Katie Finlay

Katie Finlay started her teaching career in Milan, Italy where she lived for 9 years. She travelled there after completing a Bachelor of Arts at Canterbury University and CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). In Italy, she taught both general and business English in multinational companies such as KPMG, Price Waterhouse, MTV Italia and Ernest Young. She also did audio recordings for English language magazines and helped architectural students prepare for TOEFL and Cambridge examinations. Katie developed an interest in languages while studying Italian, which helped her understand the challenges facing others.

Katie returned to New Zealand and decided to settle in Nelson where she enjoys being part of a vibrant Italian community. She joined the English language team at NMIT in 2009 to teach across varying levels including Cambridge preparation short courses. “It’s so rewarding being able to meet people from different parts of the world in a totally different setting from the monolingual groups in Milan.” Katie is currently teaching lower levels who are at the beginning of their learning pathways.

Katie’s approach to teaching is inclusive and she brings a sense fun to the classroom. Her aim is to provide English language knowledge that is relevant to what her learners want to achieve whether in the workplace or for further study. She enjoys working alongside her colleagues to create NZCEL (New Zealand Certificate in English Language) assessments and has recently completed the NCALNE Voc (National Certificate in Adult Literacy and Numeracy Education (Vocational/Workplace).