ELC (283)
On May 4, 2023, Mr Abdullah Balushi, who is the representative of Risk Management committee in ELC, presented an awareness session on Risk Management to level part-time teachers and the new lecturers joined the ELC, UTAS-Ibri. The prime objective of the session was to create awareness among the above -mentioned target audience on various aspects of Risk Management. The session made the audience conversant with the risk evaluation method, as it is important to understand the relationship between risks and the cascading impact they could have on an organization’s strategic goals.
Mr Abdullah spoke at length about the four steps involved in the Risk Management process. He mentioned that to identify, analyze, evaluate and treat while studying the risk factors. The session ended on a positive note as it was new to many.
As technology has become an integral part of language teaching, it becomes inevitable for teachers to update themselves with the relevant teaching technology to make teaching–learning process meaningful, effective and productive. It becomes all the more important for teachers to be familiar with using smartboards in the classroom.
The classrooms at UTAS-Ibri ELC are well equipped with smartboard projectors which can be used to project all kinds of data like pictures, documents and videos. In light of this, My Syam and Mr T. Rao conducted a workshop on May 11 2023 at UTAS-Ibri for ELC teachers on using the stylus effectively on a smartboard.
It was a refreshing session for many and helped especially those teachers who were new to the system. Their efforts were highly appreciated and there was a request for similar sessions in future.
Profiles of the Speakers Jabez Syam and Tatha Rao are ELT practitioners over a decade and a half. Besides teaching they present in national and international conferences, write research papers for international journals, produce materials and supports ELC Committee activities. They are interested in linguistics, language teaching and educational technology.
Gender Bias is quite a rampant phenomenon in the world since time immemorial. At the advent of 20th century human rights movements and women suffragettes have lessened the situation. Despite that we see a lot gender bias in every field of life and in every corner of the world. It’s also found in Education field as well.
With this backdrop Mr Muhammed Aslam conducted a session for the ELC teaching staff at UTAS-Ibri on May 4, 2023 on identifying the biased materials in the curriculum that is being followed across the universities and he reiterated that teachers should be prudent enough to handle the issues through relevant teaching methods
Ms Fazilat Jahan from the English Language Center conducted a workshop titled “ChatGPT- from Foe to Friend” at the 10th ELT Symposium, UTAS-Shinas, Oman on Thursday, 16 March 2023. The workshop focused on the use of ChatGPT in enhancing English language Skills. The interactive session introduced the AI program ChatGPT and gave an overview on how to get started when using the program for the first time. It introduced the participants to novel ideas such as how to use ChatGPT for lesson planning. It also showed ways of using the program for proofreading, editing and brainstorming during class activities. The presenter shared interesting ways to write effective prompts and to use the AI model to give better search results. The workshop introduced the audiences to a tried-and-tested tool that language teachers can use to identify if a text is AI generated or written by a human.
The session was a resounding success and received positive feedback from the participants.
Mr. Faisal Al Shamali and Mr. Jabez Syam from the English Language Center presented a training session entitled “MS Teams Features Apps” on Thursday, 16 March 2023 in UTAS-Ibri . The session focused on using MS teams features apps like: Insights, Reflect, Assignments, Polly, class notebook, and forms in teaching English language skills. The interactive session introduced the MS teams features apps to level 2 lecturers and how to utilize them effectively in ESL classrooms. It also showed multifarious ways of using the features available in MS teams in online classroom activities. The session showed the audiences authentic samples from previous MS teams to aid the lecturers. The session was a real success and received positive feedback from the participants.
Mr. Faisal Al Shamali and Mrs. Nasiyba Al Ghafri from the English Language Center conducted a training session entitled “MS Teams Features Apps” on Thursday, 21 March 2023. The presentation focused on use of MS teams features apps like: myQuiz and Poll Everywhere in enhancing English language skills. The collaborative session introduced MS teams features and their effective implementation to Level 2 lecturers in ESL classrooms. It also highlighted the varied use of features available in MS teams in online classroom activities. The session also shared the activities from previous semesters that were used through MS teams to facilitate the lecturers. The session was received well with a positive feedback from the participants.
Mr. Ahmed Al Mamari conducted CIMS Awareness Session on Thursday 16th of March, 2023 at UTAS –Ibri. A detailed session on College Information Management System was well received by the audience as it made them conversant with its significant components and their functions. He gave a detailed description of General Foundation Programme and Post Foundation Programme offered by English Language centre and other courses offered by other departments like Business studies, Engineering and Information Technology.
He also gave a detailed account of the student enrollment process through CIMS. He also shared information on number of batches enrolled, part-time students, transferred students and the details of the teaching staff.Mr Ahmed also talked about the software used by UTAS and the focus was more on Moodle, AMS, MyELT, MS Teams and CIMS.
The session was well received and acknowledged by the audience.
Students who are taught English with genre analysis not only acquire language skills, but also develop a comprehensive comprehension of how to communicate efficiently in diverse social situations and discourse communities.
Dr. Mobina Rahnama conducted a research titled “Textuality in ISI and Non-ISI Mathematics Research Article Introductions: A Genre Analysis”. She was invited to be a guest speaker at the 42nd Thailand TESOL International Conference 2023 on the 28th of January, 2023 to share her research results and recommendations from scientists, researchers, practitioners, textbook writers, and ELT professionals. The conference was attended by TESOL practitioners from a variety of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fields to capture insightful ELT ground-breaking research, pedagogies, materials and innovations for current and future endeavors at local and global contexts.
Profile
Dr. Mobina Rahnama is currently a senior lecturer teaching language skills at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Ibri, Oman. She is a teacher educator as well. She has been teaching ELT since 2002 to people of different background and ages since then. Her previous experience includes teaching General English, ESP, and Business English at university in Iran, as well as being an assistant ESL teacher at Centennial Secondary School in Canada. She currently holds CPD workshops and IELTS teacher trainings. She holds a Ph.D. degree in TEFL/TESOL and she is a researcher as well. Her writing credits include authoring a number of papers and a book on English language teaching and feedback.
Dr. Mobina Rahnama was invited as a keynote speaker by the Democratic Arab Center based in Berlin, Germany in collaboration with the University of Benghazi, Libya and the University of Oran 2, Algeria on the 10th of December, 2022.
She believes that the 21st century university student faces the challenge of mastering English for Specific Purposes (ESP) to achieve success in their studies and specializations. The ability to communicate precise and accurate information in the English language is overwhelmingly vital and crucial as students enter the global job market. ESP skills allow students to effectively express their ideas and opinions in a variety of macrocosmic contexts, from academic writing to professional communication.
The feedback was highly positive and there was a very productive Q & A session which led to a fruitful ending.
Profile
Dr. Mobina Rahnama is currently a senior lecturer teaching language skills at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Ibri, Oman. She is a teacher educator as well. She has been teaching ELT since 2002 to people of different background and ages since then. Her previous experience includes teaching General English, ESP, and Business English at university in Iran, as well as being an assistant ESL teacher at Centennial Secondary School in Canada. She currently holds CPD workshops and IELTS teacher trainings. She holds a Ph.D. degree in TEFL/TESOL and she is a researcher as well. Her writing credits include authoring a number of papers and a book on English language teaching and feedback.
Dr. Mobina Rahnama was invited by the Arab English Teachers Association as a keynote speaker at the 27th webinar in order to deliver a presentation to teachers all across the world on the 19th of July, 2022. The presentation covered all the scopes related to teaching and learning which is motivation as she believes. She stated that motivation is the driving force behind both learning and teaching processes. Without it, even the most talented teachers and students will struggle to make progress. Motivation provides the energy, focus, and determination needed to tackle new challenges, overcome obstacles, and achieve goals.
In the context of learning, motivation can come from a variety of sources, including personal interest, curiosity, the desire to improve, or the need to gain new skills for a career. Similarly, in teaching, the ability to motivate students is essential to creating an engaging and effective positive learning environment. Skilled teachers know how to tap into their students’ intrinsic motivators, as well as create external motivators, to keep their students engaged and eager to learn. Ultimately, the key to successful learning and teaching is a shared passion for knowledge and a desire to continuously improve.
The presentation was received well and appreciated by the teaching fraternity and the students.
Profile
Dr. Mobina Rahnama is currently a senior lecturer teaching language skills at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Ibri, Oman. She is a teacher educator as well. She has been teaching ELT since 2002 to people of different background and ages since then. Her previous experience includes teaching General English, ESP, and Business English at university in Iran, as well as being an assistant ESL teacher at Centennial Secondary School in Canada. She currently holds CPD workshops and IELTS teacher trainings. She holds a Ph.D. degree in TEFL/TESOL and she is a researcher as well. Her writing credits include authoring a number of papers and a book on English language teaching and feedback