resumé of Thorold (Thor) MAY position: Foreign Expert (English language) employer: Holmes Colleges (China) address: International Office, Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College 54 Kangfu Qian Jie, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China; tel. 86 371 66904 262 e-mail: thormay AT yahoo.com internet site:
http://thormay.net (hundreds of pages of stories, papers,
essays, commentaries, poems, photography etc. by Thor May)nationality: Australian
Personal Details: Australian ; born 8 September 1945; male, 168 cm, 64 kg, single, very fit and active.
Referees: available on request, or click here for scanned references
Publications List: click here to view current publication list.
Membership Affiliations:
1. Australian Linguistics Society
2. Applied Linguistics Association of Australia
3. Asia TEFL
Thor, December 2009
Chronological List of Teaching & Academic Appointments to 2009 : Thor May
A detailed description of teaching & lecturing experience is available at http://thormay.net/docsite/teachingexperience2003.html* = concurrent with PhD research
From To Employer Position Held September 2007 current * Holmes Institute (Australian-Chinese joint venture) at Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College, Henan, China Foreign Expert, English Language : Preparatory English for Australian tertiary study (nursing; logistics) : IELTS focus; teacher training seminars August 2004 August 2007 * Chungju National Universtiy, Chungju, South Korea Visiting Professor in English Language: undergraduate EFL September 2003 August 2004 TESOL Unit, Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Busan, South Korea Visiting Professor in Applied Linguistics (postgraduate course for Korean teaching graduates, cross-credited with international MAs). See course content here. September 2000 August 2003 Youngsan University, Busan, South Korea Visiting Professor in English Language: undergraduate EFL September 1999 July 2000 Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, PRC Lecturer in English Language; EFL for undergraduates & postgraduates; teacher training August 1998 July 1999 Wuhan Technical University of Surveying & Mapping, (now part of Wuhan University) Wuhan, Hubei, China Lecturer in English Language; EFL for postgraduates (MSc & PhD); evening community EFL February 1998 August 1998 1. Self-employed
2. Postel Australia Ltd., Melbourne1. Writer/editor
2. p/time evening telesalesJune 1994 13/2/98 Kangan Batman TAFE, Dawson St, North Coburg, Vic. 3058, Australia ESL Teacher / Co-ordinator
(technical English for mechanics); International consultant (Indonesia)October 1993 June 1994 *Western TAFE, now Victoria University,
Footscray, Victoria, AustraliaSessional ESL Teacher
(*concurrent with PhD research)October 1990 July 1993 *Adult Migrant Education Service (AMES), Myer House, Elizabeth St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Sessional ESL Teacher
(*concurrent with PhD research)
July 1987 July 1990 University of the South Pacific, PO Box 1178, Suva, Fiji Lecturer in Linguistics: phonology, sociolinguistics, language acquistion, syntax; teacher training February 1987 June 1987 University of Technology, Lae, PNG Lecturer in English for Special Purposes (surveying; electrical & mechanical engineering; biology) August 1986 Dec. 1986 *AMES, Cabramatta, NSW, Australia Sessional ESL Teacher March 1986 July 1986 *University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia p/time Lecturer in
Linguistics: sociolinguistics, syntax, semantics; seacher training for ESLFebruary 1985 Dec. 1985 University of Technology, Lae, PNG
Lecturer in English for
Special Purposes (surveying; electrical & mechanical engineering; biology)February 1984 Dec. 1984 *University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia p/time Lecturer in
Linguistics: sociolinguistics, syntax, semanticsFebruary 1983 Dec. 1983 Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia Lecturer in Linguistics : language acquisition (L1, L2); teacher training February 1978 Dec. 1982 *University of Newcastle, NSW 2308, Australia p/time Lecturer & tutor in
Linguistics: sociolinguistics, syntax, semantics ; voluntary Red Cross refugee tutoring1979 1982 *Newcastle TAFE College Evening ESL Teacher January 1977 Dec. 1977 AMES, Melbourne, Vic., Australia Sessional ESL Teacher February 1976 Dec. 1976 Tangaroa Secondary College, East Tamaki, New Zealand English and Economics
Teacher: students 75% Polynesian1962
1975 A wide variety of semi-skilled jobs in Australia, NZ and UK Various; many concurrent with undergraduate study
Formal Qualifications:
a) Accredited. The qualifications in this section are accredited. That is, they are certified in the official way which academic administrative officers, employers and government departments require. Much more rarely (unfortunately) there may be a genuine interest in the real substance of what an indivual knows and has investigated in his field. In my case this goes well beyond formally accredited documents. Those interested in this extra range of knowledge are advised to also look to section b) below.
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 2009, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Thesis topic : "Language Tangle : Predicting and Facilitating Outcomes in Language Education." This thesis on language teaching productivity has been examined and formally approved, subject to some corrections which are underway (December 2009). An abstract of the dissertation can be seen here.
Master of Applied Linguistics, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. (2005) [Newcastle U. is a national university established under an Australian act of parliament]. High distinction in all subjects : Transcript .
Masters Qualifying (Honours 1st class equivalent) in Linguistics, University of Newcastle NSW, Australia (1978). The research essays supporting this were also reviewed by an external examiner (Macquarie University). Most institutions today would document this one year postgraduate program as a coursework Masters degree.
Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching - Transcript Document, Auckland Secondary Teachers College, New Zealand (1975; now a division of Auckland University); Teaching English as a Second Language specialization. Many institutions today would document this one year postgraduate program as a coursework Masters degree.
Bachelor of Arts - Testamur ; Bachelor of Arts - Transcript Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1974); majors in Linguistics and Social Anthropology
RSA/Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (1996) International TESOL Training Centre, Holmes Colleges, Melbourne, Australia
Certificate IV in Workplace Training Category 2: Assessor (1997) Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE, Melbourne, Australia
b) Non-accredited
PhD Candidature in Linguistics, University of Melbourne, Australia - in abeyance formally; (undertaken in the early 1990s. I am still interested in this area of cognitive linguistics for private research). A substantial amount of work (about 50,000 words) was done towards this PhD, and some material published (e.g. see Postsupposition & Pastiche Talk and the Generative Oscillation Model). Note that this is an entirely research doctorate (no coursework), but a rough equivalence of current status might the American concept of ABD. An evaluation and recommendation (2004) by my previous University of Melbourne supervisor, Professor Nicholas Evans, may be seen here. ( I was enrolled in an unrelated, previous PhD at the University of Newcastle in the early 1980s which also resulted in some extensive publication -- see the Masters information below).
Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics, *Greenwich University, Hawaii, U.S.A. (1994). Based on refereed publications & earlier accredited work done at the University of Newcastle for a discontinued PhD in theoretical linguistics.. At the time, the regulations of Newcastle University itself were unable to accommodate cross-crediting my PhD work to an M.A. Greenwich University engaged my Newcastle University supervisor & head of linguistics, Dr Peter Peterson, as an adjunct examiner. In 2004 Greenwich University became defunct. The Greenwich Masters document is therefore no longer accredited , although the work supporting it, including a thesis, is very substantial. Certified Greenwich University transcripts are available under the stewardship of Akamai University at http//www.greenwich.edu.
c) <> Qualifications translated into Korean (2006)<> pdf file
