ABOUT US
About the Centre for Language Learning at the University
of Pretoria
Following the approval of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Tawana Kupe, the University of Pretoria established a Centre for Language Learning (CLL) within the Faculty of Humanities. The primary objective of this Centre is to provide courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to participants from countries in which English is not an official language. The Centre opened in October 2021 with the launch of the first EFL courses.
VISION
To be a national and continental leader in the field of language teaching, and so provide access to education and business through language development.
MISSION
To create an environment that is welcoming, and provides exceptional teaching which builds students' confidence in their ability to communicate clearly in academic, business and social contexts.
VALUES
- We pursue high standards in learning through teaching excellence.
- We foster academic freedom, responsibility and integrity.
- We respect diversity and cultural awareness.
- We value fairness and social justice.
- We care for and respect our community and our enviroment.
MEET THE HEAD OF CLL - DR TRISH COOPER
DR TRISH COOPER
SENIOR LECTURER
PhD Linguistics (UNISA), CELTA
Dr Trish Cooper is passionate about language and about people. For this reason, she is ideally suited to run courses in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) as this gives her the opportunity to interact with people from different nationalities and cultures, and to ensure that the students in her care benefit from the most recent innovations in language teaching.
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She started her career lecturing in Linguistics at the University of South Africa. During this time, she taught English to small groups, and so discovered that the best way to encourage students to talk in the language they are learning is to give them a topic which they feel strongly about. Dr Cooper completed her CELTA before starting up a small language unit at Damelin College where the majority of the students were from non-English speaking countries in Africa. She moved from there to Wits Language School at Wits University. She spent 16 years at Wits, initially developing the EFL unit which grew from 24 to 172 students per course under her guidance. She also ran the unit for African, Asian and European languages, and so managed courses in IsiZulu, Mandarin, Spanish, French and Portuguese, amongst others.
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Dr Cooper is delighted to be at the University of Pretoria as she has always believed that Pretoria is the perfect location for a language school, and so is extremely excited to be given the challenge of starting up EFL courses at the University. She is determined to make sure that these English courses are amongst the best on offer worldwide.
Our promise to you
Following the approval of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Tawana Kupe, the University of Pretoria has established a Centre for Language Learning within the Faculty of Humanities. The Centre for Language Learning is 100% committed to:
Helping you develop your English language skills
Providing highly qualified and experienced teachers
Bringing the world to the classroom and the classroom to life with exceptional course material
Unlocking a new world for you to invest in your future success
