The Fall Semester of the WBFN English classes for spouses started at the end of September and lasted until December with three teachers, Sarah Brau, Michele Schimetal and Carmela Cosans, and about 30 students. These classes were offered at three levels. Classes met Mondays and Wednesdays from ten to twelve o’clock in the World Bank H Building.

Two of the teachers are new at WBFN, both joining us in September. We asked them to introduce themselves and let us know a little about their impressions of teaching at WBFN.

Michele Schimetal tells us: “I am teaching the Level Two class at the WBFN. It has been a fabulous experience so far for me and I hope I am also speaking for the students. We are learning English twice a week in two hour slots and often have lunch together afterwards. Everybody is working hard and enthusiastically but we are also having fun, making friends and learning about each others’ countries and cultures. A highlight was the potluck lunch where we got together with all the students from all three courses and experienced a culinary feast from all over the world. It has been a particular pleasure for me to teach this class after having taught English as a foreign language for the last 15 years in England, often to teenagers from the ages of 12 to 18. What a pleasure it is to work with all these sophisticated and highly motivated people in this team.”

Carmela Cosans says: “I am a Bethesda resident who has also taught English in Canada, Kuwait, Turkey and Italy. It has been a busy semester in our Level One English class, as students have worked hard to improve their English language skills. We have had a chance to share our opinions and ideas on a wide range of topics and have tackled adjectives, adverbs, and the present perfect tense of verbs. We have watched each other develop our oratorical skills and have shared our cultural heritage. Learning a new language can be a painful, aggravating, amusing, instructive and finally, a rewarding process! I am looking forward to meeting you next semester!”

Recent comments from students on their experiences in the classes

English class is not only a place to learn and improve our English, but also where we can learn from different cultures and meet people who have different cultural backgrounds. Xin

I never thought that I would learn so much about other people and countries. Two times a week I have so much fun meeting people and I also learn a lot. Susanne

I’ve learned many interesting facts about US history from our teacher, Sarah Brau. This is a lot of new information about the USA and it is amazing! It’s a great speaking and listening practice. I advise future students just try to find synonyms of words if you can’t tell all what you want in English. I love that my teacher gives the meanings of words that I don’t understand. So if you don’t understand some words, don’t try to translate them. Just try to understand the meaning of the word. Kamilla

I started English classes in September this year. And now I am impatiently awaiting every lesson. Our teacher Michele created a very informal and friendly learning atmosphere. For every lesson she brings various kinds of interesting materials and makes our lessons very interactive. I’d like to continue English classes next semester. Olena

Learning English is not difficult because I am enjoying my class and we need to work a lot. Carmela is a very good teacher and I have very good international friends in my class. It is important to learn English because we are living in the U.S. If I learn English, my life will be easier. Andrei

The Spring Semester begins in February 2010 for new and continuing students who have completed the application and interview process. Sign up before the January 15th deadline. Find more details on page 29.