Tag: esl

The English Language Centre (ELC) at the University of New England (UNE) delivers English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses for students intending to enter a primary course at the University, for both Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs. Located in Armidale, New South Wales, the Centre is committed to providing a supportive learning environment that encourages students to develop their language skills and achieve success in their studies and beyond. 

Congratulations to UNE on successfully completing the NEAS Quality Review exercise for 2023! This 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. As part of this onsite assessment, the Centre forwarded videos of recent lessons, and this proved to be useful in observing how the courses are delivered and how the students interact with their teachers and the learning content. 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/.  

Students in the Focus Group all agreed that the course was enjoyable and was helping them with their future studies. Students also advised that they were “very happy with my teacher” and that the teachers prepared “very nice lessons for us”. In addition, students were able to talk confidently about the course rubrics and how the teachers “explained them very well”. Teachers were positive about the amount of support they receive from the Centre’s Director and Academic Manager. The Centre has successfully utilised the application of assessment rubrics, which are drawn from the Learning Indicators and Learning Outcomes mapped to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The Centre has excellent ongoing course evaluation processes in place which incorporate teacher and student feedback.

May 2023

Congratulations to ELT Support for achieving NEAS Endorsement as a Quality Product and Service in the Consulting category. As a consultancy group of experienced English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals, ELT Support is committed to supporting ELICOS colleges and other ELT organisations to establish and maintain best practices to benefit the business, the staff and the students. Drawing on the wealth of knowledge of its staff and actively engaging with industry stakeholders, ELT Support ensures its clients receive the most up-to-date and effective solutions that are aligned with their needs.

NEAS reviewed ELT Support’s professional services using Quality Area K of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework, which focuses on research, purpose, quality maintenance processes, uniqueness and innovation, and contributions to the ELT community. The diligence of ELT Support’s project management methodology and their ability to customise projects to meet their clients’ direct needs were particularly impressive. ELT Support has also exhibited a strong commitment to stakeholder feedback, which informs a continuous cycle of improvement. The organisation’s staff is commended for their active engagement in industry outreach roles and presenting at industry forums.

For further information on Quality Area K and the NEAS Quality Framework, please visit https://neas.org.au/resources/neas-quality-framework/#area-k.  ELT Support’s achievement of NEAS Endorsement is a testament to their dedication to providing high-quality services to the ELT community.

May 2023