ACCD News & Events

Russian Professor Visits Texas to Further Collaboration

For Immediate Release
November 27, 2006
Contact: Deborah Martin and Derrick Trevino, SAC Public Relations
(210) 733-2149
dmartin@accd.edu

Pictured: San Antonio College students who received awards in the essay contest titled, “The World I Would Like to Live In” that was held among community college students in Texas and various universities and high schools in Russia: (l-r): Sylwia Panek (Poland); Award: High Recognition for Creative Writing; John Trilling, Assistant Professor of ESOL; Roger Moran (Nicaragua); Award: High Recognition for Creative Writing; and Emilia Dickinson (Mexico); Award: Recognition for Creative Writing.

Pictured: Angelina Bezrukova, Professor and Chair of Foreign Languages and Teaching Methodologies at Katanov State University of Khakassia, Abakan, Russia, and San Antonio College foreign language Professor John Trilling as they prepare to present: “Promoting Cross-Cultural Collaboration for ESL/EFL Faculty and Students” at the TexTESOL 2006 state conference in Austin.

Photos by Leonard Ziegler

As part of a collaborative initiative to learn English, that extended from San Antonio to Abakan Russia, last month, San Antonio College English as a Second Language (ESL) Assistant Professor John Trilling, also a member of Texas Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-Region 2 (TexTESOL-2), welcomed visiting Russian Professor Angelina Bezrukova to the college.

Bezrukova is chair of the National Association of Teachers of English (NATE)’s regional chapter at Kasyanov State University of Kalkaska in Abakan, Russia, north of Mongolia. Following the visit to SAC, Bezrukova visited Northwest Vista College (NVC) to meet with Sharla Jones, Assistant Professor of ESL at NVC, and others in various programs so that she can plan another type of collaborative project.

After visiting the colleges, Bezrukova, Trilling and Jones traveled to Austin to discuss their collaboration at TESOL's state conference.

Trilling explained that their partnership began a year-and-a-half ago when he and Jones, while at the 2005 TESOL convention in San Antonio, met with NATE directors from Russia and began to explore ways to establish collaboration between NATE and TexTESOL 2.

The discussions led to two exchange activities. The first was to co-sponsor a writing contest titled, “The World I Would Want to Live In.” It was held at universities and high schools in Russia and piloted with community colleges in Texas. Then, the two organizations created collaborative sections in their respective newsletters. The winning writings from Russia were published in the TexTESOL-2 newsletter under Voices from Russia; and the winning essay from Texas was published in the NATE newsletter in the Voices from San Antonio and South Texas section.

The second activity had ESL students in San Antonio post their assignments on a blog. Then, Bezrukova’s class in Khakassia evaluated the writings and gave feedback.

Both of these activities led to the cultural exchange between Trilling, Jones and Bezrukova. The title of their presentation at the TexTESOL conference was “Promoting Cross-Cultural Collaboration for ESL/EFL Faculty and Students.” Bezrukova discussed the widespread influence of English in Abakan, Russia. She also said, “I hope to make professional relations and ties” with colleagues for future cooperation.

Bezrukova planned to take pictures and listen to others at the conference, in order to make another presentation to her colleagues at Katanov State University. She also said she wanted to discuss joint collaborations to teach students through the internet and make classes more proficient.

She said she had been to the U.S. twice before - as an exchange student at the University of Mississippi, and on the Fulbright Scholar Program at the University of Kansas. “I am very glad to be back in the USA. I have never been to Texas before.”

For more information, contact Trilling at (210) 733-2625 or jtrillin@accd.edu.