Samvad   

                                                                                              A Faculty Forum

Preamble:

In the knowledge century, discourse is the defining aspect of creation, dissemination and celebration of knowledge. In the case of education, discourse assumes even deeper significance because education is primarily and fundamentally the site for knowledge exchange. The quality of the knowledge exchange rests on the dialogue and discourse of the teachers engage in and inspire in their students. In the 21st century, teachers need to engage in discourse over the key issues of the domain unlike ever before. A faculty forum is an expression of a systematic platform for discourse of the teachers, for the teachers and by the teachers.

Theme of the Session:

‘Pedagogy of English Language Teaching (ELT): Challenges and Opportunities’

While there has been stupendous amount of work done of ELT in India and abroad, it has mainly been focussed on the higher education. Challenges of teaching English in Technical Education have not been addressed; solutions may be a far cry from here. In the process, teachers have either experimented or given up on how to teach English to engineering and management students. Institutes of engineering and management have mostly underrated the subject and done precious little to make a difference to the state of things with respect to ELT in technical education. Somewhere it boils down to how we prepare our English teachers for the demanding foray into technical education and how they make use of the pedagogical innovations, ICT and resources available to them. For those who teach English in engineering colleges, it is a daunting task due to the lack of resources, institutional support and pedagogical training and hence, perhaps, there are more challenges and less opportunities. However, discourse over these key issues might open up new avenues for teachers of English in technical education. At a time, English is closely linked with employability, upward mobility and overall better prospects of students in general and engineering students in particular, this discourse is decisive in terms of a paradigm shift in teaching of English in technical education, not so much necessary but inevitable indeed.
                                                  

Panelists:

 Dr. Vivienne Baumfield
Professor of Pedagogy,
International Dean South Asia and Eurasia
Glasgow University, Scotland

 Dr. Kamal Mehta
Professor and Head
Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies
Saurashtra University, Rajkot

 Ms. Liana Hyde
Senior Training Consultant,
British Council
West India

 Ms. Nikita Gadani
Department of Communication Skills
Marwadi Education Foundation’s Group of Institutions
*Panelists 01 and 03 will join us through Google Hangout

Schedule:

 Opening Remarks:
Each panelist will get 5 mins for opening remarks.

 Panel Discussion:
After opening remarks, there will be Panel Discussion for 20 minutes.

 Open House:The Panel Discussion will be followed by Q & A with the audience. The Open House will be for 20 mins.

Date:February 05, 2014

Time:05.00 pm to 06.00 pm

Venue:

Seminar Hall, PG BuildingWe shall look forward to having you amid us.
                                                               Samvad
                                                                                                         A Faculty Forum

Best Wishes.......................!!!

Deepali Agravat