Born:  Goa, India, November 1926

Died:  Perth, October 2004

Unmistakeable in fluorescent safety jacket, Wilf D'Souza would always do a quick survey before heading off on his bicycle. Drink bottle, check. Nibbles, check. Compass, check. Headphones too.

From home in Willetton, he cycled in all directions. When his eight children were young and following on their own machines, the family man would look around protectively. Over the last couple of decades, he was off the leash, parentally speaking.

A family friend, Francis Lobo, recalls that "the love of Wilf's leisure life was riding . . . being out on his bike. He started a trend in the local community, with many parents imitating this biking guru by accompanying their children along cycleways".

Mr D'Souza's role as Pied Piper on wheels, guiding travellers and choosing turns right and left, was in many ways symbolic of his life commitment to a rather bolder series of journeys - through the often treacherous highways and byways of the English language. He was a teacher with particular interest in how the many cultures within the English-speaking world had produced diversification, undoubtedly colourful but sometimes confusing.

Australia, to where he and his family emigrated in 1972, offered many hairpin bends, linguistically speaking. "Bring a plate" was a standard host's phrase that always amused him, as he reminded a gathering at Joondalup arranged by the Australian-Asian Association last year.

Did this mean, he remembers wondering, that the host was short of crockery? Many a migrant has turned up with a plate ready to use, rather than full of sandwiches or scones.

When an Australian says, "See you later," it is best not to expect a specific reunion. "Having a go at him" and "putting your ~foot in it" can be the verbal equivalent of heading up a cul-de-sac without brakes.

Mr D'Souza, who taught first at WA Institute of Technology (now Curtin University) and then at Murdoch, had a family background that prepared him for diversity. Born in Goa when it was a Portuguese territory north of Mumbai, he accompanied his parents, Amy and Philip, to Uganda, where many Goans and Indians settled for extended periods.

Wilf, who would return to that part of East Africa as a qualified schoolmaster, completed his secondary schooling with Jesuits in India and went on to teacher training in Mumbai. The dancing prowess of this happy-go-lucky character, in the words of Mr Lobo, was among the attributes that endeared him to Gracinda Correia, a fellow student whom he married in 1958.

By that time he was established at a high school in the Ugandan capital, Kampala. He won a scholarship to the University of Edinburgh, where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in teaching English as a second language.

Returning to Africa, he specialised in training teachers. His thesis for a master of education degree, completed while lecturing at Makerere University, was on the block method of organising students into groups and, for example, inviting them to take turns to lead the learning session.

Mr D'Souza was head of the university's department of English methods when Uganda's political climate began to blow cold for anyone of Indian origin. President Idi Amin was making life increasingly difficult for Ugandan Asians. Many chose to head for Britain. The D'Souzas, who now had seven children and with Gracinda expecting an eighth, headed for WA.

Very soon they were firmly into local social life - knowing to fill a plate, as well as "bring one", when asked out. At Curtin, Wilf learned what his fellow lecturers meant when they said they "could hardly blame him for wanting to shoot through" from Idi Amin's Uganda.

When Murdoch University opened in 1975, Wilf became a foundation member of staff, fitting in smoothly to pr~ograms of communication studies, cross-cultural psychology and teaching English as a second language.

Helping migrants was among his specialities. "Though many can expound views on everything from politics to prices," he said in an interview with the university's newspaper, "some cannot read a street directory nor safety information, which makes them a danger to themselves and others."

Murdoch had emphasised its practical, as opposed to academic, face by linking with the WA Water Authority, the first State Government body to give its many migrant employees up to 100 hours a year for on-the-job language training. Aboriginal patients at King Edward Hospital in Subiaco were among others to benefit from D'Souza workshops. It was a serious business, trying to explain such English quirks as why "rough" is not spelt "ruff" and why, in cricket, batsmen come in when they're out, and go out when they're in. Humour and playfulness were, however, always part of his mental make-up.

"Wilf was an avid collector of key rings, lighters, pen knives and bottle-openers," says Mr Lobo. "Torches, radios, trinkets, Disney brooches . ..' Mickey Mouse was a favourite cartoon character, according to family consensus, though his interest in cinema and dance covered a much wider spectrum than Disneyland. Playing the mouth organ, oboe and accordion was a lifelong pleasure.

Wilf D'Souza, who would have been 78 tomorrow, is survived by Gracinda, their daughters, Ilona Stalenhoef, Frances D'Souza, Isabelle Quin and Janine Robless, sons, Noel, Blasco, Oscar and Philip, and seven grandchildren.

The family, as well as legions of former students and colleagues, will miss the teacher who knew that communication is always a blend of art, science and fun. Stores selling audio-visual equipment will also miss the patronage of a customer who rarely found a gadget he didn't like.