Marjorie Rosenberg's Acrostic

Presented by Naomi Ganin Epstein

M is for MUSIC

Music, my first love, since high school.

Have a Master of Fine Arts as well as a teaching certificate.

Teaching music in the school system taught me a great deal about adapting to learners needs' and being flexible.

A is for America & Austria

From New Jersey

Attended University taught school & studied voice in N.Y.

Have been teaching in Austria since 1981.

R is for Relevance

My university students and corporate clients need & want relevance to...

...their jobs

...the environments they live & work in

...their beliefs & personal value systems

J is for JOY

It is what I still feel when I go...

into a classroom

attend a conference

chat about ELT

JOY keeps me going!

O is for OperaRunning a small opera company with a friend taught me useful skills for being a freelance teacher:

time & people management skills

to have confidence in front of an audience.

how to negotiate

R is for Room for All

Particularly interested in learner preferences and learning styles.

As a language learner I discovered that difficulties I experienced were due to being forced into one method that didn't work for me.

I is for IATEFL

Have been an active member since 1995.

President of IATEFL since 2015.

Proud of how IATEFL benefits EFL teachers from around the globe.

E is for ENGLISH

If I hadn't loved to sing I would have studied English.

As a voracious reader finally bought an Ereader so I wouldn't need to to bring 20 books on holiday with me...

R is for Relationships

I find that I often form very close relationships with students.

I recognize students as individuals & as people, not simply empty vessels to be filled with knowledge.

O is for Observation

Many of the ideas I have had regarding learning preferences come from observing my students & seeing how they approach tasks in completely different ways, even if the outcome is the same.

S is for Students

I enjoy my time with them!

Together we work towards the outcome they need.

E is for encouragement

Learning a language is such an emotional task, when we stumble to say or write something, it is not the same as being a beginner in another field. We need to make sure that our students understand that this is a process and they won’t be judged for their mistakes

N is for NLP

Became interested in Neuro-Linguistic Programming in the late 1980’s.

Learned useful techniques such as the goal-setting exercise, the creativity strategy, how to establish and maintain rapport and precise use of language to clarify communication with others.

B is for Business English

I have been teaching corporate clients in the field of banking & finance for many years.

I have also published several books on the topic, two of which were photocopiable business English games.

E is for Entertainment Important both in the classroom and in my private life.

I enjoy ‘entertaining’ students with relevant anecdotes or stories

I go to the opera, ballet performances and concerts regularly.

R is for Rapport

Establishing a feeling of mutual trust and understanding is vital in all the work I

do.

G is for GrazMy home since 1981

There are several universities, an opera house as well as concert halls, restaurants, parks and a medieval inner city. It is a wonderful place to live as getting around is easy and there is enough on offer to suit every taste.

Posted on Naomi Epstein's Blog /http://visualisingideas.edublogs.org

This was an interview for the ETAI International Conference, 2016

http://etaiconferences.wix.com/etai2016