SAL ALUMNI

Akihiro Enomoto
(Studied at SAL Summer – Winter 1991)

What are you doing now?
I am working in a semiconductor company called Ebara. I am in Customer Support Department.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
I do not remember what class it was, but one of the SAL teachers, she had a problem in her back so that she had to use a cushion when she sat on a chair. I was enrolled in SAL program in 1991 summer and winter semester) showed us a video tape of “I have a dream,” a famous speech by Martin Luther King. Rage, the heat of his hopes and faith, and the tears of the teacher’s eyes after showing the video touched me as the same it did to her even though I could not understand the video fully. Later, in other college, I was fortunate to have a chance to read the entire script of the speech. And, again, I was touched very much. The teacher might have just played the tape of the speech for the listening class; sorry, I do not remember it was whether a tape of a video tape.Your questionnaire asks, “What skill did it help improve.” Well, to be honest, this tape alone could not improve my listening ability (if the tape was played or showed in the listening class). However, the sense of being touched, thrill and goose bumps you feel when you study are very important and strong drive for studying; they can be an only drive. Studying English as a foreign student is a very long and painful, sometimes a monotonous and frustrating process because the improvement does not come quickly. When I read the script of the speech, I had been in a sluggish period in improving my English ability. But, the touching sense helped me go on. Ability to find some interesting in studies is important, and so is providing such an interesting material to students. I am very thankful for the teacher and the SAL program for the heat in the tape or video.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
I keep in touch with Katsumi Hasegawa who married just a few years ago. He was the only one who used to wear a cowboy hat on campus.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
Favorite activity is Halloween or Christmas party (sorry, again, I do not remember which). I was up on the stage with Frankenstein’s mask on and danced. First, only a few of my classmates danced, but very quickly the rest of my classmates joined us. The dance was not rhythmical either stylish at all like the one Michel Jackson does. Our dance was a copy of famous Japanese comedian, Kin-chan.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
Memorable out-of-class experience is soccer in a parking lot. I was living in International House (used to be called I-Center). There in the small parking lot, we, residence, played soccer a lot. Another experience. Above mentioned Katsumi Hasegawa was living in SJSU-on-campus dormitory. He had a TV, and every week, Japanese drama was shown on it. I went to his room every week to watch the drama. The both of us knew that we should have not exposed ourselves to Japanese language, instead get ourselves soaked in English (speak, listen, write, read, think, dream, and even propose marriage in English). However, we soaked ourselves in Japanese. As a Japanese Samurai boy, I can not admit that it was homesick.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Writing diary in English every day helped me improve writing and vocabulary (You have to set a time or length; in my case, 30 minutes or at least one page of writing diaries). Also, I watched Star Trek, Next Generation (1 hour show), every day. That helped my listening ability. It may be a good idea to include these must-do-every-day things in your curriculum.

Erich Borutta
(Studied at SAL Fall 2005)

What do you do now?
Since June 2008 I have been working in an accounting and consulting firm in Germany, in the Advisory Services Unit. Specifically, I work in the Valuation department of that Unit.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
I did not participate in the language classes, but I took 4 classes at San José State University in the College of Business, via SAL. Thus, I gained 12 credits for my Masters degree in Germany. I liked all 4 of my classes. I took 3 finance classes, and 1 class in organizational change and design. All of the classes improved my theoretical knowledge of the subjects. In 2 of the classes we had to present our results to a group, and defend the results in a discussion. That helped me to improve my presentation and language skills.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
I have stayed in touch with 1 former student of San José State. We took the same finance class, and studied together for 1 of the exams in the class.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
My favorite SAL field trip was a trip to Alcatraz, close to San Francisco. We went there by bus and boat in a big group, to visit the famous prison, and saw, e.g., the prison cell of Al Capone.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
My favorite place to eat, and closest to the SJSU Campus, was Peanuts, where you can get American food. Of course, there are many other places on and around the campus that offer good sandwiches. It was also great to attend the sports games at SJSU, and to be a member of the Spartans Squad, together in the stadium.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Enjoy your time in San José and the Bay Area. Take the time and patience you need to develop your own personality. Take part in the social activities of SAL.

Gabriella Sbordone
(Studied at SAL January – May 2007)

What are you doing now?
I am planning to apply for PhD studies, and soon will start working as an intern within a non-profit organization.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
It would be unfair to mention just one class, because there were much more than just one course I loved. I particularly enjoyed the critical thinking and written communication classes, but other courses taught me something new and useful as well. I learnt to analyze arguments, to write in a correct, well organized and creative way, and to make effective presentations.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
SAL gave me the chance to become close to students coming from cultures different from mine, and I consider their friendship as a true enrichment. I still keep in touch with many of them, and some are now among my best friends. They are part of my American family, and their love and support helps me feel like at home.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
Volunteering for the Ronald McDonald House was a wonderful experience I shared with some SAL students. We operated the Wheel of Fortune, and that was probably one of the funniest nights of my life. These memories will cheer me up forever…

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
However boring it may sound to you, you will be amazed to find out how beautiful the San Jose Public Library is. You can’t miss this place if you come to San Jose. I spent there most of my after-classes, and still go there very often. It’s an amazing place where you can find anything you are looking for, or just relax in the company of a good book or a newspaper from your home country.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Enjoy this experience as much as you can, and try not to stick just with people from your country. You will improve your English and learn from differences at the same time!

Ichiro Murakami
(Studied at SAL Summer 2008)

What do you do now?
I graduated from University last March and got a job with a manufacturing company. I belong to the System engineering department, so I have to study a lot. In the meantime, I will study English as well, because I had the opportunity to come to SAL class last summer!

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
My favorite class is “American culture” because I could learn not only English but also the cultural difference between the US and Japan. Also, it helped me improve the skill of the presentation.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
Yes, I established friendly relations with my SAL friends.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
My favorite field trip is when we went to San Francisco. It was the last field trip while I was in the US, so it was the memorable trip. We went to Chinatown, Golden Gate Bridge and so on, everything was very nice.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
I usually walked around in San Jose Downtown with my friends after class. And I found some nice restaurants near the university, but I don’t remember the name of it.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
I would like all of you to have as much experience as you can while you study at the SAL. And please try to express what’s on your mind in Endlish, as much as you can. I’m sure it will help you to improve your English indeed. Good Luck!

Kwanghyun Paek
(Studied at SAL Fall 2000-Spring 2001)

What are you doing now?
Together with a few friends of mine, I incorporated an IT startup company in Silicon Valley with a branch in Korea last year. I work in the Korean branch most of the time as a planning team manager and visit Bay Area quite often. We recently launched our new service, www.ubidesk.com

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
I liked my writing and grammar classes because I was a bit better at those than listening and speaking. The writing I practiced at the SAL helped me much during my graduate study.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
I kept it touch with a few of my SAL friends for about 5 years after I left the SAL program. Sadly, now I keep in touch with only two of them - Taz and Yong-gu who I had never been in the same class with.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
Well, it was a really long time ago. I remember the field trip to the Monterey Aquarium. I still love the place, and I will make another visit when I have my kids.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
San Francisco! Now I remember that we went to Alcatraz as a field trip. It was fun. Yeah, I loved San Francisco especially Twin Peaks where I very much enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the city.
Another great thing in California was the BBQ. Most of the parks in San Jose had BBQ grills, which was awesome! I loved to cook at the park with my friends.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Meet people in real life instead of surfing the net. Exploit every chance to meet as many people in different places as possible. You never learn how to describe your pain or illness to a doctor until you really get sick and go to see a doctor. I am not saying you should get sick.
Also, study and practice hard your English especially during the first year in the U.S. After a year or two, you learn how to survive even though you do not speak English very well. Once you get used to it, your English will never get really better even after a number of years in the states. Try to get a good habit of speaking good English from the beginning, and it will last for many years to come.

Lars-Ove Andersson
(Studied at SAL Spring 1982)

What are you doing now?
I am working with awnings, and I make different kinds of sun shades, in a small firm. We are 22 employees. My employer is a part of a large company in Netherlands.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
Spoken English and reading. Grammar is my weak part, and it is also boring. I like more to speak and have conversation in English. It helped me a lot, that I didn´t have any Swedes to talk with. So I was forced to speak and understand English. My goal with this trip was to learn English, as much as I could and have people around me that spoke English. The SAL program had class, you teachers were wonderful Karen, Judy, and Phil.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
Actually, in the beginning, I had some contact Hiroyuki and Mery. We lost contact, but I do have some pen friends from the International-House. Recently, I got in contact with Jaly from Japan, she studied in the SAL program, but in an other class, we are sending e-mail to one other. I do remember all of them in my class, and some from the other classes. By keeping in touch with my pen-friends, I am a part of the American society. For me it was important to have contact with the people, that I meet at SAL and the I-House, it pays back in the future. There is something students should think about. I got some pen friends, exclusively from USA. I really want to have contact with other people from other countries. So it would be nice to look up some old students from that time, both from SAL and I-House.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
I was satisfied with the whole SAL program, I can`t pointed out something specific.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
My first stop was at the International House, it was called the International Center then. Living at the I-House was a real experience, the mix of people was just right. To know people from around the world, was exciting and rewarding. I was in USA for five months, under that time you meet a lot of people. I rented a car for a week and drove along the coast to Los Angeles. I went to Hawaii for 9 days. The Americans are friendly and makes you feel welcome, at least those people I met. I think you must stay for a couple of years, to know, how the American society and the American people works.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Try to go alone, it gives you more in learning english. Try to get as much friends as you can. And try not to be with people that speaks your language. To have pen friends is very nice and rewarding, too. Keep in touch with your friends, you will never forget that. This experience was a memory for life. I’m glad I did it.

Masfari Syamsudin
(Studied at SAL Spring 1983- Spring 1985)

What are you doing now?
I work as an English Teacher at one of the Universities in Jakarta. I also work for Communication and Information Department as Interior Designer for NICT project with Korean Consultant.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
All classes of SAL were my favorite. I liked all classes because I think they were all important to me.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
Fortunately, It wasn't long ago I did some browsing on the internet and found SAL. So I emailed them and expected that one of my former instructors still recognize me. I guess, I was right, Karen O'Neall is still in the program, but now, she is a director of SAL program.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
I remember one of the trip we had was we went to San Jose Museum, and we had some other trip and picnic.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
The most memorable experience when I was in SAL was the earthquake in January 1984. We were studying on the 4th floor of Engineering building. I was sitting in the back at that time when the earthquake started rattling...the doors were shaking and make loud noise...As soon as I felt it I jumped off my chair and ran out of the class. I didn't really think of anybody else in the class I kept running down the stairs, I took not only one step at a time but even two or three steps at once. when I was on the ground floor and went out of the building I felt kind of relieve, but embarassing because I could see all my class mates and Karen, who was teaching us at the time were still walking calmly down the stairs on the third floor. So In the end of the semester they called me the fastest runner from the earth quake.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
I think SAL is the best place to learn English because of the environment support the education they offer for International students. Not only does SAL have the best teachers but also the program they give us is well organized so it is very easy for first time learner to follow their instruction. The staff patiently guide us through out the year.

Sunny Yu
(Studied at SAL Summer 2002 to Fall 2003)

What are you doing now?
I am an instructor at SAL. I’ve taught CERV (Current Event Reading and Vocabulary), OC (Oral Communication), English through Art, Survival English and TOEFL note taking. I am teaching another CERV class this semester in spring 2008. I’m also involved with a lot of student activities at SAL, such as Conversation Club, Language Exchange and Volunteers in Action.

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
All the classes I took were very helpful. In my WC class, I learned American writing styles which helped me a lot when I had to write research papers in my graduate classes at San Jose State University. I practiced how to make a good presentation in my OC class. Also, CERV class was very helpful in improving discussion skills since we had many in-class discussions about current topics.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
A lot of them went back to their home countries, so I lost touch with them. However, some of my SAL friends have finished their education in the U.S., and they are currently working in the U.S. One of my SAL friends who I still keep in touch is Alison Lu from Taiwan. Alison and I took the same classes at SAL and became like sisters. She transferred to De Anza College after studying at SAL. Then, she transferred to U.C. San Diego, and now she is working in San Diego. I went to San Diego for a conference and met her last April. It was good to see my old friend.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
Photo Day: All the SAL students used to get together one day and take a group photo every semester. The photographer always made us say “San José” when we took pictures. Now, SAL is too big and we make photo CDs, but I miss the photo day when all the students could get together and take a picture together. I still keep all the group photos at home. They are posted outside the SAL office. It is fun to find former students from the pictures.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
After the first semester at SAL, I started working on campus. I started serving quesadillas at the student union. I still remember the first day. I didn’t know the English name of food items that I was serving. So I started asking customers “Do you want this and that?” and I just created my own quesadillas. Later on, I got trained, made a lot of friends there, and had a good time. It was a very good way to improve my English. And of course, I got a lot of free food.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Don’t be afraid of speaking English, and don’t worry about your accent. There are more non-native speakers than native speakers who speak English. Be confident and always look for chances to speak English. Most importantly, HAVE FUN while you are here!!

Yixing You

What are you doing now?
I am the founder of PHI Construction Inc. established in 2005. As a licensed general contractor the company is focused on residential construction and remodeling. In this field, we have chances working with architecturers, structural and mechanical engineers. We have had great opportunities to learn from others in different perspect. Since we have taken care of our clients very well, PHI Construction have good reputation and lots referrals. Even though economy is in down term now, our business is still in good shape. Because I put most of time on my business, I could not finish my civil engineering degree in SJSU. 

What was your favorite class at SAL? What skill did it help you improve?
I like all SAL's classes because each class is design to improve students' skills physically and gradually. The most interesting classes are Business and culture.

Do you keep in touch with your SAL friends? Who do you remember?
Not really, but I still remember Hwan and Hwanmu. They are nice guys and we had good time in SAL.

Can you tell us about your favorite SAL activity or field trip?
Yes, I like business trip. I still remember Diane brought us to her husband's company CISCO. That's the first time I were in touch with industry.

Would you like to share a memorable out-of-class experience as a SAL student?
One day the whole class went to a Chinese restaurant, named Manderin Gourmet. Delicious food and nice service. Every student ordered his/her own food. Each student had a chance to introduce his/her own culture or family. We became more close. However, we did not pay enough tips at the end because the price was little bit expensive for students.

Do you have any advice for current or future SAL students?
Yes. SAL creates an open, friendly English study environment for students from the world. You can not find anywhere else, even in community colleges because you feel like you are so important here. Whenever you have any problems, just bring them out. Any of SAL faculties will be pleased to help you. The most important is that you can always get the answer, more than you expect.