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NEAS Endorsement News
Centre for English Language Teaching, University of Western Australia
NEAS congratulates the University of Western Australia Centre for English Language Teaching on completing a Premium Product Quality Review of their Academic English and Study Skills Bridging Course.
NEAS has reviewed aspects of the Bridging Course using Quality Area K of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework. The Quality Principles of Area K focus on these features of the target Service: its underlying research; its fulfillment of purpose; its processes for maintaining quality; its uniqueness and innovation; and its contribution to the ELT community.
The Bridging Course was initially developed over ten years ago and its benefits to the University of Western Australia have been clearly visible; incoming students are able to acquire a suitable English language proficiency for entry into the university’s programs while gaining a deeper knowledge of text types and Australian academic requirements and developing their analytical and reflective skills. In keeping with the signalled importance of ongoing research, the Course has been re-focussed and revitalised.
NEAS was particularly impressed by the centre’s commitment to the evaluation and review of the Bridging Course in order to continuously improve the program and provide the optimum learning experience for students.
March 2023
Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade ran an Inquiry into Tourism and Australia’s International Education Sectors on Thursday, 2 March 2023 at which Dr Patrick, CEO of NEAS participated and provided important information on the importance of Quality Assurance (QA) in English language teaching. He explained that NEAS Australia is “a non-governmental, independent, industry-led quality assurance authority, involved with everything to do with English language teaching” and that “We have to keep our reach in the ASEAN region … One of the ways to do that is through online delivery. If we are not teaching in that space at least some part of our English language provision, we are failing to teach those students how to activate their English in an online space.”. He stated that new teachers coming into the ELT sector post-pandemic need to be scrutinised as well as Academic Managers. He identified that many teachers may be coming back after a second career and restarting their careers, while others who have just been teaching for a couple of years find themselves being pushed into management level, when they might not be ready or qualified. This is why QA remains so important in Australia and the ASEAN region because the “Australian ELICOS sector is world famous for its quality”.
This is an opportune moment to remind you of Day ONE (3 May) of the 2023 NEAS Management Conference which is a special full day Professional Academic Manager Training Workshop and is targeted exclusively at new and would-be Academic Managers. During the sessions a deep dive will be facilitated into what it means to be a professional Academic Manager in Australia’s ELT industry. For further information please go here and to get your tickets go here.
March 2023
Ukraine Workshop Series
There may be just five weeks before the opening of this year NEAS Management Conference, but we are by no means idle while we wait for the date. As featured in last week’s NEAS News we have four PD events over the next two months, all of which will be informative and engaging.
Monday (20 March 2023) marked the grand opening of the Ukraine Workshop Series.
We are truly thrilled and proud to be bringing you this Workshop Series that features SEVEN pre-workshop presentations and will be followed by a live Zoom Workshop with a discussion Panel on Tuesday 18 April from 9:00 am to 10:30 am (Kyiv Time) 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (Sydney Time) and will feature keynote presenters sharing their expertise and practical techniques. Joining the NEAS CEO, Dr Patrick Pheasant, on the Panel will be the Ukraine Ambassador His excellency Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ms Liubov Zaliubovska-Head of Education at GoGlobal NGO as well as teachers and leaders from the ELT sector.
The workshop focuses on two themes:
1. Trauma informed practice and teaching– thisrecognises the pervasive impact of trauma on individuals and communities. By prioritising safety and trust in a supportive learning environment, teachers can empower students to take agency of their learning. Through collaborative engagement in the learning space, students and teachers can promote healing, resilience, and growth.
2. Student and teacher mental health and building resilience in times ofcrises – it is important to maintain teacher and student health during times of crises and this can be achieved by fostering a sense of community, promoting coping skills, and creating a supportive learning environment. Encouraging individuals to adapt and thrive despite challenges leads to resilience. In this workshop, some building blocks will be provided to highlight the importance of self-care, healthy habits, and access to mental health resources.
March 2023
NEAS at the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE) conference in Bangkok
Framed around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the conference focused on students and the profound impact international education has on their lives and on communities.
NEAS CEO Dr Patrick Pheasant was part of a panel discussion entitled Partnering with Purpose – ASEAN Australia Higher Education Capacity Building during which he and the panel discussed the benefits of ASEAN and Australian building effective and purposeful partnerships that addresses regional higher education sector priorities. The panel was chaired by Julie Wilkens MacMahon, Regional Director (APAC) Times Higher Education, Australia and joining Patrick were Michael Fay, AAED and Dr Choltis Dhirathiti, Executive Director ASEAN University Network (AUN) Secretariat, Thailand.
Our involvement was best summed up in Claire Field’s article in the Campus Morning Mail of 22 March 2023 where she said, “NEAS was another Australian organisation which stood out at the conference. They are working with the ASEAN Universities Network to quality assure English language teaching across the region and have more recently started assisting English language teachers in Ukraine”. You can access the whole article here. Claire also conducted a podcast interview with Dr Pheasant while in Bangkok, which you can access here. In both cases she referenced the Ukraine Workshop Series as being an exciting and worthwhile initiative.
Similarly, the higher education editor, Tim Todd, of The Australian Higher Education Supplement of 22 March 2023 also reported on the buzz around the Ukraine Workshop Series, claiming that “Thousands of Ukrainian English language teachers stand to benefit from a series of online workshops being offered free by Australian education quality assurance group NEAS”. He quoted Dr Pheasant as saying, “While they (Ukraine) rebuild the education system, … a big part of it is what Ukrainian Universities can do … to attract collaboration, research partnerships and international students.” This is why NEAS Australia member support for this project is important.
March 2023
Speaker Spotlight – Education Agents
This year’s NEAS Management Conference brings us a lot of diversity with speakers from all areas of the ELT sector. This week we are throwing the Spotlight on Education Agents and those who work closely with agents from schools, colleges and English Language centres, as they all play a significant roll in bringing English language students to our Australian shores.
At the conference there will two discussion panels where there will be a focus on Education Agents and the importance of the work they do.
At the In Focus: Education Agents session with: Sylvain Lolley, Melanie MacFalane and Guaravdeep (GD) Signh, agents will talk about their work in helping students choose education institutions to suit their needs.
At the COP Workshop: Education Agents session, with Gavin Dowling, Shirley Sun, Youngeun Song and Leisl Bruhn who are from different education establishments around Australia you will hear insights into the importance of Education Agents and their important role in student recruitment.
Melanie MacFarlane
Melanie Macfarlane is a registered and practising Migration Agent with over 17 years’ experience securing visas for migrants to live, work and study in Australia. She has worked with individuals, families and employers from small to large-scale businesses, all with the same common goal – to explore new opportunities and create a happy world, one migrant at a time.
Melanie founded MMMigration & Recruitment and VETA Education & Migration in 2007 and has since grown the company to offices across 3 states in Australia as well as Colombia, Chile and Mexico. At MMMigration and VETA the team reduces the stress and confusion from the migration process, ensuring peace of mind and positive outcomes.
Sylvain Lolley
In 2016, Sylvain Lolley founded Catch-Up Education and offer numerous education opportunities to people of all ages, backgrounds and origins.
After more than 20 years in the Pacific (Tahiti, New Caledonia) in the marketing and communication sector, Sylvain joined the education sector by becoming Sales Manager for a French-speaking education agency based in Sydney, Australia. When he created Catch-Up Education in 2016, Sylvain already had a strong network of contacts within the industry. In 2019, Catch-up Education joined ICEF as an education agency and in 2020, Catch-up Education received the KISS Rock Award from ILAC Canada for the quality of its services to students and its involvement during the Covid-19 period. The same year, Sylvain received the Quality Agent endorsement from NEAS and Sylvain believes this distinction is a guarantee of seriousness and quality for any support agency.
Guaravdeep (GD) Singh
Guaravdeep (fondly known as GD) is the CEO & MD of Apply 4 Study & also the Representative of Migration Alliance, (Australian Professional Lobby for Migration Practitioners) for Indian Subcontinent & Australian Education Sector. I have been working in Education Industry for over 18 years & have rich experience at Senior level management, particularly in areas of HRM, Training, Migration Law & Marketing.
GD’s key areas of focus are global expansion, brand building, collaborations, acquisitions & mergers. Finalist at Australian Business Champion awards, winner of the Best Inbound Education Consultancy by Corporate Vision, AI Publishing UK, winner of CEO of the Year 2022 Skill India Business Awards, New Delhi India & an eminent Indian Australian entrepreneur figure in Global education space.
COP Workshop: Education Agents
Leisl Bruhn
Leisl is the Dean of International Students at Ivanhoe Grammar, which includes being the Academic Manager of the ELICOS Program, teaching VCE EAL and pastoral care responsibilities for the School’s international students. Leisl began her teaching career in the East End of London and for the past 6 years she has held the very rewarding position as EAL Mentor for Ivanhoe’s VCE Offshore Programs which has given her the privilege of working alongside and sharing EAL teaching practices with highly experienced and professional colleagues. Leisl is also Convenor for the Education Agents COP at this year’s NEAS Management Conference.
Shirley Sun
Shirley was appointed the Head of St John’s International College in 2006. Prior to the Head of College position, she was the Marketing Manager as well as a teacher within the college, then known as Forest Lake College.
Shirley has been working closely with education agents for more than 20 years. Due to the age of the high school students, she has to delve deeper into the complexities of connecting the agents with the parents.
Youngeun Song
Youngeun is Principal Executive Officer of APC Education Group currently comprises English Unlimited and Australian Pacific College and is responsible for overseeing the operation and strategic movements for the group.
Youngeun started her career in education as owner director of a childcare centre in Seoul, South Korea. Since arriving in Australia 2003, Youngeun has been taking on multiple management and executive roles in the international education industry for private ELICOS centres and Vocational Education and Training colleges.
APC Education Group is a multiple award winning private education provider that has been operating since 2004 and currently operates 13 campuses on the eastern seaboard and South Australia.
Gavin Dowling
Gavin is Chief Operating Officer at Education Centre of Australia, responsible for university partnerships, marketing, admissions, sales, HR, IT and the colleges within the ECA Group.
He has more than 20 years’ experience in the international education sector in the UK and Australia with significant experience in student acquisition, strategic management and leadership.
After an earlier career working in marketing agencies for a broad range of clients in London, he moved into the high growth international education sector in late 1990’s working for small and large organisations; consulting; and establishing and running two successful education marketing businesses.
March 2023
Four popping professional development opportunities in March and April!
Communities of Practice: Arts Based Pedagogy
This COP workshop introduces the benefits of alternative teaching methods in the ELT classroom. Topics of discussion in this COP include the power of drama in teaching, as well as the use of drawing and puppetry. This workshop features NEAS’ own Dr Pheasant and Ms Lechte as presenters and over 30 participants have already signed up – it’s promising to be a day of valuable, hearty interaction!
Understanding the NEAS CPD Framework
NEAS supports and encourages Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and
earning CPD points through NEAS PD activities validates quality learning for teachers, managers and ELT professionals. Micro-credentialing for ELT professionals and how to access and share your online badges will be explained during this webinar too.
NEAS is presenting this workshop around trauma-informed practice and teaching, maintaining student and teacher motivation and mental health, as well as building resilience in ELT in times of crises.
Maintaining resilience in students is crucial for their academic success and personal growth as it helps students to bounce back from setbacks, adapt to new situations, and manage stress effectively; to stay motivated, persevere through challenges, and maintain a positive attitude. Building ongoing resilience will enable students to cope with and overcome obstacles and succeed in their academic and personal lives. It is the foundation for a successful and fulfilling future, and educators should prioritise resilience-building in their teaching strategies.
Industry Webinar Series: PeopleCert
PeopleCert delivers exams in more than 200 countries, in 25 languages, through its state-of-the-art assessment technology, enabling professionals to reach their full potential and realise their life ambitions through certifications and learning. This webinar will explain how this assessment technology works and why it is so successful.
March 2023
NEAS Endorsement News
Congratulations to Duolingo English Test!
The Duolingo English Test is a fast and convenient way to certify a candidate’s English language proficiency for academic studies or professional use. The test is taken online, and results are available within 48 hours. It assesses reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, and is accepted by thousands of universities and institutions around the world. Since 2020, Duolingo English Test has been accepted by the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service.
NEAS is pleased to assess and endorse the Duolingo English Test in the category of Quality Products and Services (Area K). The Quality Principles of Area K focus on these features of the target Product and Service: its underlying research; its fulfilment of purpose; its processes for maintaining quality; its uniqueness and innovation; and its contribution to the ELT community. Detailed information on Area K of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework can be referenced here: https://neas.org.au/resources/neas-quality-framework/#area-k.
The developers of the Duolingo English Test publish extensively on their research in computer adaptive test-taking and engage widely with stakeholders in discussions regarding the requirements for security and psychometric quality. The clear benefit to candidates is the removal of barriers to test taking. The “take anywhere, anytime” ethos of the Duolingo English Test results in impressive time efficiencies, achieved through automated, adaptive selection of questions, tailored specifically to the candidate’s performance.
Use of AI to generate the test items is cutting edge. Subject matter experts leverage machine learning models to create a deep pool of items. As part of the question item generation process, all content is reviewed by a panel for fairness and bias. Test score reliability is checked through an analysis of repeat candidate results and an AI quality assurance system monitors each test administration. Ongoing research is undertaken to compare the validity of Duolingo English Test scores against major tests used in market. Test validity is analysed according to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. It was notable that Duolingo’s Access Program waives its fees for eligible low-income and refugee candidates.
March 2023
Conference Speaker Spotlight
Joanna Kelly
Joanna Kelly is the General Manager, English at Academies Australasia, a publicly listed education group. Within that role she is running ELICOS operations at Discover English in Melbourne and Language Links International in Perth. Additionally, she is the CEO of Academies Australasia Polytechnic, a private VET and HE provider. Joanna has been the General Delegate on the board of English Australia since 2019. She has a comprehensive understanding of the core issues facing the international education industry and is an active contributor to submissions to government on policy changes. She is committed to enhancing Australia’s reputation as a preferred destination for international students.
Lucas Chiusoli
Lucas Chiusoli has been working in the International Education sector since 2004. He is currently the National Director, ELICOS & Higher Education Pathways at ILSC, where he has the overall responsibility for the growth, profitability, leadership, and management of the Australian schools. Lucas holds a BA in Business Management, Cambridge DELTA and other TESOL and Training qualifications. He is committed to professional development, having started as an English teacher and building to Senior Management roles. Lucas’s background in business and his previous professional experiences have provided him with a deeper understanding of how businesses operate and given him the skill set to understand and address the needs of different stakeholders. He is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of challenging the status quo by successfully designing, presenting and implementing innovative ideas and solutions, and highly skilled at solving problems and managing projects in alignment with the organisational goals. Lucas also serves on the Board of English Australia as an elected Director and Delegate for NSW, representing state college members and engaging with several industry stakeholders. Lucas has a true passion for education and its ability to transform lives and empower people.
Sarah Huaraka
Sarah Huaraka completed a Bachelor of Arts from Lyon University (France), a Master’s degree in Language and Literature from Reading University (UK) and a Master’s degree in Intercultural Management from SIT in Vermont (USA).
Passionate about teaching and learning, Sarah completed her Post-Graduate Certificate in Education in 2003 from Greenwich University (UK). She has over 20 years’ experience in teaching and educational leadership, both in TAFEs and at University. Sarah has a strong interest in Foundation studies, Teacher Training and TESOL.
March 2023
DAY ONE (3 May): Professional Academic Manager Training
With only six weeks before the start of the 2023 NEAS Management Conference we are excited to highlight DAY ONE of the conference – Wednesday 3 May.
Day one has been set aside to focus solely on Academic Managers – new, emerging and aspirational. This special full-day Professional Academic Manager Training Workshop worth 10 CPD points, at UTS College, Ultimo, Sydney.
If you are new to academic management or aspiring to become involved in academic management, as your ELT professional career progresses, then this is the workshop for you! This interactive day will facilitate you with exceptional management skills and equip you with strategies to become a formidable, respected and capable leader. The cost for the whole day is just $175 (+GST) for NEAS members, $275 (+GST) for non-NEAS members and places are limited to 25 – so get in quick!
To register, please complete the JotForm.
March 2023
