Marco deVera, Instructor

mmdever1@olemiss.edu

After graduating from Oxford High School, Marco Devera received his undergraduate degree from the University of Central Florida with a B.A. in Legal Studies. Marco then returned to Oxford to complete his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in TESOL from the University of Mississippi. He began teaching in the Intensive English Program in June 2008. In addition to his studies in teaching English to speakers of other languages, Marco studied French at the university-level. He enjoys music, reading literature and playing tennis.

Ashley Fly, Instructor

Brenda Hales, Instructor

bhales@olemiss.edu

Brenda Hales joined the Intensive English Program in 2004 after returning from a year of teaching EFL at Hanbat National University in Daejeon, South Korea. Originally from Mississippi, Brenda received her B.A. of Education in 1970 and her M.A. in TESOL in 2002 from the University of Mississippi. After twenty years working for the state and national governments in social services and claims, she retired to raise her two sons. She became interested in ESL when she sponsored a French exchange student. She returned to the University of Mississippi to study French in 1999 and later TESOL. Brenda loves to travel and has visited 12 foreign countries. Her home is always open to international visitors.

Lance Herrington, Instructor & Coordinator (Instructional Services)

lherring@olemiss.edu

Originally from Texas, Lance Herrington joined the Intensive English Program in 2007. He earned a B.A. in Art History from the University of Texas, and M.A. in Art History from the University of Mississippi, before returning to UM to work and study, earning a second M.A. in TESOL. Lance has taught English in Osaka, Japan, and Quito, Ecuador.

Kathryn Gillen, Instructor

Jasmine Karlowski, Assistant Director & Instructor

jakarlow@olemiss.edu

Jasmine Karlowski received her B.A. in Economics from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She received her M.A. in TESL from the University of Mississippi and joined as an instructor in the Intensive English Program in 2010. While earning her masters degree, she taught Community ESL classes as well as kindergarten and elementary English language learners. She currently teaches High Intermediate Reading and Cross Cultural Awareness for the Intensive English Program in addition to community ESL courses. Her research interests include bilingual classroom instruction, adult ESL curriculum, and language and identity. She is fluent in Spanish, has worked for World Vision Latin America, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Latin America.

Tracy Case Koslowski, Instructor & Coordinator (Community Service)

tlcase@olemiss.edu

Originally from New Orleans and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Tracy Case Koslowski joined the UM IEP staff in 2008. She received a B.A. in Linguistics with minors in German and Russian, an M.A. in German, and an M.A. in TESL, all from the University of Mississippi. During that time, she spent a year abroad studying in Giessen, Germany; worked as an English instructor for the “Allegria” troupe of Cirque du Soleil; spent a summer doing graduate work in Klagenfurt, Austria and another summer teaching English at the Berufskolleg in Hilden, Germany; and worked as an ESL Tutor in the Oxford School District. Before becoming an instructor at UM, she spent three years teaching German at Pascagoula High School. In addition to teaching IEP classes, Tracy coordinates social activities, excursions, and community service.

Velsie Pate, Instructor

vdpate@olemiss.edu

Velsie Pate has been working at the University for 18 years in areas, such as Admissions, the Registrar's Office, the School of Liberal Arts, Study Abroad, the Office of Summer School, and since 2007, the Intensive English Program. She has a B.A. in Music, a B.A. in English, a M.A. in Southern Studies and is currently enrolled in the M.A. program in TESOL. Velsie also studied Spanish abroad in Costa Rica during the summer of 2003 and currently teaches one of the IEP American Culture classes. Velsie enjoys photography, gardening, petting her cats, walking for exercise, and good food.

Dinorah Sapp, Instructor & Coordinator (Professional Development & Graduate Instructor Coordinator)

dsapp@olemiss.edu

Dinorah Sapp was born in Mexico City and arrived in the U.S. when she was 15 years-old to complete her high school education at a boarding school in Texas. She then went on to complete a Bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Spanish. She also holds a Master's Degree in Language Education from Indiana University. Her ESL classroom experience has been at the elementary, high school, and university levels. She has taught courses in Reading, Writing, ESL instruction and assessment, and teaching methods, as well as Spanish and Music. Dinorah participates actively in regional conferences and was the Poster Session Leader at the 2010 TESOL convention in Boston and is a committee member for the 2011 TESOL convention in New Orleans. Dinorah has lived in Germany and Austria, and has traveled extensively throughout Europe. She enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, playing badminton, and swimming.

Elena Sorokova, Instructor

Vance Rebarchek Smith, Instructor

Tamara Warhol, Director & Assistant Professor of Linguistics & TESL

twarhol@olemiss.edu

Tamara Warhol received her B.A. cum laude in Religion from Princeton University and her M.S.Ed. in TESOL and her Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in Educational Linguistics from University of Pennsylvania. She joined the Intensive English Program as Director in Fall 2007 and additionally was appointed Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics in the Department of Modern Languages. Within the Department of Modern Language, she teaches classes in Descriptive Grammar, Discourse Analysis, and Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Her research interests include classroom discourse and interaction, language socialization, and multiculturalism. Tamara has traveled, lived and worked throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia.

Donald L. Dyer, Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Professor of Russian and Linguistics

mldyer@olemiss.edu

Donald L. Dyer is Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Professor of Russian and Linguistics at The University of Mississippi, where he has been teaching for the past 22 years. He obtained his B.A. in Russian (with Honors) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980 and his M.A. (1982) and Ph.D. (1990) in Slavic Linguistics from the University of Chicago. Dr. Dyer teaches courses in Russian, Linguistics and Honors. His research interests include Slavic and Balkan linguistics, Bulgarian and the Romanian of Moldova, as well as languages in contact.

Esim Erdim, Professor of TESL

eerdim@olemiss.edu

Esim Erdim received her first Ph.D. in American Literature from the Faculty of Letters in Ankara University, Turkey in 1974 and taught at Ege University as a professor of American Literature until 1990. She continued her studies at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and was awarded her second Ph.D. in Translation Studies with emphasis in TESOL at the same university. She was the Director of the TESOL Program in the School of Education at the University of Mississippi from 1999 to 2006 where she was awarded tenure and became a full professor of applied linguistics. She currently teaches courses in language pedagogy and second language acquisition in the Department of Modern Languages. Her publications include articles on Walker Percy, Flannery O’Connor, Katherine A. Porter, Margaret Walker, and translations of Orhan Pamuk’s novels.

Michael Raines, Instructional Assistant Professor

mcraines@olemiss.edu

Michael Raines currently teaches courses in the Intensive English Program as well as courses in the TESL program in the Department of Modern Languages. Originally from Tupelo, MS, Michael has been teaching ESL for a long time. He first studied and taught in Mexico City for a number of years, and after that experience, returned to the United States to finish his Ph.D. in TESOL. After finishing his degree, he accepted a position at the University of Alabama for 4½ years, where he was responsible for two programs: ESL and foreign language education and was in charge of a federal grant. He taught additional intensive TESL classes overseas. After his tenure at the University of Alabama, Michael returned to Ole Miss and taught Spanish full-time and ESL part-time for seven years. This Fall 2010, he has joined the IEP and TESL programs full-time.