Training staff
Ric Crees
- Cert. Ed., DipCG., Cert. TEFL., Dip. TEFLA.
- Cambridge Approved Trainer.
- Director of Teacher Training.
Ric Crees initially trained as a secondary school teacher in the UK in the '70s. He spent some time working as a careers counsellor, managing a number of careers offices in North East London for Essex County Council. He retrained in TEFL in the mid'80s and then spent some time working for the British Council in Hong Kong. A round-the-world trip brought him to Australia in the late '80s and he worked for a number of TEFL schools in Sydney. On his return to the U.K. he immediately applied to emigrate to Australia and spent the intervening period lecturing in TEFL, TESOL and co-ordinating business studies courses in conjunction with the University of the South West of England in Bristol. He arrived in Perth in '93 and has been working for Milner ever since. He now does teacher training as well as teaching general English and Cambridge examination courses. He is an examiner for the suite of Cambridge speaking test and an assessor for CELTA. Ric has been director of CELTA courses at Milner since 1999.
Deborah Pinder
- A., Grad.Dip., RSA Cert., RSA Dip. TESL.
- Cambridge Approved Trainer and Joint Chief Assessor.
- Director of Studies.
Deborah Pinder's career in teaching English as a Foreign Language began in 1980. She did her initial TEFL training at the British Council in Rome and then taught English in Italy for some years. In 1984, she returned to Australia to do postgraduate studies TESL. She completed the RSA Dip. as well as a Grad. Dip. in Language Studies and joined Milner College as an ELICOS teacher. She became a member of Milner's first teacher training team when it formed in 1987. She has been a Cambridge-approved Assessor for several years and in 1994 was appointed one of two Joint Chief Assessors for Australia and South East Asia. Her visits to various centres in the region have the great value of exposing her to the most recent developments in the EFL training world. In her capacity as Director of Studies, Deborah manages a team of thirty teachers at Milner College.
Felicity Smith
- BA. (Ed), Grad. Dip., RSA Cert. TEFLA., MA. (App. Ling.)
- Cambridge Approved Trainer.
Felicity Smith entered the teaching profession as a high school Business Education and English teacher. She first worked at a commercial college, where she taught Business Communication and Accounting and was involved in preparing young people for the workforce. Looking to explore more creative avenues, Felicity retrained as an EFL teacher in Japan. In 1994, she joined Milner College and completed a Masters' degree in Applied Linguistics. As well as teaching general English, Felicity prepares students for the Cambridge exams and also teaches Business English. She has a key role as Assistant Director of Studies, administering the College's academic staff in the absence of the Director of Studies. In addition she is an oral examiner for the Cambridge exams.
