ESL Staff

English as a Second Language Department Staff

Angie Harris angie@tfli.org ESL/TESL Director

Education: M.Ed. Peabody/Vanderbilt in Community Development; B.A. in Foreign Languages/Education at TTU; TN Teacher Certification.

Experience: Angela served as a high school English teacher in the US Peace Corps in Papua New Guinea from 1991-1993. From the Pacific, she continued teaching ESL in South Korea. There she designed the ESL program for Sungshin Women's University in Seoul and directed the program for 3.5 years. From 1998-1999, Angela was an ESL Instructor for the USIS American Language Center (ALC) in Kathmandu, Nepal. She then helped privatize ALC and became the Assistant Director for the center, now known as the English Language Center. Angela has been the ESL/TESL Director at TFLI since 1999. Here she developed the ESL and TESL Department.

Languages: English (native); Spanish (conversational); Korean, Nepalese, Tok-Pisin (rudimentary)

Thuy Nguyen thuy@tfli.org

Assistant Director of ESL; ESL Instructor; TESL Trainer

Education: B.A. in French Literature and B.A. in International Relations 2002, Emory & Henry College. Graduate study at Emory University. TESL Certificate 2004, TFLI. Masters in English with emphasis in ESL 2009, University of Memphis.

Experience: Assistant French Teacher at Emory & Henry College (2000-2002), ESL instructor at Institut de Touraine, France (2000-2001). ESL instructor for Emory's Migrant Worker Program (1998-2002). ESL instructor, TESL trainer at TFLI (2004-Present).

Languages: Vietnamese, French, survival Thai, learning Japanese and Spanish.

Jane Bentz

jane@tfli.org

Registrar, ESL Assistant/TESL Coordinator

Jane was born and raised in Michigan, where she received a Bachelor's degree from Michigan State University. After careers in the financial products and healthcare

industries, she began volunteering at TFLI. After several months as a volunteer, Jane enrolled in and successfully completed the TESL course. This led to her present position. She facilitates many of the behind-the-scenes activities of the department, as well as manages the enrollment and practice teaching components of the TESL course. Jane's goal is to make the department run smoothy and to create an environment for success for all students.

Maegan Young taxi@tfli.org

ESL & Taxi Test Proctor

Education: B.B.A Business Management, Music Business Emphasis, Belmont University.

Languages: English, "bits & pieces of:" French, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and a few minor verb conjugations in Latin

Experience: Raised on the East Coast, Maegan moved from Maryland to Tennessee to study Music Business at Belmont University. As a student, she took courses in Spanish and had the opportunity to travel to China during the summer of 2006 where she found a strong curiosity for other cultures. Maegan has also visited Jamaica and toured the Bahamas as Road Manager for Nashville Singer/Songwriter Jimmy Barret. Though English is the only language she speaks fluently, she has also studied: 1st year French, 1st year Spanish, 2 years Latin, Basic Vietnamese (on tape), Basic Chinese (for school travel), and self-study in American Sign Language. She plans to continue her language/ESL education at TFLI^.