• CMU professor: “English language proficiency is a strategic goal”
• First TESOL international conference held in the Middle East
• First event for Qatar National Convention Centre
Doha – The Qatar National Convention Centre will host its inaugural event October 1-3: the TESOL International Association’s “Putting Research into Practice” conference. The three-day conference gathers experts from around the region and across the world to focus on key areas of applied research in the field of English language teaching. The conference is organized by Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) in collaboration with university partners in Qatar, Qatar TESOL, TESOL Arabia and other TESOL affiliates in the region.
“Increased English language proficiency is a strategic goal for Qatar and many countries around the world today. Learning English should not mean losing Arabic, however, and figuring out how to do this in the best way possible requires extensive research.” said conference chair Dudley Reynolds, Ph.D, Teaching Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and a member of the Board of Directors for the TESOL International Association.
Reynolds continued: “At Carnegie Mellon we feel it is extremely important to the success of our university and Education City that our teachers understand why certain teaching practices work in some situations and different practices work in others.” Research projects undertaken by Carnegie Mellon faculty have provided opportunities to learn about good practices that enhance students’ literacy development.
Silvia Pessoa, Ph.D., professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, has followed the academic literacy development of student writing using quantitative research methods and text analysis with the aim of documenting the students’ progression through their undergraduate education. “In the first two years of the study, I have come to realize the challenges and complexities of tracking student writing development, the challenges with academic literacy faced by the students, and the documented accomplishments made by students in their development as writers of academic texts in English,” said Pessoa.
She continued: “Although literacy development is difficult to document and measure, by employing various methods of text analysis I have been able to identify various linguistic and rhetorical elements in student writing that are indicative of development. The students have come a long way in two years and it’s been a very rewarding to be part of their experience.” Pessoa’s project is an example of the research that will be discussed at the conference.
The conference represents a major initiative by TESOL to highlight the importance of research based teaching. Plenary speakers from Australia, Egypt, Canada, Lebanon, the U.K., and the U.S. will discuss the latest research related to English language learning and teaching for speakers of other languages on topics such as understanding the ‘good language learner,’ bridging the gap between goals and results, and ongoing professional development. The conference builds on previous locally organized events including the English Teaching Excellence program by Carnegie Mellon and Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, which were designed as professional development workshops for local teachers.
In addition to the plenary sessions and over 60 presentations by speakers from 20 countries around the world, there will be a number of pre-conference workshops addressing topics such as teaching writing, vocabulary development, reading, working with young learners, English for specific purposes, and literacy development for adolescents.
The TESOL International Association is the largest professional association devoted to improving English language learning and teaching worldwide with over 12,000 members in 45 countries and more than 100 affiliate associations including Qatar TESOL, TESOL Arabia, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Association of Language Teachers. Local partners supporting the conference are the Academic Bridge Program at Qatar Foundation, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, College of the North Atlantic Qatar, Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Northwestern University in Qatar, Qatar University, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the British Council, and the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy. The official carrier for the conference is Qatar Airways.
The conference is open to the educational community in Qatar, and the pre-registration deadline is September 21. More information about the conference can be found at www.tesol.org/researchintopractice .
