The English Language Centre, in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, would like to bid a very fond farewell to Mary Koumoulas, as she has decided to retire at the end of this academic year. 

Mary graduated with an M.A. in Linguistics and TESL Certification from the University of Pittsburg in 1982. In 1983, she began teaching at Humber in the Continuing Education department and as a sessional instructor across multiple campuses. She was then hired full-time in 1987 and her project was to begin developing the Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) certificate program at Humber, which still exists today. She has also coordinated the TESL certificate program and practicum. She has delivered a variety of professional development workshops for practicum mentors and was involved in creating a mentoring package for them. Mary has also graciously presented at both local (TESL Ontario & CALL) and national conferences (TESL Canada) to share her expertise in developing practicum partnerships and ESL pedagogy. She has impacted thousands of students and teachers’ lives through our English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and TESL programs. Additionally, Mary has been involved in TEFL/TESL training for internationally trained professionals and communication instructors. In 2005/2006, she worked on developing and delivering a professional development course for Humber postsecondary college faculty called “Teaching Content to ESL Students in Post-Secondary Programs."  Mary is also a published author. She co-wrote Canadian Concepts Teacher’s Manual & Resource Package and Focus 2: Academic Skills – books that have been used in the field of ESL for many years. 

On behalf of the Humber community, her colleagues and I wish Mary the best in her retirement years.

Sincerely,

Irene Kosmas
Acting Director, English Language Centre