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Unique New Zealand

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Why choose Unique New Zealand?

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Website
www.unique.ac.nz
Founded
1989
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Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Le-Andre Abbott

Program
Unique NZ: English+ Activities
Job Title
Teacher and Activities Supervisor
Le-Andre has been a teacher and activities supervisor at Unique NZ for the past three years. She immigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2011, and joined the Unique NZ team in August 2012. She has experience in teaching juniors and teenagers as well as having experience in supervising English + Activities.
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What position do you hold at Unique NZ? What has been your career path so far?

Currently, I’m a teacher and an activities supervisor for the English + Activities program that we run at Unique. I also teach the Conversation and Pronunciation classes. I started at Unique in August 2012, as an activities supervisor and became a teacher early in 2013.

What about the future of the industry? How do you think study abroad and international education will change over the next 10 years?

I believe that study abroad programs will become more popular in the years to come. I think that people want to experience what life is like in other countries and what better way to do it than to study in a country of your choice! People are no longer satisfied with travel stories and seeing documentaries on a screen they want to experience something deeper than that.

By experiencing everyday life, such as preparing a meal and seeing social interaction in a homestay environment provides international students with hands on experience of life in different countries. From a teaching perspective, I’m excited to see the changes that the future will bring. We have seen new strategies including iPads and interactive whiteboards in the past couple of years, it can only get better!

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

I’ve heard quite a few interesting stories from return students. I would say that the most memorable story I have heard was from a teenage student. She said she had been counting down the days to her return to Unique.

She had travelled to New Zealand the previous year and studied at Unique and she couldn’t wait to share the experience with her friends which she did, the second time around. When she finished her course she said she couldn’t wait to return next year, hopefully with a family member!

What country have you always wanted to visit?

THAILAND! I’ve always wanted to visit Thailand and I hope to finally make the trip later this year. I’d love to visit the beautiful beaches and temples that some of my students have spoken so fondly of. I would like to visit the famous markets in Bangkok and experience an authentic Thai cooking class. I’m quite interested in their culture as it’s so different to what I am used to in New Zealand. Spending a day or two on a boat traveling between some of the islands would also be on my to do list!

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Definitely celebrating Unique NZ’s 25th Birthday. I think that reaching such a big milestone as a company is really special for everyone involved at Unique, as well as our students, past and present. It was a wonderful day and I felt proud to be part of the Unique NZ team that started with a few classrooms and now we occupy the whole building as well as a second campus for our adult students. It’s great being part of a company that has provided English courses to thousands of students from all around the world for the past 25 years! It’s quite an achievement and I’m looking forward to see what the future has in store for Unique NZ!

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I believe that there are a number of factors that make a company successful. At Unique, I believe our success is due to everyone having the same vision for the future, as well as teamwork. We love what we do and that comes across in the way we interact with our students, from the moment a student gets into contact with an advisor all the way through to the day they graduate from Unique.

I believe they get the best help and support that we can provide. We strive to give our students the best experience we possibly can in New Zealand whilst improving their English.