– by Emma Snyder, LTS student

December is upon us, and we welcome the intermittent snow, prepare for the holidays, and congratulate UO students on a successful and productive fall term. We hope you all take this time for some well-deserved rest and recharging! Today we are welcoming to the stage another member of the LTS grad cohort for our student interviews.

So happy to have you here with us, Anna, please, tell us a bit about yourself!

Hi, I’m Anna. This is my second year of the LTS two-year schedule, so I’ve taken most of the classes I need to graduate.

I was born in Ukraine and moved to Oregon at seven years old. I have been in Oregon ever since, except for two years in Russia. I grew up speaking Russian, some Ukrainian, and English. Later, I learned Spanish. I would love to learn several more languages, such as Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew.

You’re on your way to becoming a regular polyglot, then! Have you been interested in languages for a while? What brought you to language teaching? To the UO?

I have been interested in languages and teaching for a long time, but I was not sure exactly what I wanted to do with my interests until I discovered the LTS program at UO. Prior to that, I worked in various medical fields, like optometry and pharmacy. At the same time, I kept coming back to short teaching experiences (mostly volunteering). After a while, I realized that if I keep dabbling in teaching, I must do something with it by finally getting a teaching degree. The LTS program stood out to me because of the flexibility it provides in choosing the language and age we would like to teach. I would like to have the flexibility to teach English, Spanish, and Russian, depending on where I am in life. I would also like to be able to teach both children and adults. 

It sounds like you’ve had such an interesting journey prior to joining us; we are excited to have you as part of the program! You spoke of short teaching experiences in the past, could you elaborate more on those? What is a fond memory or two you have of them?

During my undergraduate studies, I was a teacher’s assistant at a preschool. Eventually, I started teaching Spanish to the school-age children there. Before graduating, I completed an internship at an ESL class in a community college. I also taught English for a year to a small group of children in Russia. 

My most memorable experience was co-teaching Russian to pre-teen heritage learners at an evening school. These were children who were born to immigrants. The parents, but not the children, were interested in the children learning their heritage language. It was a challenge to motivate the children, as they were more interested in being as “American” as possible. This experience got me thinking about curriculum changes that Russian heritage evening schools could make. At the time, they were teaching from a curriculum intended for monolingual Russian learners. As it turns out, heritage language teaching must be approached differently. Curricula must be developed specifically for the needs of heritage learners.

What an interesting and fulfilling experience that must have been! Supporting heritage learners is certainly important. Now that you are in your second year of the LTS program, what has been a highlight for you of the program so far?

There are so many things I am grateful for in the LTS program, from the director and the professors, to my classmates, to the knowledge I have gained. I am especially thankful for the internship opportunities I have had at CASLS and in RUS 101. The internships have allowed me to try out some of the valuable theories on language teaching and learning that I have learned about in my classes. 

It is wonderful to hear that you have had so many opportunities and positive experiences with the UO. Looking toward the future, how are you hoping to work in the language field after your time here?

One of the reasons I applied to the LTS program was that I was opening a tutoring business and I wanted to provide high-quality language-teaching services. My short-term goal after graduating is to expand my business. Long term, I would like to create online resources and Russian language programs, especially for heritage learners. My very-far-away-in-the-future goal is to teach at a college or a university.

We wish you all the best in your business ventures, and your future teaching career. May both be filled with success! Finally, what is something outside of language teaching that you are passionate about? A fun fact about yourself that others may not know?

I am passionate about helping people with disabilities reach their goals. This might be related to being a teacher, but I do what I can to help people get over hurdles they might be facing. I have been involved in a Slavic special needs group for over 7 years. We organize events, teach weekend classes, help look for resources, and simply make long-lasting friendships.

I also like to explore different hobbies, such as hiking, playing the piano and the harp, painting, organizing, reading, gardening, and watching documentaries.