In This Issue
Teaching Positions Available
Our Teachers This Semester
This semester we have five teachers for our community based English classes in the evenings. We are grateful for quality teachers and a wonderful teaching team.
- Jūratė Kielienė (Lithuania) continues in her role as a half time teacher for the elementary and pre-intermediate students. She is also a great mentor and help to the newer teachers on our team.
- Ksenija Ševcova (Lithuania) has two semesters of teaching under her belt and is teaching a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) course this semester.
- Janell Dulkienė (Lithuania) recently graduated from LCC with a BA in English and a concentration in Teaching English as an International Language. Originally from Canada, Janell is fluent in Lithuanian as she has lived in Lithuania for thirteen years with her parents who were missionaries. Janell is teaching Elementary 2 and Pre Intermediate 2.
- Leah Nieboer (USA) hails from Calvin College and is in her second semester of English teaching at LCC. Leah is teaching the 11th and 12th graders and a group of intermediate adults. She also teaches in the Intensive English Program.
- Harold Schmidt (Canada) and his wife Leona come from Chillawack, British Columbia, where Harold is a secondary school teacher and Leona is a registered nurse (RN). This semester, Harold is teaching a section of advanced adults who are looking for practical language instruction and an Academic Reading course in the Intensive English Program.
Intensive English Program
- Maxine Pond (USA) and her husband Vernon are LCC veterans and are back for an extended period of time. Maxine brings expertise to the IEP program with an M.A. in TESOL, as well as teaching experience as a high school and university writing instructor and former ELI and IEP instructor. This semester Maxine is teaching Research Writing and Presentation skills.
- Larry Ballenger (USA) is an experienced pastor and youth leader and is trying his hand at teaching this semester. Larry is teaching an IEP course on the Gospel of Mark, as well as a course in the theology department. Larry and his wife Judy come from Pasadena, California.
- Francis Kazemek (USA) hails from St. Cloud, Minnesota, and is teaching a novel in the IEP Academic Reading course this semester. Francis is both a teacher and published poet and has a PhD in Education.
Welcome to Harold Schmidt's Classroom
Teaching in the ELI Program with advanced learners has been a unique experience and a very rewarding one. The small, circular group setting allowed for more dynamic instruction and a closer sharing for the “feel” of the language. As a teacher, it became an enjoyable challenge to tailor the lessons to an appropriate interest and needs level for adults (much different than a regular daytime LCC course). At times, we struggled with the correct nuances of grammatical usages such as “should have, could have, would have, may have, might have,” and at other times we breezed through other constructs. We laughed with each other when often a response would be “that’s an exception to the rule,” or “Google Translator says this.” Once, after saying the word “burglar” so many times, even I began to doubt myself on how to say it correctly – Okay, the word “thief” can be used instead! What began as a teacher-student relationship became a teacher-student-friendship relationship as we all shared the English language and our personal experiences with each other. That may explain in part why our class often went overtime.
IEP Field Trip: Salvation, Sushi and Hot Sauce
After eight intensive weeks of study, both the Intensive English Program students and teachers decided it was time for a mini-vacation. On March 3rd we – twenty-three students and seven adults –bundled up for the brisk, windy walk to the Salvation Army, located over a pizza joint in Old Town Klaipėda.A quick tour of the building revealed a main room with clean wood floors and a modest but well-equipped stage area; a kitchen and serving counter; a few bathrooms with showers; and a youth room, decorated with drawings, shelves of books and games, text message lingo, and the youth-made rules of the room – no shouting, no name-calling, and no running.
The real treat was the presentation – in English, of course. After studying a unit on religion in Integrated Skills, the students were prepped and eager to hear about belief and action from someone firsthand. Susanne Kettler, a German expatriate who has been working at the Salvation Army in Klaipėda for fourteen years, detailed for us the mission, vision, and everyday workings of the Salvation Army in Klaipėda. Sunday services, youth programs, daily office work, basic medical care, and all other Salvation Army programs are motivated by a love of God, Susanne told us, as well as a mission to meet human needs in the name of Christ without discrimination, no matter how unloved and unloving those who walk through the door may be.
Then, question time. “How long has the Salvation Army been working in Klaipėda?” and “What happens if people just get used to the free stuff and don’t do anything for themselves?” and “Can anybody come to the Salvation Army for help?” Susanne accepted all of our questions seriously and sincerely.
At 10:00 a.m. sharp, we re-bundled, as Susanne was about to open the doors for Thursday’s soup kitchen. As we walked out into the sharp, damp wind again, a few of us were imagining how good a simple, hot meal would be to a homeless person in Klaipėda that day.
Back at the Karklu dormitory, we prepared our own feast – a smattering of international cuisine. One student made traditional Kyrgyz dumplings, Maxine led a sushi rolling group and brought wasabi, Harold’s Taco Team sliced and diced and spiced things up with tortillas and hot sauce, and many students brought homemade desserts. We ate and ate and ate.
We wrapped up a full day with a round of games, our favorite of which is Catch Phrase. Students went back to their dorms and their essays, teachers to their offices, and all went with lighter hearts and the feeling of rest – sigh.
In Your Own Words: Student Stories
About Lina Liutvinienė
Hello, I am Lina. I am 34 years old. I have four children. I work with children with learning difficulties. I work in special centre with speech therapists, psychologists and teachers. We find which problem a child has and why. We do special tests and give advice for child, parents, and teachers how to help him learn. We are looking for other special methods and ways to learn better. I am sure that every child, or man, or woman has potential to do something very good. If he cannot read or write very good, maybe he is good in sport. Or maybe he is very kind and easy going. So in my job, I explain not only difficulties which a child has, but finding his strength is very important too. It lets the child have self confidence, so it helps him to reach learning and other goals in life.
So, I always have to learn new information and new things, if I want to do my job better and give better help to children. I need English, because there are a lot of books and information in internet in English about child learning. I can find information how specialists work with children with special needs in abroad.
So, I hope, when I improve my English I can find some schools or specialist abroad and share our experience and find the ways to help children better.
My Job by Rasa Glotnienė
I’m studying English because I need it for my job. I’m working in an international company. Sometimes I visit colleagues from other countries or foreign colleagues come to our company. We use English to communicate and understand each other.
Also I like to travel to abroad. I enjoy using my English and possibility to communicate with local people.
I would like to improve my English because then I could read books. I decided to choose English courses in LCC this year, because I found it nice that teachers are English-speaking people. They don't speak Lithuanian, and we use English all time during the courses. The courses in LCC are different than I had before. The teacher is very kind, funny, and creative and she always diffuses positive energy. The time runs very fast in courses. The activities in courses are simple and interesting. It’s interesting that we improve our English during the games, and we spend time very fine. Also we listen to songs, various stories, and improve our English listening and speaking. I like working in small groups. This lets us know each other better. Also we don’t forget grammar. It's also very kind that we can also take the books or journals in English language from LCC library.
About Learning English by Egidija Tijūnėlienė
Learning foreign languages is especially important in nowadays. Some people learn languages because they need them in their work or for traveling abroad. Foreign languages are needed for exchanging information of our planet. Today English is major international language of communication in such areas as science, technology, business, politics and art.
I am a cardiologist. I finished medicine sciences in Kaunas Medical University and I am working in Klaipeda Seamens hospital more than fifteen years. English language is the most useful foreign language for me. Most medical books, magazines and learning materials are written in English. Many terms in English are like Latin, so it isn’t many problems to read medical articles in English. But I have problems with conversation English, so I decided to polish up my English.
Everybody has his or her own way to learn language. Sometimes it is boring to study grammar or to learn new words. It is well known that reading books in the original, listening to the BBC News, and communication with English-speaking people will help a lot. So I decided to go to LCC for English language course because I know that there are teachers from USA or Great Britain. English today is necessary for every educated person.
Book Review by Aleksandra (12th grader)
“To be or not to be: that is the question.” By Aleksandra Zajeva
The book Veronica Decides to Die was written by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. He has become one of the most popular authors in the world. During Paulo’s teenage years, he was admitted to a mental hospital three times. Paulo promised himself that one day he would write about his experiences. Paulo found a way to release his experiences by way of the novel Veronica decides to die, published by Harper Collins in 1999. The main characters are Veronica, Zedka, Mari, and Eduard.
The book tells the story of Veronica, who is 24-years-old and has everything she could wish for. She is young, pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, a steady job, and a loving family. She lives in the beautiful Capital city of Slovenia, Ljubljana. One autumn day, she decided that the moment to kill herself arrived. It was a chance to break the monotony of life, and she decides to do it by overdosing on sleeping pills. However, her suicide fails, and she wakes in a mental hospital. By overdosing on pills, she has damaged her heart, and she has only few days to live. Staying still and waiting for the time to come is a lot harder than she thinks. Soon she begins to realize that every second of life is worth living and begins to find herself falling in love with life and wanting to live again, but will she?
Veronica Decides to Die is a short, well-written novel, which is based on real facts. Although Veronica must to die, the book has a surprising end. The story is also full of philosophy, which can change the way you live.
I strongly recommend this book to all ages, in particular those who struggle through the monotonous routines of life. It will change your attitude and your ideology.
Summer Language Institute – Ready and Willing!
We are eagerly anticipating our 21st Summer Language Institute in July. Nearly 40 teachers have their tickets in hand for the trip to Lithuania. We are extremely grateful for so many teachers who come year after year. These steady, long term teachers create stable summer faculty. Stability is crucial to the program in many ways both inside and outside the classroom. We are just as excited to invite teachers who are coming for the first time. They will experience for themselves the eager students, the long summer days and the warm hospitality of Lithuania (not to mention the delicious food in a great variety of reasonably priced restaurants!).This summer we are delighted to offer teacher training opportunities for university students. Two students, who are currently enrolled in LCC’s MA TESOL program, will teach in SLI as partial requirements for their practicum class. Additionally, Dr. Ed Klotz, from John Brown University, and Dr. Jeanie Cozens, from Missouri Southern State University, each will bring teams of university students, most of whom are education majors. These young people will try their wings as teachers in our classrooms. Our goal is that the encouraging atmosphere at LCC and our diligent students will provide these future teachers with a positive teaching experience and propel them to consider teaching as mission in their lives.
Students are already registering. They will come to LCC from Russia, Moldavia, Latvia, and Poland. We pray that these young people will come with eager hearts and ready spirits. Because these young people increasingly use social media to communicate, SLI will again host a FACEBOOK page. Become a friend now! Even if you can’t be at SLI this year, you can keep up with us online!
Cherkassy, Ukraine – here we come!
Cherkassy, Ukraine, will be the site for this year’s distant SLI program. Our admission office has strategically chosen the location in anticipation of reaching more prospective students for LCC. Our partner institution will be the Cherkassy Teachers’ Institute; they are already recruiting students and laying the ground work for July. LCC will send teachers for four classes as we hope to enroll 40-50 students, predominantly 9th-11th graders. Continuing a great program in a new setting brings challenges as well as high hopes.
Note From the Director
I’m surrounded by blessings. On my desk are the carnations and roses that my students greeted me with for my birthday yesterday. Outside my door, I hear the laughter of the faculty as they take their lunches in the lounge and share about their day. Upstairs the LCC Board Meetings convene to make recommendations and approve budgets. Outside, the sun hangs in a perfectly blue sky. This year was a year of blessing in so many ways. As usual, last fall, I panicked about finding the right teachers for the right positions, and now we have a fine team once again. I get nervous when I feel like I just can’t get everything done, and then I end up having plenty of help and necessary time. Just when I’m feeling discouraged, a friend comes and encourages me. If I draw near to God, He never fails to steady my soul. Working at LCC provides challenges and opportunities at every turn. I covet your prayers throughout the year and am grateful for your continued support. May you find God’s blessing wherever you are.