World language & culture coaches
Our team of Language Coaches are dedicated community members who are passionate about bringing second language & culture education opportunities to our community, and to The State of Montana
Interested in joining our team of Language Coaches?
Email info@wlimt.org
Interested in joining our team of Language Coaches?
Email info@wlimt.org
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ARABIC TEAM
Mouloud Mahi - Mouloud is from Oujda, Morocco and received his bachelor's degree in English Linguistics. In 2020, he is was hosted at Irving Elementary School through TCLP. During his year in the U.S. he enjoyed experiencing American life, meeting new friends, and celebrating Moroccan and American holidays. Mould says, "Our language is our window to the world. Learning another language is an additional window. Let's learn Arabic and let us have another window. "
Mohamed Abdalla - While in Egypt, Mohamed was touched by a friend from the US who introduced him to things like hiking and camping and encouraged him to move to Bozeman. Mohamed is currently pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at MSU. He is one of the friendliest and warmest people we know, and he is always very excited to share stories about his native country and about his family with members of the community. He loves tutoring and working with young people, and is dedicated to the mission of helping others learn second languages. Mohamed says what makes him happy about teaching languages is that, "you give someone the key to explore more...I feel like you live longer when you teach...I love seeing people growing in front of me. I can see myself reflected in these young people."
Aisha Garged -
Sara Iverson - "Hey! I'm Sara Iverson and I am one of the World Language Initiative teachers in Bozeman, MT! I was born in Denver and I grew up in Cairo, Egypt all my life. My mom is Egyptian and my dad is American! I came to the US to play D1 tennis for Montana State University at the age of 16. I enjoy stock trading, skiing, and eating!"
FRENCH TEAM
Brigitte Morris - Brigitte was born and raised in France. She earned her Master’s in Sociology just before moving to Bozeman, Montana. She has been dedicating her time and sharing her passion of teaching the French language and Culture since then, mostly at MSU, in Bozeman Elementary schools (20 years ago), in a rural high school in Maine (2 years ago), and in the Bozeman Community at the Alliance Française de Bozeman-AF- that she founded in 1990. Since its inception, AF has become Bozeman International Language School that offers French, Spanish, Italian (regularly), Portuguese, and Chinese (on demand) classes to adults. Her mission is to promote communication in a variety of languages and foster friendly relations with people around the world. She received a Master’s in Education from MSU and intends to continue teaching French implementing communicative approaches, engaging learning, and best practices that she adapts according to her students’ ‘background’. With children, she applies methods that keep them alert and engaged: “French in action” through movement, songs, storytelling, games, listening, and reading.
Naomi Shafer - Naomi is a clown and a producer. She uses humor, playfulness and physical storytelling to turn power dynamics upside down. As the Executive Director of Clowns Without Borders USA, she produces clown tours in refugee camps, conflict zones and sites of natural disaster. Naomi grew up in Vermont, where she started learning French in Kindergarten. She learned Russian as a teenager when she went to Moscow to clown. She has been studying Spanish since 2018, when she organized a clown tour to Guatemala, following the eruption Volcan de Fuego.
Hannah McMaster - Hannah has been teaching private French parent/child classes and preschool classes for the past five years, and is entering her fifth session as a Coach for WLI-MT. In addition to teaching language, she is also an experienced preschool teacher, certified tutor, TEFL certified teacher, and mom to two elementary aged boys. In addition to her studies at university, Hannah learned French by living in Chatellerault, France where she was full immersed in the language and culture. She is passionate about exposing young children to the beautiful French language and culture and looks forward to a great year of learning!
GERMAN TEAM
Christina Crane - "My family background is partly German, and when I started college, I wanted to take German classes to learn the language of my ancestors. Within a few class sessions, I found that I immensely enjoy speaking and reading the German language and learning about the German culture. I now live on a ranch in Montana and enjoy a wide range of hobbies. In my free time indoors, I enjoy singing and playing music. I absolutely love the outdoors, and enjoy the wide range of outdoor activities including fishing, gardening, horseback riding, or hiking. I am honored to be on the World Language Initiative team, and I am very excited to work with this next generation and support language learning throughout the beautiful state of Montana!"
Miriam Schlotzhauer - "My name is Miriam Schlotzhauer. I am 32 years old and my first language is German. I was born and raised in Vorarlberg, Austria, which is in the Western Portion of the Alps bordering Switzerland. I immigrated to Bozeman with my husband who is from here, and our first child. Now we are a family of four and German can be heard at our dinner table every evening. Being born and raised in Austria gave me exposure to many cultures and languages. I enjoy traveling to new places and experiencing culture and language where ever I am. I have an Austrian degree as a heating and cooling technician, am a certified international climbing teacher/coach, avid climber, mother, wife and own my own climbing apparel business. I also used to compete in Bicycle Ballet as a youth. I love to Teach! I have a unique, very personal, but professional way to teach. Learning by doing is my Motto. Keeping both parts of the brain active is an important challenge, but also very fun! I am very excited to be a part of the World Language Initiative program and look forward to teaching German sharing my culture."
Anna Lane - "I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and began studying German in 2nd grade. After my first class, I was hooked! I continued German throughout middle and high school, and my senior year of high school I was an exchange student in Langenfeld, Germany. I had the time of my life and knew it was what I wanted to pursue in college. At Macalester College, I received a degree in German Studies and International Studies, spending part of my junior year in Berlin and Vienna. After graduating, I took a break from German and worked on a ranch in Philipsburg, MT, however, I missed the language and decided to go back to the Twin Cities and work as a paraprofessional at the German immersion school. This past year I spent as an English teaching assistant in Austria. I am currently pursuing my M.A. in Teaching German and couldn’t be more excited to start working with WLI-MT."
MANDARIN TEAM
Ying Liu - Ying moved to Bozeman from New York City with her husband, 3 kids, and 2 cats and instantly felt in love with this beautiful town in Montana! Ying grew up in Taiwan and is a native Chinese speaker. She got her undergrad/master degrees from New York University. She has been teaching Mandarin to students (age range from K-12) for over 20 years in various Chinese schools. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world and one of the official United Nations languages. Ying believes in teaching Mandarin through methods like CI (comprehensible input) and TPR(total physical response), where the language could be understood by listeners despite them not understanding all the words and grammar structures in it. Ying likes to incorporate her teaching through art, cooking, music, culture, history, and storytelling. She aspires to help students in the community learn Mandarin through playful learning.
Lin Chai Ying - Lin moved to Bozeman with her husband from Palau. Lin is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. She is a native Taiwanese and Mandarin speaker, and learned English at a young age. Lin graduated from the Ming Chung University with a degree in English. Lin has matched her multi-lingual abilities with her love of teaching and travel, allowing her incredible opportunities to teach English in Charter Elementary Schools across Taiwan. Lin also utilized language to share her other passion of teaching and guiding Scuba to international guests while she lived in Australia and Palau. Lin naturally incorporates her professional and fun-loving demeanor into her teaching, creating fun and engaging lessons for her students. With immersive activities, Lin integrates cultural art, music and group activities to involve her students in the lessons.
Christina Clark - Christina moved to Bozeman with her husband and sons from the Olympic peninsula in Washington state. She and her family have been captivated by Bozeman and are happy to call it home. Christina learned to speak Mandarin while living in Taiwan as a missionary. She is delighted to share her love of the people and culture as she teaches in the World Language program. Christina has had several different experiences teaching young children from youth Sunday school to preschool teacher. This is her second year in the WL program and is thrilled to be a part of it. Christina says, "I have been with the World Language Initiative for four years and have found that I love to share the Chinese language and culture with others. I learned to speak Mandarin while on a mission for my church for a year and a half in Taiwan. I'm not a native speaker, but have been told that I am like an egg - white on the outside and yellow on the inside. I think that was the best compliment I have ever received."
SPANISH TEAM
Kristen Wolf - Kristen ND Wolf (@LaLobaLista) is a dynamic educator and presenter. Her background as a Montessori & Spanish teacher has led her to understand the process of language acquisition and human development in meaningful ways. Kristen enjoys creating a community with her classes. La Loba Lista’s (the ready Wolf) teaching style is engaging, story based and supported by language acquisition research. She is blessed with two children and a very supportive husband, as well as three dogs and one cat. Kristen loves getting outside and enjoying the beauty of Montana and its vibrant communities. She has travelled extensively and lived in Spain and has completed her master’s degree at MSU. She encourages you to come participate in or observe a class!!
Paola Torres - (Peru) is a former Spanish teacher at Helena High School. She moved to Montana from Lima, Peru where she worked as a journalist to start a new career as a foreign language teacher. She has experience teaching Pre-K, Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle School and adult students. She has taught with World Language Initiative for four years and she enjoys sharing her knowledge and culture with the community. Paola is the Project Lead for a new WLI-MT Program, BELLA (The Bozeman English Learner Literacy Alliance) supporting Newcomer EL youth through literacy & mentorship.
Ellie Nolan - "I began studying the Spanish language at the age of fourteen, at Sentinel High School in Missoula. I loved it from the start and would practice with any and all Spanish speakers that I met. My senior year of high school, I traveled to Costa Rica through a school program and fell in love with the idea of traveling. I came to Montana State University in the Fall of 2016, and began a double major with Hispanic Studies and History, with a French minor. In July of 2017, I studied in Peru for a semester, returning with improved Spanish skills and many new perspectives. Through this experience, I discovered my passion for the various cultures and contemporary social changes of Latin America. I also discovered the importance of learning a foreign language for the purposes of communicating with someone in their native language, therefore making a more profound connection with them and better understanding their perspectives and opinions, which may differ from my own. The learning of a foreign language not only has great cognitive benefits for people of all ages, but it also enables the speaker to travel, make connections, see new perspectives, and experience new ways of life. For this reason, I am honored and excited to be a part of the World Language Initiative by sharing my knowledge, experiences, and passion for language and culture with students."
Anita Pino - "My name is Anita Pino. I come from Concepcion, Chile and I speak Spanish as my native language. I studied English teaching because I believe that learning a second language is a great tool in today’s world and I enjoy being part of a community by teaching others. I am so looking forward to sharing with you my native language and being part of WLI-MT because I see how they care for Bozeman’s growing community and making so many languages accessible for everybody in town."
Anna Chocholousek - Anna is a Spanish educator focused on joyful, student-centered language learning. She has experience teaching all ages of Spanish learners in both classroom and camp settings. Anna has been teaching Spanish at Bozeman High School since 2020, and joined the World Language Initiative team in 2021. Having traveled extensively throughout Central and South America, Anna loves helping students learn about the various cultures of the Spanish-speaking world through exploration and play.