Located on the Armidale campus, the University of New England (UNE) Language Centre provides pathways into University courses across all levels of study. The Centre’s accredited English language courses focus on the learning needs and the experience of international students, and are taught by highly qualified and experienced English language instructors. Congratulations to UNE on the successful Quality Endorsement of its online English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Program (Levels 1 to 5).
Author: Ed Itor
OET launches free migration guide for you to share with your students
OET, the English language test for healthcare professionals, has produced a comprehensive guide for overseas-trained nurses and midwives seeking to live and work in Australia. The guide is freely available for you to share with any of your students who may find it useful.
Endorsed by the Migration Institute of Australia, the 22-page publication is titled Live and Work in Australia as an overseas-trained nurse: A guide to registration, immigration and settlement. It covers the following topics in-depth and in plain English for the non-native speaker:
- Key organisations they will come across
- Nursing registration standards and qualification criteria
- Applying for registration
- Applying for migration
- Looking for work
- Getting settled.
The guide also includes links to useful information, from employment and real estate sites to migration agents and the Australian Tax Office.
You can download the guide for free from the OET Website and share it with students or even order printed copies to have available at the end of classes. Printed copies will be sent directly to your nominated address within three weeks of you placing your order.
Quality Benchmarking – NEAS Assist
NEAS Assist is the consultancy arm of NEAS Australia, providing tailored solutions to support the ELT community. In recent months, NEAS has been invited to deliver specialist services in assessing ELT curricula and providing detailed, evidenced-based reporting on course outcomes that align to equivalencies in international English language test scores. Through the provision of independent analyses respected by decisionmakers, NEAS plays a critical role in supporting Centres to demonstrate achievement and excellence in their work.
Read More…Expanding the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework
NEAS has been developing and working on additional sets of areas of standards for the ELT community over the past 12 months and has recently released two new Quality Standard Areas to complement the existing 12 Quality Standard Areas in our Quality Assurance Framework:
· Area M: Transnational Delivery; and
NEAS’s Quality Assurance services continue to evolve and expand to serve Member Centres. In a period of challenge and flux, NEAS works closely with its Members to set aspirational quality standards for innovative practices and to help them grow their businesses.
NEAS is finalising operational details to pilot these new Quality Areas. If you are interested in participating in our pilot initiatives for Transnational Delivery and Foundation Programs, please email Operations Manager, Daniel Yuen: d.yuen@neas.org.au
ELC Malaysia
NEAS congratulates English Language Company (ELC) Malaysia for becoming the latest Quality Endorsed Member Centre, successfully progressing from Pending status. ELC Malaysia completed its Quality Review after a series of onsite meetings, Focus Group discussions, stakeholder surveys, and observations of online lessons, over an extended period. Centrally located in Kuala Lumpur, ELC successfully transitioned its mainstream courses to an engaging online environment. Students aspiring to enter university programs have remained at ELC in this capacity.
ELC’s students are located in Japan, China, and the Middle East, with some also being located in Malaysia. Teachers and staff at ELC closely monitor the progress of students and actively enhance learning by directing students to opportunities in which students can practise their English outside of class. Observations of recorded online lessons revealed that students were actively supported in their learning. Well done ELC Malaysia!
David Ferguson
A highly respected and experienced education leader, David has a great passion for second language development theory and practice. With a background in TESOL, English, Business and Social Sciences, he is committed to broadening horizons, global empathy and perspectives through languages.
As Deputy Head of International Operations at John Paul College, David leads the ELICOS programs, business operations and strategic direction of John Paul International College (JPIC). As part of this role, he advocates for the ‘ELICOS in Schools’ sector, of which NEAS is a key part of quality assurance and compliance in Queensland.
David’s leadership delivers data led solutions that are customer centric, removing barriers and creating positive stakeholder outcomes. In his current role, he has delivered projects to reimagine all aspects of the student, parent and agent journey through innovative and interactive stakeholder engagement mechanisms. David is an enthusiastic contributor to IET discourse communities at conferences and networking events.
David has extensive experience in international education both in Australia and abroad and is a NEAS endorsed Quality ELT Professional. He has post-graduate qualifications in TESOL, Education and Business, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. From growing up on the island of Guernsey to living in various places around the world, David brings a critical perspective to executive teams and committees.
After the events of 2020/21 and the likely volatility in 2022, David believes we must take the opportunities presented during these ambiguous, uncertain and competitive times to create new value propositions, target new markets, hone operations in existing markets and reflect.
We must do this by being mindful, selfless and compassionate.
Professor Thomas Roche
Thomas is the Dean of SCU College (Direct Entry and General English ELICOS, Enabling and Diploma courses) and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Quality) at Southern Cross University. He is a specialist in the design, delivery and management of English language and higher education pathways, empowering students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds gain access to and succeed in university study.
His more than 20 years of post-secondary education professional experience, in Australia and abroad, demonstrates a long-standing commitment to ensuring that English language courses deliver an inspired experience for students. While much of his professional experience has been working with University students studying academic English, he has also worked designing and delivering English courses for recently settled migrants from CALD backgrounds, work-and-holiday travellers, as well as primary school pupils’ Study Tours. His research interests are in applied linguistics and he has published on English for Academic Purposes, vocabulary knowledge, language testing, pronunciation teaching and digital literacy.
In 2018-2019 he co-led the University English Centres Australia (UECA) national initiative: the External Referencing of the ELICOS Standards and International Education [ERESIE] Project. 20 Australian universities participated in the project to benchmark ELICOS program outcomes. In 2020 he was the UECA Assessment Symposium Chair and host. He is a member of the Australian Government’s TEQSA Expert Register for ELICOS and international education. He is well known for his collegiate approach and silly sense of humour. He would like to represent English Centres on the NEAS Board, advocating for quality outcomes for their students, staff and communities.
Svetlana Lukovic
My approach to teaching, educational management and leadership is based on the principles of equality, empathy, empowerment, and best practices. Thus, I continually work to ensure high standards of learning and teaching as well as efficient and collaborative management of the ACU English Language Centre on North Sydney campus. In this work, I do my best to apply the knowledge gained from several management and leadership programs such as Emerging Leaders and Managers Program and in-house workshops developed by the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
I have been involved in the Australian ESL community for eighteen years. In 2018, I was a part of EA Conference Organising Committee, and I am an active member of EA AMSIG committee. My involvement in the EFL community started much earlier back in Europe when I was the owner and the manager of a private language school for 10 years.
My deep appreciation of other cultures and languages has been enriched during my extensive travel as well as my own learning of several languages. In 2018, I was the recipient of the Vice-Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award for a community engagement program that supported refugees and migrants. Last year, I chaired the Professional Development Working Party and developed Professional Development Framework for our Education Pathways Directorate.
I hold a BA in English and English Literature, CELTA and TEFL Certificates, and an MA in TESOL. At this stage of my professional life, I would like to contribute to the wider ELT community and NEAS members. I believe that my sound knowledge and understanding of cultural and language differences, ability to identify the needs of individual students and groups, teachers, and colleagues, and all NEAS members, as well as high-level communication and organization skills would be useful in the role of a Board Director.
Pamela Humphries
Dr Pamela Humphreys has worked in international education for over 30 years in Europe, Asia and Australia for a range of both private and public organisations. Currently the Director at Macquarie University International College (MUIC) & English Language Centre (ELC), she has oversight of English language programs, Foundation, Diploma, Undergraduate Certificates, and a suite of online test preparation products which have seen over 800,000 users to date, and two of which were ranked #1 and #3 by FutureLearn in 2020.
In 2021, Pamela was the recipient of the English Australia John Gallagher Bursary for her significant contribution to the ELICOS sector, including:
- NEAS Advisory Council member
- Convenor of the English Australia Post-entry and Academic English Special Interest Group
- Treasurer of UECA
- active contributions to sector submissions to DESE and TEQSA
- involvement in sector benchmarking activities
- sharing of expertise via presentations at conferences
Over her career, Pamela has been a teacher, examiner trainer, teacher trainer, and manager for ELICOS, pathways programs and higher education courses. Under her leadership, she and her teams have won over 10 national and institutional awards and citations, including the prestigious OLT Program Award for the Griffith English Language Enhancement Strategy. Pamela has also been the recipient of leadership awards, and her PhD thesis, on the construct of English language proficiency in higher education, won the IEAA Outstanding Thesis Award for Contribution to International Education.
Katherine Olston
As a member-elected Director to the NEAS Board since 2018, Katherine is incredibly proud of the work NEAS has done over the past three years to support members and to enhance the quality reputation of our industry. As a NEAS board director, Katherine has always held our members and students at the centre of what we do, and is proud of the way that, through these challenging times, NEAS has been able to be responsive to member needs while also maintaining a focus on the future, working towards the recovery and strengthening of our industry.
Currently, Katherine is the Director at the Centre for English Teaching (CET) and Head of the Learning Hub at the University of Sydney. She oversees pre-entry English language and academic skills pathways courses and post-entry academic support programs in mathematics and academic skills and language development. Under her directorship, the Centre has proactively responded to the emerging demands placed on the industry, developing flexible, robust initiatives and programmes that are responding to seismic changes in circumstances, at both the national and global level. The Centre continues to lead the industry in innovation by embracing the empowering possibilities of technology to provide quality outcomes to students.
Over the past 5 years, in recognition of CET’s contribution to the industry, the Centre has received a number of awards including, Finalist Language Educator of the Year (PIEoneer Awards, 2020), Innovation and Leadership Award (University English Centres Australia, 2019), Best Practice Award for Excellence in Innovation (ATEM, 2018), Award for Innovation (English Australia, 2017, 2018, 2020), Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Educational Engagement and Innovation (University of Sydney, 2017). CET has also been recognised as a NEAS quality endorsed centre for over 25 years and has three NEAS-endorsed premium products.
Katherine is passionate about advancing the agenda of international education and has over 25 years’ experience in the sector working in a range of English language institutions in Australia and Asia. She is an active contributor and advocate for the industry, contributing through numerous initiatives, including, as a NEAS member elected Director on the NEAS Board since 2018, as member of UECA (University English Centres Australia), Co-convener of the English Australia Post-entry and Academic English Special Interest Group. She regularly represents CET at industry events through conference presentations, workshops, panels and professional development activities (NEAS, English Australia, IEAA, UECA, AIEC).
