Summer School 2007

The English language classes take place daily from 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., except on lab days. The teachers are Sheila Conlan and Dennis Gutierrez. The goal of the program is to improve students' speaking and listening skills. The curriculum covers cultural topics and current events. The students discuss orally and write essays on their activities, their trips, and their American experience in general. Sheila Conlan: Sheila has been involved with ESL since college as a community literacy tutor in 2004. Since then she has tutored students from around the world and spent a lot of time in the classroom. Sheila loves teaching ESL because it mixes her passions of language and culture. Another passion of hers is working with youth. She developed this passion during her year as an Americorps VISTA in New Hampshire working for a non profit to help youth start community bettering organizations. Sheila got her start at the Princeton YWCA as a tutor and volunteer and now works in the office. She loves traveling and learning and is especially excited for her next journey teaching English in Spain this fall. Sheila is also an avid reader, hiker, ultimate frisbee player and runner. Dennis Gutierrez: In the course of a diverse 20 year career in corporate and language training, Dennis Gutierrez has proven to be a creative, innovative trainer who consistently exceeds the needs and expectations of his clients. Dennis started his training career right out of college when he obtained a training position with Uniqey International, the company responsible for introducing electronic card-key access systems to the hotel industry. Dennis not only trained hotel staff and management on how to use the system but also on how to best introduce the cutting edge system to hotel guests. He was quickly promoted to Training Director and the District Training Director for Uniqey, a name derived from a play on words (a unique key.) He subsequently improved the training program and wrote training and operations manuals for the new company. He also became responsible for training new Uniqey employees. Dennis’ natural passion for teaching and language led him to begin working at Berlitz as a language training instructor of English to adult professionals. He was awarded Berlitz’ Teacher of the Year for the Washington, DC District (a district which employed over 200 instructors and stretched north to Philadelphia and south to North Carolina.) for providing unparalleled instruction to a wide range of adult language students of varying levels and backgrounds. Promoted from Instructor to Trainer, Dennis identified and hired new teachers and trained them in the Berlitz Method. He also provided pedagogical support to both teachers and students while overseeing special programs at Berlitz’ Washington, DC Center (one of the five busiest centers in the US at that time.) Dennis raised the quality of instruction by revamping and improving the training program and providing unmatched pedagogical support. Promoted to District Training Director, Dennis’ influence now reached 9 centers in the mid-Atlantic Region and his responsibilities now not only included identifying and hiring new teachers but also identifying, hiring, and training Berlitz teachers to become successful Berlitz Trainers. Next, as Director of Operations Dennis led a team of 55 and was instrumental in increasing overall lesson volume in DC. Dennis completed his Berlitz career at World-wide Headquarters in Princeton where he worked on the development of both student and teaching materials published by Berlitz. dennisgut@comcast.net www.englishforprofessionals.biz Lawrenceville, NJ