Standard 5

  On February 5, 2020, under the supervision of Vice Dean for Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, E-Learning Supervisor, Bachelor of Arts in English program, Mohsin Khan, delivered a university-wide webinar titled 'Using Blackboard to Build Online Courses'. The webinar, organized by the Tamkeen team at the Deanship of E-Learning, aimed to explore the effective use of Blackboard and expose participants to the important tools of Blackboard. Approximately 170 faculty members from the numerous faculties registered for the webinar.   Mr. Khan provided an introduction to and the best practices of: Blackboard course management tools; The Fundamentals of building online courses using the QM Rubric; Creating quizzes, tests and assignments; Using the discussion board, announcement and start here content areas; Creating online sessions using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.   The Faculty of Languages and Translation is dedicated to providing specialized training and services to all faculties. The webinar was an overall success and will continue successively in future webinars as a part of the Tamkeen Team efforts. Special thanks to E-learning Deanship Training Manager, Mohammed Jarallah, for his holistic support. Date: 2/8/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation  

  Vice Dean of Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, sponsored a training seminar for the Bachelor of Arts in English program titled 'Creating and Assessing Learning Outcomes' on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The event was co-sponsored by the Deanship of Academic Development and Quality. In attendance were nearly 50 course coordinators from numerous campuses. It is worth noting that both male and female team members attended the event at Saudi German Hospital.   Dr. Abdul Wahed Al Zumor began the event by presenting on the purposes and requirements of developing course learning outcomes and the relevance of this move to the educational aspirations of the Kingdom, as stated in Vision 2030. He stressed the need to shift the focus from content-based education to outcome-based education. When comparing both forms of education, Dr. Al-Zumor explained that content-based learning is dependent mainly upon mastery of course material content. In contrast, outcomes-based education goes beyond mastery of content and into constructing knowledge and skills by the students themselves with guidance from instructors. "Outcomes-based education is part and parcel to the SAQF Level 7 Descriptors and the three domains in which they are in," he said. There was a call to action at the conclusion of his presentation to align course learning outcomes and the program learning outcomes with the SAQF framework.   Dr. Eman Alzaanin, Supervisor of the Academic Development and Quality Unit, expounded upon the fundamentals of outcomes-based education. Dr. Alzaanin emphasized the need to create an aligned curriculum where the intended learning outcomes, the learning activities and resources, and the assessment tasks and criteria are all aligned to enhance students' attainment of the intended learning outcomes at the course and programme level. She walked the participants through an exercise designed to activate the ability to spot the extent of alignment between course intended learning outcomes and written assessment tasks. "We do not want students just to learn what they think they will be tested on. By ensuring that assessment tasks mirror intended learning outcomes, the curriculum will be accurately reflected," she noted. Dr. Alzaanin also introduced a checklist to evaluate and ensure the quality of assessment in three phases: designing of the assessment, marking and verification, and review and recommendations. "This will ensure that the teaching activities of the instructor and learning activities of the student are heading in the same direction," she concluded. The end of Dr. Alzaanin's session was quite active, with a proposal put forward towards modifying the assessment structure in use.   The FLT is grateful to the Deanship of Academic Development and Quality for its co-sponsorship of the event and Quality Consultant, Dr. Ahmed Farid, for his brief explanation of benchmarking and measuring course learning outcomes along with assessments. "Thank you all for giving up part of your weekend to attend this most important event. We will begin the process of revising course learning outcomes in the near future," said Dr. Almosa.   The Faculty of Languages and Translation is dedicated to providing excellence in all aspects of its educational offerings.   Date: 2/8/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  On February 5, 2020, under the supervision of Vice Dean for Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, E-Learning Supervisor, Bachelor of Arts in English program, Mohsin Khan, delivered a university-wide webinar titled 'Using Blackboard to Build Online Courses'. The webinar, organized by the Tamkeen team at the Deanship of E-Learning, aimed to explore the effective use of Blackboard and expose participants to the important tools of Blackboard. Approximately 170 faculty members from the numerous faculties registered for the webinar.   Mr. Khan provided an introduction to and the best practices of: Blackboard course management tools; The Fundamentals of building online courses using the QM Rubric; Creating quizzes, tests and assignments; Using the discussion board, announcement and start here content areas; Creating online sessions using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.   The Faculty of Languages and Translation is dedicated to providing specialized training and services to all faculties. The webinar was an overall success and will continue successively in future webinars as a part of the Tamkeen Team efforts. Special thanks to E-learning Deanship Training Manager, Mohammed Jarallah, for his holistic support. Date: 2/8/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation  

  Vice Dean of Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, sponsored a training seminar for the Bachelor of Arts in English program titled 'Creating and Assessing Learning Outcomes' on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The event was co-sponsored by the Deanship of Academic Development and Quality. In attendance were nearly 50 course coordinators from numerous campuses. It is worth noting that both male and female team members attended the event at Saudi German Hospital.   Dr. Abdul Wahed Al Zumor began the event by presenting on the purposes and requirements of developing course learning outcomes and the relevance of this move to the educational aspirations of the Kingdom, as stated in Vision 2030. He stressed the need to shift the focus from content-based education to outcome-based education. When comparing both forms of education, Dr. Al-Zumor explained that content-based learning is dependent mainly upon mastery of course material content. In contrast, outcomes-based education goes beyond mastery of content and into constructing knowledge and skills by the students themselves with guidance from instructors. "Outcomes-based education is part and parcel to the SAQF Level 7 Descriptors and the three domains in which they are in," he said. There was a call to action at the conclusion of his presentation to align course learning outcomes and the program learning outcomes with the SAQF framework.   Dr. Eman Alzaanin, Supervisor of the Academic Development and Quality Unit, expounded upon the fundamentals of outcomes-based education. Dr. Alzaanin emphasized the need to create an aligned curriculum where the intended learning outcomes, the learning activities and resources, and the assessment tasks and criteria are all aligned to enhance students' attainment of the intended learning outcomes at the course and programme level. She walked the participants through an exercise designed to activate the ability to spot the extent of alignment between course intended learning outcomes and written assessment tasks. "We do not want students just to learn what they think they will be tested on. By ensuring that assessment tasks mirror intended learning outcomes, the curriculum will be accurately reflected," she noted. Dr. Alzaanin also introduced a checklist to evaluate and ensure the quality of assessment in three phases: designing of the assessment, marking and verification, and review and recommendations. "This will ensure that the teaching activities of the instructor and learning activities of the student are heading in the same direction," she concluded. The end of Dr. Alzaanin's session was quite active, with a proposal put forward towards modifying the assessment structure in use.   The FLT is grateful to the Deanship of Academic Development and Quality for its co-sponsorship of the event and Quality Consultant, Dr. Ahmed Farid, for his brief explanation of benchmarking and measuring course learning outcomes along with assessments. "Thank you all for giving up part of your weekend to attend this most important event. We will begin the process of revising course learning outcomes in the near future," said Dr. Almosa.   The Faculty of Languages and Translation is dedicated to providing excellence in all aspects of its educational offerings.   Date: 2/8/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  The Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized a seminar entitled "Publishing in Peer-Reviewed Journals: Challenges and Solutions" on Monday, February 3, 2020. The presentation, which was conducted by Dr. Mazeegha Al- Tale', focused on highlighting the significance of publishing in peer-reviewed journals, necessary steps, and techniques. At the beginning, Dr. Al-Tale' thanked the Scientific Research Committee for giving her the chance to give that presentation. She extended her thanks to the outstanding researchers Dr. Fakieh Alrabai and Dr. Munassair Al-Hamami for providing her with valuable information about international publishing.   "As faculty members, we strive to publish in peer-reviewed journals. After the hard work of thinking about appropriate topics, designing our studies, collecting the data and going through other steps of writing, we all are eager to see our works in good scientific journals", said Dr. Al- Tale’. Dr. Al- Tale' illustrated that there are five steps that researches have to follow in their journey towards publishing their work in authentic reliable journals. These are: reading towards topic selection, writing the research paper, selecting a journal, editing, and submission. She further explained in detail how each step could be accomplished perfectly towards publishing in peer-reviewed journals.   Dr. Al-Tale' also highlighted the importance of checking the impact factor of a journal before correspondence. Additionally, Dr. Al-Tale' provided a list of good publishing houses and explained the journal selection tools. She also visited some useful websites during the session in order to show the audience how to know if the target journal is listed in Scopus or not, to know whether a target journal is predatory or not, and to make sure that the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is a real one.   The seminar was attended by Dean's Assistant, Dr. Salma Alqahtani, Vice Dean, Dr. Mona Alshehri, teaching staff, and students. The seminar was very informative, engaging and such a great success.   Date: 2/4/2020 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally, Scientific Research Committee

  The Women's Scientific Research Committee of the Bachelor of Arts in English program organized a seminar entitled "Publishing in Peer-Reviewed Journals: Challenges and Solutions" on Monday, February 3, 2020. The presentation, which was conducted by Dr. Mazeegha Al- Tale', focused on highlighting the significance of publishing in peer-reviewed journals, necessary steps, and techniques. At the beginning, Dr. Al-Tale' thanked the Scientific Research Committee for giving her the chance to give that presentation. She extended her thanks to the outstanding researchers Dr. Fakieh Alrabai and Dr. Munassair Al-Hamami for providing her with valuable information about international publishing.   "As faculty members, we strive to publish in peer-reviewed journals. After the hard work of thinking about appropriate topics, designing our studies, collecting the data and going through other steps of writing, we all are eager to see our works in good scientific journals", said Dr. Al- Tale’. Dr. Al- Tale' illustrated that there are five steps that researches have to follow in their journey towards publishing their work in authentic reliable journals. These are: reading towards topic selection, writing the research paper, selecting a journal, editing, and submission. She further explained in detail how each step could be accomplished perfectly towards publishing in peer-reviewed journals.   Dr. Al-Tale' also highlighted the importance of checking the impact factor of a journal before correspondence. Additionally, Dr. Al-Tale' provided a list of good publishing houses and explained the journal selection tools. She also visited some useful websites during the session in order to show the audience how to know if the target journal is listed in Scopus or not, to know whether a target journal is predatory or not, and to make sure that the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is a real one.   The seminar was attended by Dean's Assistant, Dr. Salma Alqahtani, Vice Dean, Dr. Mona Alshehri, teaching staff, and students. The seminar was very informative, engaging and such a great success.   Date: 2/4/2020 Source: Dr. Amal Metwally, Scientific Research Committee

  Dr. Adel Bahameed spoke on the subject of Translating Songs and Poems at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center for the Bachelor of Arts in English program on January 29, 2020. The presentation centered on the challenges involved in translating songs and poems.   The main objective of his research, Dr. Bahameed says, was to refresh translation studies with regard to the possibility of translating songs and poems.   Dr. Bahameed, based on his research, describes 'translating songs and poems' as a challenging task. "There has been a long controversy over whether songs and poems can be really translated or not", states Dr. Bahameed. He mentions a famous Arab singer Abu Bakr Salem and a famous Arab poet Hussein Al-Mihdar and how their works have been translated. While translating a song, he adds, the translator must pay attention to rhythm, rhyme, prosody, music and the culture. Some translators, while translating, only focus on forms, and some, on the other hand, give priority to content over form. He states that the translator should preferably be a poet so that he/she can appreciate the poetic text in hand.   Dr. Adel Bahameed concluded that Arabic poems are translatable, but the translation process is complicated. However, Arabic songs are untranslatable because of the extra dimension of music, which is beyond the translator's control.   The seminar was very interactive, engaging, and a great success. It is worth mentioning that King Abdullah Road Campus also attended the seminar. Date: 1/30/2020 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Dr. Adel Bahameed spoke on the subject of Translating Songs and Poems at a seminar organized by the Language Research Center for the Bachelor of Arts in English program on January 29, 2020. The presentation centered on the challenges involved in translating songs and poems.   The main objective of his research, Dr. Bahameed says, was to refresh translation studies with regard to the possibility of translating songs and poems.   Dr. Bahameed, based on his research, describes 'translating songs and poems' as a challenging task. "There has been a long controversy over whether songs and poems can be really translated or not", states Dr. Bahameed. He mentions a famous Arab singer Abu Bakr Salem and a famous Arab poet Hussein Al-Mihdar and how their works have been translated. While translating a song, he adds, the translator must pay attention to rhythm, rhyme, prosody, music and the culture. Some translators, while translating, only focus on forms, and some, on the other hand, give priority to content over form. He states that the translator should preferably be a poet so that he/she can appreciate the poetic text in hand.   Dr. Adel Bahameed concluded that Arabic poems are translatable, but the translation process is complicated. However, Arabic songs are untranslatable because of the extra dimension of music, which is beyond the translator's control.   The seminar was very interactive, engaging, and a great success. It is worth mentioning that King Abdullah Road Campus also attended the seminar. Date: 1/30/2020 Source: Mohammad Adil Siddique

  Under the auspices of Asir Gov. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz, the Sports Governance Forum was held on Jan. 20, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Abha Palace Hotel. The main purpose of the two-session forum, hosted by Abha Sports Club, was to gather key stakeholders from around the Kingdom and from abroad to learn the unique challenges of sports governance, drive new initiatives, and implement coordinated solutions. Faculty of Languages and Translation Dean, Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, and Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, MITI, were provided with a special invitation. Dr. Bader Eddin was tasked with providing simultaneous interpreting in the two language combination, i.e. English and Arabic. He translated for the Arab guests what was said by the 2 English guest speakers who in turn got the English translation of what speakers said in Arabic, all done simultaneously. At the end of the Forum, Dean Al-Melhi provided consecutive interpreting for the questions posed to the English speakers before the lens of a TV channel.   Dr. Bader Eddin first provided simultaneous interpretation for Director of Risk and Governance at Everton FC, Paul McNicholas. Mr. McNicholas generated a lot of interest with his vast background in the Premier League, the top tier of English Football. Specifically, he manages all of the processes in place to protect Everton FC, a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. Mr. McNicholas's presentation was titled 'The English Experience in the Governance of Sports Clubs'. After, interpretation was provided for Real World Academies Managing Director, James Tucker. Mr. Tucker emphasized the importance of governance in education and sports clubs, citing examples from different academies from different parts of the world like Spain, etc. His presentation was titled 'The Importance of Governance in Education and Training in Sports Clubs'.   The event included a notable selection of speakers that included: Advisory (Shura) Council member Dr. Muhammad Al-Abbas; Dr. Marea Al-Habbash from King Khalid University; Dr Ahmed Al-Hadithi, President of Abha Sports Club; Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the General Authority for Sports, Abdulaziz Al-Masaad; Director of the Internal Audit Office at Dubai Sports Council, Khaled Al-Shezawi; Dr Muqbel bin Jdei, Professor of Sports Marketing and Development; Lawyer Fahad Muhammed.   Dean Al-Melhi recognized Dr. Badder Eddin for his community service commitment and asserted that the Faculty of Languages and Translation was honored to receive the task to interpret to a live audience and national broadcast for the guest speakers. It is worth mentioning that simultaneous interpreting is considered a type of interpreting that tops the list of other modes or types of interpreting in terms of difficulty. This is so because the simultaneous interpreter has to master the faculty of splitting senses in that he listens, understands, analyzes and then encodes the source text message in the other language, all in real-time. Simultaneous interpreting is seen as very hard because it involves 3 layers of problems: A) speed with which an interpreter must make decisions regarding lexical choice, grammar usage, etc, B) enormous tension and pressure to keep up with the rapid flow of spoken language, and C) the background knowledge necessary for instant recall, Dr. Bader Eddin mentioned. Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that Dr. Bader Eddin has provided and continues to provide simultaneous interpreting at high-profile events for high-profile dignitaries in Syria, European Union, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Dr. Bader Eddin is technically called 'FREE Simultaneous Interpreter' in that he has NO access to the text or speaker's notes, and the interpretation he provided was performed with NO look-ahead, under severe time pressure and with no safety net. The difficulty of the interpreting mode stems from the fact that the interpreter has little or no chance to look things up or go back on what he has said: the first pass is final. The interpreter has to tune in to the speaker's train of thought, expressing it precisely and as naturally as possible. Although the listeners do not need to know how this process works, they still expect clear and faithful running speech. All in all, the simultaneous interpreter's job is demanding, high-pressure and high-risk. Date: 1/24/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation

  Under the auspices of Asir Gov. Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz, the Sports Governance Forum was held on Jan. 20, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Abha Palace Hotel. The main purpose of the two-session forum, hosted by Abha Sports Club, was to gather key stakeholders from around the Kingdom and from abroad to learn the unique challenges of sports governance, drive new initiatives, and implement coordinated solutions. Faculty of Languages and Translation Dean, Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, and Dr. Eyhab Bader Eddin, MITI, were provided with a special invitation. Dr. Bader Eddin was tasked with providing simultaneous interpreting in the two language combination, i.e. English and Arabic. He translated for the Arab guests what was said by the 2 English guest speakers who in turn got the English translation of what speakers said in Arabic, all done simultaneously. At the end of the Forum, Dean Al-Melhi provided consecutive interpreting for the questions posed to the English speakers before the lens of a TV channel.   Dr. Bader Eddin first provided simultaneous interpretation for Director of Risk and Governance at Everton FC, Paul McNicholas. Mr. McNicholas generated a lot of interest with his vast background in the Premier League, the top tier of English Football. Specifically, he manages all of the processes in place to protect Everton FC, a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. Mr. McNicholas's presentation was titled 'The English Experience in the Governance of Sports Clubs'. After, interpretation was provided for Real World Academies Managing Director, James Tucker. Mr. Tucker emphasized the importance of governance in education and sports clubs, citing examples from different academies from different parts of the world like Spain, etc. His presentation was titled 'The Importance of Governance in Education and Training in Sports Clubs'.   The event included a notable selection of speakers that included: Advisory (Shura) Council member Dr. Muhammad Al-Abbas; Dr. Marea Al-Habbash from King Khalid University; Dr Ahmed Al-Hadithi, President of Abha Sports Club; Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of the General Authority for Sports, Abdulaziz Al-Masaad; Director of the Internal Audit Office at Dubai Sports Council, Khaled Al-Shezawi; Dr Muqbel bin Jdei, Professor of Sports Marketing and Development; Lawyer Fahad Muhammed.   Dean Al-Melhi recognized Dr. Badder Eddin for his community service commitment and asserted that the Faculty of Languages and Translation was honored to receive the task to interpret to a live audience and national broadcast for the guest speakers. It is worth mentioning that simultaneous interpreting is considered a type of interpreting that tops the list of other modes or types of interpreting in terms of difficulty. This is so because the simultaneous interpreter has to master the faculty of splitting senses in that he listens, understands, analyzes and then encodes the source text message in the other language, all in real-time. Simultaneous interpreting is seen as very hard because it involves 3 layers of problems: A) speed with which an interpreter must make decisions regarding lexical choice, grammar usage, etc, B) enormous tension and pressure to keep up with the rapid flow of spoken language, and C) the background knowledge necessary for instant recall, Dr. Bader Eddin mentioned. Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that Dr. Bader Eddin has provided and continues to provide simultaneous interpreting at high-profile events for high-profile dignitaries in Syria, European Union, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Dr. Bader Eddin is technically called 'FREE Simultaneous Interpreter' in that he has NO access to the text or speaker's notes, and the interpretation he provided was performed with NO look-ahead, under severe time pressure and with no safety net. The difficulty of the interpreting mode stems from the fact that the interpreter has little or no chance to look things up or go back on what he has said: the first pass is final. The interpreter has to tune in to the speaker's train of thought, expressing it precisely and as naturally as possible. Although the listeners do not need to know how this process works, they still expect clear and faithful running speech. All in all, the simultaneous interpreter's job is demanding, high-pressure and high-risk. Date: 1/24/2020 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation