Director of Studies

Karen Benson | BA Hons (Modern Languages) PG Dip (Marketing), CELTA, DELTA (mod 3), M Ed (TESOL)
english.dos@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I am very proud to be the Director of Studies at such a professional, friendly school. My responsibilities include the day to day running of the school and the development of our English programs. My priority is ensuring that our students have a positive experience here at Strathfield College, in terms of achieving their learning goals and benefiting from the rich cultural diversity in the College. My door is always open to students. I am passionate about the role of autonomous learning in second language acquisition, and am delighted to be overseeing our guided self study program. I consider myself lucky to be working with a team of teachers who are equally as enthusiastic about their role in ESL education as I am. Please feel free to contact me to discuss our English programs.

Teaching Staff

Chris Andrews | BA (Psychology; English – Linguistics and Literature), Dip Ed (Tech), B Sc (Arch – Honours), Certificate in TESOL
chris.andrews@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I began my teaching career as a Business Studies teacher in TAFE, NSW, and later tutored secondary school students to prepare them for their final exams in English and other subjects. I have been an ELICOS teacher for three years, and have experience teaching all levels, from Beginner to Upper Intermediate.

Wherever you travel, live and work, improving your English makes new experiences and opportunities possible.

I am passionate about working with students to build the language skills and confidence that will give them the opportunities they want. Progress along the way and results afterwards actually make a student’s investment in the future, despite the difficulties, more and more worthwhile. Negatives become lasting positives, and being part of this process at the beginning is what I enjoy most as a teacher.

Lucy Buonanno | Masters (Translation and Interpreting Studies), BA (Languages Studies), Dip. Applied Linguistics.
lucy.buonanno@strathfieldcollege.edu.au
 
I have been working as a language teacher for over 10 years. I have been teaching English as a second language, IELTS, EAP as well as other foreign languages. I have been involved in developing EAP programs for Strathfield College and I am currently the EAP course coordinator. I also have been working as acting Director of Studies.
 
I speak Italian, Spanish and French fluently and I have a sound knowledge of Portuguese and German. I am also a qualified interpreter and translator.
 
Languages are my passion. I particularly enjoy teaching English to students of different cultural backgrounds. I think it is a great exchange. My approach is a communicative approach and I like to involve students in very practical situations where they can learn and have fun at the same time. My lessons involve a different range of activities which focus on individual/peer/group work in order to expose students to different settings and to encourage them to be active participants of the lesson.
 
Outside work, I spend my time doing comparative writing/reading in different languages, cooking delicious Mediterranean food, doing yoga and belly dancing.

Jamie Burgess | BA (Hons) (English and European Literature), Certificate in TESOL
jamie.burgess@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

Originally from England, I lived and worked, teaching English, in Japan for 10 years and emigrated to Australia in 2007. Because of my experience, I know what it is like to live in a foreign country and learn a language for daily conversation needs, so I understand students' needs very well.

I really enjoy meeting new people and teaching all kinds of students. I also have experience teaching test preparation courses like TOEIC, TOEFL and IELTS, Business English and specific needs lessons.

I specialize in computers in education and providing IT needs to the college.

I love getting out and about with the students and seeing all that this great city has to offer- the festivals, cultural events, architecture, history and nature - which I think makes English come to life.

Bruce Illingworth | ASTC Dip Painting; Dip Ed; Dip Ed (TESOL)
bruce.illingworth@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

Having previously taught art for 13 years, in 1990 I moved to Japan with my wife to teach English. After 15 years there, we moved to London to continue teaching and then returned to Sydney, our hometown, and to Strathfield College. I love to meet and teach students from different places and think we can all learn many things in this multi-cultural environment.

Benjamin Lee | Postgraduate Certificate (TESOL), BA (Educational Studies), Diploma of Graphic Design, Diploma of Arts (Fine Arts).
benjamin.lee@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

Ben has taught English for about 2 years now and lists the flute, singing and guitar amongst his creative pastimes. He loves all kinds of food, is fascinated with Asian languages and enjoys seeing students learn and realise their goals.

Sue Lewis | BA History, Grad Dip Literacy and Numeracy, Dip Ed
sue.lewis@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I have been teaching English on and off for about 10 years.  I joined Strathfield College in 2007 and have taught various levels of English within the school.  I like the classroom to be a fun, safe and engaging place for students to learn. I very much enjoy teaching students from different backgrounds.

Julie Whitlam | Diploma of Teaching (Primary), Grad Dip Ed (TESOL), M Applied Linguistics
julieanne.whitlam@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

A native of Sydney, I taught ESL in schools here in the 1980s, then EFL in language schools and universities in Japan for 15 years. Before returning to Australia, I lived in London for 2 years, teaching English to African refugees and people from Eastern Europe. I have enjoyed working at Strathfield College for almost 2 years, and still love to travel in my holidays.