JANET LOUISEJANET LOUISE
Janet Louise is a woman who has led two lives. Her colleagues know her as an accomplished ESL professional with extensive experience in international education. In fact, she has been a familiar presence at ELI for almost 15 years, beginning her career here as a tutor in 1984 and becoming a full-time teacher in 1985. Not everyone knows, however, that when Janet first began her adult life, she opted for the more traditional roles of wife and mother, marrying just out of high school. In the years that followed, while raising her son, Matt, Janet grew increasingly involved in politics and the women's movement, and she came to the realization, at the age of 31, that she wished to extend her horizons by getting a college education. Though it took some seven years, she successfully completed a bachelor's degree in liberal studies, majoring in communications and minoring in women's studies. She went on to study for a master's degree in linguistics at the University of Nebraska.
Janet's first job after graduate school was teaching English and linguistics in China to college English teachers-in-training. She discovered her passion for international education then. Janet truly enjoys living and working abroad. "It's personally challenging," she remarks. "I like meeting ordinary people, eating the food, making new friends." She served as a visiting professor at Kobe-Shoin Women's University in Japan in 1993, and has indulged her love of international travel and study as a presenter at various professional conferences around the world, from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Beijing, China.
At ELI, Janet is perhaps best known for her innovative and fun approach to English teaching. She implemented, for example, student-planned curricula before the notion was ever discussed in professional TESL publications. And since 1987, students in her class, English through Music, have learned the ins and outs of contemporary American culture while honing their listening and speaking skills by watching and creating music videos. Her students' original music videos are a popular feature at graduation ceremonies. Making videos "keeps students motivated," Janet says, because "they are involved in the process and take ownership of it." Janet not only teaches, but also frequently coordinates special programs, most notably the Kobe-Shoin Women's University program from Japan, whose regular recurrence attests to its success. She values the diverse opportunities her job at ELI affords her.
In her free time, Janet teaches Tai Chi, a physical and spiritual discipline she has practiced for more than 20 years, at the Unitarian Church in Newark, where she is a member. The ancient Chinese art, she says, "gives me peace of mind and keeps me healthy. It reminds me of the importance of balance and harmony in our lives." Those who know Janet will recognize her in these words. Though a dynamic professional life is important to her, it is not everything. What is a career without the numerous friendships she has made around the world? Without the joy of time spent with her granddaughter, Maeghan? Without a hundred other such fundamental human pleasures? It is this perspective on life that makes Janet's presence seem a little oasis of peace and serenity.
ISABEL WHITAKER
Isabel Whitaker has two passions--teaching and dancing. Maybe this is not surprising, considering that her mother was a dancer and her father a university professor. As a child, Isabel experienced firsthand what it is like to live in a foreign country with only limited language skills. She went to school in Lima, Peru, while her father was conducting research there. The kindness of strangers made this experience considerably easier, and she is glad to have a chance to return the favor in her present position as an ELI tutor.
Isabel thoroughly enjoys the one-on-one interaction during tutoring hours, especially after having taught 2535 students at a time as a public school English teacher for 20 years. When Isabel retired from that position, she moved to New York City and taught ballet and Spanish dance there. Her three sons grown up and on their own, Isabel finally had a chance to combine her passion for teaching and dancing. After a few years, however, she started to miss language teaching and enrolled in a master's degree program at the University of Delaware. She received her master's in education with a focus on teaching English as a Second Language in 1996.
Isabel started tutoring at ELI while working on her master's degree, and still remembers her first student, a young man from Turkey. Now she works at the tutoring center for 20 hours a week and cannot imagine doing anything else. She had missed delving into the life of the mind as a dance instructor and now feels doubly enriched by her highly motivated students, whom she calls "the best and the brightest in the world." Needless to say, she talks to them about her love of dancing and the ballroom dance class she still teaches locally. Yet helping her students achieve their goals and enabling them to express their own ideas is the most rewarding occupation Isabel can think of.
When she meets colleagues from her public school days, she tells them, "I'm in teacher heaven." That's because most public school teachers in this country never have the chance to get to know their students as individuals. The close personal contact with ELI students is what makes Isabel so happy about being a tutor. She loves seeing them succeed and feels deep personal satisfaction as she witnesses their progress. Isabel has great confidence in what she calls their "fine minds." According to Isabel, the future of the world depends on these promising young people, and she takes great pleasure in helping them along the way.
DAVID QUAYLE
ELI students know orientation coordinator David Quayle as the man with the answers, not only to language questions but also to those essential questions of everyday life in the U.S.: housing, food, transportation, paying bills, making friends, and having fun. David has a wealth of information to share and is always ready to be of service. He sees helping students enjoy their stay in the U.S. as the most rewarding aspect of his work. Few students know, however, how easily David can empathize with their experience as international travelers and language learners.
David first became interested in international work when he was in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany for almost three years. This was his first exposure to a new language and culture, and he took full advantage of it, learning German by talking to and making friends with local people. When he returned home, he studied Russian at the U. S. government's Russian language school and became fluent in Russian, although he didn't have the advantage that ELI students have, he said, of living in the country where the language is spoken.
David's international experience did not end when he left the army. As a UD undergrad, David spent a semester abroad in Vienna, Austria, where he practiced both his athletic skills and his language skills by joining a local rugby team. It was at this time David became interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages. Upon returning to the U.S., he worked for a time as a camping tour guide, shepherding international visitors around the U.S. every summer. Soon, however, he began to pursue his interest in ESL teaching, returning home to Delaware to complete a master's degree in ESOL at the University of Delaware.
David began his ELI career as a tutor and continued to broaden his experience as Reading Lab instructor and Study Tour instructor/guide before becoming orientation coordinator. When he is not busy planning cultural and recreational activities, David greatly enjoys being a new father. His son Peter was born April 8, 1998. He looks forward to having the opportunity to share his rich travel experiences with his own family in the future, as he continues to help ELI students make the most of their experiences in the United States.
His advice to students is to "Relax! You've got a great learning opportunity here . . . the whole country is your classroom. Relax and make the most of it!"
Students can be assured that David will always be ready, willing, and very able to help them do so.
