs and Holy Family Church in Richwood. He is here at AU for the MA TESOL
program. He has a great passion for language
learning especially English, and is taking this
program to prepare himself for teaching English for adults coming to this country
for different purposes, or probably for teaching at the University back home in Indonesia.
Leyla Doroudi (MA TESOL) has experience of different countries and
cultures. Born in Iran, her native language is Farsi, but she started learning
English when she was a child. Her background is in the sciences, and she has
earned a master's degree in chemical and biological engineering but has a
love for English language and enjoys reading literary works and fiction.
She had spent time in the UK where she completed her previous studies.
She also taught English to adult English learners before starting her degree in
chemical engineering, and her passion to teach motivated her to start this TESOL program.
Leyla was living in London before joining the TESOL community at AU.
Maya Killingsworth is recent graduate of Geor- ceived her BA in Spanish. She also studied Viola
gia State University in Atlanta, GA where she re- Performance at Columbus State University in CoAU
TESOL
SPRING
2016
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18
Welcome to AU TESOL!
Jorge
Rivera
(MA TEFL) was
born in Puerto
Rico and grew up
in Maryland. He
went to school at
University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and
obtained a B.A. in Modern Languages
and Linguistics. Afterwards he taught
English in Japan for 6 years and loved it.
Currently he is a AmeriCorps Member
working at the Arlington Education Employment Program (REEP) teaching ESL
classes. He looks forward to learning a
lot and working with everyone at
American University.
Maya
Killingsworth
(MA/MIP TESOL) is recent graduate of Georgia
State University in Atlanta,
GA where she received
her BA in Spanish. She also
studied Viola Performance
at Columbus State University in Columbus, GA for
three years. She has played violin and viola
since the age of three and continues to play
whenever she has the opportunity. She received her TEFL certificate in March of 2015
from Oxford Seminars. Maya is happy and
very excited to be a new graduate student at
American University as a member of the
Master's International Program pursuing her
Master's degree in TESOL. She looks forward
to becoming familiar with the DC area and
pursuing her passion for language.
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