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Thorold (Thor) MAY, PhD
Australian citizen
Adelaide, Australia. Mobile tel. (+61) 0479 154 831
thormay@yahoo.com
Profile
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Thor May is a writer, lecturer, researcher, teacher and teacher trainer in English language & linguistics. He has been teaching English to non-native speakers, training teachers and lecturing linguistics since 1976. This work has taken him to seven countries in Oceania and East Asia, mostly with tertiary students, but with a couple of detours to teach secondary students and young children. He has special skills in adapting English language teaching to technical subject areas (e.g. mechanics, nursing etc). Altogether, he taught young adults for five years in China and seven years in South Korea. He has trained teachers in Australia, Fiji and South Korea.
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Qualifications
2010 Research Doctorate (PhD), Language Tangle, dealing with language teaching productivity. The official version of this dissertation is available online from the University of Newcastle, NSW at http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/804346
2005 Master of Applied Linguistics, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. High distinction in all subjects.
1997 Certificate IV in Workplace Training Category 2: Assessor Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE, Melbourne, Australia
1996 RSA/Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, International TESOL Training Centre, Holmes Colleges, Melbourne, Australia
1975 Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching -,Auckland Secondary Teachers College, New Zealand (1975; now a division of Auckland University). Teaching English as a Second Language specialization.
1974 Bachelor of Arts - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Majors in Linguistics and Social Anthropology
Published papers - can be seen online at http://independent.academia.edu/ThorMay . I have also posted a number of essays to this site on a wide range of topics, reflecting a round-table ideas discussion meetup which I host in Adelaide, Australia,
DiscussionX8 or DX8 (https://www.meetup.com/discussionx4/events// ).
An index of previous topics from this series, with hundreds of complex
topic questions I have formulated, can be seen at
http://thormay.net/unwiseideas/DiscussionTopics/DiscussionIndex.htm. As of 2021 there are over 147 papers (pdf) in my repository at the academia.edu site, as well as some teaching material. From statistics, this content appears to be widely read. Academia.edu itself claims 71 million users worldwide.
Current Status
I ceased formal employment in early 2011, although I remain open to suggestions for consulting, teaching, writing, editing etc. Current Australian law mandates a reduction of 50 cents per dollar earned in my pension above AUD$174 per two weeks. I do run a voluntary language group for newcomers to Australia, Adelaide English as a Second Language Group, which attracts up to 40 people from many countries (https://www.meetup.com/ESL-English-practice-meet-up-group/ ). I also maintain a special interest in China and continue to learn Mandarin.
Personal Details: Australian ; male, 168 cm, 68 kg, single, d.o.b. 1945; very fit and active (distance running for over 57 years).Some short videos are embedded at the end of this CV. More detailed information about my life and interests can be found on my (legacy) website at ‘About Thor’ http://thormay.net/docsite/aboutthor.html . Social & cultural notions of ‘age’ can be a bit exasperating for individuals who are not average. I’m not average. My current ‘fitness age’ (October 2019) seems to be 20 ... although the Garmin tracker metric looks a bit flaky to me, even absurd.
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Experience in Chinese institutions:
Experience in South Korean institutions:
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Institution |
Position |
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August 2004 |
August 2007 |
Chungju National Universtiy, Chungju, South Korea
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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.
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September 2000 |
August 2003 |
Youngsan University, Busan, South Korea
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Visiting Professor in English Language: undergraduate EFL |
Courses Taught & Related Activities 1976 to 2010
a) University lecturing & tutoring
Topic |
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Institution |
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Second language acquisition |
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- Southern Cross University* - Lismore NSW (* at that time, NRCAE)
- University of the South Pacific – Suva, Fiji + distance ed. & satellite teaching; also Honiara, Solomon Islands summer program
- Pusan University of Foreign Studies – Busan, South Korea
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Child language acquisition |
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- Southern Cross University* - Lismore NSW (* at that time, NRCAE)
- University of the South Pacific – Suva, Fiji + distance ed. & satellite teaching; also Honiara, Solomon Islands summer program
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Sociolinguistics & Pragmatics |
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- University of Newcastle, NSW
- University of the South Pacific – Suva, Fiji + distance ed. & satellite teaching
- Southern Cross University* - Lismore NSW (* at that time, NRCAE)
- Pusan University of Foreign Studies – Busan, South Korea
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Semantics |
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- University of Newcastle, NSW (tutoring)
(note also own research, especially 2nd PhD work at University of Melbourne) |
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English phonology
– segmental & non-segmental |
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- University of the South Pacific – Suva, Fiji + distance ed. & satellite teaching
- Pusan University of Foreign Studies – Busan, South Korea |
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Introduction to linguistics |
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- University of Newcastle, NSW (tutoring)
- University of the South Pacific – Suva, Fiji + distance ed. & satellite teaching
- Pusan University of Foreign Studies – Busan, South Korea |
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Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language
– methodology and teacher training (including trainee practicums) |
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- University of Newcastle, NSW (Education Faculty)
- Southern Cross University - Lismore NSW (aid project for Solomon Islands teachers)
- Pusan University of Foreign Studies – Busan, South Korea
- Holmes Institute with ZRVTC (joint venture) – Zhengzhou
China (seminars for Chinese teachers of English) |
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Historical linguistics
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- University of Newcastle, NSW (tutoring) |
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b) Language Teaching & Related Activities
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Curriculum Focus |
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Venue |
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IELTS and Preparatory English
- for Nursing & Business Studies students – needs analysis, curriculum preparation, delivery and assessment; program evaluation for joint venture partners; syllabus development of an English for Nursing program; teaching method seminars for Chinese teachers of English. The program aimed to send Chinese students to Australia.
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- Holmes Institute ( Australia, China) in a joint venture with Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College, Zhengzhou city, Henan, China |
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English for Special or Academic Purposes
- Business Studies / Surveying / Civil Engineering / Biological Sciences. Needs analysis in close cooperation with specialist subject lecturers, curriculum preparation, delivery and joint assessment with specialist subject lecturers. Emphasis on writing skills, with some student seminar presentation.
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- Adult Migrant Education Service - Melbourne
- University of Technology – Lae, Papua New Guinea
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English for non-English speaking mechanics
- needs analysis, curriculum preparation, delivery and assessment. I also authored and published a book in this field:
English for Mechanics
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- Kangan-Batman TAFE – Melbourne |
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General Adult Migrant English - teacher & coordinator |
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- Adult Migrant Education Service – Sydney and Melbourne
- Hunter TAFE – Newcastle
- Australian Red Cross – Newcastle (voluntary teaching for refugees)
- Kangan-Batman TAFE – Melbourne
- Western Metropolitan TAFE – Melbourne
- Northern Metropolitan TAFE – Melbourne
- Box Hill TAFE – Melbourne
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Industrial/workplace ESL
– needs analysis, curriculum preparation, delivery and assessment
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- Adult Migrant Education Service, Melbourne – at a variety of onsite industrial ventures |
Activity |
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Venue |
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General & Academic English (also called “Practical English”)
- for undergraduate and graduate tertiary students including English language majors, non-English majors and teacher trainees. Emphasis on oral and aural skills, plus some note taking. Also some adult community classes in Wuhan.
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- Wuhan University of Surveying and Mapping (now incl. in Wuhan U.)
- Central China Normal University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
- Youngsan University, Busan city, South Korea
- Chungju National University, Chungju city, South Korea |
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Child TEFL
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- Youngsan University – Busan, South Korea |
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ELICOS teaching |
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- Adult Migrant Education Service – Sydney and Melbourne
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Language consultancy
- for a mining company
– needs analysis, technical report, pilot program.
The brief was to find a way for Indonesian speaking mechanics to comprehend technical service manuals for heavy industrial equipment (bulldozers etc), write basic servicing reports and communicate with English speaking expatriate engineers.
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P.T. Koba Tin (a division of Renison Gold Mines), Pulau Banka, Indonesia – on behalf of Kangan-Batman TAFE
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Language curriculum & resources development
- for Solomon Islands Primary school teachers.
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- Southern Cross University – Lismore NSW. This was a foreign aid project, funded from Canberra, and mostly conducted on-site in Lismore where the teachers undertook the program. |
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Language rescue
– Banjalang language. – very basic. See Case Study 7 in my doctoral dissertation.
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- Southern Cross University – Lismore NSW (undertaken at the request of the Aboriginal Studies Unit and funded by a Commonwealth grant) |
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Activity |
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Venue |
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General Adult Migrant English - teacher & coordinator |
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- Adult Migrant Education Service – Sydney and Melbourne
- Hunter TAFE – Newcastle
- Australian Red Cross – Newcastle (voluntary teaching for refugees)
- Kangan-Batman TAFE – Melbourne
- Western Metropolitan TAFE – Melbourne
- Northern Metropolitan TAFE – Melbourne
- Box Hill TAFE – Melbourne
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Secondary high school English
- in a NZ high school
- standard curriculum, but the students were 75% Polynesian so the ESL component was significant
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- Tangaroa College, East Tamaki, New Zealand |
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Secondary high school Economics
- in a NZ high school |
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- Tangaroa College, East Tamaki, New Zealand |
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Some supplementary media
Thor – debating – 5 January 2015 – Brisbane, Australia
see the video, "The Journey of a Passionate Skeptic " (4 minutes) at http://thormay.net/lxesl/ZZESL_Holmes/zrvtcgraduation2010.htm
see the video, "Teaching English is Fun" (4.5 minutes) at http://thormay.net/docsite/teachingisfun.htm
see the video, "Born 1945, Still Running Strong" (2.5 minutes) at http://thormay.net/docsite/born1945.htm
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