Raffles International Admissions Thailand

Name: Joycelin Cruz

Nationality: Filipina

Position: Course Co-coordinator Levels 3 & 4 / ESL lecturer

Miss Joycelin Cruz specialized in teaching English as a Second Language. To enhance her teaching skills, she participated in a number of workshops and training in Speech, Drama and Classroom Management in the Philippines, her home country. Aside from being a licensed teacher, she is also TESOL certified by Project Light, U.S.A.

She has ten years of rich teaching experience and has been working in China for the last seven years. Her previous work at the International School of Collaborative Learning in Beijing as an EAL teacher had also provided her training in the accreditation process by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) where she had been a part of the Professional Development as well as the Curriculum Development Team.

As an ESL teacher, she is very encouraging and compassionate to students who are weak in language learning but strict at the same time. She believes that students need a mix of both. She says, “I try my best to make my lessons engaging and easy to absorb. I provide students with plenty of practice and communicative activities to make learning helpful, productive and enjoyable. Although I am aware that most students who are studying a foreign language are often discouraged when they experience difficulty in learning and sometimes exhibit negative attitude in the class, I always encourage myself to have a positive expectation whenever I enter the classroom. This helps my students and myself as a teacher.”

Name: LEAH GAY S. CANGA

Nationality: Filiipina

Position: ESL lecturer

Education: La Salle University, Philippines

Leah is an educator in progress. Her dedication to her vocation is forging her to be better at what she does. Her experience as a secondary teacher at various levels of society has opened her up and made her more attuned to delivering what her students’ need. She has various teaching experiences from public institutions to private tutorials. In her early years as a licensed teacher she taught secondary school subjects, from English, Health, Values to Arts, in a government school in the Philippines and stayed dedicated for 2 years. She joined the international scene when she worked in a language school where she handled classroom sessions and on-line tutorials to post graduate students for 5 years. She traveled to Vietnam and taught English to a kindergarten school. Her experiences are as varied as her teaching techniques. With her, learning is not only an education it is also an adventure.

Name: LIZ CHAN

Nationality: Singaporean

Position: Curriculum Developer / Course Co-ordinator

Education: Ph.D in Educational Technology, The British Open University (UK)

PGDE Dip in Education (with Credit), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, MA, University of Wales (Bangor,UK)BSc (Hons), Keele University (UK)

Liz’s rich working experience largely focuses on the field of education. Her deep passion at using ICT in education prompted her to become a Doctoral scholar, where it gave her the opportunity to carry out research work in Educational Technology. Prior to joining RDI, Shanghai, in 2007, Liz was the Learning and Development Specialist at SIM University (UniSIM), Singapore, where she had been heavily involved in the development and production of courses in print and on-line. Liz was also an Associate Director-cum-Specialist Consultant for a foreign, non-profit organization that was actively involved in research and development projects in the field of Educational Technology. This particular work experience gave her the chance to co-lead concurrent projects that spanned beyond the shores of Singapore, with notable project-grants amounting to half a million Singapore dollars. These projects involved the implementation and the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in training and educational institutions, where Liz has helped to design, reform, promote and implement the development of education and training initiatives that integrated a wide range of soft and hard technologies. Liz is knowledgeable in basic and applied research in education, and at identifying training and pedagogical needs; she is also skilled in providing research, evaluation, and training services to education institutions, businesses, industries, as well as private and public agencies. Examples of previous major partnerships include that of Fuji Xerox (Singapore) and that of Microsoft Asia Pacific. Liz has also actively published journal papers and presented such papers at major conferences, accepted invitations to act as peer reviewer for academic journal articles, and is a member of several professional bodies as well as sitting on committees based in Singapore and in Europe.

Name: Sheila Romallossa

Nationality: Filipina

Position: ESL lecturer

Shiela started her ESL profession in Linyi Normal University, Shandong China in 2003. She specialized in teaching spoken English and American Survey to freshmen English majors. After a year and a half, Raffles Design Institute, Shanghai hired her. She has taught levels 1-6 ESL classes. Shiela earned her Master’s degree major in English Language Teaching from Philippine Normal University in 2002. Received her Diploma in TESOL in London Teachers College, 2007. Graduated Bachelors degree major in English at West Visayas State University, 2000. Two and half years of English teaching experience in Manila, Philippines as a classroom manager and trainer emphasizing a collaborative style.

Name: Veronica Su

Nationality: Singaporean

Position: ESL lecturer

EXPERTISE: Education, and Curriculum Development.

EDUCATION: University of Western Australia, National University of Singapore, Nangyang Technological University.

Lecturer with 6 years experience teaching in the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Level. She attained her Bachelors in the University of Western Australia, and Masters in the National University of Singapore. Professionally, she attained her Diploma in Education in Nangyang Technological University. Apart from Education, Veronica has keen interest in Nanotechnology which was the focus of her research area in her graduate studies. She also had industrial experience in the area of polymers. Veronica was awarded the ‘Most caring teacher’ voted by the students during her time as a teacher in Singapore. She is an avid traveler and brings with her expertise not only within the classroom but also life experiences.

Name: Ross Sargeant

Nationality: Australian

Position: Program Director

Ross was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. After studying politics at the University of Melbourne, Ross moved to the United Kingdom in 1994 to study psychology and counseling at the University of North London where he developed a special interest in educational psychology. He worked for a number of years as a special needs worker for young adults with learning difficulties and disabilities in London’s East End. Through this challenging work and his association with the City Lit Centre for Adult Learning in London, Ross became further interested in the field of education and teaching. Returning briefly to his native Australia in 2001, he studied at International House for his CELTA certificate and worked as an ESL language instructor with international students and new immigrants. Ross moved to China at the beginning of 2004 and taught in a number of learning language centers and middle school summer projects in Shanghai. Ross joined Raffles in 2005 and worked as an ESL lecturer and Course Coordinator for levels 1 & 2 for a number of years before becoming Program Director. His interests include; architecture, interior design, travel and film. His particular interest within the framework of ESL teaching is developing ways to motivate students to learn more both inside and outside the classroom.