Program Staff

Dr. Yuna Seong is the Director of the Community Language Program and two advanced certificate programs, TESOL and Language Program Management Certificate Programs, at Teachers College, Columbia University (TC), where she trains and oversees language educators and language program professionals who aspire to teach and manage their own language programs. Prior to TC, Dr. Seong was a Clinical Assistant Professor and Assessment Coordinator at New York University (NYU). During her years at NYU, she designed and taught a wide array of specialized courses for English language learners from diverse language, academic, and professional backgrounds. In addition, she developed, administered, and managed the program’s English proficiency exams and successfully led a two-year project overhauling the curriculum. She is also a test development consultant for the Scenario-based Assessment Lab at Teachers College, Columbia University and a SAT/PSAT fairness reviewer for College Board. Dr. Seong earned her Ed.D. in Applied Linguistics from Teachers College, Columbia University with specialization in second language assessment and an M.A. in Second Language Studies from University of Hawai’i at Manoa with concentration on language assessment, measurement, and program evaluation. Her research interests include teaching and assessing second language speaking ability, scenario-based assessment, and metacognitive and cognitive processes in second language test performance. 

Dr. Allie Hope King earned a doctorate in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College, Columbia University. She also has an Ed.M. in Applied Linguistics from TC, an M.Ed. in Foreign Language Education and TESOL from the University of Pittsburgh, a bachelor's in Spanish from Shenandoah University, 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.

Abby is a doctoral student in Applied Linguistics with a concentration in Second Language Acquisition. She holds an Ed.M. from the University of Massachusetts and earned her bachelor's degrees in German and Media Studies from Penn State. Before moving to New York City, she taught English abroad through Fulbright Austria, and more recently worked as an English language program administrator at a community college in Boston. She is interested in heritage language acquisition, bilingualism, and language attrition.

Talya Kahbel 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.