The Intensive English Program at Dayton Learning Center is an exciting and interesting place.  It is designed for both middle and high school students who are studying in an English-language environment for the first time.  The teachers make certain that each student has a welcoming and challenging environment in which to learn basic English skills.

Through listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities students become more confident and competent in their English skills.  Students are tested throughout the year to insure that the teachers are providing English instruction at an appropriate level that challenges the students without frustrating them.  When students achieve sufficient measurable progress in English, they exit the Intensive English Program and return to their home schools where they continue to receive support through the school’s English Language Learner teacher.




Intensive English ELL teachers Rick Brigman and Janet McCulloch.


The high school English Language Learner (ELL) teacher, Rick Brigman, comes to the DLC with “twenty-something” years of experience in English education.  During his first years of teaching, Rick taught high school English classes here in Virginia.  After receiving a master’s degree in linguistics with a professional certificate in teaching English as a second language, Rick moved to Costa Rica where he taught, mountain biked, surfed, and whitewater kayaked for seven years.  Tired of living in a tropical paradise, Rick moved to the United Arab Emirates where he taught at the national university for three years and learned what it feels like to play tennis in a hundred and twenty degrees.  Realizing that rain, snow, and green are good things, Rick returned to Virginia and is happy to be hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains again as well as mountain biking in Hillandale Park, and spending time with his family on Lake Anna.

The middle school ELL teacher, Janet McCulloch, came to Virginia from California with a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Humboldt State University, and a Masters of Arts degree in Education from Stanford University.  After many years of teaching dance at the university level she received an ESL endorsement and early childhood licensure through James Madison University.  She has been the middle school Intensive English teacher at Dayton Learning Center since 2002.  Janet enjoys the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley with her British husband, and travels with him as often as possible on ministry trips to Latin America and Europe.  She also returns to teach occasional international folk dance and ballroom dance classes for JMU.

Check out these great websites!

Practice English with games and activities:
    http://www.manythings.org
    http://a4esl.org
    http://english-zone.com
    http://www.funbrain.com

Practice your listening skills:
    http://www.esl-lab.com

Learn about animals, people, and places:
    http://kidsnationalgeographic.com

See what is happening in the world:
    http://www.channelone.com
    http://www.cnn.com/studentnews

Learn about your favorite sports or athletes:
    http://www.sikids.com

Practice your keyboarding skills:
    http://www.freetypinggame.net