Testimonials
Dr. Mary Abdullah
School Supervisors’ Comments:
“Dr. Abdullah has proven to be an asset to the German program. She is able to deal with native speakers and non-native speakers equally well.”
(Dept. Chair)
“Not just a teacher, but an educator”. “Very clear and easy to follow”. “A variety of activities’-visual and kinetics, verbal, wasn’t didactic, but encouraged an open mind.”
Students’ comments:
Your total immersion method helped me to actually become conversational in German more than any other class I’ve ever taken. I truly appreciate all the hard work you put into helping me actually be able to speak the language as well as reading and writing it. I’m proud to say I went on a trip to Berlin recently and was able to speak to others and understand them.”
“Danke Dr, Abdullah für alles!!! Es war sehr schön! (Italian student taking IB German)
“Vielen Dank! Es war ein wunderbares Jahr, und sie haben mir viel beigebracht! “Honors Deutsch war auch sehr interessant und hilfreich!” (A trilingual student from Germany)
Parents’ Comments:
“Thank you so much! We are in Germany right now. Everyone is so excited about how well our son speaks German. I wanted to let you know that I am very happy with how well you taught him German. You did a great job and it will help him to make his college application very special.” (German/American family)
“Wir bedanken uns sehr herzlich fur Ihre Arbeit mit unserem Sohn, der nicht nur viel gelernt, sondern die Zeit mit Ihnen auch sehr gerne verbracht hat.” (German family)
“Thank you for helping our sons with the college essay and application process. They were able to attend the college of their choice.”
Dr. Linda D’Argenio
School Supervisors’ Comments:
“Linda has proved to be a very caring and hardworking teacher who strives to engage her students through a variety of activities in the classroom. She also caters to the different students in her classes by using a wide variety of resources in her teaching, including videos, stories, or games. Linda is a very thorough planner and she prepares learning experiences which allow the students to constantly review and reuse language they have previously studied and to progress further.”
“During these past few years, I have observed that Linda has made a constant effort to diversify her teaching strategies in order to cater to the needs of a variety of students in her classes. During her career, she had often to deal with students who had learning issues specifically related to language acquisition. She always worked enthusiastically with all of them and did her best to find alternative ways of instruction.”
Students’ comments:
“I tried writing this email in Mandarin, but it didn’t work so I just decided to write it in English. I am writing this to let you know that I appreciate you, and I wouldn’t be where I am in Mandarin without you. I love learning Mandarin in your class. Reading, writing, and speaking mandarin are actually one of my favorite things to do now. I have most definitely learned the most in Mandarin this year than any other. Thank you for being my teacher!” (middle school student)
“Thank you for helping me learn Mandarin, and over multiple years. I have really enjoyed your classes, and learning another language is very cool, and can help me become a better student. Even though [learning] Mandarin online is much harder, you have kept me engaged and learning. Thanks!” (middle school student)
Ms. Angela Raborg
Parents’ comments:
“My son has had such a wonderful learning experience with you. Your well-thought-out activities help him stay engaged and find relevancy in his learning material while having so much fun and developing a trusting relationship with you. Your layered approach is also very effective – it’s so interesting to see how you sequence the material/learning objectives. Thank you so very much and we look forward to continued learning, growth, and fun time with you in 2021.
“I have many words that I want to say to thank you! Our children are so lucky to have you as their Spanish teacher. This language is a little difficult because they are learning the third language. Also, they are very lucky to be with you. How wonderful they always want to learn more from you. I believe you have magic that makes our kids love you. You are the best teacher I’ve ever known.”
“Spanish is my daughter’s favorite class, and she refers to you as ‘magical.’ Thank you for being such a positive force in her life and education, especially in this strange year. She always looks forward to seeing you and learning Spanish.”
“Whenever my daughter talked about Spanish class, she has a big smile on her face. You put a lot of fun into every class, which makes her love this language so much. Thanks again.”