TESOL Australia, International House Sydney - Teacher Training Centre - About Us > Why IH Sydney - English and TESOL Teacher Training

EXTENSIVE QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE

At IH Sydney – Teacher Training Centre we select our teachers and teacher trainers based upon their qualifications, level and range of experience, communication skills and ability to support student and teacher trainees.

Teacher Trainers

As a minimum all International House Sydney – teacher trainers are accredited by Cambridge University as teacher trainers and hold the following:

university degree
TESOL certificate - Cambridge CELTA, Certificate IV in TESOL or Trinity Certificate in TESOL
post graduate professional qualifications - Cambridge DELTA, Trinity Diploma TESOL, MEd (TESOL), MA (TESOL), MA (Applied Linguistics)
an average of 12 years teaching/training experience.

Their qualifications are enhanced by their extensive work experience including positions as EFL published authors, Cambridge University assessors and examiners, Director of Studies and School Director. Collectively, they have worked and lived in over 30 countries and are passionate about sharing their knowledge with their students.

All trainers have experience in:

design and delivery of teacher training courses and materials as initial teacher training and professional development for experienced teachers
observation and assessment of teachers in the classroom and the provision of feedback
teaching a range of English classes: general English, examination classes (IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC and Cambridge), Business English, English for specific purposes (ESP) and academic English (EAP) from beginner to advanced level
professional development of teachers.

English Teachers

As a minimum all International House Sydney English teachers will hold :

a university degree
accredited TESOL qualifications eg. Cambridge CELTA or Certificate IV in TESOL.

Teachers are chosen for their ability to engage and develop students. Many of our English language teachers are aiming to develop their skills in the area of teacher training and as a result we attract energentic and ambitious teachers who are genuinely focused on their students' progress. Any teachers who have shorter professional teaching experience will have achieved the highest grades in their initial TESOL training.

THE TEACHERS AND TRAINERS WHO WILL SUPPORT YOU

AMANDA BAILEY - DIRECTOR OF STUDIES - TEACHER TRAINING

Amanda holds a BA in History, a Cambridge CELTA and DELTA, and an MA in English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Since starting teaching in 1994, she has worked as a teacher, examiner, teacher trainer, coursebook writer and Director of Studies. Amanda’s published material includes the Teacher’s Books for the Inspiration series (a coursebook for teenage EFL learners) and English for International Tourism. Amanda is an appointed assessor for Cambridge CELTA courses and she has recently gained the additional accreditation of Cambridge DELTA trainer.

NICK BESWICK - SENIOR TRAINER

Nick holds a BA(Hons) in English Literature and Language, Cambridge CELTA and Cambridge DELTA. Since 1993 he has worked as a teacher in the Czech Republic, Indonesia and England teaching a range of student levels from beginner to advanced, multilingual classes and one-to-one for General English, exam classes (Cambridge and IELTS), business English and special skills classes. He has been an accredited teacher trainer since 2002 and trained in England, Russia and Australia.

SARAH BUNYAN - SENIOR TRAINER

Sarah holds a BA (Hons) English Literature/DT, Cambridge CELTA, Postgraduate Certificate in Education and Training, Cambridge DELTA and MA in EFL Teaching and Applied Linguistics. She has taught since 1996 in England, Brazil, Turkey, Poland and Australia. These positions have included teacher training, teaching younger learners, teenagers and adults in a range of classes and 1-to-1. Since working at IH Sydney - Teacher Training Centre Sarah has gained the additional accreditation of Cambridge DELTA trainer.

JANE RICHBELL - SENIOR TRAINER

Jane holds a BA in Literature, a Cambridge CELTA and DELTA and a Certificate in Education. Over the past twenty eight years she has worked as a teacher, lecturer and teacher trainer. She has worked on TEFL courses, mainstream courses in England and courses designed for teaching refugees, L2 and L1 students. She is an appointed assessor for Cambridge CELTA courses. She has worked in the UK, Greece, Thailand and, most recently, Brazil, before coming to Sydney in August 2008. She has been working as a Cambridge DELTA trainer since 2007.

TONY PHILIPS

Tony holds a BA in English & Philosophy, Grad Dip in Information & Library Studies, MPhil, Dip Ed: Grad Dip in Education (English, Speech & Drama) and DipTEFLA. Since 1988 Tony has worked as an ELT, published EFL author, senior lecturer, Director of Studies and teacher trainer. Working extensively throughout Australasia his assignments have included Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Australia. He is also actively involved in the research of bilingual teaching.

JULIE BRAY

Julie holds a BSc(Hons), MSc in Technology for Designers, Trinity Certificate in TESOL and Trinity Licenciate Diploma TESOL. She has worked in EFL since 1998 as an ELT in the young learners and adult classrooms teaching large classes of kindergarten students, through to preparing adults to take the IELTS, TOEFL and Cambridge exams. She is also an IELTS examiner, published EFL author and teacher trainer. Julie has presented at TESOL industry conferences (Thai TESOL 2005 & 2006), project managed a virtual learning website, developed an academic writing course and has a keen interest in e-learning. Julie’s experience has been in The UK, Portugal, Brazil, Salvador, Japan, Thailand and Australia.

DENNIS NORTON

Sydney born and bred, Denis has taught in Indonesia, Bulgaria and Australia since 1994. He has a Cambridge DELTA and worked with the British Council for seven years teaching IELTS, EAP, Cambridge suite Exam classes, plus Business and General English. He has been an IELTS examiner and ICT consultant. Since joining IH in (early 2008), he has taught Certificate IV TESOL, and gained accreditation for Certificate IV TAA and as a Cambridge CELTA teacher trainer.

JO ROBERTS

Jo holds a BA ( Hons) in Modern Languages and International Marketing, and a PGCE/PCET (Post-compulsory Education and Training) in ESOL and Modern Languages. She has been teaching since 2001 to a range of levels including beginners, 1-1, teenagers, and advanced classes and did a lot a lot of work in FE colleges in London teaching numeracy, literacy and IT as basic skills. Once trained as a CELTA trainer in 2005 she helped to develop and trained on the Cambridge CERT FE course in England before coming to IH Sydney where she has been training on a variety of courses including CELTA, CERT IV and ETYL courses. In 2008, she attained the CERT IV TAA.

ADAM KILBURN - BUSINESS MANAGER - EDUCATION

Adam's teaching qualifications include BA Dip TESOL and MA (Lang Lit). He has worked in ESL/EFL since 1995 as a teacher, programmes co-ordinator, curriculum writer, teacher trainer, training consultant, Director of Studies and Deputy Principal. As Business Manager - Education Adam is responsible for the provision of high level tuition to the 700 teachers who train at IH Sydney - Teacher Training Centre every year. He oversees the development of teacher training courses, outcomes and curricula, in-service training, regulatory reporting and academic administration.

GARETH LEWIS - MARKETING DIRECTOR

Gareth holds a BA(Hons) in Politics, Cambridge CELTA, Cambridge DELTA and Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. Since 1993 he has worked as an ELT and teacher trainer in the UK, Greece, Italy, Bahrain and China. He has worked in both adult and younger learner classrooms and has been involved in curriculum development and materials writing. He came to Australia in 1999 and has worked as a teacher trainer in Sydney since 2000.
Currently he is responsible for promotions and marketing of courses at IH Sydney.

ANDREW REDGRAVE - BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP MANAGER

Andrew holds a B.A. (hons) Anthropology, Trinity Certificate in TESOL and Master of Education (TESOL). Andrew worked as a language teacher and teacher trainer from 1998 to 2007. He has worked for many organisations including the British Council and other International House schools. He also spent 2 years teaching in Europe with posts in Slovakia and Italy. Recently Andrew has become interested in the marketing of teacher training programs and has a clear understanding of the world-wide development of teacher training programs for non-Native speakers.

EDWARD PEMBER

Ed has been teaching English as a second language for five years both at a general level and also focusing on IELTS and EAP. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Linguistics ,a CELTA and an MA in Applied Linguistics (TESOL). Having grown up travelling all over the world he has always dealt with other cultures and methods of communication beyond the “normal” paradigms of native language. The fact that he speaks two other languages other than his own native English provides him and his students with a wealth of experience in the nature of second language acquisition. Ed believes that language learning should be fun and exciting as, once learnt, a language is yours to keep forever.

JANE COMYNS-CARR

Jane holds a BA(Hons) in English, Cambridge CELTA and Cambridge DELTA. Over the past twenty five years she has worked as a language teacher, lecturer, teacher trainer and Director of Studies of IH London (England’s most esteemed teacher training centre). Jane is a published author of ELT materials (Longman “Cutting Edge” series) and is an appointed assessor for the Cambridge CELTA and an examiner for the Cambridge DELTA programs. She has worked in the UK, Greece, Poland, Lithuania, Spain and Australia.

ANNABEL DAWS

Annabel holds a BA(Hons) in Classical Studies, Cambridge CELTA and Cambridge DELTA. Since 1993 Annabel has worked as a language teacher, Director of Studies and teacher trainer in both the young learners and adult classrooms. These positions have been in the UK, Greece and Australia.

CHARLOTTE JOCELYN-MAY

Charlotte has a BA(Hons) Sociology, TESOL Certificate (Trinity), LCCI Certificate in Teaching English for Business Purposes and Cambridge DELTA. She has taught a variety of younger learners and adult English classes in Portugal and England including: general English, Cambridge, 1-to-1, business English, English for specific purposes and exam preparation (IELTS, EAP, TOEIC, LCCI) classes. Since moving to Australia Charlotte has been head teacher and trained up as a CELTA trainer. She has focused primarily on training primary teachers.

HIROKO SHEEHAN

Hiroko San trains on the Japanese accredited J-Shine programme providing extensive knowledge of the Japanese primary school system. Hiroko's teaching experience spans 26 years both in Japan and Australia, at Primary and High School level. Her teaching qualifications, Bachelor of Education (Primary/High School), were gained in Tokyo.

ANDREW O'CONNELL

Andrew holds a BA(Hons), Certificate in TESOL and Cambridge DELTA. Working as an English language teacher and teacher trainer he has experience in both the young learners and adult classrooms (business English, IELTS, multimedia classroom. His experience in EFL has been gained internationally. Andrew completed his Cambridge teacher training accreditation at IH Sydney - Teacher Training Centre.

FRAN TRAYNOR

Fran holds a B.Ed in Adult Education, Cambridge CELTA, Cambridge DELTA, IH Certificate in Online Training and Certificate IV in Workplace Training & Assessment. She is currently completing an MA in eLearning. She has worked in teaching and training since 1991 with young learners and adults, preparing students for IELTS, TOEIC, Cambridge ESOL and Cambridge Business English exams. She is also a Cambridge CELTA Assessor, published EFL writer, course developer and eLearning course designer. Before becoming a teacher trainer, Fran built her experience in diverse areas which included working as a workplace trainer, Head Teacher, Director of Studies,Campus Manager and Cambridge ESOL Coordinator. Fran has worked in Australia, the UK, Portugal and Vietnam.

Teacher and TESOL Trainer Profiles