Dear Student,

Welcome to the English department! Whether you are a first year student who has joined us because he/she ‘loves the language’, an experienced teacher returning to school in order to complete your certificate, or somewhere in between, I hope that your studies in the department will send a clear message: an English teacher is not just a language technician.

Teaching a foreign language is not just about grammar or vocabulary. These are the tools; they are simply the means to an end. As English teachers, we have an opportunity to open doors to the world; to develop students who can think and discuss rather than parrot what they’ve learned, who are curious and interested--not closed in by their four walls and Facebook. In order to be effective educators, we cannot limit our knowledge to the present simple and past progressive, but must know something about English literature and culture, as well as the English language and its place in culture and society.

It is quite a daunting task to try to accomplish all this within the few hours we have together at the college. In order to model our approach to language education, we bring in important guest lecturers, involve you in English theater, plan special events, and try to make your ‘English experience’ as all-encompassing as possible.

The teachers in our department (and I purposefully refer to them as ‘teachers’, not ‘lecturers’) are not here just to impart knowledge, but to involve you in the process of learning. Therefore, we ask for more than your ‘cooperation’—we ask for your active participation.  I hope that the coming academic year will be both successful and meaningful for us all.

Aliza Yahav

Chaiperson, English Department