DUBAI — Cambridge Assessment English, a department of Cambridge University, has teamed up with some of the top universities in the United Arab Emirates and across Middle East and North Africa region, to enhance the English language skills of their students. The universities taking part will share best practices and increase their effectiveness.

The Cambridge English Higher Education Consortium will give English teachers and students access to a unique package of assessment, language trainings, practice materials and Apps, complementing existing courses & resources, in addition to unique model in which Cambridge works with the participating universities to measure the impact on students learning, particularly during these unprecedented times.

Some of the top universities in the region have already joined the alliance and more are expected to join in the near future. The universities will enjoy support from Cambridge Assessment English to improve their online delivery during these challenging times for education sector, where students are required to study off campus, via digital environments, from their homes.

The teachers will also have access to specially developed online teacher trainings & digital resources, some of the most on demand right now being Cambridge’s Teach English Online course and World of Better Learning program, which has helped more than 100,000 teachers around the world to sharpen their skills in the last few weeks alone.

Students from participating universities will be able to take advantage of a wide range of resources including:

• Initial evaluation using the Cambridge English Placement Test

• More than 30 hours of free learning resources, including preparation for the Linguaskill test

• Over 100 hours of optional resources, including an electronic version of the ground-breaking

• Empower course, developed jointly by Cambridge Assessment English and Cambridge University Press

• Assessment using Linguaskill, Cambridge English’s recently launched online version language test, which uses cutting-edge AI to deliver fast, accurate results linked to internationally-recognized levels

Cambridge English will also provide participating universities with an in-depth impact study, to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme and identify opportunities for improvement.

Prof. Hisham Al Saghbini, regional head of assessment at Cambridge Assessment English, explained: “Demand for English language skills in the UAE’s universities is growing rapidly, driven by the nation’s increasing role as a global powerhouse in technology and many other industries.

“We are excited by the opportunity to work with innovators in the region’s universities, to enhance the opportunities for students to master the language of international commerce, technology and research.

“The practical challenges created by the precautions around the spread of Covid-19 infections means that now is the perfect time to launch this initiative which combines the expertise of the participating universities with the vast experience and resources of Cambridge, which has been a world leader in English language teaching, learning and assessment for more than 100 years.”

The Cambridge English Higher Education Consortium will complement the vast range of resources which Cambridge Assessment English already provides for teachers and learners of English, in close collaboration with Cambridge University Press, which is also a department of Cambridge University.

“Measuring the effectiveness of teaching and learning is important at every level of education. In Higher Education, engaging systematically in applying scientific methods in measuring the impact of teaching on student learning and successful attainment of course learning outcomes is paramount, if we are to deliver the best education to our students.

“The Higher Education Consortium provides a platform to help educators exchange ideas and work collaboratively towards achieving high standards and quality education,” said Prof. Dr. Christina Gitsaki, research coordinator at the Center for Educational Innovation, Zayed University, UAE.

“For educators and learners going online, the Consortium lights the way,” said Alison Larkin Koushki, senior language educator at American University of Kuwait.

Experts from the Cambridge Assessment English’s regional team office in Dubai are also active on social media and is offering all students, families and teachers advice and information on resources, webinars and online learning platforms. — SG