Spring 2021

  The Language Research Center organized a webinar on March 24, 2021. The webinar presenter was Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, who conducted a workshop for those interested in research in the field of translation and, in particular, the students of translation studies. The title of the presentation was "Areas and Themes in Translation Studies: A Lantern Shone into the Dark Maze of Tunnels, Excavated by Translation Students and Researchers".   Dr. Eyhab began his session by highlighting why doing research in the field of translation studies is hard. Research in translation studies, an area which, because of its interdisciplinary nature, can present the inexperienced researcher with a bewildering array of topics, he stated. The major purpose of such research, he added, is to make a contribution to the field in several ways.   Dr. Eyhab stated different ways to contribute to the field of translation studies such as by providing new data, suggesting an answer to a specific question, testing or refining an existing hypothesis, theory or methodology, proposing a new idea, hypothesis, theory or methodology. He also specified the major factors that launch the drive for conducting research in translation studies. The factors, he stated, are a piqued sense of natural curiosity, a need to obtain a further qualification, a general desire for personal development, and areas of interest.   At the beginning of the research, he said, a researcher may be excited, but he or she may discover that someone else has already conducted the same research in the same area. Another upsetting thing about the research may be the lack of feasibility. To address this problem, Dr. Eyhab recommended that a researcher should ascertain the current state of research in the field, which involves a lot of reading.   The purpose of such research, Dr. Eyhab said, is to add the sum of knowledge. Therefore, re-inventing the wheel is a waste of time. A piece of research does not take place in a vacuum, but it relates to what has gone before. In this case, the literature review is essential.   He highlighted an overview of some research areas relevant to translation studies as follows:   A. Text Analysis B. Translation Quality Assessment C. Genre Translation D. Multimedia Translation, known as audio-visual translation, and is further broken down into dubbing and subtitling. E. Evaluating Software F. Interpreting   The webinar was an informative one with the active participation of the faculty members, MA and Ph.D. Students from both male and female campuses.   To view a recording of the webinar, please click here. Date: 3/25/2021 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  The Scientific Research Committee organized a webinar titled "Your Guide for MA Studying" on 24 March 2021. The speakers of this webinar were three post-graduate students Ms. Warda Saad, Ms. Fatemah Abdulaziz, and Ms. Alaa Salem. The 1st speaker Ms. Warda Saad started the program by posing a question to the undergraduate students: What is your goal? Next, she explained the four goals listed by her, which are as follows:   Expand your knowledge of fields related to your field. Gain recognition. Start making connections. Take advantage of academic support.   After elaborating on the goals of the students, the speaker stated the students' and teachers' expectations in the MA program. In a nutshell, she urged the students to be prepared for more work, be more focused and motivated, cite every word they say or use in their work, and develop their habits. Towards the end of her speech, Ms. Warda advised the students to ask a lot of questions to their supervisors and professors. She also explained that any remarks from the professors/supervisors/teachers are never personal, and they should be aware of that.   The 2nd speaker Ms. Fatemah started her speech by explaining the meaning of scientific research. Next, she elaborated on the reading skill of researchers, which is essential. She focused on the skimming and scanning techniques used in reading, and she imparted the message to the students that to expand the knowledge of the researchers, there is no alternative to reading. She has urged the students to think critically and objectively and develop the skill of discussion as well.   In the next part of her speech, Ms. Fatemah highlighted the magic of the Internet. She has discussed how students can view YouTube as a Tutor and use Grammarly for checking Plagiarism. She concluded her speech on a motivating note by saying, "Celebrate small achievements on the way to your goal."   The 3rd speaker, Ms. Alaa Salem, started her speech by talking about Applied Linguistics research areas or where to go in research. She referred to a book titled Contemporary Applied Linguistics. She has pointed out various aspects such as globalization of language, the death of languages, language and economy, poverty and languages, religion, family and language, language and culture, translation and language, language and the brain, etc. While discussing language and economy, the speaker gave an example of a story of a Phillipino worker and showed how people are judged by how they speak a language. She pointed out that language becomes an indicator of the intelligence of a person.   Last of all, the speaker discussed language and the brain, and she said how Neurolinguistics, Speech Disorder, and Sign language could be sources for researchers.   All three speakers of the webinar were successful in enlightening the undergraduate students about the MA program. Date: 3/25/2021 Source: Ms. Shanjida Halim, Scientific Research Committee Member

  At a webinar organized by the Language Research Center on March 10, 2021, Dr. Shazia Tabassum spoke about Lexical Borrowing: French Loan Words into English. The presentation was all about how the English Language has so far been enriched with lexis from other languages.   Dr. Shazia, first, started her presentation stating an intriguing fact that English is not a pure language in terms of lexicon, but a heterogeneous one. This particular phenomenon is because of its exposure to frequent cultural changes over ages. The English language is composed of words from different languages across the world, she added. As a result, many of the everyday words used in spoken and written English have been adopted from other countries in which the first language is not English, she highlighted. She quoted David Crystal who termed English as an “insatiable borrower”.   Dr. Shazia explained the term Lexical Borrowing. She explained it as a process by which a word from a donor language is adapted for use in the recipient language. It is a two-way process in that a recipient language interestingly may sometimes become a donor language too, she added and also emphasized the fact that lexical borrowing plays a vital role in bilingualism.   Dr. Shazia spoke about foreign invasions, wars, foreign trade and travel that resulted in such lexical borrowing. Most of the English lexical items have been taken from Greek, Latin, and French she added. She also mentioned some other donor languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Hindi, and Urdu. The interesting point is that 70% of the modern English words have been all borrowed from other languages, and French is the major donor language, she said.   She showed the similarities and differences between English words and the main donor language French. She exemplified gender for inanimate things in French. She gave some more examples of French load words and phrases that are frequently used in English.   Dr. Shazia finally emphasized the learner-centered approach to teaching vocabulary in a language class.   The webinar was a great success with the active participation of the faculty members, PhD and MA students. Date: 3/14/2021 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  At a webinar organized by the Language Research Center on March 10, 2021, Dr. Shazia Tabassum spoke about Lexical Borrowing: French Loan Words into English. The presentation was all about how the English Language has so far been enriched with lexis from other languages.   Dr. Shazia, first, started her presentation stating an intriguing fact that English is not a pure language in terms of lexicon, but a heterogeneous one. This particular phenomenon is because of its exposure to frequent cultural changes over ages. The English language is composed of words from different languages across the world, she added. As a result, many of the everyday words used in spoken and written English have been adopted from other countries in which the first language is not English, she highlighted. She quoted David Crystal who termed English as an “insatiable borrower”.   Dr. Shazia explained the term Lexical Borrowing. She explained it as a process by which a word from a donor language is adapted for use in the recipient language. It is a two-way process in that a recipient language interestingly may sometimes become a donor language too, she added and also emphasized the fact that lexical borrowing plays a vital role in bilingualism.   Dr. Shazia spoke about foreign invasions, wars, foreign trade and travel that resulted in such lexical borrowing. Most of the English lexical items have been taken from Greek, Latin, and French she added. She also mentioned some other donor languages such as Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Hindi, and Urdu. The interesting point is that 70% of the modern English words have been all borrowed from other languages, and French is the major donor language, she said.   She showed the similarities and differences between English words and the main donor language French. She exemplified gender for inanimate things in French. She gave some more examples of French load words and phrases that are frequently used in English.   Dr. Shazia finally emphasized the learner-centered approach to teaching vocabulary in a language class.   The webinar was a great success with the active participation of the faculty members, PhD and MA students. Date: 3/14/2021 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Under the supervision of the Deanship of E-Learning, E-Learning Supervisor, Mohsin Khan, recently delivered a 2-day training course on "Applying the Quality Matters Rubric Workshop (Virtual)". Ms. Safa Al-Shehri and Mr. Abdullah Zubain at the Deanship of E-Learning provided holistic support.   The Quality Matters (QM) Rubric introduces participants to best practices, instructional design, and research-based design principles of an online/hybrid course to ensure quality assurance.   "The 10-hour virtual workshop was particularly helpful to those new to QM or those considering the adoption of a quality assurance process for online and blended learning. It was a great opportunity for 30 faculty members from various disciplines to learn more about the QM Rubric and its use in reviewing the design of online and blended courses," Khan said.   The Deanship of E-Learning explained that the QM Rubric is a widely respected set of standards used to design effective online courses through a faculty peer review process. Participants in the virtual workshop commented that the QM Rubric increases learn engagement and learning achievement.   The Bachelor of Arts in English program is committed to offering expertise to teaching staff in other colleges, allowing them to participate in professional and academic development programs in accordance with a plan that meets their needs and contributes to the development of their performance. Date: 3/11/2021 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  Under the supervision of the Deanship of E-Learning, E-Learning Supervisor, Mohsin Khan, recently delivered a 2-day training course on "Applying the Quality Matters Rubric Workshop (Virtual)". Ms. Safa Al-Shehri and Mr. Abdullah Zubain at the Deanship of E-Learning provided holistic support.   The Quality Matters (QM) Rubric introduces participants to best practices, instructional design, and research-based design principles of an online/hybrid course to ensure quality assurance.   "The 10-hour virtual workshop was particularly helpful to those new to QM or those considering the adoption of a quality assurance process for online and blended learning. It was a great opportunity for 30 faculty members from various disciplines to learn more about the QM Rubric and its use in reviewing the design of online and blended courses," Khan said.   The Deanship of E-Learning explained that the QM Rubric is a widely respected set of standards used to design effective online courses through a faculty peer review process. Participants in the virtual workshop commented that the QM Rubric increases learn engagement and learning achievement.   The Bachelor of Arts in English program is committed to offering expertise to teaching staff in other colleges, allowing them to participate in professional and academic development programs in accordance with a plan that meets their needs and contributes to the development of their performance. Date: 3/11/2021 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  On March 3, 2021, the Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized the seventh and last session of webinars on academic writing by Dr. Nada Alqarni.   "It is highly recommended the inclusion of a short concluding section", said Dr. Alqarni. Most readers can read the conclusion as well as the abstract as they summarize the main findings of the research paper in a non-technical language, as she further illustrated. Dr. Alqarni explained the main purpose of the conclusion: "To clearly signal to the reader that the writing is finished and to leave a clear impression that the purpose has been achieved". She also indicated that there are several features of the conclusion; among them are the provision of a summary for the whole paper and the explanation of the paper's main purpose. Accordingly, she emphasized in the "possible structures of the conclusion" that the conclusion should be concise and clear.   After that, Dr. Alqarni illustrated some common mistakes that the author should steer clear of in his/her conclusion. Additionally, she stated that the author should use basic synthesis of information in the conclusion. She also emphasized that he/she should restate results, highlight achievements, outline possible applications and implications of the work, and propose future work for third parties to carry out in his/her conclusion.   Following this section about the conclusion, Dr. Alqarni moved to discuss the abstract, which was the second part of this session. "The abstract is a very important paragraph at the beginning of your research paper'', said Dr. Alqarni. She pointed out that there are many features of the research paper abstracts. She also indicated that there are two main approaches to writing research paper abstracts: "a result-driven'' abstract and "a research paper summary abstract". Dr. Alqarni further illustrated the correct order of the research paper abstract. She finally displayed an example of an abstract from the article "Use of a Writing Websites by Pre-Masters Students on an English for Academic Purposes Course".   By the end of the seventh session of the academic writing series of webinars, attendees had the opportunity to ask their questions and share their suggestions and thoughts. Date: 3/5/2021 Source: Khairyah Al-Beshri - Scientific Research Committee

  On March 1, 2021, the Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized the sixth session of webinars on academic writing by Dr. Nada Alqarni.   This webinar was designed to investigate the discussion of results in a research paper. In the discussions section, writers have greater freedom than in the introduction or in the literature review. "By the time readers reach the discussion, authors can assume a fair amount of shared knowledge", illustrated Dr. Nada at the beginning of the webinar. "They can assume that the reader has understood the purpose of the study, obtained a sense of the methodology, and followed along with the results".   The purpose of the discussion section is to show that the results lead clearly to the conclusion being drawn. This may include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made as well as any possible explanations for these results.   Dr. Alqarni asserted that discussion should be more than a summary. It should go beyond the results. It should be more theoretical, abstract, or general. It should be more integrated with the field, more connected to the real world, or more concerned with implications or application.   She further indicated that in the discussion section a researcher should step back and take a broad look at the findings of the study and the study as a whole. "The discussion section moves from the narrow specific focus of the research to a more general view. It must clearly show how the results lead to the conclusions being drawn and therefore how these conclusions should be understood and any possible explanations for these results", she said. This should include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made.   A discussion section should include the following elements: a reference to the main purpose of the study, a generalized review of the most important findings (i.e., summary of results), possible explanations for the findings in general, comparison with expected results and other studies, limitations of the overall study that restrict the extent to which the findings can be generalized, and the conclusion of the discussion section. In the discussion section, the researcher should not simply repeat all the details, attempt to cover all the information, or claim more than is reasonable or defensible, she illustrated.   Dr. Alqarni also referred to the qualifications and strength of claims in the discussion section and gave examples of using modal auxiliaries to weaken claims. She also highlighted the language used in the discussion section with examples.   The webinar, which was mainly delivered to MA and Ph.D. students and attended by staff members of the Faculty of Languages and Translation and other faculties, witnessed overwhelming participation.   The series of academic writing webinars — organized by the Scientific Research Committee — consisted of seven sessions that were held every Monday and Wednesday from February 10 to March 3, 2021, at 4:30 pm. Date: 3/4/2021 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally - Head of Scientific Research Committee

  On March 3, 2021, the Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized the seventh and last session of webinars on academic writing by Dr. Nada Alqarni.   "It is highly recommended the inclusion of a short concluding section", said Dr. Alqarni. Most readers can read the conclusion as well as the abstract as they summarize the main findings of the research paper in a non-technical language, as she further illustrated. Dr. Alqarni explained the main purpose of the conclusion: "To clearly signal to the reader that the writing is finished and to leave a clear impression that the purpose has been achieved". She also indicated that there are several features of the conclusion; among them are the provision of a summary for the whole paper and the explanation of the paper's main purpose. Accordingly, she emphasized in the "possible structures of the conclusion" that the conclusion should be concise and clear.   After that, Dr. Alqarni illustrated some common mistakes that the author should steer clear of in his/her conclusion. Additionally, she stated that the author should use basic synthesis of information in the conclusion. She also emphasized that he/she should restate results, highlight achievements, outline possible applications and implications of the work, and propose future work for third parties to carry out in his/her conclusion.   Following this section about the conclusion, Dr. Alqarni moved to discuss the abstract, which was the second part of this session. "The abstract is a very important paragraph at the beginning of your research paper'', said Dr. Alqarni. She pointed out that there are many features of the research paper abstracts. She also indicated that there are two main approaches to writing research paper abstracts: "a result-driven'' abstract and "a research paper summary abstract". Dr. Alqarni further illustrated the correct order of the research paper abstract. She finally displayed an example of an abstract from the article "Use of a Writing Websites by Pre-Masters Students on an English for Academic Purposes Course".   By the end of the seventh session of the academic writing series of webinars, attendees had the opportunity to ask their questions and share their suggestions and thoughts. Date: 3/5/2021 Source: Khairyah Al-Beshri - Scientific Research Committee

  On March 1, 2021, the Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized the sixth session of webinars on academic writing by Dr. Nada Alqarni.   This webinar was designed to investigate the discussion of results in a research paper. In the discussions section, writers have greater freedom than in the introduction or in the literature review. "By the time readers reach the discussion, authors can assume a fair amount of shared knowledge", illustrated Dr. Nada at the beginning of the webinar. "They can assume that the reader has understood the purpose of the study, obtained a sense of the methodology, and followed along with the results".   The purpose of the discussion section is to show that the results lead clearly to the conclusion being drawn. This may include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made as well as any possible explanations for these results.   Dr. Alqarni asserted that discussion should be more than a summary. It should go beyond the results. It should be more theoretical, abstract, or general. It should be more integrated with the field, more connected to the real world, or more concerned with implications or application.   She further indicated that in the discussion section a researcher should step back and take a broad look at the findings of the study and the study as a whole. "The discussion section moves from the narrow specific focus of the research to a more general view. It must clearly show how the results lead to the conclusions being drawn and therefore how these conclusions should be understood and any possible explanations for these results", she said. This should include any limitations that might cause problems with any claims being made.   A discussion section should include the following elements: a reference to the main purpose of the study, a generalized review of the most important findings (i.e., summary of results), possible explanations for the findings in general, comparison with expected results and other studies, limitations of the overall study that restrict the extent to which the findings can be generalized, and the conclusion of the discussion section. In the discussion section, the researcher should not simply repeat all the details, attempt to cover all the information, or claim more than is reasonable or defensible, she illustrated.   Dr. Alqarni also referred to the qualifications and strength of claims in the discussion section and gave examples of using modal auxiliaries to weaken claims. She also highlighted the language used in the discussion section with examples.   The webinar, which was mainly delivered to MA and Ph.D. students and attended by staff members of the Faculty of Languages and Translation and other faculties, witnessed overwhelming participation.   The series of academic writing webinars — organized by the Scientific Research Committee — consisted of seven sessions that were held every Monday and Wednesday from February 10 to March 3, 2021, at 4:30 pm. Date: 3/4/2021 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally - Head of Scientific Research Committee