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.

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.

Kim Webster | BA Cultural Communication, Advanced Diploma of Business, Cert TEFL
kim.webster@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

Hello!  Although I was born in Boston, my home is Cincinnati. I moved to Michigan for university and, after graduating, moved to London where I worked as the social programmer at a language college there. I started teaching ESL in Boston and from there I came to Sydney. I have taught ESL for over four years, including two as a senior teacher. I absolutely love Sydney and working with international students.  In my spare time, I can be found at the beach, the theatre, travelling, reading, writing, eating chocolate or beating my friends at cards.

Jenilee Palma | Bachelor of Arts (Major in Spanish), Masters of Arts (TESOL)
jenilee.palma@strathfieldcollege.edu.au
 
Being an Australian-born Filipino, I have always been surrounded by various cultures and languages.  As I have experienced learning foreign languages first hand and seen the difficulties my parents have faced whilst learning English, I know exactly how students may feel when they come to an English speaking country to learn the language.  For this, I commend them on their bravery!
 
My philosophy on how much students take in relates to the environment of the classroom and the teacher.  I strive to make the classes as interesting as possible whilst focusing on what needs to be learnt.  I include a lot of communicative activities in my lessons.  This usually proves to be a success and it is a very rewarding feeling when the students have realised they are able to use what they've learnt in real life situations. 
 
When I'm not teaching, you will find me running marathons, rock climbing or going on a road trip.  I love adventure.

Nicky Solomon | Dip Teach, TESOL Cert, Civil Celebrant
nicky.solomon@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I’ve probably been teaching English longer than you have been alive. I started my teaching life as a primary school ESL teacher. I’ve been teaching in English Language colleges since 1987. I’ve taught a range of classes: general English, academic English, IELTS and classes for children.

I’m also a civil celebrant and have had the pleasure of performing weddings for some of my students.

I’ve been teaching at Strathfield College since 2010. I love being around students- they keep me young!!

Pamela J Rees | Associate of Arts and Sciences Richland College 1993 (High Honors,Dean's List, Phi Theta Kappa), Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences: Linguistics (Summa Cum Laude, Distinction in Linguistics, Phi Beta Kappa) San Diego State University 2000, Two years post graduate study: SDSU- Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition.
pamela.rees@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I love learning. My philosophy in the second language learning classroom is to provide a communicative environment that will stimulate my students' love of learning.  Every day in the classroom, I strive to learn as much from my students as they do from me. Come on in. Let's learn together!

Suzanne Dawson | Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Policy Studies), CELTA, Grad Dip in TESOL (current)
suzanne.dawson@strathfieldcollege.edu.au

I have been teaching English since 2000.  I started my teaching career in Japan and continued when I returned to my hometown Sydney.  I have taught all levels as well as certificate courses such as Cambridge.  In recent years I have mainly taught academic courses like EAP and IELTS preparation.  I really enjoy working with students to achieve their goals.