Graduate News

Henry Gerlits (June ’07):

“Yes, it's true, I'm back in Korea.  For the next two weeks, I'll be working at Camp Fulbright, the same camp I taught at last year, only this time I'll be the Activities Director.  I'll get to plan and run all the super-fun activities during the mornings and evenings, and not have to worry about writing lesson plans for the classes in the afternoon.  After the camp I'll be traveling a bit around Korea, and then to Beijing and Shanghai before settling down again on the island of Jeju for another year.  This year I'll be teaching at Cheju University, and though I'll miss the middle schoolers (I already do!) I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to teach at the university level.” 

Check out Henry’s blog!  http://teadiaries.blogspot.com  

HENRY GERLITS (JUNE ‘07)

Andrew Blais (September ‘06):

“In May I began teaching two weekly ESL classes at B'nai B'rith Covenant House in Brighton.  Covenant House provides affordable housing for seniors, and also forms a strong community with many programs to enrich the residents' lives.  My students are all Russian speaking, mostly from Russia and Ukraine.  This has been as much a learning experience for me.  I tutor students in ESL and computer skills at Center Club in Boston, a Clubhouse which assists people with psychiatric and developmental disabilities.  I also run a computer skills group at Center House, a related mental health day treatment center.”

Debra Tait (April ’07):

“I work for DIAL (Directions in Adult Learning) teaching an adult Beginner class two nights a week. I started out volunteering there and was hired to teach. I really enjoy teaching ESL to adults and find that the methodology that I learned at The Boston Language Institute helps me to create interesting lessons for my students. I've even been able to use some of the lessons from my portfolio. With two hours for each class, I finally have a chance to get through all of my exercises!

My husband and I picked up our customized camper van from Texas and drove it home. We plan to camp around the country next year and figure out where we want to live next. I hope to teach ESL wherever we go.”

Dave Buerger (April ’04):

“The big news for me is that I graduated in June of this year with a Bachelor's Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies from Cambridge College. Having a great experience with Kym, Steven and my fellow TEFLers - and completing my certificate - gave me the extra confidence I needed to go back to college and get my degree. I've also been busy with music and am studying the art of Japanese taiko drumming with Odaiko New England.  This summer, I performed with the group at a Berklee College of Music percussion festival.”

Larry Goldsmith (January ’06):

“I have been living in Mexico City since September.  I would be interested in sharing experiences with anyone else in Mexico or with teaching experience here.”

Elizabeth Robbins (June ‘04):

“After graduation from the Institute, I flew to Hong Kong and worked for 2 months teaching English and coordinating summer camp programs for the YMCA.  As much as I loved Hong Kong, my last year of college brought me back to the US, where I graduated and spent 2 years teaching vocational high school English in Brockton, MA. This year I have moved out to Chicago, where I am teaching ESL and getting my MA in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education. If all goes according to plan, I'll be helping to plan international curricula within the next two years!”

Gwen Atkinson (September ‘02):

“This is my fourth year teaching English in Seoul.  I am just finishing my first semester of an online MA-TESOL program at The New School in New York City.”

John Andrade (January ’05):

“I came back to Colombia just 2 months ago, I taught in Colombia and had a very nice experience, now I really want to study something else in the institute I will be soon in there.”
 
Michal Shapiro (September ’06):

“I have been living in Valparaiso, Chile for over a year now teaching English.  During this year I have been working in a variety of settings, from universities to institutes to private classes; teaching all different age students classes varying from basic English to general conversation.  Here in Chile, English teachers are in high demand and the work is good.” 

MICHAL SHAPIRO (SEPTEMBER ’06) - on the far left

Dylan Anderson-Berens (September ’07):

“For now I'm working in Old San Juan, PR.  The novelty has worn off and the reality of being here is setting in right about now, after about a month here.  The job is interesting, the food is great, and I really like the handful of friends I've made.  No TEFL for now though.  When I come back to Boston in April I think I'll look into teaching somewhere in Boston for a while.” 

Natalie Troia (January ’07):

”I know Boston is not as exotic as teaching in Japan, South America or Europe, but I am teaching at the Institute.”

And we’re happy to have her with us!

Amanda Johnson (October ‘04):

“Since graduation, I've gone on to Teachers College, Columbia University where I'm finishing up my MA in Applied Linguistics/TESOL.  I'm also teaching in the Community English Program at TC.  Once I graduate I'd like to work in educational publishing, although this is entirely subject to change once, twice, or every five minutes from now until graduation.  I love living in NYC although I do miss Boston, as the sports teams in Boston are far, far superior to those here!”

Alan Cohen (January ’03): 

“I am doing well. I teach at Centro Latino in Chelsea. I also teach students in Colombia, Mexico, and China using Skype.”

Mike Gulinello (June ’07):

“I took a job teaching in South Korea. I've been over here 2 months now, and everything's going well.  If any students want current info about Korea they can contact me (mikegulinello@gmail.com).”

Prisana Jiraboondilok (June ’07):

“My life as a Thai teacher is extremely busy.  I'm teaching 6-7 periods everyday.  And this does not include everything else I have to do as a teacher.  I'm still looking for a position as an ESL teacher.  I found it very difficult because I'm not a native English speaker.  If someone contacted you regarding this matter, could you please kindly let me know?  I'd love to apply for the position.”

Lindsay Buenvista (July ’07):

“My job is working out wonderfully.  I now have eight students and I teach four nights a week.  I have four Brazilians, two Spanish, a Vietnamese, and a Russian.  They're all so great!  It's really a great mix of people.  I definitely miss all the Russians at the Institute though!!!”

Federica Lotti (July ’07):

“I would like to say hello to my trainers and to my peers and tell them: keep in touch!
At the moment, I’m teaching English and Italian at a private language school in Madrid.  In 2008, I’m planning to move, maybe back to Italy…who knows!”

FEDERICA LOTTI (JULY ‘07)

Kathleen Mague (June ’06):

My husband and I taught high school in two different high schools in the town of Mohács, Hungary.  My husband taught English in grades 9 – 12 at the college-prep high school and I taught grades 9 – 13 in a vocational high school to students who were interested in working in tourism.  I taught 23 classes a week in English, American History, and a once-a-week class on “manners/behavior.”

Mohács is a very charming, small town of 20,000 people located on the Danube River.  Pécs, a city of approximately 160,000, was an hour away by bus and Budapest about four hours by bus.  We were thrilled to have a movie theater in our town which showed American movies fairly frequently and could see many more movies in Pécs, as well as attend concerts there.

Hungarians are very polite and kind people, but English is not spoken widely, especially outside of Budapest.  One of my teachers exchanged a weekly class in Hungarian for a class in English.   I wish I had had more time to study the language, especially in advance.  We did get some private tutoring in Hungarian before we left.  I would recommend to anyone that they study the language of a country as much as possible before leaving.  We were able to make ourselves understood in traveling and local shopping, however. 

Mike and I both spent a great deal of time in lesson preparation.  As with any new endeavor, there is a steep learning curve, but I certainly would say that the TEFL Certificate preparation at the Institute was extremely helpful.

Our teaching year started in Budapest with five days of orientation, during which we met about thirty-five of the fifty teachers CETP (Central European Teaching Program) had recruited.  We were then picked up by our schools and taken to our various posts around the country.  We both had a “contact teacher” who was assigned to help us with any problems.  Other teachers also helped with professional and personal questions, such as where to shop or get a haircut, etc.  I was able to participate in several school events, such as the teachers’ Christmas play.

Travel opportunities were plentiful.  In addition to our school holidays, CETP arranged for us to have 5 additional vacation days.  Some of these days were used when CETP's in-country director provided us with a great opportunity to travel to Romania for five days with the other English teachers.

During the Christmas vacation we traveled to Spain and Portugal with two of our fellow teachers and during Easter break, we met friends in Croatia.   After completing our school year on June 30, we used the money we had saved during the year to help fund more than three months of travel all around Europe.  We were also very fortunate that two of our married teachers invited us to travel with them to Bratislava and to stay in their flat in Budapest on many occasions.

Our work and travel experiences really expanded our global understanding.  Teaching abroad is a wonderful way to get to know people from another culture and to begin to understand how America fits into the global scene.  You also learn a lot about yourself - your goals, your priorities and how you function in circumstances in which you are not always comfortable.  I would recommend the experience to anyone.

We arrived home in time to greet the arrival of a new grandson, after which we will look at other teaching possibilities, maybe this time in Asia.

KATHLEEN MAGUE (JUNE ’06) – 4th from the left in the second row