FL Staff

Foreign Languages (FL) Staff

Sidney Clein, Foreign Languages Director

Education:
High School Exchange in Colombia, SA.

B.A. Art/Art History from UNC, Chapel Hill, NC Academic Junior Year in Florence, Italy

Display/Exhibit & Graphic Design, FIT in NYC.

TESL Certification from TFLI

Experience:
Sidney's early exposure to Hebrew and Yiddish as well as her study of Spanish in middle and high school inspired early travels abroad to Israel and Colombia. She went on to study Italian in college to compliment her coursework in classical music and fine arts which led to a Junior year..and a half.. in Italy -during which, she traveled extensively throughout Europe and beyond... Against her instincts, Sidney returned to the states just in time to complete her degree, graduated with honors and formed a rock band, performing locally for 2 years. Seeking a more culturally diverse environment in which to fail, Sidney moved to NYC to seriously pursue a career in music. Her parents were thrilled. After nearly 20 years in a 6th floor walk-up studio apartment and just too much success as a musician / actor / graphic designer / windowdresser / salesperson / non-profit telefundraising manager and, yes, waitress, Sidney gave up all the glamour and moved to Nashville... but, her desire to travel and eventually live abroad again soon brought her to TFLI where she was TESL Certified and served 2 years as an ESL Instructor honing her skills at TFLI & VUMC, before taking the position of Assistant Director of the Foreign Languages Department and, one year later, Director of the Foreign Languages Department at TFLI. Sidney is in her 5th year as the department director and hopes to travel again someday....

Languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Yiddish.

Miranda Runcie, Assistant Foreign Languages Director

miranda@tfli.org

Education:

B.A. in English, Truman State University

TESL Certification from TFLI

Experience:
Miranda studied at L'Abri Institute in Huemoz, Switzerland and at the International College of Seville in Seville, Spain. She instructed an Environmental Awareness class at Truman State University and volunteered in the campus recycling program. Miranda also spent a year teaching English classes to adults in Quito, Ecuador and to children at the Hacienda de Esperanza children’s home in Tabacundo, Ecuador.

Languages: English, Spanish

Maya Campbell, Foreign Languages Department Assistant & Spanish Instructor

maya@tfli.org

Education:

Erasmus Academic Scholarship Student of the University of Granada, Spain

Bachelor of Pedagogy of the Teaching of Bulgarian and English as a Foreign Language, Ruse University "Angel Kanchev", Bulgaria

Master of Educational Management, St Ciryl and St Methodius University of Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria
TESL Certification from TFLI

Experience

The years that Maya studied and lived in Spain as a student made her love the Spanish people, culture and language as much as she loves her own. Maya is a native of Bulgaria, where she taught Spanish and English to adults and children at a private language institute for six years. She has also done a great deal of translation and interpretation work, some for the Educational Department of the Spanish Embassy in Sofia as well as TFLI. Maya knows that in her home country, knowing foreign languages is a must, especially since Bulgaria is the newest member of the European Union. Maya has always loved her job as a foreign language instructor, and after she moved to Nashville in 2007 to marry, she fulfilled her dream of becoming a Spanish instructor. She teaches group and custom Spanish classes at TFLI in all levels, from introductory to advanced.

Languages: Bulgarian, Spanish, English, Russian

Maria Simpson, Senior Spanish Instructor

maria@tfli.org

Education:

B.A. in Education (major in ESL) Instituto Universitario Pedagógico de Caracas, Caracas, Venezuela

Florida University, in Miami, Florida. TESL Certification from TFLI

Experience:

A native of Venezuela, Maria taught ESL in high schools in Venezuela. She was the Assistant Director at the Bolivar and Bello Institute, in Kingston, Jamaica and taught in vocational and elementary schools in Plymouth, Montserrat and at Florida National College in Miami, Florida for two years. An Instructor at TFLI since 1993 as an independent contractor and as a staff member since 2000, Maria has traveled in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Languages: Spanish, English