Session 2 

Fajer Bin Rashed (Presentation)

Reconsidering the Role of L1 in Teaching and Assessing L2

Teaching and assessing a second language are naturally achieved through conducting activities and ongoing assessments in the classroom; therefore, it has become vital to consider the systematic use and assessment of the first language when teaching and/or assessing the acquisition of L2 language skill(s). The learner`s first language should be used as a part of their collaborative learning and assessment experiences in the L2 classroom. In addition to refuting some of the justifications behind banning the L1 in ESL classroom, the paper presentation will attempt to theoretically examine the effectiveness of using the L1 within the learner`s zone of proximal development as a method to improve L2 acquisition and to study the usefulness of assessing L1 language skills in providing a more accurate analysis of the learner`s acquirement of language skills in both the L1 and L2.

Session 3 

 Abebe Tilahun Mogesse (Presentation)

The Academic English Language Needs of MSc students

This study reports on the findings of the academic English language needs of MSc students. Results revealed that speaking followed by listening, reading and writing, respectively were frequently needed skills for the students’ academic study.  Based on the findings, a revised syllabus that meet learners’ needs has been recommended.  English for Specific Purpose is one of the key approaches that emerged in the 1960s as a response to traditional English language teaching methods. Students of various levels, especially university level, where English is used as a medium instruction must master the basic English skills that help them acquire content subjects in their discipline. In order to help these students become successful in their academic study, an English course that is purpose-oriented need to be designed so that students study this course and might get the appropriate skills and knowledge. Therefore, so as to design such a course book or syllabus, the students’ needs need to be conducted. This is because needs analysis is a backbone in the context of ESP course design Woodrow (2018). This paper presents a study conducted to assess the academic English language needs of Media Science students in India. The study employed both open and close-ended survey questionnaires. The findings of the study revealed that majority of the participants favored the importance of English for their academic studies. The results of the study also revealed that all English skills are frequently needed for the participants’ academic study with the order of speaking, listening, reading and writing. 

Plenary 3 –Keynote 

Mr. Peter Lucantoni   

“Helping Students Become Great Collaborators”

Getting students to collaborate is not always easy, and in these days of remote learning, the challenges are even greater. In this webinar we will discuss what collaboration skills are and explore why our students need them. We will also look at ways in which we can develop learners’ collaboration skills and how this in turn will develop their language skills. Finally we will focus on collaboration online and consider not only the additional challenges but also look at solution strategies.

Session 4 

Muhammad Akram (Presentation)

 Exploring EFL Teachers' Ken of Professional Identity and Their Self-Efficacy

Teaching English has always been a challenging task for EFL teachers. This paper aims to explore the relationship between EFL teachers’ professional identity and their self-efficacy.  This paper suggests positive perception of teachers’ professional identity predicts their self-efficacy and it adds to their performance in the language classroom.EFL teachers’ acuity of professional identity plays a pivotal role in their performance in the language classroom. Teachers’ professional identity along with their attitudes is supposed to be one of the main factors in enhancing their performance to increase students’ learning particularly in language classroom. English (being lingua-franca) has become the necessity worldwide. With the increased necessity of ELF (English as lingua franca), the need of professional EFL teachers has also increased around the globe and particularly in Gulf and Asian countries to cater the language needs of EFL learners. This paper aims to explore the relationship between EFL teachers’ professional identity and their self-efficacy in language classroom. To achieve this particular objective of this study, 94 EFL teachers from different universities of Pakistan participated in this research. These subjects were randomly selected from English departments of universities of the Punjab (Pakistan). Two research instruments were used in this research. Data were collected by TEBS-Self questionnaire (adopted from Moslemi and Habibi 2019) and professional identity scale used by Akram (2020). The data were analyzed with R studio. The study revealed interesting finding that there was a positive correlation between teachers’ ken of professional identity and their self-efficacy in language classroom. The results of analysis indicated that EFL teachers’ professional discerning predicted their performance in language classroom. Through this study the researcher has investigated the relationship of EFL teachers’ acuity of their professional discerning and their self-efficacy with particular reference to language classroom. The findings of the study are quite in line and supported with studies in this field. The paper concludes with recommendations for further research in the field of teachers’ identity and their self-efficacy.

Session 5 

Ann Newman (Presentation)

Write an Argumentative Essay in 30 Minutes

Timed writing has a place in a high school and university settings. Students who plan on pursuing a university education at institutions where English is the medium for instruction need to be able to write timed essays. Both the IELTS and the TOEFL iBT writing assessments consist of two parts. Both are timed. Likewise, KITE has a timed writing assessment. Numerous colleges and universities require in-class, timed essays. Students who have experience writing timed essays will be able to better deal with the stress and organize their ideas more quickly and effectively than those who have no experience with timed writing. Writing a timed composition is a better test of writing skills than administering a timed grammar test. The workshop will demonstrate how to break down the writing process into planning, writing key sentences, and quickly developing each of the five essential paragraphs. Also, the presenter will share patterns for key sentences that students should be encouraged to memorize.

Session 6 

Huda Abuaisha (Presentation) 

Teaching Grammar in Context

When teaching grammar in context, learners will be able to apply it more effectively in communication rather than learning it only by following the form and then practicing. Teaching grammar in context allows learners to elicit the meaning from various contexts, and as a result, this will make them have a better understanding of the target language and will enable them to use it successfully in writing and speaking. Although various methods can be used in the ESL classroom to teach grammar, not all of them can effectively allow learners to understand the meaning of the grammar and apply it in both speaking and writing.  A very common method of teaching grammar that is used among ESL teachers is by following the three Ps, “Across the various languages and subsystems of grammar, perhaps the most widely practiced traditional approach to grammatical instruction has been portrayed as the three Ps- present, practice, produce.” (Larsen-Freeman, 2009, p.523). However, by following this method, learners may be aware of the grammatical rules but they are unable to apply their knowledge of grammar when they are communicating. Therefore, teaching grammar in context is regarded as an effective approach, because it enables learners to see how the rules work in sentences and understand the meaning of the target language in contexts, such as stories, articles, etc..rather than through rules and forms. "Students need to get an idea of how the new language is used by native speakers and the best way of doing this is to present language in context" (Harmer, 1991, p.57). As a result, students will be able to have a clear understanding of the grammar and apply it successfully in writing and speaking. During the presentation, I will discuss why it is important to teach grammar in context and how it can be taught. The final part of the presentation will enable participants to think of different contexts which they can use while teaching various tenses.

Session 7 

Ruba Najia (Presentation)

Strategies for teaching English language learners in the online classroom

The year 2020 has been marked with a pandemic that has not only impacted people and countries medically but also socially, economically and most importantly educationally. This workshop presents helpful and practical strategies for teaching English language learners in the online classroom that will enable both teachers and learners to enjoy a more positive experience virtually. Distance learning is not a novel concept and it has been around for decades now. Some students opt for an online education for a variety of reasons, whether it is to save money, or to be able to have a flexible schedule, or their inability to access the campus, or for social reasons. This type of learning has always been a choice available to interested candidates. However, Covid-19 has made online learning a necessity and, in most countries, the only choice available to continue learning. All of a sudden, teachers and students were expected to switch to an online classroom with all its challenges and implications. As language is all about communication both verbal and non-verbal, one of the most difficult aspects to achieve faced by educators while teaching English online is reaching the same levels of engagement you reach while teaching live in the classroom. The key here is to maximize online student motivation. This workshop will equip educators with the necessary tools and best practices to use in the online classroom in order to support their students and help them manage the challenges posed by learning online in a non- native language. This will in turn make the learning process as smooth and enriching as possible. Some of the strategies that will be presented will include the importance of frequent feedback to students as well as multiple forms of assessment in different forms beyond the traditional graded assessments. Moreover, using strategies such as scaffolding will increase students’ involvement and motivation to learning. Also, moving to an online classroom means utilizing all the tools available to keep the communication interesting and varied. The ultimate goal is to support students in the smooth transition to an online classroom.

Session 8 

Richard Harrison

“Introducing Critical Thinking into a Language Programme”

Everything that students are engaged in at university or college involves critical thinking. However, critical thinking is rarely taught explicitly. This talk demonstrates how critical thinking can be included in existing language programmes using a number of different approaches.

The first step is to get students to ‘think about their own thinking’ (metacognition): to be objective about, for example, their own decision making processes or study habits. Secondly, a critical thinking syllabus can be introduced which focusses on sub-skills such as supporting an opinion (with examples, evidence, reasons and sources), identifying and solving problems, analyzing data correctly, classifying items and defining terms. A third approach is to include practical thinking activities. These have the advantage of being flexible and are fitted easily around an existing programme. They include activities such as structured discussions and class debates, the analysis of scam emails and misleading advertisements, and the use of linguistic puzzles and quizzes.

Session 9 

Eman Al Bloushi (Presentation)

Synchronous ESL Programs to Support Young Learners During Covid-19

Educational institutions around the world invested in shifting their classroom-based offered courses to online classes in support of the UNESCO’s recommendations of the continuation of education in response to the recent pandemic of Covid-19. This was the case for most students as well as students enrolled in higher educational institutions, but not for students in kindergartens. This presentation reports on a case study of synchronous, online and video-based sessions with students who are in pre-school. Students attended four online sessions for two hours every week. The results indicate that synchronous, online and video-based sessions are effective in helping the students improve in their acquisition of English as a second language. The successful implementation of such sessions depends on three main factors; the suitable duration of the online session, using multiple and various engaging activities, and the engagement of the parent in the learning journey.