Coordinator

College of Marin - Intensive English Program
Bldg. 3, Room 259
1800 Ignacio Blvd.,
Novato, California 94949
Tel: (415) 457-8811 ext. 8579
Fax: (415) 883-2632
Email: sara.oser@marin.edu

EDUCATION

A.A. General Education, 1970
Miami-Dade Community College

Summer Program, 1969
University of Madrid, Spain

B.A. Spanish and  German, 1972
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

Junior Year abroad, 1970-1971
University of Kiel, Germany

M.A. German, 1976
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado

Graduate Exchange Student, 1974-1975
University of Goettingen, Germany

About me

I consider myself a citizen of the world and enjoy being with people from cultures other than my own.  Because I have studied (Germany, Spain) and taught (Romania, Colombia) outside the United States for several years, I am aware of the challenges of   being away from one's home support network.  As Co-Coordinator (since 2004) and now Coordinator (since 2006) of the IEP I am able to welcome international students into our program from their first email inquiry to their arrival at our program door several months later. I want to make sure students have a successful semester acclimating to the United States, learning English, establishing a new friendship network, and moving confidently on to their next goal. Thanks to the existence of the IEP for more than 30 years, we know the best methods to ensure the success of each student.  Most of our students are referred to us by former students, and many students come to Marin County to spend a semester or two with a relative. Interacting with people from all over the world is what I do best, and I'm happy to be able to be part of the Intensive English Program.

In addition to the IEP, my teaching experience includes the College of Marin (non-credit ESL), Evergreen Valley College (San Jose, Ca.), Center for American Language Studies (Santa Cruz, California), Monterey Peninsula College (Monterey, Ca.), Cabrillo College (Aptos, Ca.), Centro Colombo-Americano (Cali, Colombia), and University of Timisoara (Romania).

On a personal note, our family resides in Novato, California. I like to square dance and contra dance with my husband Jim, and play mahjong with my friends. I swim two times a week, take walks often, and am learning tai chi. Our son Carl is on an academic exchange in Quito, Ecuador, giving vocal lessons and teaching history of jazz. Our daughter, Rose, is a junior at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Rhetoric and appearing on stage or making movies.

interest areas

• International Education
• Field Trips and Activities for IEPs
• Individual language assessment

awards

• Fulbright Lecturer: University of Timisoara, Romania  1983-1984

Courses Typically Taught

• I have taught all courses and levels in the IEP since 1999.