SAL ALUMNI

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?
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?
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!

Masfari Syamsudin

(Studied at SAL  Spring 1983- Spring 1985)

What do you do 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?
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?
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?
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!!