The Staff Professional Development (SPD) committee of the English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah provided a number of opportunities for the academic staff to reach their full potential professionally and personally by having organized four webinars and one in-person workshop during the first semester of Academic Year 2021-2022.
The first SPD webinar focused on the challenges faced by the ELT teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was presented by Mrs. Manal Alabsy, an ELC lecturer, to around 40 participants on October 12, 2021.
The second webinar was delivered by Dr.Reynolds, a guest speaker from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, last November 8, 2021. The webinar shed light on the techniques in increasing students’ engagement with their learning, such as foregrounding “metalanguage” about learning in the class, asking students to complete “exit tickets” after each class, and incorporating tasks that require reflection.
The third SPD program was an in-person workshop on team building. It was conducted by Mr. Edward Stallard, an ELC lecturer, in the Self-Access Center on November 30, 2021. It was an interactive workshop about the essential skills in creating a team. Participants were asked to build towers, which were judged according to their height, aesthetics, and strength.
“Corpus Linguistics” was the fourth webinar. Dr. Niall Curry from Coventry University in the UK talked about what is corpus linguistics and how can it help with English language teaching and learning. About 50 participants joined the said webinar on December 1, 2021.
The last webinar was presented by Mr. Salim Al-Mashani, the HoS-English Language Program, on December 13, 2021. He talked about the essence of leadership, types of leadership, and attributes of leaders. He highlighted the important roles of leaders in the higher education sector.
The ELC administration, headed by Mr. Saeed Al-Mashiki, commended the SPD committee, which is chaired by Ms. Muna Kashoob, for its continuous efforts in organizing webinars, workshop, and other training programs for the ELC staff.
Preparations for the 4th annual ELT symposium are underway. The event will be participated by academics and researchers across the Sultanate of Oman on March 17, 2022.
