Principal Administrator - Sister Judith Redden AO

Dip T(Prim), Grad Dip (Ed Admin), M Ed Admin (Flinders), MA (London), FACE.

The SA Adelaide Language Centre was established in 1994. It is associated with St Aloysius' College, a primary and secondary school founded in 1880 by the Sisters of Mercy. The Mercy tradition is one of providing high quality education on a non-partisan basis, of fostering academic excellence, and of building a sense of co-operation and concern for others within the school community. The Principal Administrator is Sister Judith Redden AO and the Director of Studies is Ms Margaret Dyer.

The Language Centre philosophy derives from the Mercy tradition. We believe that confidence and a feeling of well-being are essential in creating the best environment for effective language learning.

Pastoral care is seen as the key to maintaining this environment and is given the highest priority in our dealings with each student. It is the cornerstone of the daily operations of the Language Centre and consideration for others is fostered in the interaction between all members of the Language Centre community - administration, teaching and clerical staff and students.

In this climate we strive to provide quality English language programmes that take into account the needs of each individual student. We aim to equip all students with the confidence and language skills necessary to enable them to cope satisfactorily with the next stage of their lives.

Director of Studies – Ms Margaret Dyer

BA, Dip Ed, Grad Dip TESOL

As someone who has been involved in the Language Centre since its beginning, I have been proud to watch it grow into a successful and unique centre, a community where all the staff are genuinely concerned about our students and keen to help them achieve their potential.

I have always been interested in languages and at different times during my teaching career I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to study French and Mandarin in New Caledonia and China respectively. These experiences gave me the chance to appreciate what it is like to leave home and to live and study in an environment where your native language is not the one you hear and see all around you. I understand the difficulties our students face and feel I can help them in many ways to overcome their problems.

Apart from teaching English, French, Mandarin, Integrated Studies and Physical Education at St Aloysius' College for many years, I was International Student Co-ordinator there for 5 years until I became involved in establishing the Language Centre in 1994. My teaching background also includes lecturing at TAFE and tutoring post-graduate students at University so I am familiar with all levels of our education system. My son and daughter have also been involved in tertiary studies and make sure that I stay aware of the students' point of view.

My work involves a lot of talking and listening to students, parents, agents, teachers and people from other education institutions. I am involved in our orientation, counselling and welfare programmes for students and work with teachers on our curriculum and teaching programmes. As a qualified IELTS examiner I am acutely aware of students' needs in this important context. Study Tours are another enjoyable and challenging part of the job and I also like to keep in touch through some classroom teaching whenever possible.

I enjoy travelling very much and have visited most of the countries our students come from, either through work or on holidays, but I always love returning home too!

I hope you will decide to come to Adelaide to see for yourself what a great place it is.

All Staff

All staff are highly qualified and experienced teachers who are sensitive to the needs of students from different cultural backgrounds. Our concern for student welfare extends beyond the classroom, and expert counselling is available for personal, career and academic guidance.

Patriotic SAALC Staff!

Quite by chance, three staff members recently happened to dress in the colours of our logo on the same day.

Pictured Left to Right are: Margaret Dyer (Director of Studies), Sr Judith Redden (Principal Administrator) and Kerry Sutton (Teacher)

The logo is based on Sturt's Desert Pea, which is the floral emblem of South Australia.