EBP instructors are all highly qualified professionals in Teaching English as a Second Language. They hold advanced degrees and have years of experience teaching English in Academic settings in Canada and abroad. In addition, the EBP is supported by the resources and experts in SFU's Language Training Institute and the Department of Linguistics.
Current EBP Instructors
MARTI SEVIER, interim EBP Coordinator, has been teaching Academic Skills in the English Bridge Program since September 2000. Marti has an MA in English from California State University and, before coming to Canada, taught and trained teachers in Singapore, China, Japan and the United States. She is interested in the use of computers in language teaching and in finding ways to help students improve their English vocabulary. In her free time Marti enjoys reading, running and relaxing with her family.
ARTHUR RIGGS joined the EBP in September 2005 and teaches Academic Writing. Arthur entered the ESL/EFL teaching profession in 1989 after finishing his undergraduate degree in English Language studies at UBC. He was drawn to teaching English after travelling to Southeast Asia in 1981. In 1994 he and his family moved to Hong Kong where he taught EAP and ESP for 10 years. He completed his Master’s in Applied Linguistics at The University of Hong Kong in 2000. Arthur is interested in learner autonomy and using computer technology to facilitate language learning. He returned to Vancouver in 2004 and enjoys relaxing with his family, friends, garden and running shoes.
AVRIL TRUDEAU-BAI teaches Academic Skills. She received both her Undergraduate Degree, (BA, Linguistics), as well as her Masters in Education, (Understanding Second Language), at SFU. Avril has been involved in TESOL teacher-training at Vancouver Community College, which includes a specialty course in grammar and pronunciation. She spent 4 years teaching TOEFL prep classes, and Integrated Skills with the YMCA International Language College. Avril has traveled extensively, and lived in New Zealand for 6 years. She hopes to spend some time overseas teaching in Japan or China, but is happy teaching in Vancouver for the time being. On-line education is of great interest, as well as a love of language, singing, photography, hiking and kayaking.
Vancouver-born and raised, JULIE ROSS has returned to Canada after spending most of the past twenty years teaching English overseas in Japan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. Most recently, she spent the past nine years working at the Higher Colleges of Technology, in Fujairah. In addition to her time overseas, Julie has taught locally at UBC’s English Language Institute and BCIT’s Communication Department.
Julie was last at the Burnaby Mountain campus as a graduate student in the 1990’s; she now comes back the same year as her older daughter starts her freshman year at SFU.
Professionally, Julie is interested in the dynamics between motivation and language learning success. Personally, she loves the sea, sunshine and Szechwan cuisine. She is pleased that Vancouver will be able to satisfy at least two of those passions on a regular basis.
SARAH FLEMING has been involved in English language teaching, curriculum design and program management for the past 23 years. She spent a wonderful year teaching English at a medical college in China. Since then she has travelled to visit English language teaching programs, and she hopes to teach overseas again in future. She has been working with the English Bridge Program since its beginning five years ago. In her free time Sarah likes to hike, go to movies, cook and do pottery. She is busy these days doing part-time study in the Faculty of Education. She thinks is it a good idea to be both a teacher and a student at the same time: "it helps me appreciate the learning processes that EBP students are going through."
ANDY WILKINS started teaching Academic Writing in the EBP in 2010. He grew up in England, where he graduated in Psychology from the University of Reading and worked as an assistant clinical psychologist. After arriving in Canada in 2002, he decided to pursue a different career in teaching and has never looked back since! He has experience teaching in both Vancouver and Osaka. Since graduating in 2008 with an M.Ed. in TEFL at UBC, he has pursued his dream of teaching ESL in a university setting. Andy’s free time is taken up playing tennis, learning sitar and reading.
ISHBEL GALLOWAY has been with the EBP since September 1998. Originally from the UK, she has Master's degrees in American Studies (Manchester) and Applied Linguistics (Concordia). Ishbel moved to North America as a graduate student in the 1970s. She lived in Montreal for many years and taught at both McGill and Concordia Universities. In the nineties she taught in Japan for five years and became interested in inter-cultural communication and the relationship between culture and rhetoric in second language writing. She teaches Academic Writing in the EBP. Among Ishbel's interests are film, music, reading and travel. She spends as much time as possible on Salt Spring Island where she likes to garden, cook and hike.
LAWRENCE MCALLISTER teaches Academic Culture and Communication. Lawrence, who is from Winnipeg, has a BA in History (University of Winnipeg) and an M.Ed. in TESL (University of Manitoba). He also has had training and extensive experience in linguistics. In fact, he came into the field of teaching English through the door of linguistics. Lawrence has taught in universities in Indonesia and, most recently, in China (Peking University, Beijing). Besides teaching academic English, Lawrence has been involved in the training of ESL teachers, both here in Canada and in Asia. His special love? Grammar! Besides grammar, Lawrence enjoys all kinds of sports and outdoors activities, music, and photography.
