Liraz Maor:
My degree gave me an opportunity to discover my true passion for English teaching. The diversity of the department's approaches to teaching is an integral part of its success. Lectures are structured to run alongside seminars. They offer the opportunity to closely examine fascinating articles and analyze their criticism. Furthermore, they address topics in a comfortable and encouraging environment, which enhances critical thinking and wider debates. I feel greatly privileged to have had the chance to study here and I learned the more effort you invest, the more rewarding it becomes. I am now the coordinator of English Studies at Hertzog High-School in Kfar-Saba, and I can genuinely say I love my profession.
Michal Schwartzberg:
I took several courses at the Department of English Language and Literature at Beit Berl College, as part of my retraining for English teaching.
The literature and poetry courses were pure joy and at the same time enlightening. The Linguistics courses furthered my knowledge of the English language, provided me with meta-linguistic understanding of the language and also offered me a glimpse into how languages are acquired. I have to admit that only in retrospect, after I began teaching, did I understand how much these courses contributed to my teaching. As an English teacher, I don’t always know the answers, but these courses equipped me with the necessary meta-linguistic knowledge which is invaluable. I now better understand the English language, my students’ difficulties and how to address them appropriately.
There is no doubt in my mind that the combined effect of all of these courses, made me a better English teacher!
Basma Haj Yahya:
One of the most exciting and fulfilling parts of my degree has been studying English, its intricacies and nuances. And studying it at this department only heightened this sense of exploration and curiosity even more. From analyzing texts in the most imaginative ways, allowing us to roam around our thoughts and write our musings and truly use the language. As well as learning why and how it functions, how our brains manages and handles it. It has been a true pleasure to be taught by the best, always pushing me forward, to further my limits, to seek out knowledge and enjoy and appreciate the language on a different level.
Dana Ovadia:
"Teaching has ever been my calling and I am happy that I found it" (Andy Williams).
Hello, I'm Dana. Currently I am a second- year teacher at Shifer primary school and also tutor high school students. I always knew I was going to be an educator for young learners, simply because I love children and want to help them work toward a productive, fulfilling life where they can achieve their full potential.
The English Department at Beit Berl College is the perfect place to major in English studies. It provides students with practical experience, cutting-edge academic instruction in addition to the training and skills teachers need to integrate into the educational system.
The program is detailed, comprehensive and well planned.
Certain courses, such as written and oral proficiency in English contributed to my personal development in the language. The ability to speak more fluently and accurately gave me the courage and confidence to face 12th graders in the classroom.
The specialized courses in linguistics – the study of language, its history and how it evolves as well as the structure, meaning and the speech sounds – and many other courses gave me a better grasp of the English language and have enabled me to better diagnose difficulties in acquisition. I teach my third and fourth graders literacy through phonics.
There are numerous fascinating literature courses (short stories, poetry, novels, etc.) in the English Department. They have been especially helpful in enabling me to tutor my high school students. I can take them to fantastic worlds and discuss powerful emotional responses. When I plan my lessons I know exactly what to do for the pre-activities, during the reading activities and the post activities. I'm very grateful for that!
Above all, the atmosphere in the department is very supportive, rich and varied. The teachers and staff are very professional, dedicated and take a real interest in the students. It is great to practice what I learned with my pupils and design variation on lessons that I know are engaging and impactful.
I am appreciative and especially grateful to Dr. Ronit Webman Shafran, the head of the department who is so attentive to her students' needs, and knows just the right way to encourage and advise each individual student.
Highly recommended!!!
Maya Ashkenazi:
Mid-Life Crisis can be quite tricky… Some manage it through going on tours around the world. Some do a complete makeover, switch jobs, friends, or start working out for Ironman triathlons. I, on the other hand, decided to become an English teacher. So there I was, at the age of 45, ‘back to school’ as a college student in Beit Berl Academic College. And you know what? I really did it all! The makeover, switching jobs and friends, even the feeling of working out for ‘a triathlon’. It was challenging and all about pushing myself to the edge, but at the end of the day it was worthwhile! It may sound like a cliché, but I actually discovered a new me in these studies, mainly thanks to the excellent staff of both the English Department and the English Track. The English Department in the Faculty of Society and Culture lays the disciplinary foundations for the English language through literature and linguistics, while the English Track in the Faculty of Education provides practical teaching tools for English teachers. Both are essential for a complete professional training – the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of English teaching. First, you must have the ‘what’, meaning you must deepen your knowledge of the language, especially if you are a non-native speaker of English as myself. Then, you can have the ‘how’ – teaching theories and tools and most importantly a safe environment to practice it all in front of real students, mentors, and pedagogical advisors. Learning in the English Department gave me the wonderful opportunity to brush up my English. Also, it enabled me a new and fascinating perspective over the English and American language(s) and culture(s), which hopefully I’ll be able to pass on to my students. The English Track gave me the opportunity to experiment teaching and slowly establish self-confidence and professional identity as a teacher. In my opinion, what makes the English studies in Belt Berl College so special and worthwhile is the high academic standard of excellent lecturers and professors who possess a rare and outstanding knowledge you can’t just google on your own, a cultural capital that requires a lifetime of acquiring. “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart”, explains The Little Prince (by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry). And indeed, amidst a small and modest campus which resembles a kibbutz, prevails a true treasure of hidden knowledge, waiting for curious students to find it and feel it within their hearts. Thank you so much, dear professors, for presenting me with this hidden beauty of English in a most pleasant and accessible way. Thank you for priceless knowledge and inspiration! I hope I’m ready now to embark my new way as an English teacher.
