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TEFL Certificate 2001

TEFL Certificate

I obtained a certificate in teaching English as a foreign language ( TEFL ) in summer 2001. This was the result of a 4 week full-time course at the North Mon Language Institute in the city of Cork on the south coast of Ireland. It was approved by RELSA, the Recognised English Language Schools Association, and is the standard qualification needed for teaching English as a foreign language.

MA certificate

MA Ethnochoreology 1999 - 2000

In 1999 I went back to university as a mature student to do a master of Arts degree in Ethnochoreology. I graduated with grade 2.1. It was a fascinating one-year taught course, run by the Irish World Music Centre at the University of Limerick in the west of Ireland.

What is Ethnochoreology?

Ethnochoreology is an unfamiliar word to most people and isn't to be found in every dictionary, so I'll let the course director, Dr Catherine Foley, explain.

"Ethnochoreology is an interdisciplinary subject which considers dance in its cultural context. ... An ethnochoreological approach embraces Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Cultural Geography, Gender Studies, Area Studies, and Education in addition to other relevant areas in Dance Studies."

Click on the certificate to see a larger version. Here is a link to more information about the MA in Ethnochoreology.

The Irish World Music Centre has now been renamed the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, and it has some other very interesting courses and research opportunities. Its director is Prof. Micheal O Suilleabhain, who is also a well-known musician.

My MA graduation day

Graduation Photo

From left to right:
  • Dr Catherine Foley, my course director
  • Anne Wafer - new MA :-))
  • Prof Micheal O Suilleabhain, director of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance

    • Examples of my academic work

    You can see a short sample of my academic writing connected with this course, and the main pages of the world dance website that I developed for one of its modules, if you go to my Portfolio page.

BSc ( Hons ) Biological Sciences 1972 - 1975

BSc certificate BSc transcript

I was an undergraduate at Lancaster University in the north-west of England, where I gained a bachelor of science (BSc) grade 2.2 in Biological sciences. I no longer have the degree certificate, but here is an official confirmation letter and a transcript. Click on them to see bigger versions.

My main subjects in the final year were Ecology and Genetics. I really enjoyed the field-work. I have particularly good memories of the "Biology of Lakes" module, taught by Dr TT Macan and Dr J Talling of the Freshwater Biological Association, which has its main laboratory beside Lake Windermere in the English Lake District.

GCE exams

( General Certificate of Education )

A-levels: Biology, Chemistry, Physics

These were advanced level examinations, which were usually taken at about age 18. They were quite specialised and students normally took only two or three subjects. This was a source of regret to me because I was interested in languages and art as well as science.

O-levels: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, French, Latin, English language, English Literature, Geography

These were the ordinary level state examinations, usually taken at about age 16. The secondary school I attended was Nonsuch High School for Girls, Cheam, Surrey, UK. At that time it was a state grammar school which admitted pupils who had passed the state selection exam called the 11-plus. Now it is a foundation grammar school that has its own selection tests.