The English department is undergoing changes that may affect the way some courses are taught.

Two new directors have taken office — Deborah Holdstein, department chair, and Larry Johannessen, director of undergraduate studies — and three professors have been hired in the past two years.

Professor John V. Knapp has seen teachers come and go in his 35 years at NIU. Of the group he started with, only six remain, but Knapp is optimistic about the department’s future.

“We continue to draw the best people in the country,” Knapp said of the prospective teachers. Three candidates graduated from UCLA, Northwestern and Cambridge. The newer teachers are bright, young people who are energetic and excited about their jobs, Knapp said.

While newer teachers initially may have their own way of teaching, Knapp said they all tend to make adjustments after the first few years.

Johannessen has noticed two differences between the newer teachers.

“They are highly technologically oriented and expect that new technology will be available,” Johannessen said.

Although NIU is heading in that direction, the funds are not available to add a significant number of smart classrooms. One concern is whether the smart classrooms will be available for new teachers to use.

“Newer teachers also have a broader perspective on literature,” Johannessen said.

Newer teachers are more open to cultural, international and women’s literature, he said.

Unlike in the past when teachers had one way to look and talk about literature, newer teachers are starting to raise questions about what is taught, Johannessen said.

“They have new ideas and new ways of doing things, but it will be good for the students,” Johannessen said.

What is good for the students is a popular topic among the English teachers.

Knapp likes to get his students involved, making his classes more interactive with fewer lectures.

This teaching style isn’t much different than instructor Melina Baer’s style of teaching, although they have been teaching for a significantly different amount of time.

Baer, an instructor for five and a half years, also doesn’t like to regurgitate the material.

“I try to make the complicated material sort of approachable,” Baer said.

Baer said she thinks the department has been in a good place for a while and hopes it will remain the same with new teachers and new leadership.

“Holdstein has fit in beautifully,” Knapp said.

Neither Baer nor Knapp think the teaching styles will suffer due to the change.

“I like when teachers enjoy what they are doing and engage the class,” said Loretta Yurek, a junior English major who is enrolled in one of Baer’s classes this semester said she enjoys the subject more because of Baer’s enthusiasm.