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Greetings and Happy New Year from ICLS!
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Welcome to the first edition of our
e-newsletter for our former and current ESL students and friends. It’s our
way of keeping in touch with you. But,
first, we hope that you—and your family and friends—are well. And we want
to wish you a Happy New Year and all the best in 2009. We also hope
that you are using the English language skills you worked hard to develop
at ICLS!
Many things here at ICLS remain the same,
though there have been some changes: we’ve moved into a new office
building; we’re going through accreditation of all our programs, and we
have a new ESL Coordinator. But
Karen is still running the show, and Max, Rick and Laura - with the
addition of new teachers - are guiding our students. So, as you can see, there are changes and
there is tradition. With this periodic newsletter we hope to combine
the two - bringing you news about a familiar place and friendly people.
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ICLS in 2009
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For those of you who finished your
program before January 2007, we want you to know that ICLS moved eight
blocks up the street to our new location at 1133 15th Street NW. The move offered a much-needed
opportunity to increase our space and upgrade our facilities. We now have
37 private and group classes, a spacious student lounge and kitchen, a
15-seat language lab, and a conference room – all on one floor. Now
there are no more steps to go up and down between floors!
Instead of being around the corner from
the
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White House, we are now across the street
from the Washington Post. The
location may be different, but it is still a good story to tell your
friends - that ICLS is in an exciting place.
In today’s language learning environment,
the use of the Internet has become an integral part of every class. ESL
students can instantly access unlimited materials via high-speed broadband
dealing with a whole spectrum of current and relevant issues on a daily
basis. Each ICLS classroom is now a
mini-language lab. ICLS has over 60
computers installed in both the classrooms and the language lab. Our students can tap into an unlimited
source of authentic online audio, video and written materials with 20-inch
flat screen LCD monitors and powerful microprocessors.
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"Q and A" with Max Ellison
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Most of you may remember Max Ellison;
many of you had Max as a teacher.
Max continues to be one of our most experienced and valued teachers.
Kenneth Dreesen, our new ESL
Coordinator, interviewed Max for this newsletter.
Kenneth: Why do you teach?
Max:
My students always say, “We can tell you like to teach. You enjoy this.”
It’s like travelling. I love, I’ve spent a lot of time travelling. Teaching is pretty much like travelling
overseas. In fact, in some ways it’s better. I’ll give you an
example. If I go to Japan
on vacation, I’ll stay at a hotel. People at the hotel don’t open up;
they don’t tell me about their parents or their family. They treat me
as a customer. But with my students, they trust me. They open
up. Sometimes they open up and reveal secrets, such as personal
problems. When I get on a plane and go to another country, often
times I’m kept out of their culture, their life. No one sits with me
and opens up or treats me to a heart-to-heart conversation. Students
do that with me.
Kenneth:
You have taught many students many things over
the years. But what have students taught you?
Max: I’ve learned how similar we are in
spite of, you know, the appearance or superficial cultural differences we
have. This can be wonderful, by the
way. Differences are good.
Basically, we are the same; and that helps a teacher like me reach out to
them. I understand them and they
understand me. We share a sense of humor. Jokes may be culturally
biased; but, you know, a comedian like Charlie Chaplin, not with language
but with body style, discovered that there is a universality of humor, how
people react to certain things.
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Kenneth: Do you often use
humor in the classroom?
Max: Of course! I tease my students all the time. I may say, “Where are you from?” And the student responds: “I’m from France,” and I say, “What city in France?” And they say, “Paris.” I say, “Paris? Is it a small city?”—and their jaw
drops. Or with the Japanese. “Tokyo?
Tokyo? I think I’ve heard of it.” The first day, of course. When they don’t know me. But they’re smart. They catch on quickly. We all enjoy a good laugh.
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Kenneth: You have taught
many students over the years. Has there been any student who sticks in your
memory?
Max: There are always those students who are
just like a sponge. It’s not that
they do something for me. It’s just
that they absorb things so quickly, without putting up resistance. I believe most of us resist
learning. Some people open up
quickly and they let you work on them.
Fine tuning means, sometimes, being critical and that fine tuning
requires a lot of work on the part of the teacher. But the students also have to trust the
teacher, let him or her work on them.
We hope you've enjoyed this interview
with Max. Perhaps it brought back a
few memories of your time at ICLS.
If you have any questions for Max, please email them to newsletter@icls.com. We will incorporate some of your
questions in future issues of the newsletter.
Tell us what you are doing!
We hope you have enjoyed our first
newsletter and look forward to the next issue. If you want to tell us where you are and
what you are doing — or if you just want to say “hi” — please send us an
e-mail to newsletter@icls.com. And please feel free to forward this
newsletter to your friends.
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ICLS Program and
Schedule Announcements
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The first four sessions of the Intensive
English Program (IEP) scheduled for 2009 start on January 5, February 2,
March 2, and March 30. Please go to
our website www.ICLS.com
for additional program and schedule information.
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