Faculty

Julie Bird received a B.A. in English and an M.A. in TESOL both from SIUC. She has 9 years teaching experience in the U.S. and Taiwan. Her interests include finding interesting and effective ways to teach reading and to get students involved and excited about learning English. She has presented workshops and participated in panel discussions at universities and conferences in Taiwan. e-mail / weblog

Catherine Caldwell received her B.A. in Social Welfare from San Diego State University and M.A. in EFL from SIUC. She has 17 years of teaching experience at CESL. Her research areas include materials development, course design, and all aspects of teacher training. She has presented workshops at regional and international conferences and is the author of two articles in TESOL's New Ways series. She was nominated in 2005 for TESOL's Teaching Excellence Award. She conducted teacher-training sessions in Chile in 2006 for the Ministry of Education and the Fulbright Commission. e-mail

Amanda Colón received a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Liberal Arts both from Louisiana State University. She also received her M.A. in TESOL from SIUC. She has taught ESL in the US and overseas. Amanda's professional interests are making students more culturally aware about their new environment in the classroom and outside of the classroom, course development, and assessment. In her spare time Amanda loves traveling, cooking, reading Spanish novels, and spending time with her family. e-mail

Cheryl Ernst earned her Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University and her MA-TESOL from Northern Arizona University. She has 14 years teaching experience in programs in Finland, Japan, and at several US institutions including Harvard University, The University of Findlay, the University of Delaware, and the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is professionally active giving presentations, submitting articles, and serving on professional committees at the local and international levels. She conducted teacher training sessions in Santiago, Chile for the MInistry of Education and the Fulbright Commission and is a professional language trainer for business managers and executives. Her areas of interest include teacher training, working with the International Teaching Assistant population and in academic English. e-mail
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Elisa Hunt received her MA in Applied Linguistics from Ohio University and her BA in Speech and Hearing Sciences from Indiana University. She has 10 years experience teaching ESL in the US and overseas. Professionally, Elisa is very interested in cross-cultural writing. Her goal is to show teachers and students alike that learning about writing can be interactive, fun, and exciting! International cooking, playing the piano, gardening, and playing with her young daughter are some of her hobbies. Elisa has traveled to over 20 countries but is happy to call Carbondale home now.e-mail
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Kara Lawrence received her B. A. in Psychology from Murray State University in Kentucky and a M.A. in TESOL from SIUC. She has taught ESL in the USA and Taiwan. She has presented at workshops and conferences in Taiwan and the US about cross-cultural communication, cooperative teaching, team-teaching, and teaching the TOEFL iBT. Additionally, she published an article for an online journal in Taiwan about teaching the TOEFL. Her research interests include action research, materials development, incorporating authentic materials, and TOEFL training. e-mail

Thomas Leverett received his M.A. in Linguistics and TESL from the University of Iowa and his B.A. in Russian Studies and American History from Cornell College in Iowa. He has over 20 years experience as an ESL instructor, has lived and worked in Korea, and is the author of several articles and book reviews. Email: e-mail / webpage / weblog

Gary Linebaugh has a PhD in linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MA in linguistics from the University of Texas at El Paso. In addition to the United States, he has taught in Venezuela, China, Mexico, Hungary, and Papua New Guinea. He has presented at conferences in the United States, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. He is the author of a book about vowel harmony. e-mail

Marilyn Rivers received her M.A. in Teaching EFL from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and B.A. in Elementary Education from Harding University. She has 17 years of experience as an ESL professional at CESL as a teacher and as the director of the program. She has also taught English for the MBA in Harvard University's Institute of English Language summer program where she received two Excellence in Teaching awards. She has 6 additional years of teaching experience in public schools. Her research interests are in the areas of ITA and teacher training and ESL reading. She has presented papers at regional and national conferences and has published several articles in TESOL's New Ways series. e-mail
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Colin Robinson holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and an MA in Spanish, both from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. He received a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Riverside. He received his TESOL Certificate from the University of California, Riverside, Extension. He has published an article regarding TA materials and has presented papers at regional and national ESL and foreign language conferences. His interests include TA mentoring, materials development, and ITA training. e-mail

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Staff

Joy Carter, Office Systems Specialist, attended Manhattanville College in New York where she majored in Russian and the University of Pittsburgh where she received her B.A. in Elementary Education. She has 20 years experience with CESL. e-mail

Jane Meuth, Administrative Aide, received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Workforce Education and Development from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She will complete her Ph.D. in Workforce Education and Development in May, 2009. Jane has been with the Southern Illinois University system for over 20 years. She previously served in a clerical capacity for an Illinois Minority Graduate Fellowship Program for 8 years and as Administrator for 9 years. e-mail

Tiffany Player is the CESL International Student Advisor and has been in the field of international education for more than 6 years. Her primary responsibilities include advising students on immigration, cross-cultural, academic and personal concerns, developing intercultural programs and services for the CESL community, and promoting departmental support for CESL across the SIU campus. Ms. Player has a B.A. from Rice University and will complete her M.A. degree in History in Spring 2007 from the University of Georgia. Her most recent training has been in the field of international education. She has received certificates in the following areas: Foundations of Intercultural Communication, Facilitating Intercultural Discovery, Exploring Cultural Values, and Learning Intercultural Concepts through Training. Prior to coming to CESL in September 2006, Ms. Player was the Coordinator for International Student Services at Loyola University New Orleans. e-mail

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Chris Baughman - e-mail

Sarah Chang - e-mail

Tamara Poss - e-mail

Seth Weiner - e-mail

Lucas Dickerson - e-mail

Mackie Garrett - e-mail

Mike Gilmore - e-mail

Miho Hamamoto - e-mail

Tracy Harmon - e-mail

Jessica Jacobs - e-mail

Wakako Kinoshita - e-mail

Rachel Miller - e-mail

Gretchen Smith - e-mail

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