Month: January 2013

Audi Middle East has announced the appointment of Anaheim University MBA Graduate Trevor Hill as Managing Director. With over 20 years of global experience with Audi in South Africa, Germany, Japan, China, and Hong Kong, he joins the Middle East subsidiary of Audi following six years in the role of Managing Director of Audi Korea in Seoul, South Korea. In addition to his role as Audi Middle East Managing Director, Hill will also take on the role as Managing Director of Audi Volkswagen Middle East FZE overall. Since entering the market with a regional head office in 2005, Audi has grown strongly in the Middle East: “In 2013, we want to reach the threshold of 10,000 Audi cars sold in the region annually and double that figure by 2020” explains Trevor Hill. “We already have the right products and the right technology in place. Our absolute focus will therefore be on customer satisfaction, particularly in the area of after sales. In 2013 alone our dealers are working on seven new service facilities across the region,” he added. Trevor Hill was born on July 12th, 1962 in Cape Town, South Africa. He started his career in 1989 by joining Volkswagen/Audi of South Africa in Johannesburg as Manager for Dealer Training and Development. Before relocating to Dubai he represented Audi in South Africa, Germany, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Korea with key areas of expertise in training, dealer development, sales and marketing as well overall company leadership. Most notably, he became the Regional Director of Audi China in Beijing in 2006, where he was responsible for the Chinese and Hong Kong market, and was appointed Managing Director of Audi Korea in 2007. He holds a Higher Diploma in Education (HdipED) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, a Certificate in Motor Vehicle Retailing from the University of Cape Town, and an MBA from Anaheim University. In addition to his mother tongue English he is fluent in Afrikaans and German, and has basic knowledge of Japanese and Chinese. In his leisure time the South African national enjoys watching and participating in sports. He played first league cricket in South Africa, represented South Africa at national and international level men’s hockey and is also an avid golfer.

Anaheim University Graduate School of Education TESOL Chair Dr. Rod Ellis will join a colloquium entitled “SLA The Contribution of Meta-Analysis to Second Language Acquisition Research and Theory” at the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL) 2013 Annual Conference on March 16, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. During the colloquium, Dr. Ellis will present on “A Critical Look at Meta-Analysis in SLA”. This colloquium demonstrates the contribution of meta-analysis to SLA. Dr. Rod Ellis is a distinguished thought leader in the field of Second Language Acquisition. Prof. Ellis, who is TESOL Chair of AU’s Graduate School of Education and Designer of Anaheim University’s Online Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in TESOL, received his Doctorate from the University of London and his Master of Education from the University of Bristol. A former professor at Temple University both in Japan and the US, Prof. Ellis has served as the Director of the Institute of Language Teaching and Learning at the University of Auckland and has taught in numerous positions in England, Japan, the US, Zambia and New Zealand. Dr. Ellis, who is known as an expert in Second Language Acquisition, is author of the Oxford University Press Duke of Edinburgh Award-Winning Classic “The Study of Second Language Acquisition”, as well as numerous student and teacher-training textbooks for Prentice Hall and Oxford University Press, Prof. Ellis’s textbooks on Second Language Acquisition and Grammar are core textbooks in TESOL and Linguistics programs around the world.

Anaheim University Graduate School of Education Dean Dr. David Nunan presents “Out of the Mouths of Babes” on March 23 at the TESOL 2013 Convention in Dallas, Texas. Learner-centered instruction places learners at the heart of the instructional process, and decisions about content, process, and outcomes are based on data by and from learners. In this talk Dr. Nunan will look at how instructional decisions for young learners can be informed by their stories about life and learning. Dr. David Nunan is a former President of the TESOL International Association, the world’s largest language teaching organization and the world’s leading textbook series author. David Nunan, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Anaheim University, is the founding Dean of the Anaheim University Graduate School of Education and served as President of Anaheim University from 2006 to 2008. Dr. Nunan is a distinguished linguist and best-selling author of English Language Teaching textbooks for Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Thomson Learning. His ELT textbook series “Go For It” is the largest selling textbook series in the world with total sales exceeding 2.5 billion books. In 2000, David Nunan served as President of TESOL, the world’s largest language teaching association, and was the first person to serve as President from outside North America. David Nunan has been involved in the teaching of graduate programs for such prestigious institutions as the University of Hong Kong, Columbia University, the University of Hawaii, Monterey Institute for International Studies, and many more. In 2002 Dr. Nunan received a congressional citation from the United States House of Representatives for his services to English language education through his pioneering work in online education at Anaheim University. In 2003 he was ranked the 7th most influential Australian in Asia by Business Review Weekly, and in 2005 he was named one of the top “50 Australians who Matter”. David Nunan was invited by the Australian Prime Minister to attend a summit in Sydney Australia in December 1996 as one of the Leading 100 Global Australians.

The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF) Trustees and Anaheim University TESOL Professors Dr. Kathleen Bailey, Dr. Denise Murray and Dr. MaryAnn Christison will present “A Case for Online Language Teacher Education” at the TESOL 2013 International Convention in Dallas, Texas on March 21, 2013. This presentation highlights case reports on 18 organizations that offer online professional development opportunities for teachers. The report was commissioned by TIRF and sponsored by Anaheim University. TIRF is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to generate new knowledge about English language teaching and learning. TIRF plans to apply research findings to practical language problems by working collaboratively with teachers, researchers, authors, publishers, philanthropic foundations, government agencies, and major companies. Dr. Kathleen M. Bailey, a Past President of TESOL (1998-1999) and International Research Foundation for English Language Education Chair (TIRF), received her M.A. in Teaching English as a Second Language (1976) and her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics (1982) from UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). Dr. Bailey is Professor of TESOL in Anaheim University’s Graduate School of Education. She also works full-time as a professor of Applied Linguistics at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. She was the Director of the TESOL M.A. Program there for six years and the Director of the Intensive English as a Second Language Program for three years. In addition, she was instrumental in developing the Monterey Institute’s Certificate in Language Program Administration. She is a recipient of the Allen Griffin Award for Excellence in Post-secondary Teaching on the Monterey Peninsula, the Monterey Institute’s Teaching Excellence Award 2006 and the James E. Alatis Award for service to TESOL 2007. Dr. Denise Murray served as President of TESOL from 1996-1997 and on the Board of Directors of TESOL for 7 years, and currently a Trustee for the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF). A TESOL Professor at Anaheim University, Prof. Murray is Emeritus Professor at Macquarie University, Australia, and at San José State University, California. She was Executive Director of the AMEP Research Centre and of the National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR) at Macquarie University from 2000 to 2006. Prior to her appointment at Macquarie, she was founding Chair of the Department of Linguistics and Language Development at San José State University for 9 years. Her research centers around computer-assisted language learning; cross-cultural literacy; use of L1 in the second language classroom; intersection of language, society and technology; settlement of adult immigrants; language education policy; and leadership in language education. She has published her work in 17 books and more than 100 articles in professional journals, as book chapters, or conference proceedings. She edited two volumes in 2008: Planning change; Changing plans: Innovations in second language teaching (University of Michigan Press) and Leadership in English language education: Theoretical foundations and practical skills for changing times (Routledge). The leadership volume was co-edited with M.A. Christison. In 2011 she and M.A. Christison co-authored two volumes on teacher education: What English language teachers need to know I: Understanding learning and What English language teachers need to know I I: Facilitating learning(Routledge). A past President of TESOL (1997-1998), Dr. MaryAnn Christison serves on the Board of Trustees for The International Research Foundation (TIRF). Holding a Ph.D. in English/Linguistics from the University of Utah, Dr. Christison has been teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in applied linguistics for over 30 years. She is the author of over 80 refereed articles in journals on language teaching and second language research and 18 books including Leadership in English Language Education: Theoretical foundations and practical skills for changing times (with D. E. Murray), A Handbook for Language Program Administrators (2nd Edition) (with F. L. Stoller), What language teachers need to know: Understanding learning (with D. E. Murray), What language teachers need to know: Facilitating learning (with D. E. Murray), Multiple intelligences and language learning, and Learning to teach languages. She has been a classroom teacher for 38 years, teaching in U.S. K-12, adult education, and university contexts. She has developed many multi-media projects, and online ESL Endorsement program, and four online courses for language teachers. Christison has been a teacher educator for over 20 years, working with teachers in the U.S. and in over 30 different countries. Her current research interests are in leadership, second language teacher development, and language and the brain.