{"142541":{"#nid":"142541","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Jacobson Prepares ESOL Students to Teach","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Cathy Jacobson went into teaching, she was drawn to music. But her journey as a teacher would take the junior high chorus teacher in a much different direction than she\u2019d expected.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy first job was in Albuquerque where I taught a large number of students who spoke English as their second language,\u201d said Jacobson, who is now an instructor and an English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) Consultant in the School of Mathematics. \u201cI began to realize that I was teaching them a third language \u2014 music \u2014 in their second language \u2014 English \u2014 and became more interested in the ESOL component of working with these students than in teaching music.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EJacobson went on to earn her master\u2019s in teaching ESOL from New York University and has worked in this area ever since.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf an international student doesn\u2019t speak or understand English well, a lot of people think that there\u2019s a quick fix when the reality is that a fix rarely occurs in less than three semesters,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m always so impressed and in awe of these students. I mean, imagine being in their shoes \u2014 being able to read and write English fluently but having very little exposure to listening to and speaking English in their country, yet they\u2019re expected to teach in English upon arrival. It\u2019s amazing what these students are able to accomplish.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecently, The Whistle had an opportunity to learn more about Jacobson and her time at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow did you arrive in your current position?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn the late 1970s, I moved to Atlanta and taught at what is now the Language Institute at Georgia Tech. I left to focus on raising my children and returned in 1995 to help the chair of the School of Mathematics at the time with an ESOL assessment, which evolved into a permanent position in the school. In my current position, my responsibilities range from assisting students with their English language intelligibility to coordinating the school\u2019s graduate student summer orientation to working on the editorial staff of our alumni magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is something you would like for people to know about your job?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EJust because students can read English doesn\u2019t mean that they can speak it or understand the spoken word easily. That\u2019s why the primary focus of my job is to support the oral-aural skills of students who will be teaching in some capacity while they are at Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you go about keeping your students engaged?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E \u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EI use audio and video recordings that we review individually. I also try to teach the students about various elements of our culture to help them feel more connected. For example, at Halloween we\u2019ll carve pumpkins or at Thanksgiving I\u2019ll bring in typical holiday foods to share. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your favorite spot on campus?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EThe area with the large trees and grass between Skiles and the Student Center Commons. I love to take my lunch outside and eat it here.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the best advice you\u2019ve ever received?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EI was working in my first teaching job, fresh out of college, and my students were walking all over me. My principal told me \u201cDon\u2019t smile until Christmas vacation or laugh until Easter.\u201d Great advice. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EIf you could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EIt would probably be Molly Ivins, because her writing was always so clever and insightful. But I wouldn\u2019t mind getting to know Madeleine Albright \u2014 I\u2019ve heard her speak and would like to learn more about her.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETell us something about yourself that others might not know.\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003EI grew up on a potato and sheep farm in the San Luis Valley in Colorado and was the oldest of eight children. Oh, and I briefly majored in civil engineering in college \u2014 but after six weeks I was ready to change to music!\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Cathy Jacobson went into teaching, she was drawn to music. But her journey as a teacher would take the junior high chorus teacher in a much different direction than she\u2019d expected.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When Cathy Jacobson went into teaching, she was drawn to music. But her journey as a teacher would take the junior high chorus teacher in a much different direction than she\u2019d expected."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-07-25 09:00:39","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:33","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-23T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-23T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"142071":{"id":"142071","type":"image","title":"Cathy Jacobson","body":null,"created":"1449178723","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:43","changed":"1475894774","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:14","alt":"Cathy Jacobson","file":{"fid":"194963","name":"math_cathy_jacobson_4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/math_cathy_jacobson_4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/math_cathy_jacobson_4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5260434,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/math_cathy_jacobson_4_0.jpg?itok=nzxjKV_Z"}}},"media_ids":["142071"],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"38861","name":"Cathy Jacobson"},{"id":"168854","name":"School of Mathematics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}