Qatar University (QU) held the 3rd Annual International Conference on English Language Teaching over two days, under the theme ‘ELT in Arabia: Changing Needs & Emerging Trends’. Organised by QU Foundation Programme (FP), the conference aimed to highlight the importance of using technology and social media in learning English.
It brought together 300 experts in English language teaching from Qatar, Algeria, India, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, the UK, and the US. Attendees included QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, QU dean of General Studies Dr Ibrahim al-Kaabi, FP director Dr Hezam al-Awah, and officials from the US embassy in Doha, as well as QU faculty and staff.
Also attending the conference were around 100 English teachers from schools in Qatar. They were sponsored by QU and the US embassy. Keynote speaker Dr Greg Kessler (associate professor of Instructional Technology in the Patton College of Education at Ohio University) presented on ‘Preparing teachers for the future: Intelligent tools and social media in TESOL’.
There were two plenary sessions and many workshops. A sideline exhibition featured booths from Express Publishing, National Geographic Learning, Oxford University Press, Pearson, and many others. Visitors had the opportunity to learn about the latest trends in teaching English as a foreign language and the trends and tools available to both learners and teachers at this time. In his remarks, Dr al-Derham said: “As educators, we should aim at innovative teaching approaches that are built within the cultural contexts in which the language is operational.”
Dr al-Kaabi said: “Whatever we take to our classrooms from this conference should lead to improvements in our teaching and consequently benefit our learners.”
Dr Hezam al-Awah, Dr Hassan al-Derham, and Dr Ibrahim al-Kaabi at the conference.
