Program Staff

Yuna Seong is the Director of the Community Language Program and TESOL Certificate Program at Teachers College. She has an MA in Second Language Studies from University of Hawai’i at Manoa with concentration on LAMPE (Language Assessment, Measurement, and Program Evaluation) and is currently a  doctoral candidate in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University with specialization in second language assessment. Since 2000, she has been involved in L2 assessment development, curriculum design, teacher training, and ESL/EFL teaching at all levels.  Prior to her director position, she worked as Clinical Assistant Professor and assessment coordinator at the English Language Institute, New York University for 13 years. Her research interests include teaching and assessing second language speaking ability, scenario-based assessment, and metacognitive and cognitive processes in second language test performance. She is also an SAT/PSAT fairness reviewer for College Board.

Allie Hope King is a doctoral candidate in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has an Ed.M. in Applied Linguistics from TC, an M.Ed. in Foreign Language Education and TESOL from the University of Pittsburgh, and a bachelor’s in Modern Languages from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research focuses on classroom discourse, specifically what co-teacher interaction looks like through a conversation analytic lens. Prior to returning to New York for her current academic endeavors, she taught ESL in a number of contexts and locations around the U.S. While at TC, she has taught several courses in the Community Language Program, and has been a mentor and instructor for the TESOL Certificate Program.

Gabriella "Gabi" Ferraris is the Program Associate for the Community Language Program at Teachers College. She has a BA in International Relations, focusing on Environmental Policy, with a minor in Mandarin Chinese, and extensive experience working for environmental NGOs and international organizations. After she finished her BA, she spent two years with the Peace Corps in Western China teaching English at the university level, gaining experience teaching in both classrooms and one-on-one settings. She was also a tutor for the CIFLTE program at Teachers College, teaching French one-on-one. She is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Sustainability Management at Columbia University.

Talya Kahan is the Program Associate for the Language Management Program and the
TESOL Certificate Program at Teachers College. She previously worked in research,
communications strategy and operations for local non-profits and international
organizations, before  moving into teaching. She currently tutors ESL
students. Talya holds an MSc. in Human Rights from the London School of Economics
and a BA in Politics and Sociology from Brandeis University. As a former student in the
TESOL Certificate Program, Talya is excited to support  current students on their
journeys and to help ensure that their experience at Teachers College is a positive one.

Erin Miles is a current Master’s student in the Applied Linguistics program at Teachers
College, Columbia University. At the college, she serves as an executive board member
for the Black Student Network and QueerTC. Her research focuses on the Black student
identity in world language classrooms, with the hopes of contributing to the creation and
maintenance of equitable educational spaces for Black students. She has also had the
pleasure of working with the Community Language Program as an Intermediate Level
course instructor. In addition, Erin has worked with Community Impact, Columbia
University as the Lead Teacher Coordinator for their ESOL program. Before coming to
TC, she received a BA in Sociology with a minor in Latin American and Caribbean
Studies from Morgan State University. While at Morgan State, Erin studied abroad in
Rio de Janeiro multiple times with a focus on the Portuguese language and Afro-
Brazilian history, culture, and language.

Vivian Lindhardsen, Ph.D. is a senior lecturer in Language and Education and the director of the
Applied Linguistics and TESOL program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she
teaches Second Language Assessment in PK-12, Pedagogical English Grammar, Educational
Linguistics, and several PK-12 Methods courses. She holds a Ph.D. in TESOL and Applied
Linguistics from Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and an M.A. in English Language and
Literature from Copenhagen University, Denmark. Dr. Lindhardsen has more than 25 years of
experience as a language educator, including teaching English and foreign languages at several
levels of education, including intensive English programs for adults, PreK-12 as well as
undergraduate and graduate levels. She has solid experience in educational administration and
management, having served as a PreK-12 assistant principal, as the director of the Community
Language Program and TESOL Certificate Program at Teachers College, as a founder of a
Scandinavian school, and as the director of the International Center for Language Studies (ICLS),
where she worked intensely with governmental agencies to provide foreign language training,
assessment, and curriculum development. Dr. Lindhardsen is a former commissioner and a
long-standing reviewer for The Commission of English Language Program Accreditation (CEA),
and she an expert member of New York State Teacher Certification Exams (NYSTCE) and of the
Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) for TESOL standards
Dr. Lindhardsen has published journal articles and textbooks in writing assessment and in
language pedagogy.