ASEAN Higher Education Institutions on Track towards English Language Teaching Excellence with NEAS Australia

On 15 May 2023, ASEAN University Network, together with National English Language Teaching Accreditation Scheme (NEAS) Australia, held the 2nd Online Introductory Meeting on NEAS’ ELT Quality Endorsement/Certification Project with the participation of ELT administrators and lecturers from English Language Teaching Department/Centres of nine universities across six ASEAN countries. This meeting, a follow-up from the first one held in March 2023, signified the continuing interest and commitment of ASEAN higher education institutions in strengthening their English language capability.

NEAS Australia, as a respected quality assurance organisation for English language teaching (ELT), has the mission to support the achievement of quality outcomes for ELT worldwide, advance global quality assurance in ELT, and empower knowledge partnerships within the ELT community.

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding in January 2023, AUN and NEAS Australia are now exploring opportunities to strengthen the capabilities of English Language Teaching Units/Centres in ASEAN. One of the potential areas of collaboration in focus is the NEAS Certification, a comprehensive quality assurance scheme for English Language Teaching Units/Centres in higher education institutions.

Mr. Daniel Yuen, Operation Manager of NEAS Australia, provided participants with insightful details on the core criteria of the NEAS Quality Assurance Framework, which includes:

• Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
• Student Experience
• Strategy, Risk, and Governance
• Resources and Facilities
• Admin, Management, and Staffing
• Promotion and Student Recruitment

Mr. Yeun also pointed out eight supplementary areas of quality which could provide a comprehensive, dedicating assessment to the characteristic of the teaching carried out by each ELT centre. Some of the supplementary areas of quality included Welfare for Students under 18s (for Centres that provide courses for students under 18s), Online Delivery, Transnational Delivery, Foundation Programmes, and more.

Following an informative session by Mr. Yeun, participants’ questions and feedback were received in the Q&A session.

AUN and NEAS Australia are united under the shared goal of driving English Language Teaching capability of ASEAN higher education institutions to the next level. The ongoing partnership promises a unique opportunity for higher education institutions in ASEAN to take another step ahead in strengthening the English Language Teaching capability.

For more information on NEAS Australia, please visit: https://neas.org.au/