The Department of English Language Teaching (ELT) at TIU organized an International Online Workshop entitled “The Place of English Language in Our Lives: How Well Do We Realize It?” on April 8th, 2021, Thursday, at 10:30 AM (local time). As English is an international language and most people are using this language in their daily lives, it is of great importance to have a sound command of this language, in order to communicate with people from other countries, as well as increase our chance of landing a better professional career. Therefore, this event was arranged to explore and discuss the place and role of the English Language in our lives, by incorporating academicians from different countries and allowing our students to benefit from the experiences of these professional people.

Four English Language Professionals, Assist. Prof. Sazzad Zahid from Bangladesh, Assist. Prof. Martha Terna-Abah from Nigeria, Ms. Kurdistan Qadir from KRG Iraq, and Prof. Alpaslan Toker from Turkey, kindly participated in the event. The event attracted more than 60 English Language learners, professionals, teachers, and enthusiasts from different parts of the world.

The workshop began with a speech by Assist. Prof. Sazzad Zahid, full-time academic of the English Department at Kushtia Islamic University, Bangladesh. Dr. Zahid delivered a presentation on “English Teaching-Learning in Bangladesh: Caught on a Cusp of both Expansion and Confusion”, in which he provided a historical background to the teaching and learning of the English Language in Bangladesh and offered valuable advice on how to attain fluency and proficiency in learning English language.

Assist. Prof. Martha Terna-Abah conducted a more lively and vigorous presentation on “Trending Versus Appropriate Language Use: The Position of Standard English in Formal Written and Spoken Communication among University Students”, where she highlighted the numerous errors made by university students in written communication.

Ms. Kurdistan Qadir, a full-time member of academic staff at the Department of Translation at the University of Suleimani, delivered a presentation titled “The Role of Learning English Language in Improving Emotional Intelligence (EQ)”, in which she emphasized the significance of emotional intelligence and its vital role in allowing the individual to communicate, lead and negotiate with others.

The final session was presented by Prof. Alpaslan Toker, a full-time Lecturer at Tishk International University in Suleimani, discussing the topic: “Kahoot As an Alternative Learning Tool in English Language Teaching”, where he pinpointed the integration of technology and technological devices in language teaching and went to great lengths to introduce a popular game-based learning platform called “Kahoot”.

The online workshop was concluded by the organizer, who conveyed much appreciation to all participants and stressed the importance of coordinating and contributing is such workshops. The participants expressed their pleasure and satisfaction to be a part of this successful event, and further emphasized the benefits received from the discussions that highlighted the important aspects of teaching and learning the English Language.

The recorded versions of the presentations can be accessed through the following links:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVh8E7UrFX0&list=PLqe7mzbOTOZ4uHYwsmrPMlNomGfD16CMj&index=2&ab_channel=TishkInternationalUniversitySulaimani
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl7VJ7NAEPs&list=PLqe7mzbOTOZ4uHYwsmrPMlNomGfD16CMj&index=1&ab_channel=TishkInternationalUniversitySulaimani
  3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Jc3Z5J8tY&list=PLqe7mzbOTOZ4uHYwsmrPMlNomGfD16CMj&index=3&ab_channel=TishkInternationalUniversitySulaimani
  4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjGMEHBxZKQ&list=PLqe7mzbOTOZ4uHYwsmrPMlNomGfD16CMj&index=4&ab_channel=TishkInternationalUniversitySulaimani