Dr Rachel Wicaksono
Head of Subject Languages &
Linguistics
Contact details
E: r.wicaksono@yorksj.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1904 876965
After finishing my undergraduate degree at Oxford University (in
English Language and Literature), I did the RSA/UCLES Certificate
in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults. My first job
was in Shimla, India, where I taught English and Music at a girl’s
boarding school. My next job was in East Java, Indonesia,
working for Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) as a teacher
trainer. After working for VSO for two years, I joined an
Indonesian-Australian organisation which provides English language
teaching, teacher training and pre-university preparation courses
in several Indonesian cities.
Indonesia is a wonderfully
exciting (and unpredictable!) place to work and I stayed there
until 2004. By that time I had become the Director of the
same organisation; responsible for bidding for and managing
training projects for AusAid, UNICEF, several Indonesian government
departments and many multinational companies. I also helped
set up and run the Cambridge ESOL Certificate in English Language
Teaching to Adults (CELTA) in Indonesia and was an External
Assessor for Cambridge ESOL, visiting courses in Asia and the UK to
monitor and report on their quality. While in Indonesia, I
successfully completed the RSA/UCLES Diploma in Teaching English as
a Foreign Language to Adults and a Master's in TESOL at the
Institute of Education, London University.
In 2004, I came back to the
UK and joined York St John University, first as co-ordinator of the
International Foundation Programme, then as Head of Programme for
the
MA Applied Linguistics: TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of
Other Languages), then as Head of the Centre
for Languages and Linguistics where I am also an active member
of our research unit, Language and Identities
in Interaction. I also successfully completed a Doctor in
Education at the Institute of Education, London University where I
researched aspects of internationalising UK universities including:
group work, reflective writing and the use of English by 'home' and
'international' students.
I have been involved in
teaching English, teacher training, research, and project and
school management in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China,
Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia and
Thailand.