Student Writing: My Favorite Name for a Woman

My name is Nina and I was born in Ukraine sixty-seven years ago. Ukraine has many different names for females, but my favorite name is Katya. My grandmother’s name was Katy. It has been many years since my grandmother’s death, but every time I hear the name Katya, my eyes seem to see her.

My childhood and teen years were very hard. There was nothing to eat and nothing to wear. My mother sold her clothes for food. It was wartime, and we lived under the communist regime under Stalin. We were very poor, but we always knew we had Grandma Katya. She was an incredible person. She gave away lots of love and was very kind. Because of her kindness and love, the hard years started to get better.

She made toys for us from almost nothing. For example, she made toys from newspapers, clay, even dirt and clay. She told us interesting stories about her childhood. Some were very scary. She had a job all her life with us in our family, helping us live and survive. She often said to us, “You cannot catch fish from a river without work. You must be patient and like work. Don’t by lazy. Live without evil and envy of people.”

I loved my grandma very much, and I will always remember her all my life. That is why I love the name Katya. Katya is truly my favorite name for a woman.

Nina Shlyakhetko
ESL Student
Journey House

Robin Schwarz presents ESL workshop

GMLC is very excited to be offering once again an outstanding workshop for teachers! In cooperation with Literacy Services of Wisconsin, GMLC will spotlight Robin Schwarz, internationally acclaimed English-as-a-Second-Language specialist.

Use the form below to register for this workshop, which will be held on Friday, February 23, 2007, at MATC West Campus, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free parking. We will serve a continental breakfast and a hot lunch.

For the past 35 years, Schwarz has worked in the field of ESOL. For 22 years she served as a teacher at American University’s English Language Institute. She holds a master’s degree in special education and has taught reading and study skills to students with learning disabilities, ages 5 to adult. She is a doctoral candidate in English for Speakers of other languages (ESOL). She presents frequently on both ESL and LD issues, both in the US and abroad.

The topics that Schwarz will present are:
• Minimal Pairs – as in sheep/ship, tin/ten, bet/bat (What do students hear?)
• What hinders and what helps – what is really needed to help an ESL learner to advance and what hinders their development?
• How culture impacts learning for English Language Learners and for their teachers.

Robin Schwarz is a dynamic presenter and will distribute many handouts. This workshop is for all teachers, tutors and students studying to be teachers who want to understand language-learning strategies for English Language Learners (ELL).

Hope to see you there!

-- Eileen Marotte