Australasian Centre of Chinese Studies (ACCS)

Dr Moni Lai Storz (nee' Lai Suan Tin) is our Academic Director and is responsible for the development and implementation of our Chinese studies curriculum using Accelerated Learning techniques. Dr Storz spent many years researching and experimenting with accelerated learning methods for the teaching and training of a range of subjects - Sociology, Stress Management, Cross-cultural Communication skills, Learning skills, etc. She was the first to apply Accelerated Learning techniques to the teaching of Chinese writing in Australia and this has been documented in her book: MIND BODY POWER:THE SELF HELP BOOK ON ACCELERATED LEARNING (Times Books International, Singapore, 1989, Reprinted 1990, 1993)
Dr Storz claims that accelerated learning techniques have increased her creativity and expanded her consciousness. She writes fiction as a hobby. Her published works include, Notes To My Sisters (Times Books), Artworks of The Soul (GBS), Heaven Has Eyes (Monash Int.), Switch on Your Mind (Allen & Unwin). Her books can be obtained from our Shopfront. Moni founded this Chinese Centre 14 years ago and is now currently our Academic Director and Principal.

Executive Director

Jeffrey Lai is the Executive Director of the Australasian Centre of Chinese Studies and is responsible for the Chinese Centre globally from a strategic point of view. He is also the Executive Director of Global Business Strategies, a company specialising in cross-cultural mangement training for businesses around the Asia Pacific rim. He has an Electrical Engineering degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Information Technology from Monash University. Jeffrey has over fifteen years of experience in the computer industry working for Japanese, Italian and American computer companies prior to establishing ACCS and GBS. Jeffrey is also an experienced trainer using Accelerated Learning techniques. He was a lecturer at the Hawthorn campus of Melbourne University teaching a variety of subjects in the Information Technology area. He has also jointly given workshops and seminars on Accelerated Learning with Dr Moni Storz. He is a pioneer in the application of Accelerated Learning to the teaching of computer subjects.

Centre Manager

Loo See Wong manages the Australasian Centre of Chinese Studies and is responsible for the smooth running of the Centre and ensuring all our students and teachers are happy. She obtained her Bachelor of Computer Science and Accounting in New Zealand and has undergone various executive leadership programs including 'Leader Developing Leaders' in the University of Michigan.

She brings a unique combination of industry expertise in Information Technology, Human Resource and Business Operations in international companies particularly Hewlett Packard. Having lived and worked in 4 countries (Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia) and managed across several Asia Pacific organizations (including China, Japan, Korea) and in global teams with other nationals (Austria, Germany, US, UK, France, Italy), her invaluable experience and interaction with people of various cultures at different levels truly makes her an international player in the business and human resources arena.

Loo See is also an experienced cross-cultural trainer and consultant where her expertise in this area is most in demand through Global Business Strategies Pty Ltd, a leading cross-cultural training consultancy in the Asia Pacific.

Yumei Liang is from Jiangmen city and has a BA Degree in Business English from Wuyi University. She was an English Teacher at the Beijiao Primary School, Jiangmen City and has been an interpreter and translator at various Trade Fairs including the Canton Trade Fai and the Shunde Furniture Fair. Mei has also completed her Master of Applied Linguistics from the University of Sydney. She has recently completed her Graduate Diploma in Chinese Language Teaching, from the University of Technology, Sydney. She is fluent in English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese.

Mei-Lin Chu is currently doing her Masters of Education at Monash University. She completed her Bachelor Arts in English Literature from the Chinese Culture University, Taipei, Taiwan and also a Certificate of International Trade from the Chinese College of Marine Technology and Commerce in Taiwan. She was also a part-time teacher at the Chien-Chiao Language School. Mei-Lin teaches our children classes at ACCS.

Fiona Wang is currently doing her Masters of TESOL at Monash University. She completed her Bachelor Arts in English Literature from the Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics in China. She was also a part-time teacher at the Hope Training School and have taught students at various levels. She won the second prize in the National English Competition in 2008. Fiona can speak fluent Manderin and English and is also reasonably fluent in Cantonese, Japanese and Korean.

Vera Weimeng Liu obtained her Bachelor Degree in International Business with Vice-Chancellor Awards from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). Before coming to Melbourne, she worked as a Mandarin teacher at a Shanghai Language Centre. In addition, she has translated many technical and commercial documents as well as being an interpreter for the CEO of a German Company. She is currently undertaking her Master of Management at the University of Melbourne.

Pin Huang is from China where she received a Bachelor of Mathematics from Jimei University. She is currently studying her Masters of Information Technology at Monash University. She also holds a certificate of Standard Mandarin Level 2+ and the Standard Chinese Characters certificate. She has been a private tutor teaching students Mathematics, English and Chinese for the past 4 years. She has also worked in a private educational institution where she taught teenagers Math,English and Chinese. Before she came to Melbourne, she had been a teacher in a senior high school for 1 year.

Jie Shen comes from Hangzhou, China. She possesses a Bachelor of Arts in English from Zhejiang University and is currently undertaking her Masters of Education specialising in Early Childhood at Monash University. Before coming to Melbourne, she has had several years experience working with children as an English teacher in a language training school. Jie is fluent in English, Mandarin and can also communicate in Cantonese.

Mia Cao is from Shanghai, China. She graduated from East China Normal University with a Bachelor degree in Political Education and Diploma of Business Management. She used to be a teacher in a key secondary school in Shanghai. She was also a private tutor for various level students, teaching Chinese and English for more than 5 years. She enjoys sharing Chinese language and culture with new learners.

Jeffic Ye is from Guangzhou, China. She has a Bachelor’s Degree of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and has recently been registered as a primary school teacher in Australia. She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Translation and Interpreting. She has over 5 years experience in working with children where she designed children activities, children learning campaigns and teaching curriculums. Jeffic Ye is proficient in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. 

Jin Sun comes from Shanghai, China. She graduated from Shanghai Normal University and then got her Bachelor of Arts in English Literature at the Shanghai International Studies University. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Professional Accounting at RMIT University. She was a bilingual and English teacher for 9 years and also an Examiner of Shanghai Children’s Oral English Test for 3 years. She was trained in Modern Linguistics and Bilingual teaching as well as multi-intelligence. In 2004, she won the First Prize in Shanghai Bilingual Teaching Competition and in 2006, won the First Prize in National Competition of Integration of Information Technology and Subjects. She loves singing and drama directing and was one of RMIT Idols in the 2009’s official singing competition.

Brad Jian Qiao comes from Heilongjiang province, China. He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Chinese Teaching as a Second Language from Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai. He is a native Mandarin speaker and obtained his certificate of Standard Mandarin Level 1 in 2006. From 2007 to 2010, he worked as a full-time Mandarin teacher in Beijing. He is currently undertaking his Masters of Accounting and Financial Management at La Trobe University.

Xin Yang, from Wuhan, China, is fluent in English and Mandarin with a Certificate of Standard Mandarin Level 2. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters of Teaching at the University of Melbourne. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) at the same University. She was also on an Exchange Program to Sweden for a year where she studied the Swedish language and culture. Xin enjoys learning and teaching languages. She used to teach English at a Language Centre in China and she also has experience tutoring Chinese here in Melbourne.

Louise Liang graduated from Beijing Language & Culture University with a Bachelor degree in English and a Masters degree in Employment Relations from the London School of Economics. Louise is experienced in tutoring international students for HSK (standardized international Chinese proficiency test) and she is also a consecutive interpreter accredited by the Ministry of Personnel in China. Before coming to Melbourne, Louise has extensive experiences working for development agencies and volunteering as an extracurricular activities facilitator for migrant children. Currently, she is pursuing her Masters degree in Environment at the University of Melbourne.

Nora Liang from Guangzhou, is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. She obtained her Bachelor Degree in Human Resource Management from Monash University. Currently, she is studying her Masters of Education (Early Childhood Education) at Monash University. She was a private language tutor to an Australian local family for 2 months. She also was a private English tutor in China, and had experience in teaching a group of children aged between 4-6 years old. She enjoys getting along and communicating with children.

Willa Wei is from Suzhou, China.  She has a BA Degree in English Language (Applied Linguistics) from Nanjing Forestry University. She used to be an English (ESL) lecturer at Soochow University. She is also tertiary qualified with a Master of Education (TESOL) from Monash University in Melbourne. She has worked as an English Instructor at the Global Language School in Brisbane for 2 and half years, specialising in IELTS Preparation and General English. Since 2011, she has been an internationally recognised ESOL teacher accredited by University of Cambridge.

Kelly Liu is from Beijing, native Mandarin speaker. Currently, she is undertaking her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Melbourne. She had taken many Chinese Studies subjects, ranging from Chinese history, culture, business & economy to language origins, as breadths subjects. She is a member of KDC voluntary teaching group and volunteered at a primary school in Sichuan Province, China. She used to work in YESSAT English language & tests training center as an Education consultant and part-time English teacher. In addition, she had experience tutoring Chinese beginner level here in Melbourne.

Wen Fei Ye comes from Henan and is currently undertaking her Bachelor degree in Business Information Systems at Monash University. She is a native Mandarin speaker and has achieved the Certificate of Standard Mandarin Level 1 (the top level of standard Mandarin certification). Wen Fei has more than three years teaching experience and has been a professional Chinese teacher for many students including adults and children from different cultural backgrounds. The love of Chinese culture and the pleasure of teaching Chinese is her deep motivation to be a professional Chinese teacher.

Jennifer Zhao is from Beijing where she won several English speech and comprehensive competitions during her high school years. She has completed her Advanced Diploma of Translation from AITI and is now an accredited NAATI translator. She took part in Beijing 2008 Olympics volunteer programme. She has also been tutoring different levels of primary school students with their Math and Chinese in Melbourne. Jennifer is now completing her Bachelor of Commerce in Monash University majoring in Accounting and Finance.

Lingling Sun, was originally from Zhejiang, China. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education from RMIT, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree of Arts from Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics. She has over 2 years teaching experience with children conducted in Melbourne and also some English teaching experience with Language training centers prior to her migration to Australia.

Heidi Siu is from Hong Kong, a native Cantonese speaker who is also fluent in Mandarin. She is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts degree at Monash University majoring in Linguistics and Geography. She has voluntary experience teaching children in public school and also some experience teaching adults from non-English speaking countries. She will be pursuing her studies in Graduate Diploma of teaching in the coming year.

Heather Lin is from Guangzhou China. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Deakin University and Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education from Monash University. She is fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, and has been tutoring Mandarin for over a year. She has experience teaching in primary and secondary schools as a Chinese and Economics teacher.

Christine Hung is from Taipei, Taiwan. She obtained the Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and Literature (major: English) from National Chung-Cheng University. She was lead actress and publicity manager for the annual graduate performance in her department at university and served as English tutor in a private institution in Taiwan. Prior to coming to Sydney, she did part-time interpreting for IDP. After finishing an MA in Theatre Studies and a second MA in Chinese Studies with a thesis on Hou Hsiao-hsien at UNSW, she is currently pursuing a PhD in Film Studies. She served as a research assistant and tutor in Film History at UNSW and is also a guest lecturer in Asian Cinema at UWS. Recently, she presented a paper on Hou Hsiao-hsien’s cinematic texts at The 15th Annual North American Taiwan Studies Conference in the University of Texas.

Carol Ba was originally from Beijing. She graduated from the Beijing Foreign Studies University with a Bachelor of Law. She did a variety of interpreting and translating jobs in Beijing and was the Mandarin tutor for employees of Korean Airlines. She completed her Master degree of Translating and Interpreting as well as Master degree of Conference Interpreting at Macquarie University . She got her NAATI Accreditation of Interpreting between English and Mandarin languages and was awarded the NSW AMES Certificate of Volunteer English Language Tutoring. She is now a professional interpreter.

Lili Liu is from Tangshan, in Hebei Province, China. She graduated from Hebei Normal University with a Bachelor degree in teaching. Lili has Secondary school teaching qualifications and Standard Mandarin Certification (Level 2+) and has taught in High schools for 6 years before moving to Beijing. She was an editor of IELTS text books and also taught Mandarin and English to Korean students of all ages before moving to Sydney. She is fluent in English and standard Mandarin.

Kelly Gui graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Before coming to Sydney to take part in the Master of Professional Accounting program at the University of New South Wales, she worked at the Shanghai Non-public Education Research Institution as a research and office assistant. Her past working experience in the Education field has thus led her to pursue her passion to be a Chinese teacher. Kelly has Certification as an Intermediate Interpreter and is fluent in Mandarin, English and Shanghainese.

Julie Li Zeng obtained her teaching qualifications after she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Shantou University. Passionate about teaching, she has been working as a language tutor since 2003. Besides her fluency in English, she can also speak three major different Chinese dialects. Before joining ACCS, she worked in an ESL coaching college for the past two years. With her cross-cultural and multilingual background as well as her teaching experience, Julie is confident that she can help ACCS students greatly in not only their language skills but also building a strong awareness of cultural and language differences.

Mary Xu graduated from University of Technology in Sydney with a Masters in International Marketing. She was born in Shanghai and grew up in the south-west of China. Through living in different cities, she had experienced different sub-cultures and life patterns within China. She speaks four major Chinese dialects. She is the fifth generation as a teacher in her family and she has had many varied experiences in teaching both adults and children. She has also published many articles and poems in various newspapers and magazines since she was thirteen.

Chris Quan graduated from the University of Sydney with a Master of Education (TESOL) and Hengyang Normal University with a Bachelor of Arts. He has also been awarded the High School and University Teaching Certificates and the high-level Mandarin Certificate in China. He has worked as a teacher and translator in the South China Agriculture University, Yinhong Co. Ltd, AcademicAsia Co. Ltd, Yishang Training Centre and Yingda Language School. He has just completed his Master of Interpreting and Translation at the University of Western Sydney and hence is now a professional NAATI Accreditated Interpreter and Translator.

Xuan Chen is from the city of Guangzhou, China. She is currently studying for her Bachelor Degree in Accounting at Macquarie University. She speaks two major Chinese dialects, which is Mandarin and Cantonese, and she has a good understanding of the culture of the Cantonese-speaking regions. She gives Cantonese learning lessons in a way that makes the learning process interesting and empowering. She is passionate in sharing her favourite language with others.