Category: NEAS News

The NEAS quality review cycle has undergone a transformative evolution from a static two-year model to a dynamic ongoing annual structure, reflecting a profound commitment to continuous improvement. Previously, the cycle encompassed a biennial process involving a Quality Review and a Self-Assessment. This approach has now evolved into an agile and adaptable framework, with a quality review cycle that embraces an organic rhythm and risk-based model, incorporating Management Meetings and a diverse array of tailored Quality Assurance activities. These refinements are driven by a nuanced understanding of members’ specific requirements and sector-wide risk assessment.

This shift empowers NEAS to remain attuned to the dynamic landscape of education and training, fostering a culture of flexibility, responsiveness, and proactive enhancement. The inclusion of Management Meetings bolsters the tracking of progress, issue identification, and swift remediation if and where necessary. This more adaptable nature of Quality Assurance activities ensures that each member’s distinct needs are addressed, nurturing a more customised approach. By remaining abreast of sector-wide risk assessment, NEAS ensures that the quality review cycle is aligned with broader industry trends and challenges.

At NEAS we feel that this approach maintains our position as a vanguard in quality assurance in ELT, equipped to navigate the ever-evolving educational landscape effectively.

August 2023

Congratulations to LanguageCert on achieving quality endorsement with NEAS in the category of Quality Products and Services. 

LanguageCert General and Academic Tests were developed through extensive research and stakeholder feedback. Government initiatives, labour market analysis, and input from employer groups and educational stakeholders have all contributed to the test’s creation. Subject matter experts and test-taker feedback have played vital roles in shaping LanguageCert’s General and Academic tests. The guidance of academic boards and advisory bodies, along with contemporary research in language acquisition and communicative competence, has been taken into consideration. The result is a set of test items that reflect authentic contexts in everyday life, workplace settings, and academic environments, making LanguageCert’s exams reliable measures of language proficiency.

LanguageCert offers security-laden tests both through their own online live proctored delivery platform and through a secure high-stakes test centre network in over 110 countries. The speaking component stands out for its stress-free atmosphere, facilitated by friendly assessors and well-designed sequence that allows test takers to begin with personal questions before transitioning to more formal aspects of the test. Test takers can expect a well-designed and well-structured online assessment featuring a rich variety of activities within each component, providing a comprehensive and robust test experience.

August 2023

ELS Malaysia operates four Centres: Kuala Lumpur and Subang Jaya Centres are standalone English language colleges, whereas the UPM and UTM Centres are run in conjunction with the host university within university campuses in Serdang and Johor

Congratulations to ELS Malaysia on successfully completing the NEAS Quality Review exercise for 2023! As part of this year’s activity, NEAS also conferred Quality Endorsement designation to ELS Malaysia’s new Additional Centre in Kuala Lumpur. The Quality Assurance initiative involved structured meetings and focus group discussions with management, students, teachers and professional staff. Anonymised Health Check surveys were used to develop areas of focus for the conduct of the Quality Review, and comprehensive stakeholder feedback was triangulated and mapped to key Principles and Drivers of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework. For more information on the Quality Assurance Framework, please refer to this section of the NEAS website: https://neas.org.au/resources/neas-quality-framework/.  

NEAS also takes this opportunity to congratulate ELS for being the first institution in Malaysia to have its English level standards officially recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education for university admissions. This recognition enhances further ELS Malaysia’s reputation as a leading English language training Centre in the country and region.

August 2023

Congratulations to ILSC Brisbane on Completing a successful Quality Review Activity with NEAS. 

ILSC Brisbane, located in the heart of the city’s CBD, offers a range of English language programs to cater to the diverse needs of its 1,100 students. These programs include General English, English for Academic Purposes, and Exam Preparation for Cambridge and IELTS. The student body includes students from Brazil, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, as well as several European countries. Many of these students are on a pathway to further studies, either through Greystone College or ILSC’s network of partner institutions.

Occupying four levels of a refurbished heritage building, ILSC provides a comfortable and welcoming learning environment for its students. Each level is equipped with spacious breakout areas and student recreation zones, where students can relax and engage with each other. The college’s commitment to creating an inclusive and enjoyable space is evident through the availability of various amenities, such as guitars, a foosball table, a tennis table, a barista training area, and reading spaces.

ILSC’s educational strategy is steered by an international Curriculum Committee, which ensures the continuous enhancement and evaluation of the curriculum to meet the student learning needs. The teaching staff at ILSC benefit from a well-designed appraisal and progression system, providing them with opportunities for professional development and growth.

August 2023

VUS is the largest NEAS endorsed English language centre in Vietnam and hosts the VUS TESOL Conference every year. This year Ms Peetra Lechte, NEAS Communications Manager, was honoured to present once more at this annual event. The theme of the conference was Celebrating Diverse Perspectives in ELT and Ms Lechte’s workshop was entitled Inclusive Classrooms through Diversification.

Inclusion is paramount to differentiation in the English Language Teaching (ELT) classroom. By including diverse activities born from diverse perspectives teachers can create a collaborative and inclusive classroom. Participants were able to explore different ways to include students from different backgrounds, with diverse abilities and with differing needs in the ELT classroom. Through various platforms such Inquiry-based, Task-based and Arts-based learning and teaching, teachers can inspire the love of learning English in their students. The workshop set out to empower teachers by providing them with the opportunity to sample of a variety of pedagogical approaches, which they may later add to their practical teaching toolbox.

August 2023

While in the ASEAN Region Ms Lechte, NEAS Communications Manager, visited four of the first universities on the ASEAN University Network QA (AUN-QA) project list.

This project is aimed at extending NEAS’ reach in the ASEAN region and ensuring that Quality Assurance becomes an integral part of ELT practice while promoting our Australian members and Australian Quality Assurance in ELT. The partnerships created and nurtured in the ASEAN region by NEAS will benefit our Australian members by extending meaningful opportunities for education providers in Australia and the ASEAN region to develop new links and grow relationships, which, in turn will enable the wider ELT community to thrive.  

The four universities visited were De La Salle in Manila, Philippines; Walailak in Nakhon Is Thammarat, Thailand; Vietnam National University, University of Technology and University of Social Science and Humanities, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. 

August 2023

NEAS Congratulates International Institute of Business and Technology​​​​​​​ (IIBT) on completing a successful Quality Review activity. The International Institute of Business and Technology (IIBT) is a part of the Times Education Group in Australia, offering VET and ELICOS programs. Recently, the Perth Centre has relocated from Victoria Park to a new campus in West Perth. 

The courses provided by IIBT are designed, with clear learning outcomes, guidance for teachers, well-planned assessment schedules, and comprehensive resource lists. During Focus Group discussions, students emphasised the valuable one-to-one feedback they received from their teachers. Students also expressed high praise for the online resources available through the Centre’s Moodle LMS. Particularly, the digital graded readers have significantly contributed to improving students’ reading proficiency and familiarity with academic word lists within contextualized contexts.

Teachers were commended by focus group students for being proactive in explaining course objectives and expectations. Additionally, students appreciated the efficient response to their needs by the administration team. IIBT staff demonstrated a high level of responsiveness to student complaints and questions and actively sought out solutions.

July 2023

NEAS congratulates ILSC Australia on successfully completing Quality Endorsement of their newly added Trinity Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Trinity Cert TESOL). 

The Trinity Cert TESOL course is designed for local and international students aspiring to teach EAL in Australia and abroad. The Course provides clear objectives aligned to the learning outcomes and offers a comprehensive assessment process including formative and summative evaluations. Assessments encompass various formats such as learner portfolios, journal forms, and external assessment facilitated by Trinity College London. By incorporating pedagogical skills, theoretical knowledge, and practical experience, the Trinity Cert TESOL Course prepares students to become competent and successful English language educators.

July 2023