Welcome!
Gonzaga University’s English Language Center (ELC) offers a fully accredited academic ESL program, Master of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second Language (MA/TESL), Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI), Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate courses both on campus and abroad, as well as English language support to the entire Gonzaga community.
Founded in 1978 as an intensive English program, the ELC offers year-round intensive ESL classes in ten levels of instruction for foreign students seeking undergraduate and graduate admission to Gonzaga and other universities, as well as to assist international professionals in improving their overall English language abilities. The primary mission of the English Language Center’s ESL program “is to provide pre-university academic intensive English instruction to international students who wish to pursue studies at American institutions of higher learning or who wish to improve their English language skills for professional or personal reasons.” With the inception of the MATESL Program in 1998 and other teacher-training initiatives, Gonzaga’s ESL Program has broadened its mission to include services to professionals from a variety of backgrounds and countries, and those seeking professional certification, while maintaining its primary goal of preparing students from other countries to pursue successful studies in one of the University’s 93 academic fields.
The ELC’s faculty members bring a wealth of experience to the program, ranging from two to more than 30 years of teaching in the program. All faculty members have a master’s degree or higher in TESL or a related field, in addition to having diverse backgrounds including: Higher Ed., Intensive Language Programs, Public and Private Institutions, K-12, and Bi-Lingual Special Ed., including both ESL and EFL. Faculty members frequently present at local, national and regional conferences, are involved in University committees and participate regularly in collaborative community ESL development. In addition, all of the full-time faculty teach classes in the MA/TESL program as well as the ESL Program. This has provided the opportunity for more in-depth research into theory and methodology surrounding TESL and applied linguistics.
The knowledge of the field, passion for teaching, and professionalism of the faculty is one of the greatest strengths of the program.
Over the past 35 years, the ESL program at Gonzaga has served more than 8,500 students from more than 70 different countries. Accredited since 2002 by the Commission on English Language Programs (CEA) and 2012 by the American Association of Intensive English Programs (AAIEP), its progressive curriculum, experienced professional faculty, and distinct mission make it a long-standing and respected unit of the University’s academic division, and a leading recognized regional IEP.
Gonzaga’s TESOL Programs offer a variety of options for individuals looking to enter the field of international education. TESOL Certificate courses are offered during the spring semester as well as over the summer, both on campus and abroad. TESOL Abroad locations have included Italy, Peru, Colombia, Poland and Japan and are open to both undergraduate and graduate students including non-matriculated students. In collaboration with the School of Education, the English Language Center offers an ELL endorsement for both undergraduate and graduate students. Our MA/TESL Program has graduated over 170 students and continues to grow in diversity admitting students from across the United States and around the world. Since being added in 2008, the Peace Corps Master’s International Program has developed into one of the largest TESOL focused PCMI programs in the country.
Meet our Faculty and Staff
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Melissa Heid, M.A.
Manager of Student Services, Recruitment, & International Contacts, English Language Center
Melissa is a Spokane native and earned her B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Gonzaga University. She also earned her Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga and truly is a Zag for life. Melissa loves her job because she gets to meet people from all around the world! Melissa occasionally teaches ESL and TESL and enjoys the opportunity to interact with students in and out of the classroom. Her hobbies include running, skiing, rock climbing, and traveling.
heid@gonzaga.edu
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Stashia A Kaiel,
ESL Program Coordinator/Immigration Advisor, English Language Center
Stashia has been involved in international education for the past 18 years. She has studied abroad in Spain, taught English in South Korea and in the United States, and has enjoyed helping students from the US and abroad adjust to life in a new country. She received her BA in Education from Eastern Washington University specializing in elementary and special education. Stashia has two daughters who keep her very busy . During her free time, she enjoys cooking, eating food from around the world, running, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.
kaiel@gonzaga.edu
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Pat Faulkinberry
Administrative Secretary, English Language Center
Pat received her B.S. in Education from Florida State University (GO NOLES!!), and also met her husband Chuck there. She and Chuck have two children; a son and daughter. Their son spent 2.5 years teaching English in Hanoi, Vietnam where he met his wife who was also teaching English. The two were married in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa in October 2012 and currently reside in Spokane. Their daughter graduated from James Madison University in May 2012 and is planning on attending graduate school in California. They enjoy their farm in north Spokane County along with their dog; Meg, and six chickens; Sandy, Mandy, Phyllis, Mamie, Loco and Sweet Pea. There is talk of adding goats to the family. Chuck will have a long “honey do” list to finish before that happens!
faulkinberryp@gonzaga.edu
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Tyler Wasson, MBA
Program Assistant II, English Language Center
Tyler is proud to continue his family’s storied history at Gonzaga University. Before starting his studies for an M.B.A. here at Gonzaga, Tyler earned his B.A. from Eastern Washington University in Human Resource Management with minors in International Business and Government. While at EWU he competed for their Cross Country and Track teams, and he is still an avid runner. In the summer of 2007 he left for the Peace Corps, spending 2 years in Bulgaria as a Community and Organizational Development Volunteer in the town of Isperih; followed by a year of freelance work in the Black Sea town of Burgas. Tyler is able to maintain his Bulgarian language skills at home with his lovely Bulgarian wife, and Gonzaga ESL Instructor, Stella Wasson.
wassont@gonzaga.edu
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Amy Wetterau
Program Assistant II, English Language Center
Amy is from Dayton, Ohio and graduated from Xavier University with her bachelor’s in German Language. She is currently finishing her Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language at Gonzaga University. She loves to travel, and her favorite countries include Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Nicaragua. Most recently, she spent a month teaching English in Zambia. Amy loves to cook, spend time outside, especially running and biking, and she is a lifelong learner.
wetterau@gonzaga.edu
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Jennifer Akins, M.A.
Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL
Jennifer graduated from Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA B.A. in English Literature. She also has M.A. in TESOL from WSU in Pullman. She lived and taught in France for three years. She has two boys ages 14 & 10. Jennifer likes to be outside biking or hiking, or inside reading, watching movies, or drinking coffee with her friends.
akins@gonzaga.edu
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Beata Arciszewska-Russo, M.A.
Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL
Beata studied linguistics, English and American literature at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and received her MA in TESL from Gdansk University in Poland. Her work as an ESL teacher has brought her to several small and large cities in her second home, the United States. Some of her favorite places include London, New York and Tucson. Beata has traveled to France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Sweden, and India,among others. Guiding students through the intricacies of English is her passion because of the incredible variety of human experience and culture she meets every day in the classroom.
arciszewska-russo@gonzaga.edu
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Heidi Doolittle, M.A.
Lecturer & ELC Chair, ESL & MA/TESL
Heidi spent almost three years in Japan teaching English and learning about Japanese culture. She has also traveled to India, Singapore, Thailand, Borneo, France, England, Belgium and Holland. Heidi received her Bachelor's Degree in Biology from Gonzaga as well as her Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language. She describes teaching ESL as an "adventure because each student brings so many different experiences and ideas to the classroom." In her free time, Heidi enjoys hiking, mountain biking, camping, playing Basketball, and spending time with family.
doolittleh@gonzaga.edu
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Bridget Green
Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL
Bridget has lived in Ireland and France and taught English as a Second Language in Japan, England, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. She graduated with a BA (Honors) in French Literature from Gonzaga University, an MA (Honors) in International Studies from the University of Sheffield in England, and an MA in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga. She has three beautiful, intelligent, and charming children and a smart and funny husband who also teaches English at a university. She loves teaching English to speakers of other languages and is especially interested in using technology for vocabulary acquisition and for improving reading skills. She says she's proud to work for Gonzaga's ESL and MA/TESL program because the students inspire her to innovate!
greenb@gonzaga.edu
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Ron Harris, Ph.D
Assistant Professor, ESL & MA/TESL
Ron has four degrees in English, including a doctorate, all from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). He has traveled to Japan, Australia, Mexico, Canada, England, France, Austria, Hungary and Italy. He enjoys teaching students who are excited about learning English! In his spare time, Ron likes listening to jazz, classical and opera music. He also enjoys tennis, carpentry, home remodeling, travel, literature and philosophy.
harris@gonzaga.edu
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James Hunter, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, ESL & MA/TESL
Director, MA/TESL
James has lived and traveled all over the world! Some highlights of his travel adventures include Hong Kong, Malaysia, Algeria, Ireland, China, Japan, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, and many more. He graduated from the University of Sheffield in England with a degree in Japanese and Political Science.James received his Master's in TESL from Eastern Washington University and his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. He enjoys getting to know people from other cultures and loves helping students communicate in English! James is married to another ESL teacher and has three children along with a dog named "Guapo." He enjoys playing traditional Irish music with his band, Floating Crowbar.
hunter@gonzaga.edu
Website
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Mary Jeannot, Ed.D
Associate Professor, ESL & MA/TESL
Mary studied French and Education at Seattle University and went on to receive her advanced degrees in ESL Education, Language, Literacy and Culture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Mary has taught English in Central African Republic, and has trained teachers in Mexico, Hungary, Micronesia, and the Ivory Coast. She also studied in France and traveled throughout Spain, Greece, Italy, Benin, Togo, Cameroon and Zaire. Mary enjoys hiking, reading, writing and research; specifically ethnography in the classroom and critical applied linguistics.
jeannot@gonzaga.edu
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Marilyn Jackson Runyan, M.A.
Assistant Professor, ESL & MA/TESL
Marilyn received her Bachelor's Degree in Art with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. She went on to graduate with her Master's in TESL from Eastern Washington University. Marilyn enjoys interacting with people from different cultures because it provides her with a new perspective on American culture and the world. She has traveled to Europe and Mexico and enjoys art, specifically drawing and painting. She also likes to read and cook!
runyan@gonzaga.edu
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Martha Savage, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, ESL & MA/TESL
Martha has a Bachelor's degree in Communicative Disorders from California State University Fresno, a Master's in Speech Pathology from San Jose State, and a PhD in Leadership from Gonzaga University. Her teaching has included the K-12 context, adult immigrant teaching and administration, and the university campus. Her dissertation focused on the K-12 classroom and teachers’ perspectives of teaching diverse classrooms while complying to NCLB accountability. Recently her area of active research has involved an inter-departmental collaboration with the School of Education to provide specific strategies and pedagogy for pre-service teachers to work with English Language learners (ELLs) in future classrooms. Internationally, Martha has taught in Indonesia and China working with national English teachers. Martha loves her job.” Being in a classroom is exactly where I want to be.” Martha enjoys the Northwest and is often found on a bike or in a race. She is married and now has two delightful grandsons.
savage@gonzaga.edu
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Jennie Sevedge, M.A.
Lecturer, ESL & MA/TESL
Jennie has a B.A. in English Literature and received a Master’s in TESOL from The University of Alabama. She traveled and studied all over Latin America, then lived in Colombia for 3 years where she taught English at Universidad de los Andes. She has also taught Spanish at Whitworth University, ESL and Composition courses at The University of Alabama and ESL in public schools in North Carolina, Idaho, and Alabama. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys reading, canoeing, playing Frisbee with her dog, and traveling near and far. When she is teaching, she enjoys helping students make sense of the language they hear around them and exploring cultures and new ways of seeing our world.
sevedge@gonzaga.edu
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Doss Mellon, M.A.
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Doss graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, with a B. A. in Classics. He also has an M.A. in History from Gonzaga. He has lived and taught in Indonesia, Japan and Korea. He is married and has one daughter. Doss enjoys cycling, hiking, cooking, reading, and watching movies.
mellon@gonzaga.edu
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Christina Mitma, M.A.
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Christina graduated from Eastern Washington University, majoring in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing, and with two minors, Psychology and Japanese. She also has a Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga. Along with Christina’s love for teaching, she also works part time at Northwest Fair Housing Alliance, a non-profit organization, that works to ensure equal housing opportunity for all. She has lived in Japan, and traveled to Mexico, and Peru and can’t wait to go to other countries. In her free time, she volunteers at a local radio station as a DJ on The Asian Show, www.kyrs.org. Also, Christina loves reading, writing fiction and poetry, and being outdoors.
mitma@gonzaga.edu
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Ayuko Momono, M.A.
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Ayuko graduated from Osaka University of Foreign Studies (Osaka Gaikokugo Daigaku) in 2003, majoring in Linguistics in the Danish language and earning an English Teacher Certificate. She received a “Senkogo-sho” Award (The best thesis award) for her undergraduate thesis due to discovering differences amongst Danish verbs and prepositions. She also has Master's in Teaching English as a Second Language from Gonzaga University and has presented on socio-cultural linguistics as it pertains to ESL pedagogy. She loves teaching students English as she understands the journey in mastering it. For fun, she loves to play classical piano pieces, especially by Tchaikovsky and Debussy, and listen to the Beatles, Paul being her favorite.
amomono@gonzaga.edu
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Katie Nollenberger
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Katie graduated from the University of Oregon majoring in French and earned a Second Language Acquisition and Teaching certificate. She is currently working on her Master’s in TESOL at Gonzaga University. Katie has taught English in France and the United States . She loves her job because of the students and the unique perspectives and experiences that they each bring to class. When Katie is not teaching, she loves cooking up spicy dishes, watching movies, spending time with her friends and family, and traveling.
nollenberger@gonzaga.edu
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Piah (Bi A) Song, MA
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Piah graduated from Dongguk University in South Korea with a BA degree in Mass Communications and English Language & Literature. She received her Master's in TESL from Gonzaga University. She loves the English language, and has also studied Chinese and Japanese. Piah has presented numerous times on her grammar teaching tips and her Korean-English exchange class curriculum design at regional and national TESOL conferences. Her article on literature has been published in WAESOL World Quaterly. She enjoys teaching in Gonzaga’s ESL program, and also loves giving mini lessons on Korean to non-Korean speakers. She is a DJ with colleague, Christina Mitma, on The Asian Fusion Show aired on a local radio station, www.kyrs.com. Piah is thankful for her happy life in Spokane with the greatest people, and she continues to do her best for her ESL students and strives to be an excellent English language-speaking role model. Piah's life motto is, "Live your dream with passion!"
songb@gonzaga.edu
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Kwanyok (Yok) Vorasatmatee
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Yok graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont, with a B.A. in Psychology. Her love of languages led her to study Spanish and Japanese while there. In 2010, she received a Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Certificate. Currently she is working on her Master’s in TESOL at Gonzaga University. Yok is bilingual, and her native language is Thai. She loves nature, teaching ESL, and meeting people from all over the world. In her free time, Yok enjoys walking, reading, cooking, listening to music, and photography. She also likes playing basketball and badminton.
vorasatmatee@gonzaga.edu
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Stella Wasson, M.A.
Adjunct Instructor, ESL
Stela received her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Linguistics in English and German from Shumen University, with a minor in Teaching English. She also has a Master’s degree in Technical Translation from Plovdiv University, Bulgaria. Her linguistic interests include language acquisition, translation, contrastive linguistics, and intercultural communication. Before coming to Gonzaga, Stela taught English in Bulgaria at different levels – middle school, high school, and private school. In her free time, she enjoys studying German, running, traveling, and spending time with her family.
wassons@gonzaga.edu
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