Faculty and Staff
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All our faculty are trained
professionals with at least a master's degree in TESOL or related field.
Our administrators have degrees and special training in their areas of expertise.
Administrators |
Faculty |
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Dr. Leyah Malcha Bergman-Lanier Adriana Treadway Lora Mackey Alannah Massey Kirk Lanier Christin Spradley Nancy Rodman Jimmy Bowie David Grahame Manoel
Franco |
Liz Browning |
Administration and StaffLeyah
Malcha Bergman-Lanier, PhD
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Dr. Leyah Bergman-Lanier brings more than 20 years of ESL teaching
and administrative experience to her position as Director of Spring
International Language Center at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Her teaching spans all ages from kindergarten through adult levels.
She served as Director of the Program in ESL at the University of
California at Irvine, Assistant Director of ESL at Pitzer College,
and Program Coordinator of Adult Education and K-12 Programs in Claremont,
California; Leyah has also directed the Spring Institute for International
Studies at the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Bergman-Lanier
speaks fluent Japanese and taught in Japan for four years. She has
also taught and conducted research in the People's Republic of China.
Her undergraduate degree comes from the University of California at
Berkeley, and she completed her M.A. (Education and Reading) and Ph.D.
(Education and Sociolinquistics) at Claremont Graduate School. Dr.
Bergman-Lanier has traveled extensively in Asia, Europe and Latin
America. Her home town is in West Los Angeles. In her spare time,
Leyah enjoys weaving, reading and exploring the outdoors.
Adriana Treadway is originally from Argentina. She started teaching
English in 1982. She has worked as a translator for corporations and
individuals in Argentina and in the USA; as an English as a Foreign
Language instructor in public and private schools in Argentina and
in Japan; and as a Spanish Teaching Assistant in the Department of
Foreign Languages at the University of Arkansas. Adriana completed
an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language and Translation at
the University of La Plata in Argentina. In 1993, she completed an
M.F.A. in Translation at the University of Arkansas. Adriana loves
teaching, traveling, cooking and gardening.
Lora
Mackey graduated from Southern Technical College in May 1993 with
a diploma in Computerized Office Technology. Shortly thereafter, she
joined Spring International as a receptionist and program secretary.
She remained in that position for nine years. In January 2003, she
left Spring to go home and watch her children grow. Lora is married
and has two sons. In June of 2008, she returned to Spring International
as the International Student Advisor. Since Lora doesn’t travel
very much, she enjoys working at Spring because she meets people from
all over the world. Lora enjoys camping, fishing, cooking, and, most
of all, reading.
A
native of northwest Arkansas, Alannah Massey graduated from the University
of Arkansas with a degree in English. Her professional experiences
range from teaching middle school to organizing citywide festivals
to managing an architectural firm’s office. By far her favorite experience,
however, has been working with the wonderfully diverse student population
at Spring International. In her free time, she enjoys spending time
with her family, making jewelry, being outside, reading, and live
music.
Bio coming soon...
A
native of central Arkansas, Christin Spradley received her Bachelor's
degree in Political Science from Duke University in 2006. After graduating,
Christin joined the United States Peace Corps and served as a volunteer
in the West African Republic of Mali for two years. There, Christin
worked with Malian women to raise their standard of living through
health education, income generating activities, and agroforestry projects.
Christin returned from Mali in the fall of 2008 and began working
at Spring International soon after. Christin enjoys traveling, exploring
new music and cultures, reading, and biking.
A
native of Chicago, Nancy began her career in Los Angeles, California
at a musical instrument wholesaler on the order desk. She later accepted
a position at the Hughes Aircraft Company corporate headquarters in
El Segundo, California, as an Executive Assistant. Her main responsibility
was assisting the Group Vice-President with a division of twenty-five
hundred employees. With a security classification of "secret,"
her additional responsibilities included supervising and training
secretaries in office procedures and security guidelines. Moving to
Arkansas, she recently completed seven years at Lenders Title Company
as a closing assistant/closer. This included assisting in commercial
closings. Looking for a change of pace, Nancy is now the Executive
Assistant at the Spring International Language Center. In addition
to accounting duties, she also assists in screening agents who wish
to represent the Spring International Language Center. She finds it
a welcome change to be able to interface with young students who have
a fresh perspectives on the future. She is married to a gourmet cook
and enjoys reading murder mysteries.
Jimmy
Bowie is from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He graduated from the University
of Arkansas in 2006 with Bachelor's degrees in Journalism and Political
Science. While studying at the University, Jimmy was a resident assistant
at Holcombe Hall, which houses many international students. Immediately
after graduating, he pursued a career in journalism, but the desire
to help students never subsided. In January 2008, Jimmy was hired
as the Student Services Coordinator at Spring International Language
Center. In addition to helping international students, Jimmy enjoys
spending his time outdoors hiking with his dog or spending time with
his wife Kelly.
Manoel
has always been curious about how electronic media and mechanisms
work. When the computer age began, he started exploring that new technological
world. After pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Software Development
and Media Design at West Virginia University, Manoel decided to work
on his Master’s degree. Today he is a graduate student at the
University of Arkansas, majoring in Educational Technology. During
the 6 years that Manoel has been in the United States, he has always
tried to incorporate the most recent technology in his professional
and personal tasks. At Spring International, Manoel does the same
by helping students and teachers to integrate technology into their
learning and teaching processes. For him, technology is not a panacea,
but it is certainly a wonderful tool that—when used correctly—can
make a significant difference. In his free time, Manoel enjoys having
a good time with his wife and two dogs. He likes assembling and disassembling
all kinds of appliances and devices. He likes art and good comedy.
Being a Brazilian with Italian and German roots, Manoel likes the
culinary field too, especially making bread and pizza. 
For many years, Steve Carruthers enjoyed a successful career as a
music educator and professional musician. On trombone and tuba, he
performed for Walt Disney World, played in pit bands and symphonic
orchestras and on cruise ships, and toured with the renowned Tommy
Dorsey big band. Along the way, he has enjoyed travel throughout the
US and through much of Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, and
in Japan, Italy, France, and several Caribbean countries. In 2002,
Steve took on a new career track, teaching English as a Second Language,
and began his studies at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu. Steve
completed his Bachelor of Arts in Teaching English as Second Language
in 2005, and he decided to stay on at HPU for his Master's degree.
During his time there, Steve served HPU in many capacities, as an
English tutor, tutor trainer, and manager of the Tutoring and Testing
Center, and he taught academic writing courses for advanced learners
of English in HPU's English Foundations Program. In May 2007, Steve
completed his Master of Arts in TESL and soon thereafter joined Spring
International as an instructor. Although he is a busy teacher, Steve
keeps a few hobbies: He maintains his music career, tries to further
his skills in Japanese, hopes to travel to new lands, and, above all,
always remembers to take time with his wife to enjoy the natural wonders
of Arkansas.
Originally from Brazil, Roseli Franco came to the U.S.A. to pursue
her Master's Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages). Before that, she was an English as a Foreign Language
Teacher in Brazil for 10 years. She has also been an English as a
Second Language Teacher in the U.S.A. since 2001. Currently, Roseli
holds a Master's Degree in Curriculum & Instruction in addition
to her Master's in TESOL. She brings to the classromm not only her
vast experience as a language teacher, but also her experience as
a language learner. During all these years, Roseli has taught English
to students of all ages and levels, and from diverse backgrounds.
David Grahame has been teaching English to international students
since 1977. He has occasionally tried other careers, but never found
anything as rewarding as daily contact with and education of students
from all over the world. David has a Bachelor's degree in French and
a Master's in English; he values his experience being a student of
the French language in Montreal and in Paris as the best training
for his job as an ESL teacher. He taught English to international
students at the E.L.S. Institute at the University of Oklahoma from
1977 to 1985, and was an instructor and later the academic coordinator
of the ESL program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from
1986 to 1999. Besides his love of linguistics, he enjoys sci-fi and
fantasy. He is also a devout ailurophile.
Vladimir Ivashchenko was born in Novosibirsk, Russia. His family later
moved to Ukraine. He got his BA in English and French at Kiev State
University in 1990. The same year he flew to Canada (a cloak-and-dagger
tale, one of intrigue – the Wall had just fallen – but that is a tale
for another day…), and from there to the United States. In 1992 he
began the pursuit of an MFA degree in Literary Translation at the
University of Arkansas, during which he taught elementary French and
Russian in the Foreign Language Department, at times also tutoring
in English, Russian and French, as well as translating for local companies
and individuals involved in international business. He completed his
studies in 1998, but he considers himself an eternal student, as there
is so much to learn in the language field. He joined Spring International
in August 2000; he has been teaching ever since, and truly enjoying
it, and he finds teaching one of the best means of learning. 
Michelle Jeffries joined the SILC staff in 2007. She is originally
from Memphis, Tennessee. In 2005, she received her B.A. in English
with teaching certification from Mississippi University for Women.
She also received a minor in music with teaching certification and
a TESOL certificate. While attending the University of Alabama, Michelle
taught advanced ESL composition courses and tutored ESL students while
she was completing her Master's degree in TESOL. During that time,
she also completed an apprenticeship at an intensive English language
institute. Michelle loves teaching ESL students of all levels. In
her time outside of the classroom, Michelle enjoys singing, playing
piano, reading, cooking, and spending time with her husband.
A
native of Northwest Arkansas, Rochelle graduated from Brigham Young
University with an undergraduate degree in Middle Eastern Studies
and Arabic, and an M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language.
She has taught ESL and EFL in Utah, China, Scotland, and now Arkansas.
She has been teaching at Spring International Language Center since
2001, in both the Intensive English Program and the Teaching Training
Programs. Rochelle loves to teach and it shows in every aspect of
her being. She is creative, motivating and demanding. The results
in her students' English skills are obvious. Rochelle enjoys hiking,
reading, and spending time with her lovely family. 
Colin
is originally from New Mexico. He received his BA in English Literature
from the University of New Mexico and took a year after graduating
to figure out what was next. In 2003, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia,
to begin his MA at Georgia State University. Later that year, he joined
the Peace Corps as part of the Masters International Program and spent
two years in the town of Nemyriv, Ukraine. While there, he studied
Ukrainian, taught English in the local secondary school, and gave
teacher training seminars to teachers from the school district. In
2005, he returned to the US, completed his MA, and began to teach
at Savannah College of Art and Design. In June 2008, he moved to Fayetteville
and joined the faculty at SILC. His primary area of interest is in
the integration of computer technology into the ESL classroom. In
his free time, Colin likes to read, listen to music, and spend time
outdoors.
Cindy
earned her B.A.. in Latin American and Iberian Studies and M.A. in
TESOL from the University of Washington, Seattle. She
began teaching ESL so that she could travel the world and her first
teaching job took her to Oporto, Portugal in 1997. She has also
lived in Chile and France, and most recently in southeastern Europe,
specifically Montenegro and Croatia, teaching English and training
pre- and in--service English teachers through a U.S.-sponsored fellowship.
When not teaching English, Cindy spends most of her time playing with
and teaching her two small children. When life permits, she
enjoys hiking, biking, swimming in the sea and dancing.
Lynn Hofstad Schumacher started her English teaching career in China,
where she lived and worked for three years. After returning to the
United States, she spent four years as a magazine editor. However,
she missed interacting with students, so she entered the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she taught English to international
students while earning her Master's degree in Teaching English as
a Second Language. Upon graduating in 1996, she took a teaching position
at Northwest Missouri State University. The following year, she was
invited to join the faculty at Spring International Language Center.
Lynn's editing experience has helped her to teach writing and grammar
well. She also particularly enjoys teaching pronunciation. Outside
of the classroom, Lynn's main pleasure is spending time with her husband
and daughter. 
Alice
graduated from Northeast LA University with an MA in English. She
taught remedial reading at Sequoyah Indian School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma,
and English at Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas, and
did a one-year Fulbright Teacher Exchange (1985-86) in England, about
30 minutes. from London in a town called Surbiton. After a year back
in Springdale, she missed England so much that she arranged to take
a position at an international school in Cobham, Surrey, UK. Intending
to stay only a few years, she wound up living in the UK for 18 years
before returning to Fayetteville in 2006. Her favorite leisure activities
over the years have included reading, attending the theater, travelling
around Europe, photography, and writing for her own amusement but
not for publication. She has one grown daughter, who also lives in
Fayettteville.
A native of Massachusetts, Stephanie Smith relocated to Arkansas to
be closer to her family. From 2001-2007, she taught grades 9-12 in
the Department of Bilingual and ESL Services at Brockton High School
in Brockton, MA. While there, she served five years on the ESL curriculum
development committee, acted as co-presenter and teacher trainer for
administrators and mainstream faculty focusing on sheltered English
language instructional strategies, and was inducted into the National
Honor Society in 2004 as an inspirational teacher. Stephanie started
her career in ESL in 1989 in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Upon receiving
her Master's degree in Applied Linguistics from Indiana University
at Bloomington in 1992, Stephanie returned to the Czech Republic where
she worked at the Bell School, International Language Centre, and
the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic Air Traffic Control
Training Center. She also spent a summer teaching at the Mainor Language
School in Tallinn, Estonia.
A native of the Chicago area, Don Williams graduated from Concordia
University in River Forest, Illinois, and began his teaching career
at the elementary level. In 1974 he moved to Australia, working as
a high school teacher for twelve years. During this time, he first
experienced ESL teaching as a volunteer instructor for two months
at Hangzhou University in China. He returned to Chicago, received
an MA in Curriculum & Instruction, and in 1991 he joined the Peace
Corps and went to Poland. There he experienced an intensive language
program, but as a student this time! For the next eight years, Don
lived in Krakow, teaching English at Krakow Pedagogical University,
at a Polish high school, at several private schools, and at an intensive
language program for the Polish military. In 1999, thanks to the Peace
Corps again, Don studied ESL teaching at Wichita State University
and worked at the WSU Intensive English Language Center, and in 2000
he joined SILC. Don loves his ESL work very much, and also enjoys
drawing and painting, cooking, reading and travel.
After receiving a B.A. in Elementary Education from University of
Missouri, Kansas City, Anna taught 4th grade until 1991. In 1992,
she received an M.A. in TESL from Central Missouri State University
and began teaching English at a Hungarian high school in Romania under
the auspices of Soros Foundation for an Open Society. From 1994 to
1999, Anna was an instructor in the Intensive English Program at Central
Missouri State University. Some of Anna's favorite things-besides
teaching are travel, piano, international folk music, volleyball,
and rabbits. 
Liz
is originally from Wisconsin and recently joined SILC. She became
interested in teaching ESL at an early age and began volunteering
to help with adult ESL classes during high school. She went on to
pursue a Bachelor's degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies.
While studying, Liz tutored ESL and Spanish. Upon graduation, she
taught all levels and ages in Mexico for a year. After returning to
the United States, Liz pursued a Master's degree in TESOL from the
SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont. During her Master’s program,
she completed an Internship at Centro Cultural Costaricense Norteamericano
in San José, Costa Rica. After completing her Master's degree,
Liz moved to Chicago and taught mainly TOEFL preparation as well as
elective classes of Idioms, Conversation and Pronunciation. Liz loves
teaching and getting to know her students. Besides teaching, she enjoys
travelling, dancing, practicing her Spanish and trying to learn more
languages.
Christina
Hadley is a native of the great state of Texas. She had the experience
of being a foreign exchange student her senior year of high school,
which sparked her passion for cultures and traveling the globe. She
received a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a
focus in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in
French from Texas State University. Later she moved to Manhattan,
New York, where she earned a Master’s of Science in Teaching
English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the City University
of New York. She has taught language camps in both South Korea and
Taiwan. Additionally, she taught various levels of English to immigrant
students from all over the world for four years at a high school in
the Bronx. Afterwards, Christina joined an international school in
Chile, South America, for two years, meeting more international students,
trying to learn more Spanish, and traveling to the tip of the world.
Christina is proud to have joined the diverse team at Spring International
and loves the spirit of the Razorbacks!
Having
grown up as a military dependent, Brianna Hook spent her childhood
in several places, including Texas, Germany, Florida, Arizona, and
central Arkansas. She attended the University of Arkansas for her
undergraduate and graduate degrees and finished her Master's in German
in May 2007. During and just after her undergraduate degree, Brianna
spent two years studying at a university in Graz, Austria, and then
teaching English to high school students in Salzburg through the Fulbright
Commission. She taught German to undergraduates while pursuing her
master's degree. After finishing, she spent a year teaching English
and German in southern Thailand at a non-profit organization that
was started to help tsunami victims gain language and job training
skills. In her free time, Brianna loves to do sports, especially skiing,
hiking, biking and ultimate frisbee, and her hobbies include learning
as many languages as possible, cooking and eating international foods.