If you need help, advice or assistance.

The person with overall responsibility for the pastoral care of AIS Students is Nadia Kennington, Student Support Manager. If you need help, advice, or assistance with non-academic issues while studying at AIS, please contact Nadia or a member of the Student Services Marketing team.

Auckland Institute of Studies (AIS) together with RAISE, offers students the opportunity to see a counsellor for non-academic problems.

Counsellors will meet either on-campus or offsite as preferred.

Contact details:

Toll free 0800 SELFHELP (0800 735 343)

Email referrals@raisementalhealth.co.nz

Online www.raisementalhealth.co.nz

The AIS Student Support Centre at the St Helens Campus, are available to assist students with gaining employment during studies and after graduation by advising on resume preparation, interview techniques and suitable placements for work experience. As part of the job-seeking process, our staff will assist students and graduates to contact potential employers and set up interview arrangements.

Tamendi Pranish, our Study Skills Advisor, provides free, high-quality learning assistance to any AIS enrolled student. This assistance may be provided to individuals or groups and is designed to help students gain maximum benefit from their programme of study. The Study Skills Advisor has a range of expertise in academic reading, writing, listening and speaking strategies. The Study Skills Advisor can also work with you to improve general study skills, time management, assignment support and preparation for exams. 

Individual appointments can be made with the Study Skills Advisor for a confidential chat.

The Study Skills Advisor is available anytime for drop-in assistance and support, and no appointment is necessary. Drop-ins run on a first-come, first-seen basis.

Tamendi is located in room A114 at the St Helens Campus.

Tamendi Pranish
Learning Support Advisor
MA TESOL (NZ), PGDipSLT (NZ), B. Ed (Language and Literature) (Fiji), DipTchg (Fiji), Cert TEFL (Sydney), Cert TESL

Phone: (09) 815 1717 ext 841
Email: tamendip@ais.ac.nz 

The Study Skills Advisor holds workshops on specific study skills and strategies throughout the semester. These are free to attend and no appointment is necessary. Requests for group specific workshops (such as assignment/examination support) are also available by appointment.

Need some tips on how to get the best out of your studies and improve your English? Read up on some of our study tips for speaker of other languages.

The advice given below is intended for non-native English language speakers.

General advice to help you study English

• The most important thing is goal setting. You need to set short-term goals (for example, I will learn five new words every day, I will read four books this month, etc.) and also long-term goals (think about your future).
• Take the time to plan your goals and organise your study time. Try and study at the same time every day so that you get into a routine.
• Always review your lecture notes as soon after a lecture as possible. This means elaborating your notes from textbooks and rewriting any material that is not clear.
• Give yourself about 50 minutes for each study period, then take a ten-minute break, maybe do some exercise or have a drink.
• Begin your work before dinner, when you are still fresh and the day's lectures have not yet faded from your memory.
• Tackle the most difficult work early, when you are fresh and motivated.
• Let your friends know your study timetable and tell them not to interrupt you.
• Review your plan from time to time. There could be changes in your set routines and adjustments may need to be made. If you've been too tough on yourself, you may have to relax a little. Some subjects may need more time than you thought, others less.
• If you use a train or bus, put your travelling time to good use by planning or rote learning material.
• Move into a Kiwi homestay.
• Go flatting with Kiwis or people who don't speak your language.
• Study with a friend - you can test each other on vocabulary. Practise speaking and listening and discuss things you don't understand.
• Make Kiwi friends.
• Go to Kiwi restaurants.
• Join the AIS student groups.
• Try to think in English, not your native tongue.

These reading tips will improve your English skills

• Go to the library every day after class and read.
• Read every day for half an hour.
• Surf the internet.
• Read the newspaper. Local newspapers are better than the big daily ones because the language is simpler. Sometimes it's good to read the whole article, but other times just read the headline and the first few paragraphs. Don't use your dictionary every time you find a new word - try and guess all the words you can, and then use the dictionary only for the really important words that you need in order to understand the main idea.

Some ideas to help increase your vocabulary

• Revise new words and recycle your vocabulary every day for half an hour.
• Build your vocabulary by reading books, newspapers and magazines, rather than just using your dictionary.
• Do crossword puzzles in your spare time.
• In your vocabulary book, don't translate English words into your language - write BOTH the words and the MEANINGS in simple English that you can understand. It may be helpful to group words into subjects (for example, car words - brake, traffic lights, give-way, hubcap, etc).

Speaking English and listening to English will help you improve

Use every opportunity you can to speak to people in English (for example, in shops, in bars or during other outings). 

• Phone someone from your class each day and speak to them in English.
• Listen to the radio. Talkback radio is particularly useful because the people who ring up are ordinary New Zealanders. They repeat themselves a lot and they use common idioms. Also try taping the news on the radio and listen to it several times. The more times you listen, the more you'll hear and understand.
• Watch some television every day. If you've only been learning English for a short time, children's programmes, like Sesame Street which are on in the early mornings and early afternoons, are good. They repeat words a lot and have lots of pictures. If you've been learning English for longer, watch 'soaps' like Shortland Street. You can learn lots of New Zealand idioms from this programme. If there's an idiom you don't understand, write it down and ask your teacher or a friend. It's also good to watch the television news. It can be very difficult to understand, but if you have a DVD recorder, it's good to record it and watch it as many times as you need to. Teletext subtitles (if you have them) will help you learn the words that are used.
• Watch videos and go to the cinema.
• Go to a bible study group or to church (even if you don't believe in God, it's a great way to practise your English).
• Start a regular discussion or study group with other classmates.
• Listen to English songs. Listen again and again and try and write down all the words you hear.
• Visit classmates after school or at the weekend.
• Come to school early so you can talk with other students.
• Read a short paragraph out loud every day to practise your pronunciation.
• Get a part-time job in a New Zealand restaurant (check that your student visa allows for this first).

Tips to improve your written English

• Exchange email addresses with your classmates and email them regularly in English.
• Write a diary in English every day.
• Find a native English speaking pen pal to write to.

The Auckland Institute of Studies’ Strategic Plan 2022-2025 supports the wellbeing and safety of all learners. In accordance with this, student wellbeing goals are rooted in the institute’s objective of creating a supportive learning environment to equip students with knowledge, skills and abilities to be successful in their future careers. This objective reflects the institute’s commitment to its four core values of quality education, supportive environment, individual focus, and real-world success.

The focus on student wellbeing reflects the ethical responsibility of the institute to promote wellbeing and safety and respond to the needs and issues that impact learners. In addition, AIS aims that wellbeing and safety practices honour the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the foregrounds of Maori concepts manaakitanga, whanaungatanga and rangatiratanga.

Manaakitanga embodies the respect shared between the host and its visitor. It describes the responsibility of the host to take care of the visitor’s physical, mental, spiritual and emotional wellbeing. This is reflected in terms of the care, assistance and respect (including respect for language, culture and identity) between AIS and students.

Whanaungatanga is the process of establishing links and maintaining and enhancing relationships in a culturally appropriate way. This concept also reflects the responsibility of the institute in connecting and establishing relationships with the whanau (family) of students, and in ensuring their safety and wellbeing on campus.

Rangatiratanga is a concept associated with self-determination, autonomy to make personal decisions, and leadership. This reflects that AIS is working with students, staff and other stakeholders to recognise their rights to be heard and be involved in decisions concerning their wellbeing needs.

In ensuring that the wellbeing goals and safety of learners are achieved, the following goals are identified:

Promote wellbeing and safety

• Gather data or information on emerging learner wellbeing and safety concerns.
• Educate and/or enhance learners’ awareness of good physical and mental health.

Respond to the needs and concerns of diverse learners

• Connect learners to appropriate providers of medical and mental health services.
• Equip staff and lecturers with relevant training to effectively support the wellbeing and safety of learners.
• Work with staff and learners in responding to incidents of discrimination, racism, bullying and abuse.
• Encourage learners to work with AIS staff in identifying and supporting learners at risk.
• Provide activities that will allow learners to improve their physical and mental health.

Learner voice

• Involve learners in developing, reviewing and improving strategic wellbeing goals and plans.

Cultural sensitivity and inclusion

• Promote and establish an inclusive environment, reducing the risk of discrimination, racism, bullying and abuse.
• Provide cultural activities that uphold the cultural needs and aspirations of diverse learner groups.
• Encourage students to participate in social activities and events to help build relationships and develop social, spiritual and cultural networks.

Accessible physical and digital learning environment

• Ensure that learners have access to a physical and digital learning environment that can assist them with their studies as well as foster social relationships with peers.
• Identify and remove barriers to accessing facilities and services for all learners, including those with disabilities.

Safe, inclusive, positive and clean student accommodation facilities

• Provide information and access to suitable accommodation that is safe and secure.
• Ensure that student accommodation meets the needs and requirements of learners.