Unsw institute of Languages 50th Anniversary Celebration Speech Notes Marc Weedon-Newstead
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UNSW Institute of Languages 50th Anniversary Celebration Speech Notes _ Marc Weedon-Newstead (6:35) “I would like to acknowledge the Bedegal people that are the Traditional Custodians of this land. I would also like to pay my respects to the Elders both past and present and extend that respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who are present here today.” Deputy Vice Chancellor, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen my name is MWN, Group Executive responsible for Education at UNSW Global, and it is my great pleasure to welcome you to our celebration marking 50 years since the University of NSW established the Institute of Languages. As most of you will be aware the Institute has not only made significant contributions to the university but has also been influential more broadly - within the community - for many years as a provider of the Adult Migrant English Program, and also as a provider of foreign language courses - and within the realm of international education as a pioneering organisation which was a model and an incubator for the ELICOS sector, particularly in Sydney. 50 years is a significant milestone and we have several speakers who will help us to mark the occasion this evening. The first of those speakers is Professor Merlin Crossley, Deputy Vice Chancellor Education and Member of the Board of UNSW Global. (6:40 Merlin speaks) Thank you Professor Crossley. Ladies and gentlemen, as you look around you will notice that we have an eclectic group with us celebrating the 50th - members of the university, the international community, current teachers, staff and students, as well as a particularly distinguished group …some of the former staff of the Institute of Languages. We have asked one of their number to speak this evening. For those of you who don’t know her, I would now like to introduce Libby Gleeson AM, a very well known children's author and former teacher at the Institute of Languages in the 1980s. (6:50 - Libby speaks) Thank you Libby. Students have been at the centre of the Institute of Languages over the 50 years since it was first established. Initially they were students wanting to learn a foreign language, these were joined by newly arrived migrants to Australia wanting to learn to communicate effectively English. Later the Institute began offering English courses for international students. It is fitting that we hear the student voice. Our next speaker is originally from Germany, he finished the University English Entry Course in 2015 and went on to complete a Master of Information Technology at UNSW, his name is Alexander Krum. (7:05 - Alexander speaks) thank you Alexander. (7:10) Before we end the formal part of the evening. I would like to make a few closing remarks. I mentioned earlier the influence that the Institute had beyond the confines of Kensington. For example, I am aware of at least two university language centres that were modelled on the Institute – one was the Institute of TESOL and Continuing Education at UQ (we have the former Director CB AM and current Director JW here this evening) and the other was the UTS Insearch Language Centre established by MF and PP, two former teachers at the Institute who are also here this evening). In the private sector one of the earliest centres, the Australian College of English, was established in 1981 as a Cooperative, by a group of former Institute teachers, one of whom – Colin McNaught – was also an early Convenor of the ELICOS Association, now known as English Australia, the national peak organisation for ELT. Another early centre, SELC, was established by former Institute staff, including Glenys Merrifield as Director Of Studies who later went on to become the national manager of the NEAS – the Quality assurance organisation for the English language sector. At that time she worked closely with Maggie Grey AM who had been the Senior Instructor at the Institute in the 1970s and who had gone on to play a significant role in the Immigration department’s Adult Migrant English program and subsequently went on to lead the NEAS (National ELICOS Accreditation Scheme). A number of former teachers went on to academia. A young teacher at that time Maggie Gray was here is the now Prof David Nunan, a highly respected academic and prolific author. Another who taught at the Institute is Prof Prem Ramburuth, now the Chair of the UNSW Academic Board. Well known in the field of language testing are former Institute teachers Clare McDowell, Brent Merrilees and Mary Jane Hogan. In government, Peter Mackey, an Institute teacher in the 1990s, went on to work in Austrade promoting Australian education and is currently the Director of Study NSW. In the short time available, it is not possible to itemise all of the contributions of the Institute and its many talented staff over the past 50 years and I apologise for just mentioning these few. Now integrated within UNSW Global, our current activities are not dissimilar to those of the Institute in days gone by: The original purpose of 50 years ago, to provide practical instruction in foreign languages, continues through to today - currently courses in 11 different languages are offered, including Chinese language courses on behalf of the UNSW Confucius Institute. At present there are about 400 students studying a foreign language. Language teacher training continues and is flourishing with a Certificate course for pre service English language teachers, as well as professional development courses for qualified and experienced English teachers from overseas. Language testing also continues - now with much more of a focus on the administration of international English proficiency tests which are recognised for entry to university, such as IELTS and TOEFL. No longer a provider of English for migrants, the English courses are now much more closely aligned to the current needs of UNSW, focusing on English language skills to enable students to succeed in their academic studies. Student numbers have reached an all time high with over 2000 English language students currently studying with us.
This evening is the culmination of a series of events which have taken place throughout the year to mark the 50th.
In addition to these events we are producing a little book to record the Institute’s history and I would like to take the opportunity to thank our researcher Jilea Carney and those current and former staff of the Institute who have contributed their memories of the highs and lows of the last 50 years - I can assure you we will only be publishing the highs! Fully fact checked! We will be launching the book in early 2017. I would like to thank Peter Coady, the UNSW Global Marcoms team and particularly Elisha Kennedy for their efforts in putting together all of the events and activities to mark the 50 years of the Institute Languages. Finally, one of the things which has made the Institute of Languages unique has been the comprehensive nature of its offerings - English language and Foreign language courses, language teacher education, language test development and administration – it has been literally an evolving one stop shop for all things language! It is my hope that this continues well into the future. I would now like to ask ..... to come and help to cut the 50th birthday cake. (Fitting to include Mr Isao Omae from Japanese Consulate given that in 1968 the Institute was formally declared open by the Japanese Ambassador to Australia) Directory: downloads downloads -> Northern England’s set-jetting locations downloads -> Dynatest 3031 lwd light Weight Deflectometer downloads -> Forth coming competitive exams downloads -> Brush High School Morning Announcements Friday, September 05, 2014 all school downloads -> Year 9 The Arts — Music downloads -> Years 7 and 8 standard elaborations — Australian Curriculum: Music draft downloads -> Chris Young sets 2016 “I’m Comin’ Over” Tour headlining dates downloads -> Slavery and Abolition: the Plymouth Connection Introduction downloads -> Summer Assignment Download 18.12 Kb. Share with your friends:
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