Lora Glaser has been a member of the English as a Second Language (ESL) faculty at Mission College since 1987. After serving as an associate faculty member at Mission and SJCC for many years (19!) while raising her two wonderful children, she joined the full-time faculty of Mission in 2006 as a "well-seasoned" ESL instructor.
Perhaps the reason why Lora loves teaching ESL so much is because she knows first-hand what it is like to live, study, and work in a country whose native language is not her own. Lora began her language studies in a sleepy town in upstate New York on a Regents scholarship. Little did she know that this sleepy little town would become the door to studying her second language in the heart of Europe.
After studying for two undergraduate years at SUNY at Oneonta, Lora joined a group of students for a "junior year abroad" program, and never looked back. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Würzburg in Germany and received her B.A. in German language and Literature from SUNY, after which she continued living in Germany for a total of 13 years.
During that time she taught ESL as well as German to the American military and for the University of Maryland in Germany. In 1985, Lora returned to the United States to pursue graduate studies. She is a member of both CATESOL and TESOL professional organizations.
Lora tries to make her lessons interactive and hopes that her students enjoy learning English with her as much as she enjoys teaching them and learning about their different cultures and languages. From past experience, she knows how challenging learning a new language and culture can be.
Education
- B.A. in German language and Literature, SUNY
- M.A. in Linguistics/TESOL
- Two years advanced coursework in the German language and German literature at the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
Fast Facts
Lora's current outside interests include traveling (she loves going on her children's international band tours and visiting old friends in Europe), learning Spanish, skiing, watching her son play baseball and soccer, and in general being the best mom she can be to her daughter and son. She hopes someday soon to travel to Southeast Asia and Latin American countries to learn more about her students' homelands.