Full-Time Instructors

 Kate Spike, ESL Program Director/Instructor

                                          kspike@bgsu.edu

After receiving her MA in English (specialization in TESOL) in 1995 from Bowling Green State University, Kate moved to Plzen, Czech Republic where she spent three years as a lecturer, and eventually the Director of the Bakalar Program, in the Pedagogical Faculty of the University of West Bohemia. While living in Europe, Kate also worked as a teacher-trainer for the British Council. In August, 1998, she returned to BGSU as an instructor before moving to Vermont where she taught for the School of International Studies at St. Michael’s College. In early 2003, Kate moved to Kanazawa, Japan to teach for the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. She returned once again to northwest Ohio and BGSU in August 2005 to begin her work as the ESL Program Director.

   Dayna Herrington, ESL Program Assistant Director/Instructor

                                     daynalf@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8228

Dayna received her MA in French in 2000 and her MA in English (specialization in TESOL) in 2001 from Bowling Green State University. She has taught English and French to American students at the university and community college level, and she has experience teaching English abroad in Brussels, Belgium and Wuhan, China. She has been teaching in the ESL Program full time since 2003.

   Kimberly Spallinger, Acting Assistant Director/ESL Instructor  

                                   spallkk@bgsu.edu (419) 372-2746

Kimberly received her MA in English (specialization in TESOL) in 1999 from Bowling Green State University.  She has taught English and Linguistics courses at both Bowling Green and Bluffton University, and she has also taught English abroad in Vietnam.  She has been teaching in the ESL Program full time since 2004.

  Samuel Herrington, ESL Instructor (On Leave)

                                  samuelh@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8538

Sam holds an MA in English (specialization in Teaching English as a Second Language) and an MA in French, both from BGSU. Before becoming a full-time ESL instructor at BGSU in 2004, he taught courses in French, Freshman Composition, and ESL at the University of Toledo, Owens Community College, and BGSU. He also taught in the Wuhan University
Summer Intensive English Program in Wuhan, China in 2005.

  Angela Garner, ESL Instructor/Writing Center ESL Specialist

                                 agarner@bgsu.edu (419) 372-0534

Originally from Tennessee, Angela Garner holds graduate degrees in English Literature from Southern Illinois University and TESOL/Applied Linguistics from Indiana University.  She has taught composition and literature classes to American undergraduates and EFL classes in Korea and Russia, yet she most enjoys her current classes in which she teaches writing and listening/speaking to BGSU international students.  In addition to her teaching responsibilities at BGSU, Angela also serves as the ESL Specialist in the Writing Center where she both consults with student writers and helps train other consultants. 

  Lucinda Hunter, ESL Program Instructor

                                 lhunter@bgsu.edu (419) 372-0173

Lucinda received her MA in English (specialization in TESOL) in 1999 from Bowling Green State University.  She has taught composition and ESL courses at Bowling Green.  In addition, in the greater Philadelphia area, she taught new U.S. residents enrolled in literacy programs. She taught full time in the ESL Program in 2002, returning to BGSU in 2007.    

 Jason Simon, ESL Program Instructor

                                    jrsimon@bgsu.edu (419) 372-7555

Jason received his MA in English (specialization in TESL) in 2006 from Kent State University. He has taught English and ESL courses at Kent State University, Bowling Green State University, and the International Institute of Akron, Ohio, a non-profit organization for immigrant and refugee populations. He has been teaching in the ESL Program at BGSU full time since 2007.

Part-Time Instructors

   Mari Fedora, ESL Instructor 

                                       mfedora@bgsu.edu (419) 372-9631

Mari received her MS in Education (Curriculum/Staff Development) from Cal State Fullerton.  She was accredited in ESL and Spanish Instruction while teaching inner-city second-language learners in Los Angeles and eventually took that same training throughout Southern California as a trainer of trainers.  She has taught college-level Spanish, ESL, Multicultural Education and has worked as an ESL Curriculum Specialist. She has translated in central and South America and studied Spanish Literature in Spain.  She joined the ESL program in Fall 2007.

 Julie George, Director of Global Connections/ESL Instructor 

                                      julieeg@bgsu.edu (419) 372-9631

Julie is a part-time instructor for BGSU's ESL Program and the full-time director of Global Connections, a local non-profit organization that provides various services to the international community of Bowling Green. She received her MA in English/TESL from Bowling Green State University in 2000 and has been teaching ESL classes since that time in both academic and non-academic settings.

   Amber Kennedy Kent, Director of LLC/ESL Instructor

                                       adkenne@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8146

Amber received her MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics in 2005 from Indiana University. She has previously taught Beginning English for Adults and ESL for kids K-7 in Virginia Beach City Public Schools. She also holds an MA in Computational Linguistics and has been the Coordinator of the Language Learning Center at Bowling Green State University since 2006. Visit www.bgsu.edu/llc

   Barbara Toth, Director of Writing Center/ESL Instructor

                                       btoth@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8319

In addition to directing the Writing Center, Barbara Toth also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in English and ESL. She received a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from BGSU. She studied Polish language and philology in Lublin, Poland and has taught English in Poland. Barbara helped set up a Writing Center in the School of English Studies, Xi’an International Studies University in China. Barbara loves teaching and helping students use language as a means to academic success. She is familiar with several languages including Hungarian, Polish, and ASL.

   Andrea Van Vorhis, ESL Instructor

                                    avanvor@bgsu.edu (419) 372-9688

Andrea received MA degrees in English/American Studies and Spanish from the University of Salzburg and an MA degree in English/TESL from BGSU.  She is also currently an Associate Professor of English at Owens Community College, where she has been teaching Freshman Composition, Literature, and Spanish since 1999.  Originally from Austria, she has yet to find a good explanation for why Americans haven’t accepted the metric system. 

Your Friendly Office Staff

   Garvice Brannon, Graduate Assistant/4C Coordinator

                              brannog@bgsu.edu or cccc@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8205

A native of Iowa, Garvice came to BGSU to pursue her MFA in Creative Writing namely poetry. She received her BA degree from Central College in Iowa in English Literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing and minor in Spanish. Garvice also coordinates the Cross-Cultural Conversation Connection and is a conversation group leader for Family English class.

    Ann-Gee Lee, Graduate Assistant/Family English Instructor                                             

                              leea@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8205

Ann-Gee has been involved with ESL all her life as a native English language learner. She received her BA in TESOL and minor in Spanish, and a dual MA in TESOL & Rhetoric-Composition from Cal State University Stanislaus and is currently finishing her PhD in English (Rhetoric & Writing) at BGSU. Ann-Gee has had worked in an Intensive English Program, taught high school, worked in Writing Centers, and taught Mandarin Chinese. This is her second year working in the ESL Office and coordinating the extracurricular programs. 

    Noah Schmidt, Graduate Assistant-Office Manager/

                              Family English Instructor noahs@bgsu.edu (419) 372-8205

Noah is a native Ohioan, and his family has 15 degrees from BGSU. Noah is a MA student in the Literary and Textual Analysis program. He received his BFA from BGSU in Creative Writing and minored in History. Noah has a great interest in Linguistics and learning other languages. He participated in the 4C program and had 3 partners from China since he is learning Chinese and Arabic. He is also team-teaching Family English with Ann-Gee. Noah enjoys meeting people and learning about other cultures.

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