Our Mission
The mission of the Embry‑Riddle Language Institute is to provide high-quality English language instruction that prepares speakers of other languages to enter and succeed in Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University or another U.S. university.
Our Resources
The Embry‑Riddle Language Institute is a dynamic program located in beautiful Daytona Beach, Florida, a wonderful, warm place to live:
- ERLI is an intensive, English-for-academic-purposes program with an experienced core faculty, a strong social/cultural education program and an academically strong curriculum, including aviation-related topics.
- ERLI faculty and administrative staff are very experienced and highly trained; all full-time faculty have master's degrees in TESOL or Linguistics.
- ERLI is an academic unit within the Center for International Education and has access to the full range of university resources. ERLI students are Embry‑Riddle students.
Our Faculty and Staff
Hannaliisa Savolainen, Director and Associate Professor of English as a Second Language
Hannaliisa Savolainen earned her M.A. in Linguistics from Northeastern University in Chicago, Illinois. Prior to working as an administrator in international education, Hannaliisa taught ESL in Chicago, Santa Monica, and Flagstaff in both intensive English and credit programs. Her professional areas of interest include student support, faculty development and reading research. Hannaliisa first arrived in the United States as a flight student, and she is a private pilot. In her free time, she enjoys exploring Florida with her family and reading murder mysteries.
Douglas Adams, Associate Director and Associate Professor of English as a Second Language
Douglas is the Associate Director of the Embry Riddle Language Institute and has an M.A. in Applied Linguistics with a specialization in TESL from the University of Florida. He has taught English as a second language at the university level both in the U.S. and overseas for nearly 30 years and has been on faculty at the Embry Riddle Language Institute for over 20 years. He has taught every class at every level multiple times, as well as designed courses in special topic areas including TOEFL/IELTs, ERLI 101, U.S. Government & Criminology, and Aviation & Aerospace 101, and also taught Embry Riddle's developmental English classes for international students for more than ten years. In addition to teaching duties at the institute, he serves as an academic advisor for ERLI students transitioning into the university, and as the CEA Self-Study Coordinator. Douglas advocates a philosophy of empowering students with the tools to become self-learners, both in their academic life and future careers, and his experience has taught him that most students have a desire to learn and improve. As such, he believes in setting reasonable and attainable goals that challenge students and has found that they will generally rise to meet and exceed them.
Douglas’s areas of research interests include Aviation English, web design, and measures of student enrollment and progress. He has also presented at SSTESOL and NAFSA, been a peer reviewer for the Internet TESL Journal, and published in the Florida Foreign Language Journal.
Danica Li, Student & Administrative Support Specialist
Danica earned a Master of Science in Cell Biology from Beijing Normal University, China. She also has dual bachelor’s degrees in Biology Technology and English from Qingdao University, China. Before joining the ERLI team in 2023, Danica was a middle school teacher for 8 years. From 2015 to 2018, she taught Biology in China. After she moved to the U.S. in 2018, she joined an IB (International Baccalaureate) school located in New Jersey and taught Mandarin, science, math and design in the middle-school program for four years. Her goal is to be an effective central point of communication between students, faculty and staff, and facilitate a seamless learning experience for all students. When not at work, she enjoys painting, playing Pipa (a Chinese instrument), calligraphy and sports.
Aliona Buresh, Senior Educational Specialist & Instructor of English as a Second Language
Aliona Buresh has her M.A. in Educational Leadership/TESOL from the University of Central Florida. She started her teaching career as a University EFL Professor at the Institute of Parliamentarism and Enterprise in Minsk, Belarus when she graduated with a B.S. in Teaching English, Italian and Russian as a Second Language. Ms. Buresh worked for two years in Daytona State College teaching ESOL and supporting students from various educational and cultural backgrounds. Ms. Buresh joined ERAU/ERLI in 2013. In ERLI, she teaches academic English classes and Special Topic courses.
By collaborating with ERAU professors, Ms. Buresh has developed courses on Human Factors, Robotics, Business, and Psychology for international students. Besides teaching classes, she is a placement test coordinator, demographics specialist, and a professional development coordinator. In addition, Ms. Buresh conducts Oral Proficiency Interviews for incoming exchange students and visiting professors in ERAU. Ms. Buresh is multilingual as she is fluent in Russian and Italian. Ms. Buresh utilizes her language skills and multicultural background by performing translating duties for ERLI students and assisting ERAU students studying Russian in RUSS101.
Being a language instructor and being able to assist international students on a regular basis is very rewarding for Ms. Buresh. She never feels more energized and fulfilled than after a class that went well. She wants to set her students up for success, and she does that by encouraging and supporting students thought out their learning process. She thinks her enthusiasm and confidence encourages students to continue their exciting journey of learning to become well-rounded professionals. Ms. Buresh enjoys participating in professional development opportunities as it always allows her to perfect her knowledge and share it with others. She ensures her professional growth by participating in ERLI committees, accreditation committees, educational associations, attending specialized workshops and conferences. She follows the latest developments in the field of ESL studies and shares that knowledge with the faculty.
Andy Mattingly, Educational Specialist & Instructor of English as a Second Language
Andy Mattingly earned a B.A. and M.A. in TESOL from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. They also earned an A.A. in Spanish from Sinclair Community College. Andy started teaching English in 2019 as a volunteer tutor in community programs. During graduate school, they taught university writing classes for international students. In 2022, they moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, to join ERLI.
Andy creates a student-centered and inclusive classroom. They encourage students to work together and learn from each other. As a bilingual speaker, Andy understands the challenges of learning a new language. They use research-based tools and personal experience to help students. Andy also teaches students and teachers how to use AI for learning and communication.
Rodeline Prince, Adjunct Faculty
Roda earned her BA in English from Boston College and her Master’s in Education from Boston University. Prior to joining the team at a Embry‑Riddle, she worked in private language institutes in Boston for nearly a decade, where she taught and connected with countless students from all over the world. She enjoys cooking, riding her bike, taking long walks for exercise, reading intense literary fiction and working on writing her novella.