Jess Kim is Anglo-Continentals new marketing Administrator

My name is Junghyun. In English, I have chosen to use the name Jess. However, I am happy to be called either.

I am very excited about my new role as marketing administrator with Anglo-Continental. My responsibilities include providing support and help to our students and agents and marketing administration.

I am from South Korea and I have lived in the UK for a year and a half. My first experience of Bournemouth was as a language student 8 years ago, which was just after I graduated from university in Korea. I was looking for a new challenge in my life before I started my professional career in Education.

I chose to live in a different country and learn English because I believed it would help me learn faster. As well as learning English I met many people from different cultures who had also come to Bournemouth to study English.

I loved making new friends with students who had the same goals and learning why students want to learn English

“I enjoy helping students make the most of their valuable time here.”

My first graduate job was Programme Organiser at an education company in South Korea and I have also worked as an Accommodation and Placement Officer at an education agency in Bournemouth.

In my previous jobs, I helped students find suitable accommodation with homestay families and I also helped students find internships and work experience.

My professional work in the English language education sector has helped me understand the challenges international students face. I understand what international students expect from their studies, work and accommodation.

My experience helps me to support Anglo-Continental students and I enjoy helping students make the most of their valuable time here.

Bournemouth has an amazing coastline and lovely beach and there are many outdoor activities you can enjoy here. I hope our students will enjoy their experience in our beautiful seaside town as much as I still do!

I look forward to welcoming International students to Bournemouth and supporting as much as I can at Anglo-Continental.

 

 

To find out more about Anglo-Continental’s professional network, visit Anglo-Continental’s LinkedIn page.

To contact Anglo-Continental, please visit our Contact Us page.

Valentin Vincent is Anglo-Continental’s new Marketing Intern for 2018.

My name is Valentin and I am from the Champagne region of France. I began a three-month marketing internship with Anglo-Continental in January of this year.

Currently, I am studying an MA in Marketing in France. I decided to take an internship between to two years of my post-graduate degree. Before starting with Anglo-Continental, I completed a three-month internship in the Czech Republic. This internship was with the Erasmus programme.

I believe that the best way to learn English is by living in an English-speaking country. By doing this, you are surrounded by English all the time. I believe this helps you learn the language faster.

In today’s competitive job market, a high level of English opens the door to the best jobs. I chose an internship in England, as it is where English originates from.

“The best way to learn a language is to be daily submerged in this language.”

Bournemouth is a great place to live and work. For me, Bournemouth is the perfect size. It is not too big or too small and it is also a very people-friendly urban area.

The local residents are friendly and easy to talk to. The town has many English pubs and restaurants, and several shopping districts. I enjoy the long sandy Bournemouth beach and the beautiful gardens in the middle of the town. There are plenty of activities to keep me busy when I have free time.

I really enjoy Working for a company like Anglo-Continental, who specialise in teaching English. The company has helped me improve my level of English in a short space of time. The staff I work with are friendly and helpful and they give me language tips all the time.

 

I highly recommend an internship in Bournemouth and at Anglo-Continental. I look forward to the next few months working here

 

 

To find out more about Anglo-Continental’s professional network, visit our LinkedIn page here.

To contact Anglo-Continental, please visit our Contact Us page.

Anglo-Continental welcomes Lauren Cooper as our Project Supervisor and Visa Compliance Officer.

My name is Lauren Cooper, and I am the new Projects Supervisor and Visa Compliance Officer at Anglo-Continental.

I will be responsible for coordinating projects and checking that visas and passports meet UK Visas and Immigration requirements.  I will also be involved in Anglo-Continental Student Services, providing help and advice to our students.  This position is a great opportunity for me to grow into these different roles.

In my personal life, I have been lucky enough to travel to many countries. I have also spent some time living abroad.  I have worked in Spain and I studied for a time in Italy. In my opinion, Bournemouth is the best place to live and study in England.  I have grown up and lived near Bournemouth for most of my life.  There are many beautiful places to see in the local area. Bournemouth Beach is a sandy 10km long beach with plenty of activities for everyone. In the Lower Gardens you can find students from all over the world, relaxing or playing games.  BH2 and Castlepoint are great centres for shopping, eating out or watching movies.

“I believe it gave me a great deal of understanding in working with international students.”

Professionally, I have previously worked at other English language schools, as an Activities Coordinator.  I spent many evenings and weekends taking students on a variety of trips and activities.  I enjoyed this role, and I believe it gave me a great deal of understanding in working with international students.

My experience in working with international students and coordinating projects will help me greatly in this role. I have personal experience of the challenges a student will find away from their home country.  Through what I have learnt from my time as a student in another country, I look forward to helping international students in England.

At Anglo-Continental, I look forward to growing in my abilities. I am certain that I will be able to assist both the students and the school reach new heights.

 

 

To find out more about Anglo-Continental’s professional network, visit our LinkedIn page here.

To contact Anglo-Continental, please visit our Contact Us page.

Meet Jon Underwood, one of our new Academic Heads.

My name is Jon Underwood. I am one of the new Academic Heads at Anglo-Continental. In my new role, I am responsible for General English, Academic Study, Executive, Specialised, Professional and Technical courses.

I have a long history with Anglo-Continental, which began in 2002 to the present day. My first role was teaching in the Vacation Centre during the summer of that year. Before starting at Anglo-Continental I served for 6 years in the Royal Marine Commandos. Following this, I took an interest in teaching English and completed my initial teaching course with the British Council in Tunisia.

I have a Degree in English Language and Applied Linguistics. I also have a Cambridge CELTA, a Cambridge DELTA and I am a trained ICAO Rater Instructor.

“In this role I am responsible for designing and coordinating the specialised courses.”

I have taught on most of the courses available at Anglo-Continental, such as the Club 50+ and English for Aviation. For the last 6 years I have been the Head of Professional Training. In this role, I was responsible for the design and coordination of specialised courses. These courses include English for Pilots, English for Air Traffic Controllers, English for Engineers, English for Maritime Personnel and English for Military Forces. I am also responsible for managing the Anglo-Continental Test of English for Aviation Personnel as Anglo-Continental is a UK CAA recognised Language Assessment Body. 

During my employment at Anglo-Continental, I have been able to progress in my career. This has helped me develop my ability to teach and coordinate English courses.  I look forward to helping Anglo-Continental continue to be a leader in this industry.

 

Click here to visit Anglo-Continental’s LinkedIn company page, where you can read more about our corporate profile.

If you would like to contact a member of our staff directly, visit Anglo-Continental’s contact page here.

Jonathan Jeffrey is the new Activities Coordinator and Safeguarding Liaison Officer at Anglo-Continental.

I am really excited about my new role as Activities Coordinator and Safeguarding Liaison Officer with Anglo-Continental.

Coming from a mixed background, I have spent a lot of time in Brazil and England. My first experience of teaching English was in Brazil where I developed a passion for this line of work. I completed my CELTA qualification at Anglo-Continental in 2004 and immediately began teaching on various Young Learner English courses. My experience further developed and I had the opportunity to teach executive English courses in Anglo-Continental’s Executive Centre.

My experience of working with young learners led me to running activities and excursions for both young learners and adults.  As I gained more experience I also headed up workshops for the Young Learner teachers, to prepare them for working with students in this age group.

 In 2016, I briefly changed my career path and worked for a housing association. However, when I was contacted about the new position at Anglo-Continental, I jumped at the chance.

Anglo-Continental is a fantastic place to work. I look forward to giving students a great experience of the school and the local area through exciting and interesting activities. Bournemouth and Anglo-Continental has a lot to offer international students, and I want them to experience as much as they can while they are with us in our beautiful seaside town.

 

What does the Activities Coordinator and Safeguarding Liaison Officer do at Anglo-Continental?

The Activities Coordinator and Safeguarding Liaison Officer assists with the coordination, scheduling and development of the leisure activities and excursions on all the courses. The Officer also assists with safeguarding and welfare issues that may arise with students.

 

 

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Guido Schillig, Managing Director of Anglo-Continental, gives his predictions for the English Language and International Education sectors in 2018.

With just a few days left of 2017, the English Language and International Education sectors eagerly await the start of 2018. There is no doubt that these sectors in the United Kingdom have been contracting over the last few years and in response many institutions have been downsizing. However, downsizing should not have been just about cutting cost but discovering new opportunities while maintaining investment.

The signs are currently positive for 2018 for the UK. Stability of visas and the value of the British pound allows students to follow a more intensive course for longer and do so more frequently while they are learning in the United Kingdom. However, we must remember that students are much more sophisticated today and are seeking value for money. Therefore, the institutions that have only cut costs but not developed new programmes or invested in their schools will not attract new students.

“For the next few years I foresee that that UK will return, albeit slowly, back to being the top destination to study.”

 

Investment in the school is not just about new paint and carpets. It is about new equipment for students, the latest interactive whiteboards, investing time in inspecting and re-inspecting the homestay families, continual professional development for its staff and much more. Collectively, this delivers a full and complete service for its students that is professional and raises the standards of the institution.

For the next few years I foresee that that UK will return, albeit slowly, back to being the top destination to study. It will take time but over the past few years and now in the depths of Brexit negotiations, the British government has come to learn the importance of International Education and its value of an estimated £25 billion a year.

It is an industry to be cherished and nurtured much like British fashion, finance and banking, information technology, the British film industry and tourism. In recent months more members of the cabinet are openly declaring their support of International Education and recognising the long-term impact of the soft power that international education cultivates.  

“It is clear that that the market does not disappear but finds alternative destinations.”

 

The data from Open Doors will not be available for a few years, but when Donald Trump was voted the 45th President of the United States there was instantly a heightened level of uncertainty for International Education in the Americas. Anecdotally, it has been said that enrolments have reduced to a trickle. It is clear that that the market does not disappear but finds alternative destinations. Despite its harsh winters, the most logical, alternative destination for students considering America, is Canada. 

The Australian dollar and tighter controls on visas is starting to move students away to other destinations. However, Australia has been at the top of the favoured countries for many years now and so students who have studied in Australia and gained valuable knowledge and experience have returned home and become the frontline counsellors advising the next generation of students. For this reason, Australia, in my opinion, has not fallen as fast as one would have expected. This highlights the strong influence of soft power. 

There will not be too much of a change in destinations such as Ireland and New Zealand and we must not forget the smaller alternative destinations such as the Philippines, Malta, Singapore and South Africa. If their market share is, say, 2% or 3% then collectively they are about 10% of the market.

Government policy and economics have increasingly important roles in shaping students’ choices. However, as educational leaders, we must play our part too. We must develop new programmes, invest and continue to raise standards to ensure that students get the best value education.

 

 

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Meet Anna, Anglo-Continental’s new Marketing Administrator for Western and Eastern Europe, Russia and Latin America.

My name is Anna and I am Anglo-Continental’s new Marketing Administrator working together with Naomi Lyon to provide support to our students and agents from Western and Eastern Europe, Russia and Latin America.

I am originally from Russia but now I live in the United Kingdom. For the past 7 years, I have mostly lived in the North West of England before I relocated to Bournemouth in July 2017.

Before coming to the UK,  I used to work as an English language recruitment agent in Russia. During my time in this role, I had the pleasure of being a leader for a group of Russian teenagers who came to study in Bournemouth. This was my first experience of Bournemouth. It was a visit that I really enjoyed.

I have also had first-hand experience of being an international student as when I first moved to the UK, I studied English at a language school in Manchester.

My experience of being an agent, a group leader and a student has helped me a lot in my current position at Anglo-Continental and I am sure that it gives me an in-depth insight into any concerns a student may have about studying in the UK.

I love living and working in Bournemouth. There is so much to do in the town itself and the surrounding area. Bournemouth offers something for everyone. In my free time,  I like spending time outdoors.  I enjoy walking, cycling, playing tennis and mini golf – some of the many activities you can do in Bournemouth.

With its beautiful coastline and countryside Bournemouth is the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors. Bournemouth is also a great place for water sports. One of my new goals is to learn how to surf.

To contact Anna, click here.

To see Anna’s LinkedIn article, click here.

Meet Naomi Lyon – Anglo-Continental’s new Business Development Coordinator for Latin America and Europe

 

Hello! My name is Naomi Lyon and I am the Business Development Coordinator for Latin America and Europe at Anglo-Continental.

My passion is foreign languages and learning about other cultures, which has led me to work as an EFL teacher and as a French, Spanish and Italian teacher at secondary schools.

I have spent a lot of time working and travelling abroad for work and for pleasure and I have been lucky enough to visit many places around the world. I have particularly enjoyed visiting Mexico, Peru, Italy, Spain, Nepal and Japan.

My other main passion is music. I play in two local bands and one is a Colombian cumbia band! My instrument is the keyboard, and I sing backing vocals. I love the Latin spirit of the music! Our music always creates a great party atmosphere that people really enjoy.

 I am very much looking forward to travelling abroad and meeting our agents and students.  My experience of living abroad has made me aware of the many challenges an international student could face living away from their home country. This knowledge will be valuable in helping students adapt to the UK and make the most of their time here.

For students planning to study in the UK, I would say it’s important to come with an open mind, socialise with other nationalities and embrace life in the UK. I think we have an excellent lifestyle in Bournemouth and a variety of opportunities for everyone, young and old.

 

Anglo-Continental is pleased to have Naomi Lyon join our staff, and we look forward to working with her.

Click here to contact Naomi Lyon, Anglo-Continental’s Business Development Coordinator – Latin America and Europe.