Areas of interest
My main area of interest is cross-cultural communication and competence, and how to support students in their transition from a Presessional Programme to their academic programme, especially in terms of developing their extended writing skills, and oral communication skills.
Background
- I have worked at ISLI for over 20 years, as an EAP lecturer, Pre-sessional Course Director, then Programme Director, before taking on my current role as Admissions tutor
- I started my teaching career in at an international school in Tokyo, teaching French, European History and Drama; I have also taught English at Shujitsu University in Okayama
- I worked in a bilingual school in Arequipa Peru, and then in alanguage schools in San Sebastian Spain
- I first came to the University of Reading to do an MA in TEFL, and from this became involved in EAP teaching. Working at UoR in various roles has enabled me to continue to work with international students which is the aspect of my work I most enjoy
My most recent work has involved developing a course to enhance cross-cultural understanding between home and international students through developing intercultural competency skills. This is an eclectic programme drawing on lecturer expertise from a range of academic disciplines, aimed at raising awareness, understanding and empathy between students from different cultural backgrounds.
Academic qualifications
MA TEFL University of Reading
RSA Diploma in TEFL, (Cambridge DELTA) International House Piccadilly, London
Higher Diploma in Higher Education, Trinity College Dublin
BA in French and History, University College, Dublin
Licentiate Diploma in Speech and Drama, Leinster School of Music, Dublin
Professional bodies/affiliations
Senior Fellow of the Higher education Academy (SFHEA)
British Association of English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP)
May 2021 China-based Association for Partnership in Educational (CAPED) online Conference China joint delivery Supporting Staff in Intercultural competence
October 2018 EAP Ireland Conference Dublin, presentation on The role of Intercultural Competency in Adapting to Diverse Cultural Environments
June 2018 University of Reading, joint delivery of workshop with ISLI and CQSD colleagues on Introducing Teaching and Supporting Learning
February 2018 and February 2019 University of Reading, joint delivery of workshop on Developing Intercultural Competence for Teaching and Supporting Learning
November 2017 University of Nottingham, BALEAP PIM Joint Presentation on An Experiment in introducing Intercultural Competency into the EAP classroom
