Libya and EFL - first ever workshop conducted here on this subject.

I am now in the Department of English, Faculty of Educuation, Sukh Al Khameez, Al Mergib University, Al Khums, Libya.
We conducted a workshop for EFL Seconday School students and teachers of Sukh Al Khameez and AL Khums.
The main organizers and conductors of the workshop were the Dean Dr. Rajabh Ghate,and Mr Abdul Salam Bel Hajj, our wise and able Head of the Department,and Mrs Jones Sudha, Mrs Hemalatha Morari, yours truly, that is, Dr. A.V. Koshy and Mr. Ramadan Shalbag. Others who helped included the other teachers of the Dept., especially Santhosh Howdekar and Shyam Vootnoor. Dr. Ghulam Rasool Mir, Mrs Meena Kumari, Anil Koshy, Abdul Khalik and Mohammad Azhrak were the other facilitators.

Here are the proceedings. I actually prepatred a questionnaire of much higher standard but four of us, namely Sudha, Hemalatha, me, Santhosh and Shyam worked on it to make it simple to suit the school students.

The Proceedings of the Workshop
“Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya”
held in Khoms’ Faculty of Education by the Department of English.

















Al Mergib University
Faculty of Education
Khoms
Department of English
Workshop
on
Facilitating ELT in the Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
2009-2010.
Monday & Tuesday
23 & 24 November 2009
Venue: Conference room & Auditorium

Chief Guest: Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Aldwaib
Honourable Chancellor of Al Mergib University

Dr. Rajabh Ghate Mr. Abdul Salam Bel Hajj
Dean of Faculty of Education
Head of the Dept. of English







PROGRAM
DAY 1
23.11 .2009 (Monday)
Time: 10.00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Venue: Conference Room, Faculty of Education.
Registration.
The compere, Mr. Abdul Khalik, announces the program.
Welcome speech: Mr. Ramadan Ahmed Shelbag.
Address: Dr. Rajabh Ghate, the Dean, Faculty of Education, Sukh Al Khameez.
Keynote address: Mr. Abdul Salam Bel Hajj, Head of the Department of English, Faculty of Education.
Giving out of questionnaire and stationery.
Discussion 1 by five groups facilitated by faculty and student volunteers of the English Department.
Tea break: 15 minutes.
Making of main points into 5 charts by the facilitators, student volunteers, and student participants.
Display of charts.










Day 2
24. 11. 2009. (Tuesday)
Morning session
The overall facilitator, Mrs. Jones Sudha Vijai, chalks out the program:
Discussion 2 by five groups facilitated by faculty and student volunteers of the English Department.
Making of 5 charts of remedial suggestions by faculty, student volunteers, and student participants.
Reading of all 10 charts by all the student participants and visiting faculty.
Tea break: 30 minutes.
Afternoon session
Introductory speech: Mr. Abdul Khalik.
Welcome speech: Mrs. Jones Sudha Vijai.
Speech: Chancellor, Dr. Mohammad Ahmed Aldwaib, partly translated by Ms. Ebtisam (4th year student).
Distribution of the mementos, certificates for faculty and student volunteers and certificates for participating schools by the Honorable Chancellor of Al Mergib Univ., the Dean of F.o E. , the Head of the D.o E., the Dean of the English Language Centre and the Head of the Examination Section and Dr. A.V. Koshy.
Compere: Mr. Santhosh Howdekar.
Speech: Mr. Ramadan Ahmed Shelbag.
Short Documentary & MS PowerPoint: Mr. Abdul Khalik & Mr. Anil Koshy.
Summation: Mrs. Hemalatha Murari.
Speech: Ms. Ebtisam.
Poem recital: Ms Safia Al Shereef.
Vote of thanks: Mr. Mehmood Ali Azhrak.




Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire 1:
1. Which foreign languages are you learning?
2. Why learn English? Give at least five reasons.
3. Is learning English difficult or easy?
4. If your answer is yes, why is it easy?
5. If your answer is no, why is it difficult?
6. Do you like learning English?
7. In what class is English started in your school?
8. Are the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing taught to you right from the beginning?
9. Do you listen to tapes and repeat sounds and sentences?
10. Are you taught to read and write the letters, words and sentences properly?
11. Through what exercises are you taught grammar?
12. Is English taught to you mainly in Arabic?
13. Is this better than being taught English mainly in English?
14. Are you able to listen to, speak, read and write English fluently in class?
15. If yes, how or why?
16. If no, why?
17. Are you asked by the teacher to use English outside class frequently?
18. Do you use English outside the class?
19. What listening exercises are you given?
20. What speaking exercises are you given?
21. Does the teacher connect these two?
22. What teaching aids are used in the classroom? List them.
23. Do the teachers use extra aids like atlases, clocks, maps, encyclopedias, globes, display boards, posters, notice boards, thesaurus etc., in the classroom?
24. Do the teachers use old and new technological aids like the computer, internet, CDs, DVDs, CD players, DVD players, TVs, tape recorders, digital projectors, slides, overhead projectors etc?
25. Are you enjoying the English lessons?
26. If yes, why?
27. If no, why not?
28. Do you do individual, paired and group activities and exercises in class?
29. Do you get homework?
30. Do you get the chance to do paired and group activities as homework?
31. Do the teachers check your work done in class regularly?
32. Do they give you suggestions for improvement?
33. Do they check your homework?
34. Are you encouraged to read extra material?
35. Do you have a library with English books?
36. Do you read them?
37. Are the teachers good in English?
38. Does the teacher encourage creative writing?
39. Does he allow you to use your imagination?
40. Do you have a class magazine with an English section?
41. Do you have a school magazine with an English section?
42. Do you have different competitions based on listening, speaking, reading and writing, with prizes?
43. Are you taught literature in different forms and genres like essay, poetry, short story, novel, drama etc?
44. Are you shown films, TV programs and videos or made to listen to the radio, CDs etc?
45. Do you have regular quizzes and tests?
46. Are you taught to use a dictionary properly?
47. Are you given sheets?
48. Do you like only English being used in the classroom?
49. Do you get the chance to apply the English you have learned outside?
50. If yes, how, when and where?
Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire 2
51. Is the class at which English was started for you early enough?
52. Do you think English should be started earlier? When and why?
53. Should English be taught to you right from the beginning as the four skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing?
54. Is the way that English is taught to you now, that is, mainly in Arabic, a good method?
What do you think would be a better method?
55. Are individual, paired and group exercises and activities better than learning by heart?
56. Can the lessons be made more enjoyable by introducing word games, puzzles etc? How?
57. Should the teachers check your work in class and homework regularly?
58. What do you expect them to do after they check it?
59. Should you be given the chance to practice the English you have learned outside class? How?
60. Are the marks for the examination the most important thing or your actual knowledge of English?
61. How can this be measured?
62. Should you be given the chance to take part in school competitions etc?
63. Should you be given the opportunity to have group discussions?
64. Can you start school or class magazines with English sections in it?
65. Which is better, learning individually or in groups?
66. What more can you suggest to change things for the better?



Developing ELT in Secondary Schools in Khoms, Libya
Workshop Questionnaire for the Teachers
Answer as briefly as possible.
1. Is there a proper curriculum for English Language teachers?
2. Is it given to you at the beginning of the year to read?
3. Is there a syllabus and prescribed material of a high quality from places like Cambridge and Oxford suited or adapted to your local cultural needs?
4. Is it supplied to you early enough at the beginning of the academic year?
5. Are you given time to read and plan its delivery and execution?
6. Does the school have enough facilities to help you in your teaching, specifically teaching and technological aids?
7. Are you given any kind of orientation program in teaching before you start if you are a new teacher? Does it include ELT, EFL, ESL, ESP, TESOL and other kinds of FLA training?
8. What do you think should be the basic qualification for an English Language Teacher in secondary schools?
9. How do you motivate both the weak and strong students to improve in learning English?
10. Are you given refresher courses to keep you up to date with new methodologies and pedagogies in teaching?
11. Are you trained in assessment, test making, question paper making and correcting answer scripts?
12. Do you have a good library and internet to keep up to date with the latest information regarding your subject?
13. Do you make lesson plans, unit plans and year plans for the completion of the syllabus?
14. Are you able to complete the syllabus to your satisfaction?
15. Are you given enough teaching time to do this weekly, monthly and in a year?
16. Do students get enough time to revise before the exam??
17. Do you check at the end of each lesson, unit and year plan if the learning objectives have been satisfactorily met?
18. If there is a gap between the learning objective and learning outcome how can it be bridged?
19. Is assessment of teachers done twice a year?
20. Are you given constructive feedback on how to improve your teaching followed by adequate support?
21. How will you teach literature through language?
22. How will you motivate weak and strong students equally, to learn English?
23. Do you have any other suggestions for improving the teaching of English in secondary schools in Libya, regarding any aspect of secondary school English language teaching?
Classroom management.
Discussion topics:troubleshooting
24. Consider what you would do in the following situations:
One or two students are keeping very quiet and are not volunteering much contribution.
25. One or two students are dominating the discussion.
26. The students are making a lot of mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation etc.
27. The students are not interested in the topic.
28. The students begin to go off on a tangent.
29. The groupings are not working well because of personality clashes.
30. Some students get angry with each other when sharing opinions.








Findings, Recommendations and Remedial Measures
1. Which foreign languages are the students learning?
The only foreign language being taught in the secondary schools of Sukh Al Khameez and Khoms that were represented in the workshop is English.
This shows a clear and welcome awareness and recognition of the importance of English as the twenty first century’s primary international language of communication. We hope that this continues.
Some students said that they are learning Italian, French or German privately.
This is a good thing because these languages will be of much help to them.
2. Why learn English? Give at least five reasons.
The reasons given by the student participants for learning English included
a. getting a job easily,
b. getting a high paying job,
c. communicating with native speakers,
d. travelling abroad,
e. learning about English culture,
f. learning the 4 language skills properly,
g. communicating with friends on the internet through chat,
h. using the internet and watching English programs and films on TV,
i. talking to teachers and friends in and outside class and
j. improving their general knowledge.
The list was quite comprehensive and if these can be focused on as long term learning objectives the students will achieve much.
3. Is learning English difficult or easy? 4. If yes, why is it easy ? 5. If no, why is it difficult?
Most of the students said that learning English was easy but this was because of a high level of motivation on the part of such students. The ones who said it was difficult said that it was mainly because some of the lessons were difficult and the teachers did not explain sufficiently or try to make them simple or easy. They said that the teaching was not up to the mark sometimes because some of the teachers were not well qualified.
This shows that teachers must try to motivate their students more and try hard to make complicated lessons comprehensible to all the students. They should also try to make them autonomous learners.
6. Do the students like learning English?
All the students who came for the workshop said that they liked learning English.
This means the teachers are at an advantage and they should take care to retain and develop their interest.
7. In what class is English started in school?
English is started in some schools in seventh and in some schools in first. All the students agreed that English should be started in the first. By this time they are seven years old.
Our recommendation is that English be started as early as possible, even in kindergarten if it exists; so that English can become a Second Language and not a Foreign Language.
8. Are the 4 skills of LSRW taught right from the beginning?
English is not taught according to the English as a Foreign Language methodology of teaching the four skills, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, separately; right from the beginning.
We recommend that English be taught as the four skills simultaneously from primary class onwards. But in the initial pre-schooling stages more stress may be given to teaching the Listening and Speaking skills.
9. Do the students listen to tapes and repeat sounds and sentences?
Students are taught sounds and sentences by the drill and repetition method.
We recommend that for listening and speaking tapes and audio clips of native speakers be supplied as role models so that the students can pick up the correct pronunciation of sounds, words, sentences, stress, accent, intonation etc.
10. Are the students taught to read and write the letters of the alphabet, words and sentences properly?
The students say that they are taught reading and writing properly.
But our experience as teachers at the university level shows that they are mistaken in this assumption and the interference of L1 is actually hindering their learning these two skills effectively. Learning of proper handwriting, punctuation, capitalization, mechanics, paragraphing, essay writing, reading comprehension, skimming, scanning, fluency etc., should be adopted right from the primary class and expanded on in the higher classes.
11. Through what exercises are the students taught grammar?
Grammar is taught to the students only in the traditional and classical method.
But it should also be taught in a more interesting way by making use of handouts, puzzles, crosswords, interactive word games etc.
12. Is English taught to the students mainly in Arabic?
13. Is this better than being taught English mainly in English?
The students said that English is taught to them mainly in or half in Arabic though many wanted it to be taught mainly or even only in English.
We recommend that English be taught right from the beginning only in English with the teacher resorting to Arabic only in the event of there being no other option. The grammar translation method should be avoided. In higher classes Arabic should not be used at all, either by the teacher or by the students, as it is being used in all the other disciplines.
14. Are the students able to listen to, speak, read and write English fluently in class? 15. If yes, how or why?
16.If no, why?
Some students said that they are able to use English fluently. They are highly motivated autonomous learners. The students who are unable to use English fluently are the ones who depend mainly on the grammar translation method of learning.
17. Do teachers encourage students to use English outside the class frequently?
Teachers ask students to use English outside the classroom.
Opportunities must be consciously created to use English outside the classroom. We recommend that the students can be taken on field trips to places like Leptis Magna where they can perhaps interact with native speakers, to libraries in Khoms or in Tripoli where English books are available and to places like the English Language Centre in Khoms for opportunities to interact in English.
18. Do students use English outside class?
Some students said that they use English outside the class for chatting and browsing the internet. They also use it for travelling. They rarely use it with friends or teachers.
Such use of English outside the class must be maximized.
19. What listening exercises are students given?
20. What speaking exercises are they given?
21. Does the teacher connect these two?
No listening exercises are given to the students and only some speaking exercises are done.
The teachers almost never connect the two.
Conversation practice, dialogues and not just the lock step method, role play, simulations etc., must be done along with listening to declamations, dialogues, speeches, poetry recitations and video and audio programs on CDS, DVDs etc. These must always be connected for maximum effect.
22. What teaching aids are used in the classroom? List them.
23. Do the teachers use extra aids like atlases, clocks, maps, encyclopedias, globes, display boards, posters, notice boards, thesaurus etc., in the classroom?
The students told us that only traditional teaching aids are used in the classrooms. These aids include black board, chalk, duster, texts, notebooks, pens, pencils, rubbers, white boards and markers.
We recommend that additional aids like flashcards, charts, posters, notice boards, display boards, maps, rulers, clocks, atlases, globes, encyclopedias, thesaurus, lockers, shelves etc., should be compulsorily made and used.
24. Do the teachers use old and new technological aids like the computer, internet, CDs, DVDs, CD players, DVD players, TVs, tape recorders, digital projectors, slides, overhead projectors etc?
The students said that no technological aids whatsoever are used.
We strongly recommend that computers, internet connections, tape recorders and tapes, CD and DVD players with CDs and DVDs, radios, digital projectors, digital cameras etc., must be invested in and these aids can be kept in the headmaster’s room and used by teachers as and when needed and returned to the headmaster safekeeping so that students do not get the chance to spoil them.
25. Are you enjoying the English lessons?
26. If yes, why?
27. If no, why not?
Students do enjoy their English classes somewhat. The main reason is self – motivation.
Classes can be made more enjoyable if the extra and technological aids mentioned above are used, interactive learning is introduced and an element of fun or play is allowed through bringing in word games etc.
28. Do you do individual, paired and group activities and exercises in class?
29.Do students get the chance to do paired and group activities as homework?
30.Do the teachers check student work done in class regularly?
31.Do they give the students suggestions for improvement?
32.Do they check homework?
The students said that while they get paired and group work occasionally in class they are not given such homework or projects to be done outside class.
Paired and group work and paired or group projects as homework must be encouraged.
The teachers check the work done by the students, giving suggestions and they also check homework but students wanted the chance to rewrite and improve, after the corrections are done. In short, more follow up is required.
33.Are students encouraged to read extra material?
34.Do students have a library with English books?
35.Do they read them?
Students are asked to read extra material. Some of them have English books at home. So they read.
We recommend that all schools have a library of English books or a section in the main library with only English books and a library hour for each class plus facilities for students to take out and return books in a week or two.
36. Are the teachers good in English?
Some teachers are good in English but not all. We recommend that the basic qualification should be at least a Bachelor’s Degree in the subject plus a teaching degree in English. The teachers should also be given orientation and refresher courses on teaching, the latter on a regular basis.
37. Does the teacher encourage creative writing?
38. Does he allow students to use their imagination?
39. Do students have a class magazine with an English section?
40. Do students have a school magazine with an English section?
41. Do they have different competitions based on listening, speaking, reading and writing, with prizes?
The teachers do allow creative writing and the use of the imagination but to really foster these skills more we recommend starting class magazines and school magazines with English sections in them as well as holding school and inter-school competitions in elocution, debating, poetry recitation, short story writing, poetry writing, essay writing etc. The students should be given proficiency prizes.
42. Are you taught literature in different forms and genres like essay, poetry, short story, novel, drama etc?
The students said that they are not taught literature, except for excerpts.
We recommend that syllabus makers compulsorily include a specimen of each genre, suitable to the level being taught, to raise the standard of English. In the case of novels or dramas , abridged versions can be prescribed.
43.Are students shown films, TV programs and videos or made to listen to the radio, CDs etc?
The students said no.
We suggest such activities be included in homework as group projects and students be made to write reports on it. Screenings of films etc., can be done at school too.
44. Do students have regular quizzes and tests?
45. Are students taught to use a dictionary properly?
The students said yes.
These are strengths of the system and must continue.
46. Are students given handouts?
The students said no.
Handouts make class interesting. Please use them. It also prepares them for university learning.
47. Are individual, paired and group exercises and activities better than learning by heart?
The students said yes.
Change the emphasis to understanding and not to memorizing.
48. Are the marks for the examination the most important thing or your actual knowledge of English?
49.How can this be measured?
The students said only marks matter.
No, the marks alone are not the only criterion. Yes, actual knowledge of the language is what matters. So this must be tested by continuous and cumulative assessment.
Introduce continuous and cumulative assessment that is diagnostic, descriptive, prescriptive, remedial and finally summative.
50. What more suggestions can you (the students) make to change things for the better?
1.The students said that they want reading rooms and supervised library hours with a library that has English books in it.
2.They also want audio- visual room and language labs.
3.They want class magazines with English sections in them.
4.They want a school magazine with an English section in it.
5.They want field trips to use English in real life situations and modern methods of teaching. For this the teachers need to be trained.
6.They want handouts and extra teaching aids in the class room plus technological aids like computer, internet etc .
7.They want handouts.
8.They want classes to be made more interesting by using word games, puzzles etc.
9.They want paired and group activities in class and as homework projects.
10.In class they want the teacher to teach less and facilitate more, so that there is more interaction.
11.They want the teachers to be better qualified and improve constantly through being trained.
12.They want class work and homework to be corrected and rewritten or re-done at least once.
13.They want teachers to be impartial, as marks matter a lot to them as do exam results.
14.They want the library books in English to be given to them to take home and read and return after a week or two.
15.They want competitions in English with certificates and prizes. These competitions should be intra-class, inter-class, intra-school and inter-school.
16.They want to be equipped for higher studies, receive counseling for what jobs to enter and even for travelling and studying abroad.
17.They want occasional screenings of films, videos and TV programs and the chance to listen to role models, that is, native speakers in English , with the help of CDs and DVDs.
They need lots of practice in all the aspects of learning English, especially listening and speaking initially and then in mechanics, syntax, semantics, contextual use, pronunciation, grammar, reading comprehension, fluency , writing paragraphs and essays correctly and in the use of structure. Practice makes perfect.
The students are aware to some extent of standards and their requests need to be taken seriously.

Recommendations for the managements of the schools, the curriculum makers, syllabus makers, , headmasters, examination committees and teachers based on the teacher questionnaire.
Please read the entire proceedings carefully.
1. Our suggestions are that English language learning be implemented at the earliest in schools, parallel to Arabic. It should be taught right from the beginning as the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing , with the teacher resorting to Arabic only in the event of there being no other option. The students can shift from being EFL to ESL students if this is done. Paired and group exercises must be done in class under supervision and as unsupervised homework projects. A good language curriculum and syllabus from a place like Cambridge or Oxford must be used. The teachers must be supplied extra aids like charts and technological aids like the internet and the computer in the classroom, to help make their teaching more enjoyable. After checking homework the teachers must follow up to see that their suggestions for improvement are implemented. The students must be given the chance to use English outside the class. For this there should be field trips, intra and inter-class competitions, class magazines, school magazines, libraries with English books and reading rooms and student websites and blogs monitored by teachers. Assessment should be continuous and cumulative and not just term-wise and final , that is, summative. Interactive peer learning must be optimized for best results.
2. We also gave out questionnaires to the teachers , checking both classroom management and overall English language teaching capability. We see that they are good at classroom management, but due to lack of exposure they will find matching international standards of education and teaching an uphill task. Basic qualifications for the post must be a degree in English and in teaching. Our suggestion is that every year new school teachers in the English language be given an orientation course in ELT and the older ones refresher courses, both incorporating modules o n the latest teaching methodologies and pedagogies as well as updating their subject knowledge. Our Head of the Department of English has offered to conduct such courses which will be run by the Department of English, if the Dean of our Faculty and the Chancellor will give him the required support.
Thank you.