Monash University

Summer Course Experience: Monash University

  On Tuesday, February 8, 2022, at 8 pm, four Bachelor of Arts in English program rising seniors, and student representatives of the King Khalid University 2021 Online Summer Program with Monash University, delivered an Alumni Unit webinar entitled "Summer Course Experience: Monash University".   Beginning the webinar as the moderator, Rayan Hassan Alfaifi, a student at the Faculty of Languages and Translation's 4-week 2021 online summer program titled "English Across Cultures and Intercultural Awareness" that ended on 19 August 2021, explained that the program translated into a deeper understanding of the English language and culture. Rayan said: "We thought that why wouldn't we make a full summary of this program and give it to all students through this webinar. This is the whole idea of this webinar." He then introduced the thematic points of the webinar, including fun facts about Monash University, Australian culture & language, language and culture, teaching and learning culture, cultural awareness, intercultural information, bilingualism, native speakerism, pedagogy and fairness, and research tips.   "We were thrilled to offer this opportunity to our top students, especially during the pandemic," said Dr. Abdullah Al-Melhi, Dean at the Faculty of Languages and Translation. "What's remarkable about the online summer program is how KKU's and Monash's high-caliber faculty collaborated to design a curriculum that fit the needs of our students," said Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, Vice Dean of Academic Development & Quality at the Faculty of Languages and Translation   Hind Mufleh Abudaser, Jana Muneer Saeed, Rayan Hassan Alfaifi, and Faisal Mohammad Asiri then began the informative part of the webinar. They introduced participants to the origins of Australian culture, the colorful vocabulary of Australian English, examples of diminutives, the intersections of language and culture, language as a code, language as a social practice, approaches to learning culture, the four categories of cultural awareness, the concepts of interculturalism and the spaces they are defined in, steps to becoming an intercultural learner, bilingualism, multilingualism, fractional and holistic views, code-switching, translanguaging, the myth of ambilingualism, English as an international language (EIL), the fallacies of native speakerism, pedagogy and fairness, equality vs. equity, and research tips.   The Summer Language Program is a recent development managed by the Faculty of Languages and Translation and its international partners. It serves to enrich gifted and talented students with extracurricular activities in a variety of fields to develop their abilities and skills. Special thanks go to the Alumni Unit for communicating and involving alumni in events and activities. To watch a recording of the event, please see the embedded video below. Summer Course Experience: Monash University Date: 2/13/2022 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation For a related story, click here.
English

Top Students Honed Language Skills in First Online Summer Program

  Under the supervision of Dean Abdullah Al-Melhi, the 2021 Online Summer Language Program (OSLP) titled "English Across Cultures and Intercultural Awareness" ended on 19 August 2021. OSLP is a four-week, intensive program in language study designed specifically for the curriculum in applied linguistics taught with a focus on intercultural awareness and different models of teaching and learning English. OSLP, much like our summer language program at Swansea University in 2019, was designed as an in-person, intensive language program, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OSLP ran synchronously online for the first time.   The OSLP team, led by Vice Dean for Academic Development & Quality, Dr. Abdulrahman Almosa, Chairman, Dr. Munassir Alhamami, and E-Learning Supervisor, Mohsin Raza Khan, sprung into action to co-develop — along with the team at Monash University — a fully online four-week summer language program for 63 of the best and brightest male and female students students in the Bachelor of Arts in English program.   Dr. Almosa noted, "This was the first time we held an online summer language program in cooperation with a leading international university. There were several technological and pedagogical challenges in developing an effective program that incorporates a social and cultural immersion experience that our students would get in person. Most of the modules were designed around language and culture concepts and instructional design, which are at the heart of recent developments in applied linguistics and related fields. I am pleased to report that our program was a success and among the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I sincerely thank Dr. Nizar Farjou, Dr. Raqib Chowdhury, Dr. Ruth Fielding, Susan Davis, Dr. Anna Podorova, Dr. Libby Tudball, Dr. Melissa Barnes, Dr. Dat Bao, Dr. Amber McLeod, and Ouahiba Zarzi at Monash University for their diligent collaboration and effort to make our joint program successful."   In his closing remarks, Dean Al-Melhi congratulated the students involved in the joint program and expressed his appreciation to all participating faculty members at Monash University and the Faculty of Languages and Translation at King Khalid University. The Bachelor of Arts in English program is committed to providing students with additional activities for their professional development, consistent with the intended learning outcomes and labor market developments. Date: 9/3/2021 Source: Faculty of Languages and Translation
English