QU to host 6th Annual International ‘Virtual’ Conference on English Language Teaching

The Foundation Programme (FP) under the Deanship of General Studies has announced the forthcoming Qatar University (QU) sixth Annual International ‘Virtual’ Conference on English Language Teaching, to be held from November 6-8.

QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham will inaugurate the conference on November 6 via WebEx.During a press interview, Dr Hezam al-Awah, director of the Foundation Programme, said this year the conference committee received proposals from 56 countries around the world.Several keynote speakers will be presenting at the conference. Scott Thornbury is the plenary speaker. He is a well-published author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and several textbooks. He has also delivered plenary sessions and workshops in 57 countries. Other featured speakers include Nouf al-Kaabi, director of Educational Policy and Research, Ministry of Education and Higher Education; Gabriela Kleckova, TESOL president; Christine Coombe, TESOL past president; and Kashif Raza, lecturer of English language at the Foundation Programme, QU.Over the years, the Qatar University English Language Teaching (QU-ELT) conference has continued to gain regional and international recognition by providing high-quality professional development opportunities for English language teachers. This year's conference will discuss “Expanding roles and increasing responsibilities of teachers in the post-Covid era”. These additional responsibilities for educators equip them to deal with the challenges of virtual teaching. The FP at Qatar University continues to collaborate with Qatar's Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) to ensure that Qatar's high-school teachers benefit from the event. The conference committee chair, Dr Okon Effiong, worked with the Training and Educational Development Centre of the MoEHE to award credit hours to participating public school English language teachers towards the required annual professional development hours for school teachers. During the virtual three-day conference, delegates will be able to attend 91 sessions that fall under the following categories: virtual learning, emotional intelligence, social & emotional learning, critical thinking, creativity in TEFL setting, digital literacy, learner autonomy, practical ideas in the online classroom, project-based learning, managing virtual classroom, online testing, and assessment, online tools to enhance learning, professional development and leadership.Dr al-Awah said, “The Foundation Programme has been organising this event annually since 2016 but due to Covid-19, the 2020 conference was virtual and this year’s conference will be the second virtual version. It represents the FP management and faculty's commitment to contribute to ELT development in the region and beyond. The pandemic did not deter us as educators from striving for optimum learning environment for our current and future students. Thus, expanding roles of teachers are advantageous in the English language teaching and learning.”Throughout the three-day event, researchers and teachers will share their experience on teaching and learning of the English language. Musa Abu Huzaima, chair of the Foundation Programme Department of English, added: "The conference committee is working with its full potential to bring English language teachers in Qatar and the world together, and the global reach gets wider with each passing year. The Foundation Programme is proud to host this academic event and looking forward to the virtual networking opportunity it provides for teachers."English teachers at all levels of instruction, particularly in Qatar and the Gulf region, have been encouraged to attend this virtual international conference.For more information, one can visit https://www.qu.edu.qa/foundation/Conference/Conference%E2%80%932021