People

Director, IEP/ESL Program

Martha (Hyun Joo) Kwon has been an educator, researcher, and administrator in the field of Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language (TESOL) in the US as well as abroad for more than two decades: teaching ESL/EFL courses, training in-service and pre-service ESL/EFL teachers, developing course materials and online ESL courses, conducting academic research, being engaged in program evaluation, and directing IEP/ESL programs. Martha also counsels international students for their academic success and cultural adjustment through community engagement and learning strategy development. Martha earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Applied Linguistics, teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language in 2010. She has been an active peer reviewer for Commission on English Program Accreditation (CEA).

Full-time Lecturer, ESL

Linda Abramson Evans was the first instructor hired by SMU’s ESL Program, initially presenting seminars and workshops to Cox School of Business International MBA students in 1999 and later teaching with the Intensive English Program (IEP).  Over the last 20 years, she has designed, developed, and taught many of SMU’s non-credit ESL Courses for international teaching assistants and other graduate students, visiting scholars, and undergraduates, from all departments of the university.  She was asked to serve as Interim Director of SMU’s ESL and IEP from April through December 2019, upon retirement of the founder and former Director, John Wheeler, and is returning to her previous ESL course teaching as of Spring 2020 while continuing to support the IEP administration as needed. READ MORE

Full-time Lecturer, IEP/ESL

Jeffrey Hobbie has taught ESL to students and business professionals in the Dallas area since 2005, including teaching at the University of Dallas, Dallas County Community College District, and Colin Country Community College District.  He has been employed as a full-time Intensive English Program instructor at SMU since 2011.

Jeffrey holds a Master of Arts degree in New Testament Studies from Lincoln Christian University and a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington; he has subsequently completed course work toward a PhD in Linguistics.

Before coming to SMU, Jeffrey worked for 13 years in various countries in Africa, most notably Congo and Tanzania, but also Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya.  While in Africa, Jeffrey performed a phonological analysis toward the development of an Ileka Ishile alphabet, conducted 12 socio-linguistic surveys, participated in numerous community development projects, and taught adult education classes in Swahili for many years.  He speaks fluent Swahili and has studied Hebrew, Greek, and Ileka Ishile, along with several other Bantu languages.

Full-time Lecturer, IEP

Michael Nesuda has taught English as a Second Language at various Dallas-Fort Worth area universities and colleges, including Texas Christian University (IEP), the University of Texas at Arlington (IELI), and various branches of Dallas College (Eastfield, Richland, Mountain View, and North Lake). He has served in a wide variety of learning environments — credit and non-credit courses; targeted-skill and integrated-skills formats; workforce classes and academically focused programs. He has been with SMU's Intensive English Program since 2007.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Comparative Literature from Princeton University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas. He has completed ESL Teaching Academy coursework and received a TESOL Certification from Oxford Seminars. He has studied numerous languages and attained moderate proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish, and French.

Apart from his teaching, Michael has worked as a professional guitarist since 2009, primarily in world music, jazz, and musical theater. He has played throughout the U.S. and overseas, appearing with a variety of award-winning ensembles and performers. An avid composer, he received a Master of Music in Composition from SMU in 2016.

Full-time Lecturer, IEP

William Osborne has worked as an ESL/EFL teacher since 1999, starting his career at City University of New York.  He has taught full-time in SMU's Intensive English Program since 2006.

In addition to his Master’s Degree in TESOL, he holds a second Master’s Degree in English Literature and has completed extensive coursework and research towards his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Teaching from Fordham University.

William has worked as a consulting editor to both universities and businesses in New York City and has participated in numerous language immersion programs in both French and Spanish. He has also designed and implemented his own EFL web site to assist his students who wish to pursue their study of English outside of the classroom.