Shawna Shulman: Speaking of Scary Times....How did We Get Here?

In this segment, From the Director’s Chair, Farnaz sits down with Shawna (EdD Candidate, Higher Education Leadership) to talk about the strange, often accidental paths that lead people into ESL. Starting with Shawna’s journey from studying biology (!!) to becoming an academic leader in EAL, they reflect on the

16 Apr 2026

Danny McGee: Being Neutral Is a Political Move.

In this segment of Teacher Real Talk, Farnaz and Danny (MEd, Adult Education and Community Development) explore the idea of “neutrality” in the language classroom. Reflecting on the impact of political crises, including what’s happening in Iran and Gaza, they talk about how real-world events show up in very

02 Apr 2026

Celine De Almeida: Like....This Wasn't in the Job Description!

In this segment of Teacher Real Talk, Farnaz and Celine (MEd; DELTA) chat about the difference between empathy and compassion in language education, the importance of seeing learners as people, not just students, and the need for healthy boundaries when dealing with student trauma. They share some memorable classroom stories

19 Mar 2026