The Education Master Program in English Language Teaching Methodology in Dhofar University

Dr . Abdul Aziz Ayoub

The Master  of  Education

Program in Teaching English  at  Dhofar University

A Recognized Program

Interview with Dr. Abdul Aziz Ayoub, the Chair of the Education Department and Advisor of the Master of Education Students in English Language Teaching.

(This interview 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 Advisor  of  the M.Ed.  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 many  Arab countries such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Sultanate of Oman, Libya, Yemen and Palestine.

·        Can you give us a brief idea about the M.Ed.  Program?

This program is the first graduate program in Dhofar University and in Dhofar in general and I hope it will pave the way for other graduate studies.

The program aims at preparing teachers of English who are able to teach in schools and in  different colleges.

The requirements of this program are 39 credit hours to be concluded by a pedagogical project at the end of the 2^nd 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 during  the graduation project which is a pilot study that depends on the  most modern  research methodologies.

There were 22 students in the first term of this year.

·        What does Dhofar University mean to you?

DU is a real  academic educational institution; it is one of the few universities in  the Middle East in which I felt that I am really in an academic environment  as I was given the chance of applying the new methods of teaching which consider the student  the center of the teaching/learning  process. The university encourages student-centered teaching and learning away from lecturing  and memorizing; we concentrate on understanding and critical  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 cooperative and group work learning instead of  lecturing and dictating methods -unfortunately used by many people without giving the students any role in class.

·        You have taught the Master's 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's 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 pre-lesson  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 mutual  respect and confidence; a thing that affected their character and personality positively.

As for the program in DU, it is a great one as it clearly and directly serves the aims proposed.

·        What are the teaching methods you followed in teaching the first patch in the Master's 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 helping  them play a main role in it. I do believe in helping students to learn by themselves because helping the students  to learn by themselves 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  graduate  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 who  asked us to list   the books needed and I found all facilities to make such books available. Actually, some books are  available and we are still waiting for the others to arrive.

As for the levels achieved in this pact, it can be inferred from the IELTS results; 17 students out of 18 passed the test and got grades between 5.0 and 7.5 in the first attempt. Such a result is noticed  for the first time in DU. The student who failed the first attempt passed in the second one and got 5.5.

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 Abdullah who 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 integration of language skills was  focused on during  their 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 to raise and improve the level of our students at English ; our M.Ed. students  have the chance now to be active teachers. The university is sure they will play a vital role in improving the levels of teaching English language.

For prospective students, we expect noticeable increase of the number of students studying in this program and it will be better if they can take the IELTS earlier as it is a requirement to be admitted to the Master's program to get a minimum of Band 5.0. Next year, DU is raising this required score to 5.5. For graduation, students are required to get 6.0 in this test or equivalent.

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 well-known  university both in the Middle East and  worldwide.