English writing workshop ends

The Department of English at University of Dhaka has organised a workshop on teaching writing in English.

The workshop was conducted by Diane Slaouti from the University of Manchester and participated by more than a hundred people, including English faculty members from various institutions, and students - many who wish to teach English after they graduate.

This workshop, which was open for all, marked the final day of a series of workshops Slaouti has been conducting with the teachers of Dhaka University’s English Department to make its writing courses more effective.

They were put together as part of the Department of English Writing Service (DEWS) project under the International Strategic Partnerships in Research and Education (INSPIRE) project funded by the British Council.

The workshop on Aug 30 began with an inaugural session chaired by Tahmina Ahmed, professor and chairperson of Dhaka University’s Department of English.

She stressed on the importance of cooperation between the department, other organisations and individuals.

Professor Dr Fakrul Alam, the first speaker of the inaugural session, spoke of the necessity of projects such as INSPIRE DEWS to revise the existing curriculum.

He thanked Slaouti for her enthusiasm and contribution to the “very important revision” taking place in the English Department at Dhaka University.

Slaouti, who is a senior lecturer at Manchester University, spoke of her positive impressions of Bangladesh, and said the trip here was personally enriching for her.

After Slaouti, Professor Dr Shahid Akhtar Hossain said learning to communicate in English was indispensable for students who were starting higher studies or entering the job market.

Professor Dr AK Azad Chowdhury followed by appreciating the collaboration between University of Dhaka and University of Manchester.

During the main workshop, which took place after the inaugural session, Slaouti conducted three separate exercises with a large number of participants.

The exercises included a story-writing group activity using prompts, a 'view from my window' activity involving speaking and descriptive writing, and an activity were participants were asked to insert appropriate verbs in the right places in a paragraph.

Each exercise was designed to be an 'integrated skills' activity which required the participants to apply a number of skills while engaging in the activity.

The session ended with a brief question-answer round.

The Department of English plans to organise more of such workshops when Slaouti visits again in November this year.