Staff Bios

The English Language Center

 Victoria Badalamenti, MA in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, is the Director of The English Language Center.  Ms. Badalamenti has worked in the field of English as a Second Language for over 25 years as an ESL teacher, teacher trainer, textbook author, workshop presenter and administrative director.   She is also co-author of  Grammar Dimensions:  Form, Meaning and Use:  Book 1, a low-level grammar text, published by Heinle & Heinle.

John Een, MA in TESOL from the University of Minnesota and EdD in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University, is the Associate Director of The English Language Center.  During his 30-year career, he has been a classroom teacher, program administrator, and teacher trainer in the U.S., China, France, and Iran.  After retiring from a full-time faculty position at Columbia University, he returned to LaGuardia and TELC, where he had previously worked as an ESL instructor and coordinator from 1986 to 1990.

Michele Fine, MA in TESOL  from New York University, has experience teaching English in several private, state, and city colleges and a maximum-security prison in addition to her ten years at LaGuardia.  An experienced reader for the CUNY ACT exam, Ms. Fine teaches writing and ACT preparation at The English Language Center.

Lenore Gale, MA, PhD, has taught in TELC since 1997 and previously taught both ESL and Spanish at several other CUNY colleges for many years.  However, she has also pursued other careers, notably directing an arts-in-education program at a Manhattan performing arts center for ten years, writing curriculum guides for a Hispanic dance company, and designing and producing her own line of jewelry.  She is fluent in Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Swedish, so watch out if you gossip in any of those languages during class.

Abdou Hannaoui, PhD and MA in Linguistics/TESOL from SUNY Stony Brook, is the Coordinator of the Evening Intensive & Non-Intensive ESL programs. Dr. Hannaoui was a Peace Corps training program Director in Morocco and Yemen, Director of the first intensive ESL program at Indiana State University, TESOL teacher trainer, and EFL/ESL teacher in Morocco and the U.S.A. Dr. Hannaoui also taught courses in TESOL methodology, applied linguistics, Arabic, and French.

Peter B. Hoffman, MA in TESOL from Michigan State University, has experience teaching English in Shiga, Japan in addition to his fifteen years at York College and LaGuardia Community College, CUNY.  Mr. Hoffman is a dedicated grammar and writing teacher at The English Language Center.

Jennifer Horton Benichou,  MA in TESOL from Hunter College and MA in Computing in Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, has experience teaching in Brazil in addition to her twenty years at Queens College and LaGuardia Community College.  Ms. Horton Benichou explores the uses of technology for language learning in her research and in the classroom.

Elizabeth Iannotti, MA in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University, is an instructor as well as the Academic Coordinator of the Day Intensive Program at The English Language Center.     Ms. Iannotti has seven years experience teaching in Costa Rica and the U.S.

Gisa Cardoso Johnston, MA in Education, New York University, MA in TESOL, Fairfield University, Certificate of Advanced Standing in Education Administration, NYU is a tenured full professor and has been teaching at LaGuardia for 30 years. Professor Johnston has served on numerous committees from curriculum to professional development; chaired the Office Technology Department for ten years at the college.  She currently serves on the division’s Personnel and Budget Committee (P&B) and is the coordinator of TELC’s Language Clinic. 

Linda Ann Kunz, MA and EdD in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University, has been teaching ESL in The English Language Center at LaGuardia for 25 years.  She is the author of  26 Steps and The X-Word Grammar Series.  Currently, she is also teaching at Lehman College and New York University.

Linda A. Pelc, MA in TESOL, MS in Supervision and Administration, and PhD in Linguistics, has been teaching ESL/EFL for 29 years and has been in The English Language Center since 1986.   She has also taught TESOL courses to teachers at New York University and The New School University since 1995.  She has worked as a teacher trainer/staff developer for the New York City Department of Education since 2001.  

Felicia Rose, MA in TESOL,  MA in Near Eastern Language and Literature, works as the Curriculum and Resources Coordinator in the English Language Center at LaGuardia. Her interests include reading, writing and language teaching and learning.     

Laurie Shayler, BA in Dance from SUNY at Brockport and MA in TESOL from Hunter College, has been a teacher in TELC for over 10 years where she created the elective class DSL:  Dance as a Second Language and teaches writing.  In this unique and very popular class, students improve their English language skills through the artistry of Social Dancing.     She has performed with a number of modern dance companies and choreographers throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.   When she’s not in the ESL classroom, she’s teaching Social Dancing around New York City.

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