Organization Spotlight: International Language Institute

November 7, 2019
International Language Institute of Montgomery County

For this month's spotlight, I reached out to Hallie Wallack (bio below) to share with us about classes offered at the International Language Institute (ILI). 

Can you describe your history and how your organization came to be?
ILI, MD began as English House in 1995 as in independent school of English as a Second Language in Gaithersburg, MD.  When the owner had to relocate to the west coast, the school was purchased by the owners of the International Language Institute in Washington, DC.  Our program has two main goals:  we prepare students for the transition to higher education institutions, and we also help the local immigrant population improve their language skills to better integrate into their communities.

We offer excellent quality of instruction from dedicated, professional teachers.  We also provide a safe, comfortable place for students who are living far from home.  They can come here knowing that the staff will care about their progress in and out of the classroom, and many people stay in touch after they move on.

Demographics of Learners:
Our students come from all over the world:  South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.  The largest demographic is Spanish speakers, but we also have speakers of Portuguese, French, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Burmese, German, Russian, Indonesian and Arabic.  There are about three times as many women as men.  Occupations also run the gamut:  engineers, housewives/moms, teachers, medical professionals, business owners, researchers, restaurant workers, carpenters, painters, landscapers and Uber drivers.

Recent Success Stories:
A Saudi student got his law degree, a Chinese student who was so insecure she couldn’t speak English out loud has finally begun speaking and participating in class, a Colombian student got her PhD, a Turkish student returned home and got a job working for an airline, a Brazilian student returned home and got a job working in luxury hotel, a Saudi student who transferred to flight school and now works as a pilot, and a Dominican student here on a green card who is learning helicopter repair in the army.

Hallie Wallack got her Master’s in TESOL from SUNY at Stony Brook.  She taught in Switzerland, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and England in addition to the US.  She came to ILI, MD in 2001 as an ESL teacher, and then became the Director in 2006.

Interview by Halima Ahmed

A picture of Gerard Etienne, MCAEL's new Executive Director. He wears a navy-blue suit.
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Image of Gerard Etienne, MCAEL's New Executive Director.
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