Director of Studies

Phil Chappell   |   M. Ed (TESOL), CELTA, B. Comm (Marketing)
DOS.ENGLISH@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I’ve been working in the TESOL field for about 20 years, both overseas and in Australia. I’ve been involved in teaching, course development, teacher training, managing English language programs, and lecturing in TESOL teacher education at undergraduate and post-graduate level.

I love teaching English to students from many different cultural backgrounds, and I also enjoy learning from my students at the same time. My approach to teaching is pretty straightforward - create a fun and active classroom environment in which the needs and interests of the students are always the priority. Learning another language isn’t easy, but teachers can make it a rewarding experience. That’s what I encourage our teachers to aim for in the English program at Strathfield College. Interesting and enjoyable classes where the students are active and the teacher is friendly and supportive.

When I’m not at work, you can find me relaxing at the beach, travelling, trying to shed a few kilos at the gym, or creating something new and delicious in the kitchen.

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.

Stella Chung | BA, DipEd, MA (Applied Linguistics), Post grad Dip (Sp Ed), Cert IV (Workplace Assessment)
stella.chung@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

For years, Stella has been working with international students and migrant communities in Sydney and Melbourne. Her classes are friendly, communicative, interactive and caring.
 
A typical lesson of her will cover the four macro-skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, supported by vocabulary, functional grammar and pronunciation. Stella has special interest in the socio-cultural, psycholinguistic aspects of learning.  
 
To Stella, every language student is a unique valuable person with different learning pace and style. To her, TESOL is a fascinating and rewarding career as she can meet people from all over the world and see some of them change into confident language learners, skilled workers, happier persons and useful global citizens. And Sydney is a wonderful living experience for her natural beauty and a vibrant multi-cultural lifestyle.

Chifley Clarke | BA (Hons) Religious Studies, Dip Ed, CELTA
chifley.clarke@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I was born and grew up in Sydney. After I finished university I worked as a high school teacher for about five years. Then I was employed as an English teacher in Japan, which I loved. When I came back to Sydney I continued working as an ESL teacher.

I love teaching English to adults and have been teaching in Sydney now for about six years, about two at Strathfield College. I like everyone in my classes to get to know one another and enjoy studying together.

In my free time I like to watch anime, sci-fi, action and kung fu movies. I read fantasy/ sci-fi novels and online manga. I enjoy exercising and go to a boxercise class a few times a week. On the weekend I like going out with my friends and eating out. I love Asian food - Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

At university I enjoyed studying about different religions and history, and I always like to learn about different cultures and customs often from my students.

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.

Maya King-Prime | B.A. (Communications - Modern Languages), CELTA
maya-king-prime@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I’ve been teaching on and off since 1995. I started teaching because I’m interested in languages. I went to Japan to improve my Japanese, and taught English there for three years. During that time I passed the second highest level of the Japanese Language Proficiency exam.

After that I went to live in Spain, where I taught English and improved my Spanish.  I also worked in France and acquired some conversational French.

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.

Danny Lee | BA Arts (Linguistics), CELTA. Currently studying for his MA in Applied Linguistics.
danny.lee@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

Danny has taught at Strathfield College since April 2008. He has taught all levels: Elementary to Upper-Intermediate and IELTS.

He is interested in learning new languages and movies.

His advice for students is: "Enjoy learning English and experiencing Aussie culture."

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.

Andrew Nipperess | BSc (Physics, Pure Maths, History and Philosophy of Science); CELTA.
andrew.nipperess@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

The first time I taught English was in a small school in Tokyo, just for one day, in 1997. There was only one student, a 9 year-old boy, and he knew more about how to run the class than I did. Hopefully that’s no longer the case!

Since I came back to Australia in 1998, I’ve taught English at a few different schools around Sydney and I’ve been teaching IELTS since 2001. I’ve run a course in Indonesia for post-grad students who were coming to Australia, I’ve taught Japanese bankers and government trade officials, and I’ve had students from dozens of countries, from Lithuania to Peru. I love to pick up new phrases from other languages, so don’t be surprised if you hear me start speaking in Thai, Korean or Chinese.

I’ve been working at Strathfield College for more than 2 years now, and I really like it here. It’s very rewarding to see students understand something that they’ve always struggled with or to achieve the IELTS score they want to get into their university course.

In my leisure hours, you might find me growing herbs and tomatoes in my garden, cooking in the kitchen, reading Batman comics, or downing a beer at the pub. I’m a keen photographer, so if you see me on an excursion with my big camera pointed at you, don’t be shy, just give a big smile and say “Cheese!”

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.