ALC Newsletter - 03/01/2018 (Plain Text Version)
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TESOL KUWAIT CONFERENCE, 2017: BUILDING AND BRIDGING ELT COMMUNITIES TESOL Kuwait held its 4th Annual conference successfully from 16th to 18th November, 2017. It was hosted by Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) and supported by sponsors like Qatar Airways and ThatAlsalasil. The event was attended by roughly 250 educators from different backgrounds and levels in English language teaching: public and private sector schools, colleges and universities. The conference also had representation from leading academics and delegates from the region namely: the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. GUST Foundation Program Director and TESOL Kuwait’s President, Dr. Ilene Winokur, opened the conference with her address. This was followed by the Conference Chair, Rana Khan’s message to the attendees. Professor Donald Bates, GUST President also welcomed and addressed TESOL attendees. The opening ceremony was attended by US Ambassador Dr Lawrence Silverman, Cultural Attaché Dr. Zinnia Paganini and other dignitaries from regional and local universities.
The conference welcomed two renowned keynote speakers in the field of ELT: Dr. David Nunan and Dr. Jack C Richards. Dr. Nunan’s keynote addresses were “From the Classroom to the Wider World” and “Professional Development through Action Research.” Dr. Jack Richards presented his ideas on Teacher Identity in Language Teaching” and “What Does it Take to Be an English Language Teacher?”
The conference also showcased other featured sessions like panel discussions and workshops presented by three renowned scholars from the world of TESOL: Dr. Mashael AlHamly, Dr. Christine Coombe and Dr. Christine Sabieh. Through their topic they discussed the challenges and opportunities associated with research in the field of ELT. Their topic was “Researching the ELT – Challenges and Opportunities.” The TESOL Kuwait Conference also had another attraction for this year’s attendees: an interesting workshop presented by Ms. Megan Calvert - “The Color Vowel Chart: A Powerful Tool for Teaching Pronunciation.” A panel discussion, entitled “Realizing English through Drama in Kuwait: Panacea or Pandora’s Box?” was also a major attraction.
TESOL is all about promoting professional development in the field of English Language Teaching and that’s why TESOL Kuwait decided to promote ELT this year, in all its current and changing perspectives. This year’s theme, “Promoting ELT – Changing Perspectives and New Horizons” reflected on the necessity of adapting to the new technological era we are living in by creating and fostering new designs, approaches, and methods for improving teaching English to speakers of other languages, and for facing new challenges. Through this event, TESOL Kuwait was able to engage hundreds of professionals to collaborate locally, and create a world of opportunity for people of all ages who want to learn English. TESOL Kuwait aimed at presenting this conference as a showcase for the skills and talents of its members.
The delegates and members reported that the conference was very engaging and useful and the program provided many sessions on wide-ranging topics.
Rana Khan has been with TESOL Kuwait since 2015 as its secretary. She organized the annual TESOL Kuwait Conference, 2017, as its conference chair. She holds a Masters’ degree in English Literature and Business Administration along with a teacher’s certificate in CELTA. She has extensive teaching experience. Currently, she is working as an English Instructor at Algonquin College, Kuwait. Her main research interests are learning management systems, CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) and blended learning. |
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