Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH — The third international English Language Training (ELT) symposium will be held at Al-Yamamah University in Riyadh on Nov. 12-14.The event will feature 50 presentations by speakers from 19 countries.
A book exhibition will also be held that will feature renowned publication houses such as Oxford, Pearson, as well as the British Council and Amideast.Leading professors in the field William Grabe and Fredricka Stoller will present the latest research findings in the field of teaching readings in a foreign language.
Nebila Dhieb-Henia, general supervisor of the Saudi INTERLINK program at Al-Yamamah University and symposium chair, said: “Professors Grabe and Stoller come to us from Arizona and are renowned names in the field; each has no less then 20 publications and books in subjects related to ELT.
“We have also invited Professor Michael Hoey from the University of Liverpool, Charles Hall and Liza Morgan from the US, Professor Mohamed Daoud from Tunisia, and last but not least Ahmed Al-Eisa from KSA.”Dhieb-Henia said the general theme of the symposium is “Humanizing the ELT Classroom: Best Practices for Best Outcomes”.
“The student is considered the main tenet in the ELT operation: his needs, his way of thinking, his expectations, his background.“In a word, his ‘humanity’ needs to be taken into account to ensure learning.”She said topics revolving around or related to this main theme will be presented during the conferences, including effective corrective feedback, teaching vocabulary, critical thinking and using mobile learning technology in the classroom.Dhieb-Henia said the university partnered with INTERLINK Language centers in the US in 2004 to present teachers with the first international ELT symposium in 2006 and the second in 2008.
The aim of the event is mainly to provide professional development opportunities to teachers of English to exchange best practices and experiences as well as resources and updates in the ELT field, she said.She said: “Since its inception in 2004, Al-Yamamah University endeavored to provide students with the best training in English and believed from the outset that such an endeavor is possible only if tightly intertwined with a professional development program for its teachers.
“Given the need for such forums and encounters for teachers, the first and second symposiums were very successful.”She expressed thanks to all those involved in setting up the symposium, especially the Ministry of Higher Education, and invited all teachers of English in K-12 schools and universities and anyone interested in ELT to attend.
