A Distinguished Achievement
Reportage with Dr. Abdul Aziz Ayoub, the chair of the Education department and academic supervisor of Master Students in English Language Teaching.
(This reportage was conducted to know the doctor who clearly participated in making this program a reality)
Tell us about yourself?
Dr . Abdul Aziz Ayoub, the chair of the Education department and academic supervisor of Master Students in English Language Teaching.
Nationality: Canadian, Jordanian
Qualifications: 1. Ph.D. in English language teaching
2. British fellowship in Linguistics
Previous Experience: More than 30 years of teaching in Canadian universities and a number of Arab and foreign countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Sultanate of Oman, Libya, Yemen and Palestine.
- Can you give us a brief idea about the Master Program?
Education Master program (English Language Teaching Methodology)
This is the first program in higher education in Dhofar university and in Dhofar in general and I hope it will pave the way for other higher studies.
The program aims at preparing teachers of English who are able to teach in the schools and in the different colleges.
The requirements of this program are 39 credited hours to be concluded by a pedagogical project at the end of the 2nd year. The program focuses on the practical as well as theoretical sides of the strategies of teaching and learning the English language. Students are asked to carry out field studies in schools, institutes or colleges especially in the graduation project which is a pilot study that depends on the newest research methodologies.
There are 22 students in the first term of this year.
- What does Dhofar University mean to you?
DU is an academic educational institution; it is one of the few universities in which I felt that I am really in an academic position as I was given the chance of applying the new methods in teaching which consider the student as the center of the teaching process. The university encourages teaching and learning in which the student is the center away from lectures and memorizing; we concentrate on understanding and intact thinking while encouraging creativity without disappointing the student. At all times support was there from the dean of the college of Arts and Applied Sciences, the vice chancellor and the visiting professors from the American university of Beirut. I received support and help to implement developed educational methods which make activities in class thoroughly dependent on student involvement, participation and discussions while applying group work learning instead of the lecturing and dictating method unfortunately used by many people without giving the students any role in class.
- You have taught the Master program in DU for the first time in all Dhofar governorate; What does this mean to you and what do you think of the program in DU?
When I started teaching in the Master program, I faced some challenges which I soon managed to overcome, thanks to the cooperation of students and management; after I explained to the students their role in class activities and the previous preparations of activities for each class, they were baffled in the beginning but few weeks later they gained self confidence and started to come up with new innovative and creative ideas. My role was to guide them with reciprocal respect and confidence; a thing that affected their character and personality positively.
As for the program in DU, it is a distinguished one as it clearly and directly serves the aims proposed.
- What are the teaching methods you followed in teaching the first pact in the Master program? Did they achieve the proposed goals?
The teaching methods I followed, as I mentioned earlier, were far away from lecturing and dictating. I focused on making students participate in the learning process and make them play a main role in it. I do believe in helping students to learn by themselves because helping the students makes them bear the responsibility in learning and exert the needed efforts.
The students did most of the activities and my role was simply advising and guiding them; I think such a way achieved its results as the student plays the basic role in the learning process.
As for the books and the references for higher studies, although the library is still in its beginnings, I found support and encouragement from the college of Arts and Applied Sciences dean and the vice chancellor to ask for the books needed and I found all facilities to make such books available. Actually, some books become available and we are still waiting for the others to arrive.
As for the level achieved in this pact, it can be inferred from the IELTS results; 17 students out of 18 passes the test and got grades between 5.0 and 7.5 in the first attempt. Such a result is seen for the first time in DU. The student who failed the first attempt passed in the second one and got 5.5. Thus, all students achieved the needed grade to pursue their studies which is 5.0 minimum.
Thanks go to the joint efforts exerted and the continuous support and encouragement from those responsible in the university and special thanks go to Dr. Mufeed Abdullahwho helped me in teaching the preparation course for the IELTS exam. Each of us focused on two skills out of the four during the first term of this year; also language skills were focused on during lectures- in addition to the content.
To my dear students I like to say that I am proud of them and of their achievements and I am sure they are able to achieve more success as I expect them to continue exerting the same efforts to continue their studies especially the research side. It is time the level in teaching English improved; they have the chance now to be active teachers. The university is sure they will play a vital role in improving teaching the English language.
We expect noticeable increase of the number of students studying in this program and it will be better if they apply to the IELTS earlier as it is a requirement to be admitted to the Master program to get 5.0 minimum. After graduation, students are required to get 6.0 in this test or equivalence.
I advise the students who wish to join the program to apply to the test earlier and then they are welcome in Dhofar university.
At the end of this interview, I cordially thank the university, the vice chancellor in particular, and the dean of the college of Arts and Applied Sciences for their active contribution to make this program a reality and to give the opportunity to us all in this university to benefit from the experience of the AUB that is well-known in both the Middle East and the World.
