Making a difference in the Field of ESL: TESOL Spotlight on Ms. Tatiana Araz  

Tatiana Araz, TESOL Graduate Student / K-5 ESL Teacher

Ms. Tatiana Araz is making a difference in the field of ESL (English as a Second Language) in New Jersey. Ms. Araz currently teaches K-5 ESL with Wallington Public Schools in Bergen County. She also selected Seton Hall University for her ESL teacher certification coursework. Reflecting on her decision to join the TESOL program, Tatiana remarked, "Things always happen for a reason and I'm 100% sure it wasn't by accident that I ended up in this program…Everything turned out to be very nice".

Ms. Araz brings to the TESOL program multiple years experience teaching the English classes in Russia and in Turkey. The expertise that she has developed as an educator shines through in the work she does for the English Learner (EL) students and families she serves on a daily basis. For example, she manages an online google classroom site that is stocked with educational resources, each arranged into specific category folders. She explains that the online resources are to support the students and their growing independence. She notes that "the students have gotten used to the ESL support online. When I don't post things, they start asking for them".

Ms. Araz's multilingual background provides her an advantage in working with parents of EL students. Ms. Araz is proficient in Russian, Turkish, and English. She comments that the "parents are happy to have a non-native English speaker as their child's teacher". Since she has also learned English as an additional language, she notes that the parents know "I can understand them better".

Ms. Araz excels at connecting with teacher colleagues to cultivate professional networks. For example, she has been invited to present professional development workshops to teachers in her district. She also shares online resources on a regular basis with her graduate student colleagues in the TESOL program.

Her dedication to her students is conveyed in her description of their accomplishments. She describes a new EL student who has missed some prior schooling and who is reluctant to participate in the classroom. Recently, Ms. Araz reported, he was given a speaking recording to do online using the Flipgrid app. The student responded with "enough bravery to record himself. After the first two sentences it was just mumbling, but he was eager to record himself and to participate." For the administrator looking in, this might not seem like much. But, Ms. Araz contends, "this is a big achievement for us".

Reflecting on her career in education, Ms. Araz, has this to say: "I love being an ESL teacher. I was born to do that. Everyday I'm getting more and more experience and finding more resources. It motivates me so much to be ready to go over the mountain, as we say in Russian". Ms. Tatiana Araz, TESOL Graduate Student, represents the best in the field of ESL education and the spirit of the College of Education and Human Services. She is a K-5 ESL teacher with Wallington Public Schools in New Jersey.

About the TESOL Program:
The TESOL teacher certification program at Seton Hall University provides individuals with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve English Language Learners (ELLs) in K-12 academic settings. The program consists of 15 semester graduate credits offered in a hybrid format (in-person/on-line) for maximum convenience. The program sequence is an ideal pathway to an additional instructional certificate for practicing teachers.

Categories: Education