Meet the ISC teachers and staff
Tutors and support staff at the University of Huddersfield International Study Centre have qualifications in a wide range of subjects. You can read about some of their teaching experience and interests below:
- Ruth Arrowsmith-Crook, English Tutor
- Joyce Bleasdale, English Tutor
- Richard Dockery, Business Tutor
- Rachel Hitch, English Tutor
- Barbara Jones, Biology Tutor
- Suzanne Muff, Centre Administrator
- Sara-Jane Postill, Head of English
- Vasil Postoyalko, Maths Tutor
- Keith Smith, English Tutor
Ruth Arrowsmith-Crook
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: English
Qualifications: BA, CELTA, DELTA, PGCE
"I have worked as an English teacher for 15 years in many different countries. My work has taken me to South America, Thailand, Eastern Europe and Saudi Arabia. I have also worked in various language schools and universities in the UK.
I love the variety of people I meet in my job and learning about different cultures and countries. The students at ISC have really impressed me with their attitude and approach to their studies and I'm really enjoying teaching them.
The last few years for me have been spent exploring my own country after spending many years away from it exploring other countries."
Joyce Bleasdale
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: English
Qualifications:
"My teaching career began in the sixties as a primary school teacher. After coming to live in Huddersfield, I specialised in teaching English to young children whose families had come to live here from Pakistan and India.
I realised that this was the type of work I found interesting and challenging and as many more families began to arrive from other countries, the need for specialist English teachers became evermore important. It was for this reason that I qualified to teach adults and began teaching full time at Huddersfield Technical College.
In my role as a senior coordinator of the EFL section I had the opportunity to travel and work in many countries for the college. This also gave me the chance to learn about the ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the overseas students. I was also involved in several projects with the college and the university.
My experience as an IELTS examiner and as an examiner for the Cambridge Main Suite and Skills for Life has also been useful in my career.
In July 2008 I retired from my full-time post at the college and became a part time lecturer at the International Study Centre."
Richard Dockery
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: Business Studies
Qualifications: BA, MA
"I have an undergraduate degree in Interactive Multimedia, a Masters in Innovation for the Digital Future and am at present working towards my PhD.
I have had various articles published including “Learning Styles Inequity for Small to Micro Firms (SMFs)” and “Social Exclusion through Work based e-Learning Practice in Europe” in Multicultural Education & Technology Journal 2007.
My experience of research is within the fields of Pedagogy, Multicultural education, virtual learning environments, presentation of data and learning/cognitive styles including the collaborative work on an on-line learning styles diagnostics tool."
Rachel Hitch
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: English
Qualifications: BA (Hons) English Language, CELTA
"I qualified in CELTA in 2008 at Action English Language Training in Leeds, and was lucky enough to start working for the ISC at the University of Huddersfield that autumn. So far, teaching has lived up to my dreams and expectations and I work with some fantastic people. Our students are great people that bring so much to my day, and watching them develop their language is a huge reward for the time and effort I put into my lessons.
In the near future, I plan to study for a PGCE and, hopefully, a Masters degree. I'd like to develop my teaching experience before hopefully travelling abroad for a few years. I love learning about other countries and cultures and I'd particularly like to teach in Africa, Japan and Latin America.
I currently live in Bingley, West Yorkshire, and, outside of the classroom, enjoy music, films, rugby league and spending time with my family and friends."
Barbara Jones
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: Biology
Qualifications: PGCE, MSc, BSc
"I gained my honours degree in Biochemistry while working full time in the research laboratories of the University of Manchester. The move into further, higher and adult education soon followed and having achieved my Certificate of Education, I have for the past 20 years taught a range of Science subjects in universities and colleges. I have ‘kept my hand in’ by continuing to study and develop whilst working and have subsequently gaining postgraduate qualifications in Conservation Biology and Nutrition Science.
I have been really impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication of the students I have met at Huddersfield. Their passion for Science and education and their determination to succeed and achieve is great to see.
When not working I spend as much time as possible out of doors, either at my usually damp Peak District home or in the Mediterranean sun."
Suzanne Muff
Role: Centre Administrator
Qualifications: BA, DipM ACIM
"I have worked at the University of Huddersfield for the last 8 years in the International Office and at the ISC since September 2008.
Working with International and European students during this time has enabled me to have strong understanding of the challenges students face when studying abroad.
I really enjoy the variety of my role which varies from finance to examination preparation to accommodation issues. No matter how big or small a problem may be my door is always open to provide help and support to staff and students. You can find me in the Brunswick Building, room BG/01 on the University campus.
I was born and raised and still live in Huddersfield, and I love the friendly feel that Huddersfield has. You have the best of both worlds in Huddersfield: the busy town where the campus is based, yet within 30 minutes you can be in the peaceful countryside which is bliss in the spring and summer.
I am a graduate from the University of Huddersfield with a Foundation Degree in Business, Finance & Law and I am currently studying a Professional Diploma in Marketing with the CIM which I should hopefully have completed soon. When I am not studying I enjoy going to the gym and boxercise classes, I also enjoy watching romantic comedies and listening to music."
Sara-Jane Postill
Role: Head of English
Subject: English
Qualifications: MA (Distinction), CELTA
"Since qualifying with my CELTA in 1991, I have had a great time travelling and teaching general, business and academic English in Greece, Indonesia, Australia, Leeds (where I also completed my Masters degree in Applied Linguistics and English Language Teaching), London and Huddersfield. Yorkshire born and bred, I was really pleased to come back to the hills and people of this area.
I’ve been teaching at the University for 4 years, and particularly love helping students to understand and master the skills required for successful study on their main degree courses. It is great to bump into our ex-students on campus, and especially on their graduation days – I feel like a proud mum!
When I am not at the ISC, you might find me walking my dogs on the top of one of the hills which you can see all around the University, or gardening in my own and friends’ gardens, or looking for bargain clothes in the local charity shops. I love scarves, bangles, and bead necklaces, so my students often say they can hear me coming!"
Vasil Postoyalko
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: Mathematics
Qualifications: PhD, BSc
"I was born in Leeds, also in West Yorkshire in the UK in 1956. I was awarded a first class honours degree in Mathematics from the University of Leeds in 1978, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics, also from the University of Leeds, in 1985. My PhD was jointly supervised with the School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering at the University of Leeds. My PhD thesis was entitled, “The influence of interband states on the electrical characteristics of Schottky barrier diodes.”
From 1983 to 1986, I held the position of research engineer in the School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering. In 1986 I was appointed as a lecturer in the School, a position I held until 2008. From 2000 to 2003, I also acted as a consultant to Zeevo in Santa Clara, California, USA working on the design of Bluetooth modules."
Keith Smith
Role: ISC Tutor
Subject: English
Qualifications: DELTA, PGCE, BA
"I was born in England and am a graduate of the University of Leeds. I did postgraduate Teacher Training at the University of Exeter before leaving the UK for Spain where I began my overseas career as a teacher of English. Later in life, I have been a teacher, examiner and general manager elsewhere overseas, namely Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
My professional experience also includes extended periods in the UK where I have taught a wide range of subjects, including English, Business Studies and Politics, at Secondary, further and higher levels of education. During this time, I secured a Professional Diploma in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language before going on to do further postgraduate study on two separate occasions and obtaining Masters degrees in Post-secondary & Adult Education and English for specific purposes.
I currently live in a village in West Yorkshire and enjoy both the natural scenery and all that the towns and cities that Yorkshire has to offer."