Instructors

Monica Cobis

Monica Cobis has been teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language since 1993. She taught children on a remote ranch in Brazil, private clients in Argentina, first grade in Ecuador, elementary children in North Carolina and adults in Atlanta. She established an EFL company in Ecuador that specialized in business English and cultural diversity instruction. Monica was the co-editor of the 1998 Intermediate ESL standards for the state of Georgia. She worked for over three years at Gwinnett Tech teaching all levels of English learners. Ms. Cobis also assisted a company in San Francisco, CA preparing janitorial service workers at Google and eBay.

Ms. Cobis teaches Advanced day and night sessions in July. She will also continue to teach our Grammar III, Writing III, Reading III, Listening & Speaking V,  TOEFL Prep V (L&S), and Idioms, Slang, and Movies classes in the fall. She was awarded the Golden Apple in 2006 for excellence in teaching and has been a presenter at the Georgia International Leadership Conference and the Georgia TESOL annual conference. In addition to her ESL instruction, Ms. Cobis is a private tutor and a correspondent for local newspapers.

Judith Wallace

Judith Wallace (M. Ed. In Curriculum & Instruction from National-Louis University (2001) and a B.A. Degree in Mental Retardation from the University of South Florida (1969)) has been teaching in public schools for 30 years. After retiring from Hillsborough County, Florida in June of 2003 she and her husband relocated to Talbot County, Georgia where they now live. They moved here escaping from the busy life of the Tampa Bay area. She and her husband raised three children while they were living in Florida and now are proud grandparents of eight beautiful children. Their children live in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Georgia. They have been on many international trips including trips to Europe, Korea, and several mission trips to Russia.

For the Fall 2009 semester, Mrs. Wallace will teach Grammar I, Writing I, Reading I, and Pronunciation I.  Her husband is presently the English speaking pastor at the primarily Korean congregation of Rock Presbyterian Church in Columbus. She teaches English at Rock Presbyterian Church as well as CSU. She says that, "It is a pleasure teaching students who are so highly motivated to learn. My students bring rich cultural experiences with them to class. Most days, I think I learn as much as they do!"

Carol Atkins

Carol Atkins has extensive educational credentials: B.S., Elementary Education, Univ. of South Alabama; MED, Early Childhood, Education Specialist of Elementary Education, Troy State. In 1997 she received the honor of being named the Teacher of the Year by the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation (MEEF) and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE). Carol began her career in Panama City, Florida teaching elementary music. Her decorated career in education includes 32 years as an elementary school teacher for the Muscogee County School District and 2 years in English as a Second Language.

Carol will teach Listening & Speaking III and Pronunciation III for fall 2009.

Craig DuPriest

Craig DuPriest has a B.A in communications from Auburn University. With experience teaching English as a Second Language at Ft. Benning and at other locations in Columbus, he has come to us ready for a new challenge. In addition to teaching he has conducted educational and public relations projects for eight county areas served by New Horizons. As the Director of Marketing for St. Francis Hospital, he was responsible for media relations and publications.

Craig currently teaches our Beginning day session in June and July and will continue teaching Listening & Speaking I and Vocabulary I in the fall.

Doris Brown

Doris Brown (B.S. in General Studies from Cols. College) was born in Germany, where she completed her secondary studies and worked as an interpreter and coordinator of a group of interpreters for the German Department of Defense. While in Germany she also volunteered at a speech therapy institute. She moved to the United States in 1986, after which she attained a specialization in German from the University of Georgia. She has many years of experience teaching English to non-native speakers, having worked as an English as a Second Language (ESOL) teacher and coordinator for the Muscogee School District since 1986.

For the Fall 2009 semester, Doris will teach the complete Intermediate Intensive Night program to intermediate level.

Joy Taylor

Joy Taylor (B.A. Elementary Education, Trinity College of Florida; and Masters of Teaching from Columbia Int. University) is certified by the state of Georgia as an early childhood / middle grades Spanish and English as a Second Language (ESOL) educator. Joy Taylor has been a coordinator of the ESOL program for the Chattahoochee County High School since 2006.

Her ESOL teaching experience goes back to 1994 when she started as an instructor for International Fellowship of Clearwater, FL.  Later she moved to Georgia and worked with the Muscogee County School District until 2007 as an ESOL instructor for adults.  Teaching is definitely one of her passions.  She has not only taught English, but has also been an elementary school teacher (mostly grades 3-5) from the start of her career.

Joy will teach the beginning Intensive Night session in the fall and the Low Intermediate night session in July.

Glenda Hendrix

Glenda Hendrix (M.A., English, Samford University; B.A., English and Mathematics, Samford University) has worked in the field for over 30 years. She brings to us her extensive experience in educating a variety of ages as well as organizing extracurricular projects such as the high school yearbook. She has continuously worked to improve her abilities to connect with and to educate those from a multitude of different national, cultural, and educational backgrounds. Her most recent 10 years were spent in the ESOL department for the Muscogee County School District.

Her inaugural teaching session was our July Advanced class, and in fall 2009 she will teach Grammar V, Writing V, Reading V, and Pronunciation III.

Beverly Hendrix

Beverly Hendrix received her Associate in Business Administration from Gordon College and her TESOL certification from Columbus State University. She started working with the ELI as a substitute teacher during the Fall 2009 semester, and will now be joining the program as a regular instructor. Additionally, Beverly Hendrix has worked as a business manager for Drexis, LLC. Prior to that, she worked with the Medical Center of Central Georgia as a patient account specialist.

Beverly will teach part of the advanced Intensive Night session during the Spring 2010 semester. She will teach Vocabulary VI, TOEFL Prep VI, and Listening & Speaking VI.

Elaine Johnson

Elaine Johnson (B.S. Multi-Disciplinary Studies, Liberty University) has a very diverse career background. Elaine has actively been involved in teaching adults, as well as individuals from different cultures. During 2003 and 2004 she taught English as a Foreign Language in Ukraine. She has also taught ESL classes with the Friendship International Ministries of Columbus, GA. Besides her English teaching experience, Elaine has also worked with the Columbus Women’s Job Corps as an Adult Education Instructor for Basic Internet Skills and MS Word. Through out her career she has actively been involved in implementing web-based solutions and different computer software for businesses.

Elaine will join the ELI for the first time in Spring 2010. She will teach Grammar VI, Writing VI, and Vocabulary VI.

Nereida Tims (Bilingual Education/TESOL, New Mexico State University; M.A. TESOL, New Mexico State University; B.A. Foreign Languages (Spanish/English), Federal University of Bahia) has extensive teaching experience. She is originally from Brazil, where she taught English as a Second language throughout many different centers of learning such as high, middle, and elementary schools. Within the US, Nereida has been an ESL instructor at the Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College in Ohio. She also served as an ESL program coordinator and instructor at New Mexico State University. Nereida likes to stay current on ESL teaching methods and techniques by attending different seminars, conferences, and workshops related to the subject.

Nereida Tims will teach part of the advanced Intensive Night session during the Spring 2010 semester. She will teach Grammar VI, Writing VI.