English Language Centre News
UNESCO, Library of Congress and partners launch World Digital Library
UNESCO and 32 partner institutions will launch the World Digital Library, a Web site that features unique cultural materials from libraries and archives from around the world, at UNESCO Headquarters on 21 April. The site will include manuscripts, maps, rare books, films, sound recordings, and prints and photographs. It will provide unrestricted public access, free of charge, to this material.
The launch will take place at a reception co-hosted by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura and U.S. Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Directors of the partner institutions will also be on hand to present the project to ambassadors, ministers, delegates, and special guests attending the semi-annual meeting of UNESCO’s Executive Board.
Media are invited to attend a pre-launch press conference, which will take place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 21 April at 11 a.m.
Mr Billington first proposed the creation of a World Digital Library (WDL) to UNESCO in 2005, remarking that such a project could "have the salutary effect of bringing people together by celebrating the depth and uniqueness of different cultures in a single global undertaking." In addition to promoting international understanding, the project aims to expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide resources for educators, scholars, and general audiences, and narrow the digital divide within and between countries by building capacity in partner countries.
The WDL will function in seven languages – Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish – and include content in a great many other. Browse and search features will facilitate cross-cultural and cross-temporal exploration on the site. Descriptions of each item, and videos with expert curators speaking about selected items, will provide context for users, and are intended to spark curiosity and encourage both students and the general public to learn more about the cultural heritage of all countries.
The WDL was developed by a team at the Library of Congress. Technical assistance was provided by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina of Alexandria, Egypt. Institutions contributing content and expertise to the WDL include national libraries and cultural and educational institutions in Brazil, Egypt, China, France, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Examples of treasures that will be featured on the WDL include oracle bones and steles contributed by the National Library of China; Arabic scientific manuscripts from the National Library and Archives of Egypt; early photographs of Latin America from the National Library of Brazil; the Hyakumanto darani, a publication from the year 764 from the National Diet Library of Japan; the famous 13th century "Devil's Bible" from the National Library of Sweden; and works of Arabic, Persian, and Turkish calligraphy from the collections of the Library of Congress.
One of UNESCO's main mandates is to promote the free flow of all forms of knowledge in education, science, culture, and communication. The Organization therefore supports initiatives to improve and increase content on the Internet. To this end, it collaborates with a range of partners on the creation of digital and other repositories.
Source: www.unesco.org
ELC Holds Testing Workshop
The English language Centre, through the English Office of the Ministry of Manpower, conducted a Testing Workshop for English Language teachers last November 22 at the ELC Function Hall. The workshop started at 9am and ended at around 3pm. Mr. Ken Sheppard served as the resource person for the workshop.
The workshop included a discussion of the general principles governing language test design, review and revision of the participants' questions, and development of new questions. The participants to the workshop are asked to submit listening, grammar and reading questions electronically to the resource person prior to the workshop, and these questions serve as the bases for discussion during the workshop. The activity ended with a lunch at the College canteen.
ELC Holds Induction for New Staff
The English Language Centre (ELC) held their induction program for new staff last September 17 at the ELC Seminar Hall. About fifteen new staff attended the occasion. The event, which lasted for one and a half hours, was graced by the College Dean, Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghassani, and the Asst. Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr. Bader Ahmed.
In his speech, Dr. Ahmed provided the new staff with a general description about the College. He also gave information about the college's various departments, as well as the new courses planned to be offered by the college in the coming semesters. Dr. Bader, meanwhile, talked about College rules, quality assurance activities, and general classroom management practices in the local setting.
The new head of ELC, Mr. Michael Reese, also used the occasion to introduce himself to the new staff. He also gave several pointers in teaching, as well as concepts in the active learning philosophy.
Other speakers in the induction program include Dr. Casimir Ignatius, who talked about attendance monitoring in the ELC as well as methods of evaluation and other ELC regular activities, and Mr. John Themalil, who spoke about some details on the quality assurance activities in the ELC.
ELC holds Induction Programme for Foundation Students
The English Language Centre (ELC) conducted an induction programme for new intakes last September 7 at the College Female Canteen. The activity, which started at around 9:30 AM, last for two hours.
During the activity, the College Dean, Dr. Ahmed Al-Ghassani, gave a presentation about Nizwa College of Technology to students. He also gave the new students insights on the grade point average that they need to continue studying in the College.
Mr. Michael Reese, the new Head of ELC, gave a short message after the Dean. He introduced himself to the students and welcomed them to the ELC. After that, Mr. Mohammed, an ELC Lecturer, briefed the students on the Foundation Programme Structure, the ICDL, the TOEFEL, and the level of marks the students should maintain to successfully hurdle the foundation programme.
Other College officials such as Mr. Ismail, AD for Students Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Al-Azri, from Finance, and Mr. Mohammed Al-Naabi of Student Activities also gave their messages.
Workshop on Interview Taking Skills
English Language Centre organized a workshop on Interview Taking Skills in conjunction with the Career Fair on 21 May 2008 from 9.00 am to 1.15 pm. The workshop consisted of: slide-shows, mock-interviews, short lectures and a CV building session. The objective of the workshop was to simulate the interview scenario for the benefit of the final semester students (who are about to enter the job market). A total of 63 students attended the workshop supervised by 10 teachers from ELC.
The opening session of the workshop conducted by Dr Jacob George introduced the theme and focussed on the pre-interview preparations. The session also found space for an elaboration of: question types; CV models; and important strategies to be used in framing answers.
Participants were divided into 7 groups, each with a teacher facilitator. Seven job advertisements with 8 profiles of imaginary candidates were distributed to the groups and each group identified one advertisement with a matching profile. One participant per group got interviewed for shortlisted jobs.
Mr. Babu Vithayathil, the Manager of Toyota gave a short lecture on "What Should You Seek? A Job or a Career?" and Mr Joel Mugadza made a short presentation on "How to Prepare for an Interview." The two talks were followed by mock interviews.
The interviews were conducted on the basis of the selected job advertisements during the group discussions. Ms Judy conducted the interview for the post of an English Lecturer in SQU; Mr Robert interviewed two students who applied for the post of an IT Technician; the panel consisting of Mr. Eric, Mr. Roy, Ms Mercy and Mr Robert interviewed two students who applied for the post of Office Manager and Mr Babu Vithayathil interviewed two students who applied for the post of a Sales Executive in Toyota.
The following students represented the groups at the mock interview: Noora Ali Said Abdullah Al Hinai (ID 5968); Alia Ali Abdullah Al Abri (5963); Laila Ali Al Shkaily (4255); Maryam Rashid Al Maqrahi; Ahlam Saif Salim Al Hinai (4400); Muna Rashed Al Yarbui (4038); Nasr Nasser Said (6263); Mahmood Thabit Al Nabhani (4705); and AsilaSaid Al Mahrooqui (4752).
Comments: Many participants and teachers felt that the such workshops should be part of the Enhancement Training given to the students. More experts from the industrial and private sectors could be involved in the programme to provide better exposure to the students. Many students complained that sufficient publicity was not given to the workshop and some suggested organizing such activities on Thursdays so that there will not be any clash between the regular working sessions and the workshop. Students also suggested that participants should be given certificates and/or commendable participation certificates.
ELC Builds More Classrooms
The English Language Centre continues to upgrade its facilities in order to provide better and more efficient service to students. Starting this academic year,the ELC through the support of the Ministry is expanding its building to create additional classrooms for students. Currently, an extension to the east wing of the existing ELC building is being built, which has an area almost the same in size of the area of the current building. This is envisioned to house more classrooms and laboratories for various purposes which is deemed to enhance the English language learning in the College.