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English Language Institute
PO Box 117051
315 Norman Hall
Gainesville, FL 32611-7051
Phone: (352) 392-2070
Fax: (352) 392-3744
studyenglish@eli.ufl.edu
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Administration
Noreen Baker
Cultural Immersion Coordinator
Noreen Baker holds an M.Ed. in Foreign Language Education from the University of Florida. Before coming to the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Florida, she taught ESL for three years to employees of the Saudi Arabian Department of Customs at Arkansas State University, then taught for one year in a special program for Japanese students at Southeast Missouri State University.She has worked at the ELI at the University of Florida since 1989. At the ELI, Noreen has taught classes and served as the academic coordinator and the grammar curriculum coordinator. From 1999 to 2003, she served as the Assistant Director of the ELI, and from 2003 to 2004, she was Interim Director. Currently, she is the coordinator of the ELI's Cultural Immersion Program, and is pursuing a doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration at the University of Florida.
Barbara Hess Earp
Admissions Officer
Barbara Hess Earp holds an M.A. in Linguistics and a graduate certificate in teaching English as a second language, both from the University of Florida. She also holds a diploma in Linguistics from the Sorbonne (University of Paris). She has taught ESL at Santa Fe Community College as well as at the ELI, and she is qualified as a substitute teacher for all grades in Putnam County, Florida. Before becoming a language teacher, Barbara enjoyed a long career as an executive in the field of publishing newspapers and magazines in the United States as well as Europe and Asia.
Megan Forbes
Director
Megan Forbes holds a B.A. in English and Government from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Florida. She has lived in Jamaica, the Yemen Arab Republic, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Switzerland, and, in addition to other world travels, was a member of the Rotary District 6970 GSE Team to Northern India in 2000. She has been teaching ESL at the university level since 1995. She first joined the UFELI team in 1994 as a conversation partner. She has held the positions of Interaction Leader (Language Assistant), Assistant Activities Coordinator, Student Life Advisor, Listening/Speaking Coordinator, Cultural Immersion Program Coordinator, and Interim Director at the UFELI and is currently serving as Director. She actively volunteers in the local and global community, including being Past-President of the Rotary Club of Downtown Gainesville and a Paul Harris Fellow.
Patricia Moon
Assistant Director
Patricia Moon began teaching English at the age of seven when she worked as a language aide for Korean elementary school peers while attending a DOD school at Camp Hialeah in Pusan, South Korea. Over time, that experience coupled with her personal history of helping her immigrant mother read English, influenced her to pursue teaching English as a Second Language to adults. After a brief career in the visual arts, she began working at the English Language Institute as an interaction leader (language assistant) while pursuing her Master's degree in Linguistics. She has continued to work at the English Language Institute as an instructor, skills coordinator, academic coordinator, and currently, as assistant director. She has experience teaching international teaching assistants strategies for successful classroom management. Her current interests include teacher training, discourse in the workplace, cross-cultural communication, and foreign languages. Though she doesn't speak any foreign languages well, she has studied Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Korean, and Arabic.
Karen Owens
Office Manager
Karen Owens has been an employee of the English Language Institute since December 2000. Karen started her career at the ELI as Fiscal Assistant. In October 2004, Karen had the opportunity to move up to Office Manager. Karen moved to Gainesville from Wisconsin as a teenager and attended Gainesville High School. Karen has been employed by the University of Florida for the past 20 some years but says that the ELI is the best place to work!
Sonja Pealer
Fiscal Assistant
Sonja Pealer has been an employee of the English Language Institute since November 2004 as Fiscal Assistant. Sonja has been an employed by the University of Florida for the past 9 years. Sonja says her time here at the English Language Institute has been very rewarding and wonderful.
