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CCQ Organizes the Second International English Language Teaching Symposium Virtually

​The English Language Center (ELC) at the Community College of Qatar (CCQ) organized the  Second International English Language Teaching Symposium virtually, under the theme of “Reflection and Change - Language Teaching in a Post-Pandemic World”, to reflect on how teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic has altered our outlook and approaches to learning and teaching English as an international language.

Mr. Masroor Hassan, Chair of CCQ’s English Language Center, opened the Symposium with a welcome address highlighting the new, exciting, and innovative ways that returning to the classroom following a long hiatus has brought to provide and incorporate adapted and adaptive methodologies.

The Symposium started with a plenary session by Mr. Alan Mackenzie, Director of Transform ELT, titled “The Dance of Change: Transitioning to Teaching Online”. This was followed by three concurrent sessions that witnessed various valuable contributions by educators, researchers, lecturers, and stakeholders from different local and international educational institutions, who shared their expertise to develop mechanisms and adopt new methodologies of English language teaching in a way that can help in overcoming different challenges and exceptional circumstances.

The first session addressed several important topics. Dr. Toni Dobinson, from Curtin University, shed light on interaction in online classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond; and then Prof. Mehdi Riazi, from Hamad Bin Khalifa University, took the floor to discuss teacher reflection and how teachers might act regarding teaching English online during and after the pandemic. Prof. Ana Cad, from National University of Córdoba, also talked about gamifying second language lessons; while Mr. Juland Salayo, from University of Santo Tomas, discussed sustainable education through a digitized critical language pedagogy as a pandemic realization.

In the second session, both Dr. Dian Marissa and Ms. Wedad Allahji, from Yanbu University College, highlighted teachers’ role in promoting student engagement in transition times by examining lessons from competent teachers. Dr. Julian Chen, from Curtin University, examined a case study on revamping (Asian) language education during crisis teaching. Dr. Hanna Sundari, from Indraprasta PGRI University, presented a working paper on the transition of language courses from face-to-face to online teaching. The second session was concluded by Dr. Olga Yashenkova, from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, who talked about embedding student partnership in assessment.

Dr. Tom Godfrey, from International Training Institute, started the third session with a discussion about the art of teaching and how applied theater can inform English language teaching. For his part, Dr. Rachid Bendriss, from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, presented a working paper on integrating design thinking in ESL project-based learning and learners' perceptions of its effectiveness.

It is worth mentioning that CCQ’s English Language Center is accredited by the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation for the period April 2020 through April 2025 and upholds the CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions.

The first symposium was organized in March 2019 under the theme of “Bridging the Divide between Secondary and Postsecondary Education in Teaching English and Academic Skills” as part of CCQ’s ongoing pursuit of academic excellence and in line with its student-centered approach to education.

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