Faculty of Languages and Translation

Madness in Arabic Narratives

  Dr. Mahmoud Radwan made a presentation titled “Madness in Arabic Narratives,” which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on March 06, 2019.   Dr. Radwan began by defining madness as “the state of having a serious mental illness, or extremely foolish behavior, or a state of wild or chaotic activity.” He tried to relate the concept of madness to literature.   Dr. Radwan reiterated the fact that literature had always been interconnected with madness. He stated that not only is the idea about madness associated with the author; it also has a close association with characters created by him or her. Madness in literature can refer to both writers who are known to have been insane and to abnormal characters in literature. Thus, there are three major definitions of madness in literature; namely, the "mad writer," the "mad characters," and the application of psychological terms to literary madness, said Dr. Radwan.   Dr. Radwan mentioned the names of some writers (Guy de Maupassant, Ezra Pound, Jonathan Swift, Jack London, and Virginia Woolf) who had suffered from mental illness. He also spoke about mad characters created by some authors who were interested in exploring human behavior, contradictions, inner anxiety, and pathological actions.   Dr. Radwan finally showed how madness was involved in Arabic narratives. He mentioned that Mohamed Al-Samman's Madness in Arab Culture is one of the most comprehensive critiques of the discourse of madness. He added that Arab writers utilize the fictional conventions of madness as a textual strategy to break the culture of silence about a discourse evaded on purpose and thus they disinter a world that is mysteriously hidden. Examples of such writers include Khudeir Miri (Iraq), Samiha Khrais (Jordan), Usama Issa (Palestine), Ahmed Yousif Dawood (Syria), Ghazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi (Saudi Arabia), Walid Damag (Yemen), Khairy Shalaby (Egypt), Ihab Adlan (Sudan), and Ismail Yebrir (Algeria).   The seminar was very informative and a great success. Date: 3/8/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
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Chartered Institute of Linguists Selects Dr Eyhab Abdulrazak Bader Eddin

  The Faculty of Languages and Translation takes pleasure in announcing that the Chartered Institute of Linguists, London has named Dr Eyhab Abdulrazak Bader Eddin as a Member and a Chartered Linguist. The Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) is the UK-based professional membership body for language practitioners. It aims to enhance the recognition and promote the value of languages and language skills in the public interest. Founded in 1910, CIOL was granted its Royal Charter by HM Queen Elizabeth II on 19 July 2005 and formally began operating as The Chartered Institute of Linguists on 1 September 2005.   Having satisfied the qualifying requirements prescribed by the Chartered Institute of Linguists, Dr Bader Eddin has been appointed as a full member, and a Chartered Linguist in the field of Translation and Language. He is thus referred to as a Chartered Linguist as a Translator and a language specialist. Thus, he is entitled to use the designatory letters ‘MCIL’ ‘CL’. He holds membership no. 55364 which is a unique reference no. which can be verified through: https://www.ciol.org.uk/member-check?id=55364 Or https://www.ciol.org.uk/member-check/profile/55364/14737.   The Statistics Department at CIOL has confirmed that Chartered Linguists are 520 across the world, 3 of these are based in the Middle East Region, including him.   On this auspicious occasion, we could not let this occasion go by without wishing him continued success. Date: 3/3/2019 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation
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Dr. Rumbinas Delivers Presentation

  Dr. Barbara Rumbinas delivered a presentation organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University on February 27, 2019.   Dr. Barbara began her presentation by defining Multimodal Analysis which is actually an inter-disciplinary approach that acknowledges that communicative acts contain more than verbal utterances or written texts. She said communicative acts are meaning-generating events including visual, spoken, gestural, written, and other three-dimensional modes of interaction. The Multimodal Approach to research, she said, examines the communicative interactions of these elements as well as their inter and intra-relationships to reveal, among other things, ideological perspectives and power relations.   The seminar was very informative and a great success. Date: 3/2/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
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Never Lost in Translation: Language Specialists Serve the Community

  On February 19, 2019, the Faculty of Languages and Translation held a seminar titled 'Translator's Message'. The seminar was organized by the Language Research Center, and the presenters were Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani and Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani. The presenters are MA students and volunteers for a program also named 'Translator's Message'. The purpose of the seminar was to raise awareness of the group's goals and objectives within the FLT community.   Translator's Message is an initiative organized by Master degree students in Translation at the FLT female campus. It is an all-volunteer group, which is dedicated to providing in-demand translation services to the community. The participants' motivation is based on their deep passion for translation and commitment to civic improvement.  'Translator's Message is primarily a community service volunteer effort. We are an all-volunteer group of specialized translators who have a message to deliver to non-specialists. In short, we are messengers of translation. The objective is to educate communities about the importance of translation services in daily life. In addition, this translation initiative helps the volunteers improve and sharpen their translation skills. Our initiative supports national objectives as set forth in Vision 2030', said Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani. In addition, the translation initiative serves as a conduit between various communities and King Khalid University. This is important as there are many other initiatives involving the university and the public stakeholders in the region.   'Our volunteers visit a variety of different people both within and among different communities. Volunteers often visit secondary schools and high schools. In these settings, the volunteers can encourage young people in their international language studies, and convey both the importance and potential career opportunities involving language', said Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani.   The 'Translator's Message' seminar also focused on the program outcomes they have experienced to date. The presenters expressed that their group is passionate about the benefits of real-world translation. Also, they find that constructive experiences from their volunteer work have made them more confident in practicing their craft. They also expressed their satisfaction in serving members of the public. The presenters made a call to action for additional volunteers in the program. As part of this request, Hanan Saeed Al-Shahrani and Maryam Faisal Al-Shamrani shared the group's current work plan with the attendees.   Please note that this is a follow-up regarding the 'Translator's Message' initiative. For more information, please click here. Volunteers are very much needed, and any contribution would be greatly appreciated. Please contact 'Translator's Message' on their Twitter handle @translatorsKKU. Date: 2/25/2019 Source:  Amal Metwally & Tanzina Halim, Scientific Research Committee – Female Campus
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A Presentation by Dr. Hasan Jaashan

  Dr. Hasan Jaashan introduced his book about Stylistics at the seminar held on February 13, 2019, which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University. He started his presentation by showing the content of his book.   Dr. Jaashan, while highlighting the content of the book, spoke in detail about the relation between linguistics and literature, and what function stylistics has in understanding literature. He emphasized the significance of clear understanding of linguistics in appreciating literature, which, he added, involves perceiving the beauty of thoughts and expressions. He highlighted the fact that every writer has his or her honest and unique style of writing.   Dr. Jaashan also explained the features of the language of literature. Dr. Jaashan focused on his phonological and stylistic analysis of various literary texts.   The seminar was informative, interactive and a great success. Date: 2/13/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
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Writing Workshop at Al-Janoub International School

  On February 9th, College of Languages & Translation faculty members Mohammed Jabir and Erich Beer presented a creative writing workshop at Al-Janoub International School in Khamis Mushait. Attendees included many of the school’s students, teachers, and administrators.   Mr. Mohammed Jabir focused his presentation on the general philosophies and approaches to creative writing. He noted that humans are born storytellers. Creative writing is a natural extension of the societal need to inform, inspire and challenge others through stories. Mr. Jabir also reviewed various fictional writing styles, and explained how each type appeals to different audiences.   Mr. Erich Beer focused his time on practical issues in creative writing. He explained how most writers strive and suffer through the creative process. Mr. Beer has been teaching creative writing at the university for years. He offered many tips on ways to overcome common obstacles such as organization, writer’s block, editing and the like.   The workshop presenters thanked Al-Janoub International School for graciously hosting the event and subsequent refreshments. The presentations were well attended, and the participants showed great enthusiasm. Many expressed interest in having additional events in the future. Date: 2-12-2019 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation
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A Workshop by Associate Professor Michael Hadzantonis

  Associate Professor Michael Hadzantonis conducted a workshop on Linguistic Anthropological facets of language selection, which was organized by the Language Research Center of King Khalid University, on January 16, 2019. Here, the language of study was Greek, following a study and data collection in Athens, Greece in 2012.    The central premise of the study followed on from work by Duranti, which exposed that, in Italian, the act of dropping or including a subject pronoun constituent in/from any spoken construction, will alter the pragmatics of the sentence. In the Italian case, including the unnecessary subject pronoun will effect positive conceptions by speakers toward the referent. However, in the case of the Greek context, Hadzantonis argues that the opposite was found to be true. This metapragmatic conditioning of syntax aligns with work by Michael Silverstein in the 1980s, who discusses the importance of 'reference' in syntactic constituents, so to effect either deliberate or nondeliberate positioning of the subject referent, by the speaker.        This work constitutes the first part in introducing discourse analytic techniques in Linguistic Anthropology, and sits within a continual line of talks in the area of Research methods in Linguistic Anthropology, by Hadzantonis. Date: 1/30/2019 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique
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Faculty Members Receive Distinguished Service Awards

  On January 21, 2019, Dean of the Faculty of Languages & Translation, Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, presented two faculty members with distinguished service awards.   Dean Al-Melhi recognized Dr. Basim Kanaan for his four years of service as the department’s academic advisor. In his official capacity as student advisor, Dr. Kanaan worked tirelessly to guide and render help to many students on a wide variety of academic and personal issues.   Dean Al-Melhi also recognized Mr.Abdullah Al-Rezgi for his six continuous years of service as the English Language Center (ELC) director. The ELC provides intensive English instruction to students majoring in sciences and medicine.   The Dean conducted a brief awards ceremony in the presence of senior faculty members during the regularly scheduled department council meeting. Dr. Kanaan and Mr. Rezgi both received achievement plaques in appreciation for all of their diligent efforts and years of loyal service. Date: 1/22/2019 Source: Dr. Charles Forman
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FLT E-Learning Supervisor Delivers University-Wide Workshop

  On January 16, 2019, there was a face-to-face 'E-Learning Practitioners Training' organized by the Deanship of E-Learning available to all faculty members on Blackboard, which is one of the premier learning management systems in higher education. E-Learning Supervisor at the Faculty of Languages and Translation, Mohsin Khan, led the online training program. In attendance were some new faculty members from various colleges and locales. Mr. Khan provided some basic instruction for those who were not familiar with King Khalid University’s learning management system, Blackboard. Mr. Khan then conducted a training session in which he focused on the flipped classroom method. 'Blackboard is a powerful tool. If utilized to its maximum capabilities, our students have better learning outcomes and benefit greatly', said Mr. Khan.   Of note, Mr. Khan introduced the standards of the internationally acclaimed and recognized Quality Matters (QM) Rubric. QM provides certification to online courses that demonstrate a commitment to creating an environment of excellence and quality. Mr. Khan discussed how these standards could be implemented in online courses.   E-Learning Training Manager, Mohammed Jarallah, thanked all of the participants for their time and attention. He noted that E-Learning is an increasingly important aspect of higher education. The university is committed to maintaining the highest standards and best practices for modern college-level curriculum. Date: 1/17/2019 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation
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New Textbooks Are Key to 'Unlocking' the Potential of Our Students

  The Faculty of Languages and Translation hosted training sessions to prepare our teachers to use the new textbooks effectively. On January 13th and 14th the Unlock series publisher, Cambridge University Press, conducted intensive training sessions for both male and female instructors at different locations. Dean of Faculty of Languages & Translation, Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, presided over and coordinated the whole program. ESL author & educator Peter Lucantoni commenced the workshop with his lively presentation. Mr. Lucantoni explained how the authors of this series reached out to teachers and learners to make sure they truly understood what they needed from a course. He reiterated that the Unlock series would motivate learners with engaging materials and visually stunning graphics in inspirational storytelling which would eventually develop their critical thinking skills in addition to language learning. Of note, Discovery Education videos are incorporated into the learning content, which is considered to be a brand new approach that equips learners with the skills and language needed for academic success.   King Khalid University Rector, Prof. Falleh R. M. Al-Solamy, Vice Rector of Academic Affairs, Saad Muhammad Du'ajim, and Vice Rector of Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Merzin Al-Shahrani, presided over the training sessions on day 2. After a brief closing ceremony, His Excellency Rector Al-Solamy wished all of the students and faculty great success with the new textbook series and course enhancement initiative. Dean Al-Melhi thanked the representatives of Cambridge University Press for their efforts and His Excellency Rector Al-Solamy and Vice Rector Du'ajim for their continued support and encouragement. 'The adoption of these new textbooks and the associated teaching techniques represent a momentous achievement for the English Language Center. We hope that it will unlock the potential of our students', said Dean Al-Melhi. He further noted that this textbook initiative was a long and difficult process. 'This project would not have come to fruition but for the dedication and persistence of my team's tireless work, and executive leadership support and encouragement of the initiative', he said.   The English Language Center at the Faculty of Languages & Translation has adopted and launched a set of new textbooks for numerous courses. These new materials are tailored to language learning for students enrolled in ENG 011, 012 and 019 English skills courses. This is an exciting development for the ELC as these new textbooks utilize cutting-edge language learning methods developed over many years. The textbooks are part of the 'Unlock' series by Cambridge University Press.   The Unlock series of books provides instruction on five essential academic language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammar). The textbooks employ a comprehensive approach to language learning in which students study all five subjects contemporaneously. This provides a near immersive exposure to the language that is of great help in achieving fluency. Moreover, the Unlock series also utilizes a 'scaffold' approach in which the materials help students progress up through a hierarchy of learning in accord with Bloom's Taxonomy. Unlock provides learners with the tools for developing the analytical and critical thinking skills necessary for mastering languages. The textbooks also stress the development of skills that will enable the students to speak and write proficiently at each level of language learning.   Unlock texts employ many different types of learning methods. The materials include many videos. These are helpful for both auditory and visual exposure to language usage. Unlock also prescribes a wide variety of both individual and group exercises designed to enhance language development. Moreover, Unlock is an effective tool for motivating students to learn. Most ordinary textbooks are dry and boring. The Unlock series focuses on study material that is engaging and sparks students' inherent curiosity. For example, the texts use interesting stories about real people and places in its lessons. Unlock is, in short, a critical component of an improved teaching strategy which will be of great benefit to our students. Adopting these new textbooks is one element of the university's goals of continuous improvement in all aspects of education.   The entire university offers its gratitude to Cambridge University Press. Textbooks are inherently expensive, especially those texts including state of the art educational materials and techniques. The university and Cambridge University Press worked very hard to provide these new textbooks at an affordable price. Ultimately, the parties found a way to sell these books to our students for 80 SR each. This is the lowest price for this series anywhere in the world. The university is so pleased to provide our students with optimal educational tools at a modest cost.   The Faculty of Languages and Translation is committed to providing the best possible language education to our students. The textbook initiative represents yet another success on the endless path of continuous improvement that helps make King Khalid University a world-class educational institution. Date: 1/16/2019 Source: Md. Jahangir Alam Multimedia Source: Sayed Mohammed Abdul Karim
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