Doha: The Foundation Programme at Qatar University (FP-QU) held its first international conference on English language teaching (QU FP ICELT) -- Excellence in Teaching and Knowledge Economy: Engage Enhance and Activate -- on January 16 and 17.

The forum co-organised by Qatar TESOL brought together around 600 educators teachers experts and researchers from Qatar the GCC and from across the world to discuss existing and emerging developments in English language learning strategies and practices. A pre-conference event by Qatar TESOL included three plenary sessions an invited colloquium on ‘Second language writing development: Research and classroom applications’ featuring presentations from academics from Zayed University King Saud University and Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.

It also included a session featuring speakers from QU UAE University and Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls and six panel and concurrent sessions on topics such as ‘Teaching Young Learners’; ‘Testing and Assessment’; Language Skills and Creativity’; ‘Education Technology’; and more.

The ICELT was inaugurated by Dr Hassan Rashid Al Derham President QU and featured keynote speakers Dr David Nunan University of Hong Kong Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics Anaheim University President Emeritus and well-known author of ELT textbooks; Dr Lillian Wong Senior Lecturer University of Hong Kong Centre for Applied English Studies; Dr Mazen Hasna Vice-President and Chief Academic Officer QU; Dr Dudley Reynolds TESOL President-Elect; and Dr Maha Al Hendawi Director FP and FP faculty.

Dr Al Derham said: “The knowledge and experience local and international speakers bring with them will undoubtedly enrich our discussions today in that it will provide us with a more redefined international and intercultural perspective on the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language.

“The significance of this conference extends beyond our immediate classroom and has implications for our wider society. Human development is a pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030 and in this sense what will be discussed here today relates to the bigger picture of improving educational outcomes and our education system. This will contribute to the goal of building a successful prosperous and sustainable society.”

Dr Reynolds praised Qatar’s developments in all sectors and outlined the mission of TESOL International and invited participants to attend the TESOL 2016 International Convention and English Language Expo to be held in Baltimore US from April 5 until 8.

Dr Al Hendawi stressed the need for teachers to seek new ways of engaging learners in the classroom because “English is an important tool for professional development”. Dr Al Hendawi praised Foundation Programme staff and the conference organising committee for hard work and contribution to making the forum a success. The conference included a session on writing colloquium a plenary and sessions under the themes ‘Issues and Challenges in Integrated Syllabus Design’; and ‘Towards a globalised knowledge economy: Engaging enhancing and empowering learners with information technology’. Presentations were made by academics from QU Qatar the UAE Oman Poland the UK the US and Saudi Arabia.

The Peninsula