ELC MAG First Edition

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Dr. Mansoor S. Almalki The Dean of Deanship of Supportive Studies Welcome Director of English Language Center Taif University, Taif, KSA. Dear Colleagues, I warmly welcome you to the second semes- ter of the academic year 39-1438. I appreci- ate your performance which is evident from During this semester, a series of professional your results and contribution to the ELC development activities has already been activities. It is said that ‘we are what we planned starting with an online module, repeatedly do,excellence then, is not an act, followed by an international symposium but a habit.’ I am confident to say that your towards the end of the semester. These are the performance has brought a change in the PD activities taking place during the second academic contribution of the ELC andthe semester: whole University. In the first semester, we hadbeen through a series of PD activities January Online module ‘Teaching Grammar’ besides the academic input,now, in the February End of Module Project – Lesson second semester, we are enthusiastically Planning engaged in a second series of professional February Cambridge Train the Trainer Program development activities. March Onsite Training Session ‘Making gram- mar communicative’. On the academic side, the course allocation April Cambridge International ELT Symposium. has already been made and instructors have started teaching from the very first day,cre- atinga positive impression and expressing theircommitment and academic manage- ment. Meanwhile, instructorsare expected to Let’s make this semester a involve the students in classroom activities to milestone in our academic and achieve the desired andpositivelearning outcomes. professional life – and I am sure we can! tulec newsletter 02

The second online module 'Teaching follow-up activities. The most prominent Grammar' is in progress along with the Train objectives of the course are to help the the Trainers Workshop at TUELC. Teaching participants to : Grammar online module is a compulsory component of the professional development Design and deliver teacher training followed by an end-of-module project sessions and courses. (lesson plans) and four-day face-to-face training by CUP experts. Observe other teachers and give supportive feedback. Understand how to develop further training skills. Being an efficient and well-performing teacher is one of the most important resources in any educational institution. The teacher is considered the professional agent and the most directly responsible person in the process of learning. Given this, TUELC signed online and face to face professional development programs with Cambridge University Press (CUP). The Train the Trainer program is one of its important components. It’s an important course for experienced teachers in which participants should develop the knowledge and skills they need to train English language teachers. They learn how to run training sessions, observe teaching and give feedback.There are approximately 30 hours of face-to-face training and 10 hours of preparation and 03 tulec newsletter

There were 48 participants in all, 24 All such valuable activities have been from the male campus and 24 from the designed to achieve the targets enclosed in female campus. The training sessions were 2030 vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. conducted by two notable trainers from The credit for the pursuit of these remarka- CUP, Peter Lucantoni and Nahla Al-Maliki. As ble activities goes to the Dean of Supportive is often the case with the teacher training, Studies, the Director of ELC, Dr. Mansoor the course participants had varied expertise, Al-Malki, as well as the whole team of Profes- but the face-to-face sessions proved a very sional Development and Curriculum Unit at successful training strategy. TUELC. All the participants enjoyed the comprehen- sive content of the course and appreciated the opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills andgive feedback. Moreover,partici- pants have established their own understand- ing of how to observe and give feedback to the teachers they would be supporting in the future. In addition, successfulparticipantsin the Train the Trainer course would be able to put their newly developed and improved teaching skills into practice and render such skills to their colleagues around. They are expected to deliver similar training sessions in the forthcoming ELT Symposium planned to be held at Taif University in April 2018. tulec newsletter 04

TUELC CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT POLICY TUELC always strives to ensure a smooth learning experience for the students. The following Classroom Management Policy has been institutionalized. A. Class Break One- hour lecture pattern: there are no breaks and the students are dismissed 50 minutes after the start of the class. Instructors can assess by themselves sick-leaves and any other forms of excuses Two- hour lecture pattern: a ten- minute that do not exceed three successive days. break is given 50 minutes after the start of Students with longer period leaves are the class without the students leaving the referred to the stream coordinator or the room. The students are dismissed 50 minutes academic supervisor for approval. after the start of the second period. Instructors should enter attendance in the Three- hour lecture pattern: a twenty-min- system regularly, updating students’ status in ute break is given 80 minutes after the start case their excuses are approved. of the class, and the students are allowed to leave the room during this relatively long C. Student Disciplinary Issues break. The students are dismissed 70 minutes after the start of the second period. In case of a student's disruptive behavior, the instructor should show a high degree of B. Absence and Tardiness self-control and avoid any verbal or physical engagement with the student. The instructor A student is marked late if he/she arrives 20 is expected to write a detailed report of the minutes after the start of the lecture. incident to the stream coordinator to steer the case through the disciplinary committee A student who arrives 30 minutes after the of Taif University. start of the lecture is marked absent, but is allowed to attend the rest of the class. A student who attends the first period of the lecture but fails to come back to the second period is marked absent for the whole lecture (unless the system allows to enter attendance by the hour). If a student asks for a special permission to leave the room before the end of the class, he/she is marked absent and it is left to the 05 tulec newsletter

Taif University English Language Centre (TUELC) is hugely sourced by the invalua- ble contributions of its active staff. However, the following guidelines may also be benefi- cial to help shape up our instructional operations in different contexts so that our achievements are transparent. Teachers are expected to problematize their As the semester graduates, teachers will do responsibilities beyond covering the course well to keep monitoring the progress of their books. learners through periodical assessment. In some cases teachers may have to devise viable strategies how well to cope with the issue of class-size. This will help avoid the They may benefit from ensuring that the element of surprise some students experi- course objectives are clear to ence when their final exam results are below them and their achievement is visible at differ- their expectations. ent stages of a semester. Sometimes, the best course materials are Course objectives should be primary and provided by the learners when they write or their achievement through different means speak. Consider keeping a written or audio should be secondary. The resources used recorded portfolio of any student-generated should lead towards how the needs of the language and a careful selection from it. This students are addressed. could lend itself to a highly inspiring and motivating learning experience for learners as they see their output exploited and react- ed to. Paper wikis may also work. Students are generally placed in different streams due to various constraints. The teach- er is expected to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic assessment to help him/her provid- The objective of the lesson has to be visible ed differentiated instruction., diagnostic, form- to the students, or any observer for that ative, systematic. matter, either from the very beginning or its achievement should be verifiable through the staging of lessons or an outcome. tulec newsletter 05

Sometimes learning or strategy development Beneficial may also be the consideration of a may not be available to evidence despite universally high premium attached to the careful planning, but as long as the staging of rapport with the learners as they may devel- lessons is methodical, a lesson may sound op a whole new appreciation for learning beneficial to students or may benefit them through how you empathise with them and subsequently. how you provide support to them during their entire learning experience. Each step, movement, change, or action should be meaningful and help towards Above all, it might also help your noble cause achieving the wider goal of addressing the of teaching not to demotivate the learners in language learning needs of the students. both intended and unintended ways: through rubber-stamping their efforts, emphasising only the correct answers and ignoring their involvement or effort; or This may best be achieved by reflecting on landing a confrontation or clash with unnec- what language is , how first language learning essarily. You might just be undermining or is different from second or foreign language diminishing intact motivation. learning, or how learners of different age groups learn differently. This clarity of approach would surely have a positive impact on the learning experiences Teachers should avoid using Arabic while of the learners inside the classroom. teaching, and must be very selective and with extreme cautions when using it, if required, for the sake of efficient communication only as over-dependence on it may result in For all the above, in a context like ours, compromising the students’ much needed classroom management skills are exceedingly exposure to the English language. important. This entails grading the language, TUELC will be keenly anticipating the practi- conducting or taking feedback on perfor- cal realization of this code in the mance skills or providing correction on forthcoming lessons and study the efficacy of system (grammar, lexis, phonology, this design in light of the teachers’ feedback discourse). and results. 06 tulec newsletter

Teachers are expected to problematize their responsibilities beyond covering the course books. They may benefit from ensuring that the course objectives are clear to them and their achievement is visible at differ- ent stages of a semester. Course objectives should be primary and their achievement through different means should be secondary. The resources used should lead towards how the needs of the students are addressed. Students are generally placed in different streams due to various constraints. The teach- er is expected to conduct a comprehensive diagnostic assessment to help him/her provid- ed differentiated instruction., diagnostic, form- ative, systematic. tulec newsletter 07

English Unlimited Special Edition (EUSE) is a goals-based course for adults. Centered on Workshop Report on Supplementary Material Aliya Siddique English Language Instructor Introduction The Taif University English Language Centre is currently offering a number of English Courses: Academic Purposes (EAP) English for Specific Purposes (ESP) These courses are designed to meet the general English language needs of the students. The overall approach of TUELC is to teach all the four language skills: Listening Speaking Reading Writing (vocabulary and grammar as sub-skills) The object of the workshop was to focus on “supplementary material” and “material in action” which were explained at length by the presenters (Aliya Siddique and Samiha Siddiqui) with the help of different slides. 08 tulec newsletter

The workshop was very well arranged. It was attended by the teachers as well as by our Vice Director Dr. Reem and Academ- ic Supervisor Dr. Nasrah. Both of them highly appreciated All the information about the course book is just a click away. the way it was conducted. Each and every slide was attractively You have : explained. Answer Keys Audio Clips I am sure this will go a long way to further enhance the capabili- Transcripts Works as a white board ties of our teachers. The partici- Works as a smart board pants were in full praise for the Overview: Instant Dictionary successful completion of the The workshop session is all ETC workshop. about : At the end, we wish to thank Material in action our colleagues, Director and Academic Supervisor for being Supplementary Material with us throughout the sessions Supplementary material: Hands on manipulatives and in order to boost up our Make the lesson clear and realia morale. meaningful Pictures, photos, visuals Now I give the major points Make content concepts “concrete”, Demonstrations: model which cover the workshop tangible, visible, understandable step-by-step completion of having based on the two topics: Support learning styles tasks or model language to use -Supplementary Material Support multiple intelligences with presentations -Material in action Make it REAL! tulec newsletter 09

TEACHERS’ RESOURCES APP Description It’s a SEA of resources, like activities, English Unlimited Special Edition (EUSE) is a games, videos clips, audio clips, and end of goals-based course for adults. Centered on: the unit tests Purposeful Advantages of Supplementary Materials Real-life objectives Prepares learners to use English Creativity independently for global communica- Activities can excite students tion. Breaks Monotony of the class Enhances Language Skills and Commu- nication skills Through universally inspiring topics and Overcomes Stage Fear activities, and with a special focus on the learning needs of Arabic speakers, this truly Leads to Group/Team work international course helps learners become Application in the class: Types of lessons that more sensitive, more effective communica- can be done tors. Teaching natural, dependable language and PPP (PRESENTATION, PRACTICE & using authentic audio from the start, it not PRODUCTION) only brings real life into the classroom, but TTT (TEST, TEACH, TEST) gives learners the skills, strategies and confi- TBA (TASK-BASED APPROACH) dence they need to communicate confident- GUIDED DISCOVERY ly outside it. 5E Lesson (Engaging, Explaining, Explor- ing, Elaborating and Evaluating) 10 tulec newsletter

During the session, I explained the Vision and Mission of the curriculum team to the listen- ers. After that I displayed the below mentioned chart in order to get their sugges- tions. Objective set for Research and Curriculum Team. Self-assessment through Portfolio Monitoring Unit. The teaching staff will develop a narrative Teachers should know well in advance the purpose (development/evaluation) and time of experiences with using EUSE material of the observation) with Saudi EFL learners in a suggested Teachers will be given clear guidelines and format (Course Portfolio) at the end of each instructions, in which it is clearly stated what semester on the following areas: is expected of them. 1.Analyzing the learners' needs stated what is expected of them. 2.Effectiveness of syllabus The Teacher is to be a force of learning, a 3.Methodology in Practice facilitator, not a lecturer. 4.Supplementary Materials The classroom should at maximum times 5.Methods of formative Assessment be student based, not teacher. Self learning and evaluating is to be 6.Suggested recommendations nurtured and developed in the students. Recruitment of volunteers during DPD An independent learner is not only an sessions/social media. asset to the classroom, but in the long run to Train the volunteers in participatory the society, so our aim is to cultivate observation methods. independence in learning. Developing observations reports and submitting with Research and Curricula Unit. Two research projects: one/semester Evaluating the effectiveness of the ESUSE of the course form the perspec- tive of the teachers and learners Sharing reports in PDP sessions Publishing research findings through various forums tulec newsletter 11

The audience has given their comments with reference to the chart mentioned above. Comments and feedback from the teachers -Use of media -Not all the teachers receive emails as -No projectors are available they are not included in the E-mail list. -Field trips -Many thanks for giving us the opportuni- -Suggestion boxes to be implemented ty to give our feedback and comments in the campus to drop any suggestion or regarding the problems during the previous ideas semester -Reducing the number of students in the -Since we have a due date for checking class room / saving student’s scores, why are we -For weaker students, just take one book supposed to go for rechecking before final for the academic year confirmation? -Training is the most important factor as -No observations at all- it is useless it creates the professionalism -No equipped classes -Some of the teachers focus on: when -Why all the departments having the the effectiveness of the syllabus is done same versions through the students’ needs, it should be -Are we allowed to download the work- done according to facilities not over-all or sheets on blackboard? general view. -There are many evaluation frameworks -Books must co-inside. to evaluate the application before the imple- mentation. Personally, the teacher suggests Hubbard’s (2009) frame work -This framework will guide the teachers to effective implementation. 12 tulec newsletter

Conclusion At the end of the workshop, the present- ers highlighted the impact of using the supple- mentary materials with the academic text books which received the attention of the curriculum and material developers. In this way the study was focused at investigating the effect of using supplementary text books on English as a foreign language (EFL). I am sure the ongoing study will help the learners to enhance their independent English language learning and improve upon their reading comprehension as well as the entire learning of English by using supplemen- tary material. Furthermore, supplementary materials should be effectively used to have a versatile classroom. EUSE English Plus App is designed to help the learning process run smoothly. Its excellent user interface that -How students use technology to makes it very easy to use with limited enhance what they learnt resources. Observation of the EUSE material -Where are the forums that will in action will start from the beginning of the contain research findings? second term, so that teachers are advised to -Identify the level of students through take a copy of the apps and run through the placement them during the winter break. -The workshop is attractive -It’s better to have e-portfolio for assessment in order to analyzing the results easily. -Effectiveness of the syllables, unit 8-1 is too short -Students should study the whole book for the semester -Coordinators should be able to train new teachers and follow the curriculum at the begin of the year tulec newsletter 13

My Journey To Malaysia During Summer Holid a y s Aliya Siddique Coordinator of CLMS Coordinator of Business Administration After relaxing for some time, we had a round of the city by a Tourist Bus. Next morning as per our schedule the driver I accompanied by my family left for Kuala came to the hotel to drive us to Kuantan Lumpur on 4 Sep 2017 at 21:25 hours by which is the home town of my sister-in-law Malindo Airline (Flight OD-131) and arrived Dr. Kairin. there at O6:25 hours on 5/9/2017. We preferred to travel by van in order to After going through the necessary immigra- see the country side. It was very beautiful – tion we came out of the airport. Here we all green mostly covered by the palm trees. met the driver who was arranged by my The main crop in Malaysia is the palm trees. sister-in-law. She is a Malaysian national and is Malaysia is the biggest palm oil exporter in married to my brother Dr. Muhammad the world. There are also many jungles in Hafeez who works in Port Talbot General Malaysia which keeps the country evergreen Hospital, United Kingdom as an anesthetist. and free from the pollution. Malaysia is also The driver took us to show round the city. rich in exporting furniture. We visited Putra Jaya where the Govt There is a strong tourism in Malaysia. The functionaries’ offices including the Prime economy of the country looks to be strong. Minister office were located. We spent about The food commodities of daily routine seem two hours for sightseeing and he dropped us to be quite reasonable. at the five star hotel “ IMPIAN” where we The Kuantan City where we stayed is really stayed for one night. The stay in the hotel beautiful. The weather is tropical and it rains was rather significant as the famous Twin almost every day throughout the year. We Towers in Kuala Lumpur were just opposite stayed in Kuantan for about a week. to our hotel. 14 tulec newsletter

After relaxing for some time, We preferred to travel by van in order to see the country we had a round of the city by side. It was very beautiful – all green mostly covered by the a Tourist Bus. palm trees. Next morning as per our The main crop in Malaysia is the palm trees. Malaysia is schedule the driver came the biggest palm oil exporter in the world. There are also to the hotel to drive us to many jungles in Malaysia which keeps the country Kuantan which is the home town of my evergreen and free from the pollution. Malaysia is also sister-in-law Dr. Kairin. rich in exporting furniture. During our stay we had the opportunity to There is a strong tourism in Malaysia. attend a dinner hosted by the brother of my The economy of the country looks to be sister-in-law in our honour. We were so strong. The food commodities of daily happy to eat the delicious and traditional routine seem to be quite reasonable. food cooked in the dinner. The Kuantan City where we stayed is really At the end of the tour my brother and his beautiful. The weather is tropical and it rains wife dropped us at the Kuantan airport from almost every day throughout the year. We where we flew to Kuala Lumpur for onward stayed in Kuantan for about a week. journey back home. After completion of our tour, we arrived Kuala Lampur by a local flight and from there left for Lahore at 2030 hours (local time) on 11 Sep 2017. Our house is located in the heart of Lahore Cantonment which is at 30 minutes drive from the airport. Generally speaking, our tour was full of joy, We were very much impressed by the hospi- tality of our host. She took us to the different beaches where we enjoyed the sea view especially at night to watch the ships sailing on the sea with colourful lights. On the whole, our visit was full of enjoyment and excitement which lasted with every minute of staying there. tulec newsletter 15

INTERACTIVE CLASSES 1. Open-ended questions: Nimairy Omer Mohammed This doesn’t take any planning. All it takes is IGIT Coordinator a class with at least one student who isn’t too shy. Teachers could start thinking about some- To have interactive classes, teachers need to thing that got the students talk and partici- follow different strategies while the teaching pate. Like, “What has been the most difficult process is on. Teachers may start asking them- thing about [the project that was due soon]?” selves How well are things really working if This will open a huge gate as students love to exam grades go down every semester? How complain, especially about teachers and their well are things working if I find that I’m more demands. This one simple question will lead tired at the end of lecture than I used to be, to at least twenty minutes of discussion, or that I have less energy during it? How well involving almost all students. So, once you are things working if the students aren’t give them an open-ended opportunity to paying any attention? Knowing when it’s time complain about an assignment, they will be to shake things up is a significant challenge; off to the races. but once you’re ready, here are some teach- ing strategies you can use: 2. What’s wrong with this example? Students also love to find a teacher’s mistakes, I’m sure you’ve found this out the hard way. You could use an incorrect verb tense in a sentence, write it on the white- board, and let the students’ competitiveness drive them to get the right answer before their classmates. 16 tulec newsletter

3.Embrace technology It’s interesting to use technology in the classroom. Computers and the Internet are as natural to our students as blackboard and CLMS are to us. Using the tools they find in their world can help students to feel more comfortable in class, which can help them open up and interact. Even Twitter can be used to improve student interaction. Since you and your students are probably already coming to class with laptops, tablets, and/or smartphones, digital tool like Twitter is easy to roll out and adopt. Such technologies can be used in a way for students to provide feedback during class without having to raise their hands or speak out loud. Making your classes more interactive should A more interactive class can also make things help your students want to come to class easier for you–the more work students do in and take part in it. Giving them a more active class, the less you have to do. I’m not telling role will give them a sense of ownership, and you to be lazy; I’m telling you to use your this can lead to students taking more pride in time wisely. Even two minutes of not talking their work and responsibility for their grades. can re-energize you for the rest of the class. Also, many people tend to learn better by These 3 mentioned methods/strategies doing than by watching or listening. outlined above don’t require any large-scale changes to your class prep. Set up a couple of activities in advance here and there, to support the stuff you’ve been doing, and plan which portion of your class will feature them. This small investment of your time should result in making everyone happier to be in the classroom. So, Active learning techniques can result in higher student engagement, improved grades and a lower dropout rate. tulec newsletter 17

Jamal Obeidat MA Theoretical Linguistics What’s up! Hi! Speech presents itself as a continuous stream of sounds. The listener’s first task is to segment this stream into discrete units and to identify these units. However, the question that is raised here: What is the basic percep- tual unit? Can we consider it the phoneme, the syllable, the word, or the prosodic unit? yaaaas! While there is no doubt that we are able to recognize a phoneme and, for example, to detect the common element in the words working with lists of disyllabic words, found “cat” and “fat”, we must ask whether this is a that while detection time is shorter for the basic perceptual ability. We should note that initial syllable than for the initial phoneme, it observations of children do not reveal any is shorter still for the word itself. This effect clear aptitude for phonemic segmentation leads us to say that the more predictable the before the age of 7-6.In fact, the identifica- word is in context. tion of phonemes might be no more than It is even possible that the units on which the result of learning and of a higher level of processing is performed are sometimes the perceptual data. larger than a word. We suggest that these However, it soon became apparent that this larger units are the prosodic units “the detection was less simple. Savin and Bever suprasegmental features” such as the pitch, (1970) compared the time taken to detect the stress, and the duration which may affect either a particular syllable or the initial the word meanings. What all these observa- phoneme of this syllable in a list of syllables, tions finally suggest is, rather, the idea of paral- and made the surprising observation that lel processing taking place at different levels. syllables are detected faster than phonemes. To conclude, we can think of speech percep- We conclude that the phoneme has no tion as a specific perception which functions perceptual reality that the perceptual reality by means of its own, specific mechanism. It is unit is the syllable, and these phonemes are possible that human brain contains special- identified only on the basis of an analysis of ized equipment for the analysis of the acous- this unit. tic signal, specific to language functioning and Nevertheless, we can suggest that we should forming part of the genetic heritage of the consider the “word” itself as the basic percep- species. As such, all units of perception must tual unit. For example, Foss and Swinney, be considered. 18 tulec newsletter

New Names and Faces Around TUELC We are all really excited to welcome three new members to our team Dr. Inayat Ullah completed his PhD in Linguistics and Litera- ture in 2016. He worked as in-charge PhD program at Air University, Islamabad, Pakistan. With 10 research publications, Dr. Inayat has been teaching at university level for the last 10 years. Mohammed Ahmed Zayed Alasiri is originally from RijalAl- maa. He graduated from JazanUniversity with a BA in English language. He has been awarded a certificate of excellence for being the valedictorian of his college by Prince Mohammed Bin Nasser, the Amir of Jazan. Abdullah Alasmari has been teaching EFL learners for more than 3 years. He obtained his BA in English language from Umm-Alqura University. Abdullah believes that the least trodden road does not mean 'it is dangerous'. He rather appreciates challeng- es, surmounts difficulties and gets up when falling flat on the ground. tulec newsletter 19