My English coaching and teaching story began in Germany in 1989. I decided that year to move to Germany primarily for the adventure. And it proved to be a life-changing adventure. I didn’t know anyone there or have a place to live or a job, but I packed clothes for four seasons, made a hotel reservation for one night, and bought a one-way ticket to Frankfurt. From there I took a train to Heidelberg, where my hotel was.
I found it difficult to get employment in Germany since I knew almost no German. With perseverance, however, I eventually managed to find a job and get both a residence and work permit, which led to another position in Mannheim at a German language school teaching English.
I had worked in education previously, teaching Business English, Business Math, and Word Processing at a technical school, a business school, and in the Continuing Education program at Emory University. I quickly realized, however, that teaching English to non-native English speakers was quite different from teaching native English speakers, and it was harder. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful experience.
After spending 10 months in Germany, I returned to Atlanta and immediately enrolled in the Applied Linguistics program at Georgia State University for the Teaching of English as a Second Language. I interrupted my studies to return to Germany for another 9 months, working at the same language school again.
Within a year of returning the second time to Atlanta and completing my Master’s, I decided I wanted to do something different from what I saw other English institutions doing and I decided to establish my own language school, which I later got accredited and accepted students on F-1 student visas. I ran this school for 17 years in the Atlanta area, admitting students over the years from more than 100 different countries. At the end of the 17th year, I agreed to my son’s request to move to Indiana, where he had been for the last several years and where I had a new granddaughter.
I taught in the intensive English program at Indiana University South Bend for about one year. Then, afterwards, my son decided to return to Atlanta, so I moved to Athens, Georgia to accept a position in the Intensive English Program at the University of Georgia. In 2015, while still in Athens, I started an on-site language training business called Business Communication for Internationals-USA (d/b/a BCI-USA), which I am still running.
In 2016, I returned to Atlanta, and did on-site language training through BCI-USA and also worked with private students. Covid put a stop to much of what I was doing, as was the case with many others. Later I worked part-time at a small language school in Marietta and continued to work with private students before accepting a part-time position at Kennesaw State University, where I continue to work in both the Intensive English Program and the Community Program. And, I also continue to work with my own company, BCI-USA. They are both wonderful programs, and I am grateful to have both.
Contact BCI-USA
Contact Information
Phone: 404-695-4735
Email: info@bci-usa.com
P. O. Box 1383
Kennesaw, GA 30156
Classes taught at the Hive in Kennesaw or at your business.