What inspired you to work for Melbourne Training International?
To provide opportunities for people to develop as teachers and to experience the world and other cultures. To work in an environment where people matter and where doing meaningful and rewarding work is paramount.
I wanted to be involved in creating an organization with programs that involved speakers of other languages and people of all ages and backgrounds. Teaching is a rewarding career, and I wanted to be a part of training effective teachers. Helping learners of English was also important to me, as this opens opportunities for study and work for most learners.
It is also important to work in an environment that is forward-thinking and developing, rather than stagnant and closed to new ideas. MTI has always been evolving and pivoting as the company faces new challenges.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Just do it!!!
Don't be nervous about being in a new country. Be yourself, share your culture, and be proud of who you are. Make the most of each day and plan how you will spend your time and money. Be willing to be flexible and take every opportunity that comes your way. Take photos and keep a journal. I regret not doing this more in my travels. Have short videos and photos of your home country to share with people you meet and make friends with along the way.
They will always appreciate seeing into your life, and this will spark lots of conversations and interesting exchanges. Don't be homesick; you will come back home soon enough. Instead, have some small things from home that make you feel comfortable and at home where you are.
Describe a typical day at work.
My days are very varied. I often spend a lot of time communicating with trainee teachers, tutors, marketing staff, and potential candidates. I also work on the CELTA courses and support and guide trainee teachers as they go through the course.
There is a lot of administrative work in my job too, so I make sure the account bills are paid. I am involved in promoting, marketing, and strategic planning for the company's growth.
Why do you do what you do?
I fundamentally find meaning in helping others and learning about other cultures and languages. I also want to create something useful and meaningful for others.
What is your favorite part of your job?
Receiving the 5-star reviews we often get from our CELTA courses.
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
I use my training as a tutor to help me provide detailed and useful feedback. I use my experience with speakers of other languages to help trainee teachers learn about first language interference, motivation, and challenges. I encourage others to travel and teach and tell stories of my adventures.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
The greatest challenge is promoting our courses and being seen for who we are. We are a quality provider, and we are competing with huge universities. I overcome them by believing in what we can do and making sure we remain a top-class organization.
What are some current projects you are working on?
We're developing a service for skilled professionals who need coaching to use language well in the workplace, to be more influential and successful. We are working on improving our website to reflect recent changes and up-to-date data. We are working on marketing and promoting our courses using different media.
Why should someone choose Melbourne Training International over competitors?
We are more like a family and have a huge respect for each other. As a manager, I trust my contractors to use their expertise and maintain the high standard we are known for.
At MTI, we value input and work collaboratively, so those who work with MTI feel that they are a part of the decision-making processes and can take ownership of the successes in the company. We remunerate tutors fairly and well for their work.
Working at MTI provides the opportunity to develop skills and knowledge that may not be the case with larger organizations or educational institutions. We also train CELTA tutors, and this is an opportunity that is often difficult to find. We are happy to see people develop and go on in their careers.
What is Melbourne Training International's mission and how do you continue to work toward it?
At the heart of our business is the desire to provide individuals with quality learning and teaching opportunities. Whether that is training to become an English language teacher, taking our highly successful Professional Communication Coaching, or learning English in our free lessons, individuals are offered a personal, professional experience based on interactive and communicative teaching methodologies.
A strong focus of the organization is to adapt to developing technologies and judiciously use them, and train others how to. As educators, we hope to be at the forefront of helping teachers and tutors use AI well. At the same time, we aim to provide the human personal touch to all that we do.
What makes Melbourne Training International special?
MTI is a Cambridge University Authorized exam center and maintains the standards required to deliver effective and highly regarded CELTA courses.
At MTI, we value feedback and continue to implement changes and improvements, making us a forward-thinking organization. We have embraced new technologies and train and coach others for today and the future.
What hopes do you have for the future for Melbourne Training International?
My hopes are that MTI will remain a high-quality provider of the CELTA course. We also hope to continue to grow in order to provide opportunities for our graduates through our English Tutor Match platform and our Professional Communication Coaching.
Our hope is that MTI will be sustainable and successful, attract more participants, and have a wider reach in the future.
Are there any developments with Melbourne Training International that you would like to share with us?
We have a new platform called "English Tutor Match." This is a platform where English Language Teachers can post their profiles, and students can find a tutor and the lesson types they need.
We are developing our Professional Communication Coaching aimed at Chinese Speakers working in financial institutions. We have extensive experience in this area and are working to develop coaching at intern-to-executive levels.
What makes Melbourne Training International easy to market to potential participants?
We provide fully online CELTA courses, making the courses accessible from most locations. Our reviews tell the story of the quality training we provide. Our graduates are working in all corners of the globe as well as locally in Melbourne, Australia.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
A highly valued qualification that opens doors to opportunities in all countries. CELTA-qualified teachers stand out as being skilled, confident and able to teach effectively, so they are sought after. We hope our participants are confident and feel ready to teach in any context.
We hope they remember the approaches, techniques and attitudes we have modeled to them on the course. We hope that the new teachers will be influenced by their tutors and aspire to continue their development and go on to gain experience, further qualifications and be influential in their own right.
We aim to produce unforgettable teachers who greatly impact their students and make lasting impressions in all parts of the world.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
It is a privilege to be able to visit another country and experience life there. This is because every culture is unique, and we can learn more from them about how to live. It also helps you reflect on who you are and what you value. It can make you grateful for what you have been given. It can also make you realize there is a lot more to life than material gain, as you see the happiness created by life's simple joys.
It is important to have cross-cultural friendships and promote equality and understanding in a world which is fragmented and full of conflict. We need more individuals who have a sense of common humanity and respect for others' beliefs and cultures.
Traveling is not just being a tourist; it is opening yourself to appreciating differences, which can enrich your understanding and bring depth to your thinking throughout your life.
How do you help support participants?
We provide a session called "Beyond the Course" in which we give our graduates advice about finding work locally or internationally. We point them to reliable websites and introduce them to our network of schools that employ English Language Teachers.
If you could participate on one of Melbourne Training International's programs, where would you go and what would you do?
If I were able, I would take the opportunity to travel to Italy and teach English or train English language teachers.
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
- How many hours per week do I need to set aside for the part-time, 10-week CELTA course?
- Approximately 20 hours, including the hours on Zoom that are set.
- How many trainee teachers are on each course?
- We can run the course with between 4 - 6 or 8-12 participants.
- Do you run any face-to-face courses?
- Yes, we run two mixed-mode courses per year, which have face-to-face training in Melbourne CBD, Australia.
- What kind of work is available for English Language Teachers in Australia?
- It is a broad industry, with teachers needed in Language schools (privately owned) or language centers associated with universities or colleges, which provide training for refugees, general education programs for children who are speakers of other languages in Primary and Secondary schools.
Why do you think learning a new language is important?
It is important to open your eyes to a new culture. It is very good for your brain development and health. People who have learned another language make very good language teachers, as they can empathize and be patient with learners. They have experience of what works and doesn't work to acquire a new language.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
It is something I have given most of my career to, as I believe that we should use our resources and skills to help others have opportunities in life.
While a holiday is a great thing and needed, more meaningful travel makes our social footprint on the world lighter, so we are not exploiting other people or places. It is important to have cross-cultural friendships and promote equality and understanding in a world which is fragmented and full of conflict.
We need more individuals who have a sense of common humanity and respect for others' beliefs and cultures. Traveling is not just being a tourist; it is opening yourself to appreciating differences, which can enrich your understanding and bring depth to your thinking throughout your life.
What advice do you have for individuals thinking about going abroad?
Do your research and plan ahead. Prepare with a good qualification and something to offer the people you are planning to spend time with. Take small things from home to help you feel at home. Make friends and be open.
What does ethical global engagement mean to you?
It is probably ideal; ethical global engagement does not really exist in the world of commerce. It only exists within charities and NGOs that work to improve life for communities in other countries.
What hopes do you have for the future of international education?
In my view, language learning needs to be more student-centered and actively engaging. Most international education seems to be focused on Teacher-centred approaches.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And your organization?)
Practically applied theories of learning and teaching that result in learning satisfaction and outcomes.
