Mastery of English 'crucial to contribute to modern world'

UAE students must first master the English language if they are to contribute to the modern world, Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said in Dubai yesterday at the opening of the fifth Current Trends in English Language Testing Conference (CTELT).

"This annual conference brings together all of us who are interested in future development in these areas for what we hope will be a critical examination of how we can infuse English language education with vitality and relevance, both for the present and in the future," Sheikh Nahyan said in his opening remarks.

CTELT 2001 aims to bring together testing specialists and teachers to share findings and information that have important implications for the region. It provides a forum for current research on language teaching and testing, as well as an arena for discussion on relevant issues.

"The overarching goal of all of our efforts, of course, is to provide our students with positive learning experiences. The key challenge is to make sure that English language teachers are well prepared in all aspects of their profession, are supported in their work by findings of relevant research, and are connected to the worldwide academic community," Sheikh Nahyan said.

Speakers included Dr Alan Davies, University of Edinburgh and President of the International Language Testing Association (ILTA); Dr Geoff Brindley, Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University, Australia; Dr Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa, and Dr. Marion Williams of Exeter University.

More than 40 presentations will be offered during the two-day conference which ends today. Previous CTELT Conferences have drawn more than 750 English language teachers from seven countries and have featured more than 40 sessions. This year, CTELT was expecting over 850 delegates from the Gulf and beyond.

"We must articulate a vision of what we want our English language teachers to be. We must create forums for discussing how teachers can acquire new knowledge and skills in the practice of their profession through ongoing self-education," Sheikh Nahyan said.

"The international community looks to professionals such as yourselves for leadership in establishing standards of language proficiency and the development of testing instruments for verifying individual achievement," he said.

The conference is being hosted by Dubai Men's College and Zayed University and organised by Testing, Assessment and Evaluation and Teacher Education SIGs. This year's CTELT had as its theme "Teaching, Learning and Assessment."