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English Language Center News
The English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah managed to invite one speaker from the National Geographic Learning to present a webinar on the topic “Power of Image.”
Alex Warren, a Senior ELT Academic Consultant for the National Geographic Learning, is a DELTA qualified teacher trainer with over 19 years’ experience of working in ELT as a teacher, teacher trainer and academic director. He has presented in over 50 countries throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.
In this hands-on and practical session, the participants’ attention was drawn to look at a number of activities based around the images in the course books Pathways that they can use in their classes to drive not only communication but critical and creative thinking as well.
It was an interactive session where the attendees took active part in discussion and responded with a variety of thoughts. They also came across various ways to utilize textbook images for enhancing students critical thinking and creative skills.
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A group of 15 ELC students at UTAS-Salalah, accompanied by two lecturers, visited the Dhofar University (DU) on the 2nd of May 2023.
The ELC staff and students were given a warm welcome and gift packs and were guided to the Foundation Program Block. They were briefed by the Director Dr. Moosa Ahmed Bait Ali Sulaiman regarding the working system of the department. He encouraged students to overcome challenges in honing their English language skills.
Thereafter, the ELC delegation was taken to the different departments, laboratories, and classrooms, where they interacted with DU staff and students to share each other’s ideas.
According to the students, the educational field trip was inspiring and exciting and they look forward to more trips like that in the future to gain more exposures.
The ELC Clubs thanked Mr. Saeed Al Mashiki, the Head of the ELC, for making all the necessary arrangements, which resulted to a smooth and a memorable field trip for both students and teachers.
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On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, the English Language Center of UTAS-Salalah hosted a seminar cum workshop titled “Speaking is a problem! Who is responsible and what can be done,” with Ms. We’am Al-Jilani, an ELC lecturer, as the resource person.
The presenter shared her ideas and research on the topic. Her discussion covered various points related to the research objectives, a brief profile of the Level 1 student participants, data collection tools like semi-structured and open-ended questionnaire, and the statistics of the encoded data.
Based on her findings about the speaking problems of Level 1 students, she stressed that it is the responsibility of all the stake holders, teachers, students, decision makers to take steps to overcome this problem. As teachers, we need to give students more practice, use only English as a medium of instruction in the classroom, motivate students as much as we can, and focus more on vocabulary and pronunciation.
In the second part of the session, the participants were involved to play a game and learn Spanish as a new language. The purpose of this game was to highlight the importance of practice in learning the second language.
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The ELC Research & Consultancy committee hosted a workshop on “Academic Writing in Research” at the Self Access Center on April 25, 2023.
Dr. Badri Abdulhakim Mudhsh, an ELC Lecturer and the presenter, provided the staff with different definitions of writing and academic writing. Other samples drawn from earlier research publications served to show the characteristics of academic writing.
The session gave the attendees a deeper understanding of how to write a research paper.
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The Writing Center of the English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah conducted a workshop titled “Providing Meaningful Feedback” in an effort to help students improve their writing, with Mr. Vusa Moyo, an ELC Lecturer, as the presenter.
On April 17th 2023, Level 2 teachers gathered in the Self-Access Center (SAC) to engage in meaningful discussions that are essential for improving their feedback skills in the classroom. During the workshop teachers were given writing samples, and shared their feedback techniques; thus, creating an atmosphere of helping and learning from each other.
Feedback can be described as one of the most meaningful and effective teaching and learning techniques in the student learning process and is essential to the development of students’ English language skills.
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Twenty students from various levels at UTAS-Salalah participated in the Inter-Level Impromptu Speech Competition organized by the Speaking Club of the English Language Center on April 11, 2023.
Categorized in two groups, students from Levels 1 and 2 were assigned in Group 1, while Group 2 comprised of Levels 3 and 4 students. Each participant was given a topic on the spot, with two minutes to prepare and one minute to deliver a speech.
In Group 1, Abdul Rahim Tariq and Aflah Salim Saif Brashdi emerged as first and second placers, while Shouq Amur Al Mashani and Rawan Nassib Al Balushi in Group 2 bagged the first and second positions, respectively.
According to the students, the competition instilled a lot of their confidence in speaking before a group of audience.
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The ELC staff attended a refresher seminar cum workshop on the different steps in writing a research paper and the factors to take care of while writing each section in a paper.
Dr. Nayef Jomaa, an ELC Lecturer, was the speaker who elaborated on the lexical items that can be useful in the writing process of a paper. His presentation was titled “Reading and Writing Articles.”
The seminar was organized by the ELC Research & Consultancy Committee on April 13, 2023 at the Self Access Center.
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Delivering a presentation from a written report is a part of the Level 4 continuous assessment. To support students in that aspect, the Writing Center of the English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah organized a workshop titled Effective Presentation Skills.
The workshop was conducted on April 10th, 2023 with Dr. Lorna Beduya, an ELC Lecturer as the presenter. The following points were underscored:
- The Do’s and Don’ts’s for an effective presentation.
- 10 essential tips for an effective presentation.
- How to create and choose slides for a presentation.
- The importance of speaking skills
- How to choose the correct information from a written report and present it
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Aimed at enhancing teachers’ IT skills, a training session was conducted by the English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah onTuesday, 4 April 2023.
The resource person was Mr. Antony Jawahar, the ELC Registrar and E-Learning Coordinator. He highlighted the importance of using MS Excel in a day-to-day professional life. During the session, various aspects of the spreadsheet program were explored, such as Keyboard Shortcuts, Auto Numbering, Basic Functions and Formula, Formatting, Custom Sort, Finding and Removing Duplicates, Filter, Duplicating and Saving Tab. The participants asked certain question which were elaborately answered.
At the end of the training session, Mr. Salim Al-Maashani, the HoS-English Language Programs, thanked the speaker for offering a practical training session, and urged the participants to make use of the things learnt during the session. He also appreciated the active participation of the staff in such training.
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Ms. Khayar Al Amri led a seminar cum panel discussion on “Prospects of Research” for the English Language Center staff at UTAS-Salalah on April 5, 2023 at the Self Access Center.
The presenter focused on the prospects of research in the field of English Language Teaching and Linguistics and emphasized the changes that have been occurring in the field for the past several years due to the advancement of technology. The importance of research in the context of teaching and other associated activities was the main topic of the panel discussion. The participants also shared their opinion and they all unanimously agreed that research must be given adequate importance in the future.
The seminar was organized by the ELC Research & Consultancy Committee whose commitment is to provide relevant research seminar and workshop for staff development.
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On Tuesday 28 March 2023, the English Language Center of UTAS-Salalah conducted a workshop titled “Teachers’ Capability of Classroom Adaptability” for its academic staff.
The proceedings began with words of welcome by Ms. KhayarAl-Amri (HoS-CTM), who highlighted the significance of such workshops to foster a culture of creativity, adaptability, self-development, and collaboration amongst teachers.
Dr. Rana Aslam introduced Ms. Khayar and Dr. Lorna Beduyaas resource persons of the workshop. Conducted in two parts, the presenters actively addressed key topics such as: i) Importance of Classroom Adaptability; ii) Types of Classroom Adaptation; iii) Skills to acquire to adapt the classroom; iv) Types of Curriculum Adaptation; v) Flexibility & Adaptability; vi) A New Game Plan: 21st Century Skills, and vii) Adaptability and Teachers’ Well-being.
Dr. Rana thanked the presenters for their insightful and invaluable contribution and concluded the event with appreciation remarks. On a final note, the importance of teachers’ contribution to these academic discussions and their active participation in such academic pursuits was highlighted.
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The Arts Club of the English Language Center at UTAS-Salalah has entered the second phase of the Going Green Project. Recyclable materials, consisting of bottled glasses for soft drinks, were collected, cut and used as plant vases.
After the members of the club finished putting all the indoor plants in the recycled vases, they went from one room to another in the ELC buildings to distribute plants to staff and students, who in turn, will water and take good care of the plant they received as per the suggested plant care.
A study revealed that workplace happiness improves when natural elements like plants are introduced.Also, indoor plants in the office offer benefits, such as purifying the air, increasing productivity, and replenishing focus.
The Arts Club hopes to propagate from the existing indoor plants and spread greenery indoors, by sharing more recycled vases and pots with plants to other departments in the near future.
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To help students prepare for the mid-term exam, a Level 3 workshop on “How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay” was organized by the ELC Writing Center on March 21st 2023 in the Self-Access Center (SAC).
Since writing is an area that many students’ find challenging, this practical workshop provided students the opportunity to brainstorm ideas and practice their writing skills. Mrs. Natalya Dementyeva, an ELC lecturer was the resource person, assisted by the Writing Center team during the conduct of students’ activities.
The workshop was a great success and students left feeling confident that they will be able to execute the essay in the upcoming mid-term exam.
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The Writing Center, in collaboration with Level 4, conducted a teacher’s workshop on the plagiarism detection system called the Turnitin on March 16, 2023 in one of the computer labs of ELC.
The practical workshop was conducted by Ms. Rekha Siby, the Level 4 Coordinator. According to teachers, the workshop allowed them to create links for students’ projects and to observe how Turnitin detects all forms of plagiarism, which shall be useful in checking students’ final project at the end of April 2023.
The Writing Center of the English Language Center has been conducting workshops not only for teachers but also for students. It is managed by the Coordinator Ms. Racquel Barth and her team.
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