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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Suzanne Elrayess: 2011-2012 Outstanding WAC Faculty Award Winner


The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee at Monroe Community College is pleased to announce Suzanne Elrayess (ESOL and Foreign Languages) as the recipient of the 2011-2012 Outstanding WAC Faculty Award.

Suzanne has led the College’s ESOL program for years and has provided many MCC teachers with useful advice on how to evaluate the writing of students who are non-native speakers of English. More crucially, she is an important resource for students who might otherwise feel alienated or lost without her guidance. “I love being with ESOL students,” she enthuses. “It’s exciting to learn about their cultures, to share their stories. How humans communicate, how we learn our native language and then a second or third language is fascinating to me. Every class brings something new.”


Suzanne began teaching at MCC as an adjunct ESOL instructor in 1980. In 1991, she was hired full-time and reached full promotion to Professor in 2007. During this time, she designed, developed and taught the first classes of ESL 128 (ESOL Through Computers), ESL 130 (Advanced I: Integrated Skills), ESL 158 (Oral Communication), and ESL 280 (Medical Interpreting). She also redesigned the curriculum for ESL 201 (Advanced II: Integrated Skills). She currently teaches 130, 201 and 280. Most ESOL classes at MCC are currently WR and therefore function as an effective training sequence for writing Standard English. A master teacher, she remains current with the concerns and trends of her field. “In 1996, my colleague, Larry Berking, and I changed our discipline’s pedagogy to the Fluency First approach,” Suzanne explains. “This has proven to be more effective in addressing second language learners’ reading and writing challenges.”

Her annual publication, ESOL Voices, gives students a forum with which to express themselves and earn recognition for their efforts at a college-wide level. When I asked Suzanne what message she could provide teachers at the College that might give them a better context for teaching ESOL students, she said, “Just imagine if you were studying Business at the University of Vietnam. How would you cope being immersed in the academic language while you’re still getting a handle on Vietnamese and adapting to a new culture?” Suzanne also said, “Don’t assume just because ESOL students haven’t reached full fluency in English that they don’t have strong cognitive skills in their native language.”

Suzanne will receive her award at the Employee Recognition Ceremony, which begins at 2:30 PM on May 30, 2102 in the MCC Theater. The members of the WAC Committee encourage you to attend and recognize hers and others achievements.

Tony Leuzzi
English/Philosophy
05/10/2012