WINTER 2007

Message from the President

December 18, 2006

Dear TEFL Grads,

Once again, it is my pleasure to wish each of you and your families a happy, healthy and cozy holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

As I write this letter, I am preparing to leave in the morning for my annual yoga retreat in Florida. For the first time, I’ll be participating with both my wife, Siri Devta, and our son, Guru Prakash, now 11 ½. It will be a time of meditation, renewal and reconnecting with old friends from all over the world. The weather in central Florida may not be much warmer than it has been in Boston this past week -- over 60 degrees on more than one December day. The good news is it’s warm; the bad news is it’s global warming.

The TEFL program this year continues to grow and prosper in the face of change. Trainers Jeff Martin (July 2004) and Owen Plant have left the program - Owen, after 8 ½ years with The Boston Language Institute, to pursue his music career in California and Jeff to achieve his dream of joining the Foreign Service. Senior Trainer Agnieszka Bourret (April 2004)) will be on leave for the next six months as she completes her master’s degree in TESOL
at Simmons College.

Meanwhile, I am delighted to report that former trainer Stephen Walsh has returned from two years in Poland with a master’s degree in history and will take over as Senior Trainer in Agnieszka’s absence. Peter Ruggiero, a part-time English teacher at the Institute for the past three years and Coordinator of Academic Support at Bay State College, has become a full-time TEFL trainer and Susan Bippus has joined our training staff after teaching ESL and TEFL in the Czech Republic. Gef Fahey, an October 2000 graduate of the program, has returned to us as a TEFL trainer with twelve years of teaching under his belt. And lastly, Matt Zimmerman (February 2005) a trainer during our busy summer sessions, has returned to Dublin to continue his studies in English literature. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.

Please stay in touch. We look forward to hearing your news and to being of service to you. May God bless each and every one of you.

Siri Karm Singh Khalsa
President