Conference: 21st Century Academic Forum Conference at UC Berkeley, US, August 21-23

[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 14 | May 26, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]

Conference Dates: August 21-23, 2014

Venue: Clark Kerr Conference Center at the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.)

Types of Presentations:

  • Keynote Presentations: 45 minutes (invited only)
  • Research Papers: 20 – 25 minute presentations
  • Poster Presentations: 90 minutes

Conference Description: 

The theme of the 21st Century Academic Forum Conference at Berkeley is “Teaching, Learning, and Research in the 21st Century.” The organizers encourage submissions that approach this theme from a variety of perspectives under three major topic tracks: (1) teaching and learning in the 21st century and (2) creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship and (3) academic research for the 21st century. The primary aim of the conference is to bring together an international group of researchers and practitioners to encourage and support the development of a new framework for better understanding the dynamic and interconnected nature of education, research, business, and life in the “knowledge economy.” Join us on the beautiful Berkeley campus August 21-23, 2014 to learn with and from your fellow conference participants. Those interested in attending as Non-Presenters (Listeners) are most welcome to join in this learning and networking experience as well! (more…)

Continue ReadingConference: 21st Century Academic Forum Conference at UC Berkeley, US, August 21-23

Conference: ‘The Great War and English Studies’, University of Dhaka, December 6-7

[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 14 | May 26, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]

The First World War was a truly momentous event; things fell apart rapidly all over the world after it; the centre seemed not to hold anymore; millions died or were traumatized because of it; and innocence seemed to give way permanently to massive disillusionment long after everything had become all quiet on western fronts. Life became tragic for war survivors and their families; politically the Russian Revolution and Communism became unavoidable after it; feudalism in Europe was swept away, and the great empires of the nineteenth century now felt clearly for the first time that the sun was about to set on them. The rest of the 20th century would be shaped by this war and the Second World War which became inevitable because of the first one.

The First World War impacted decisively on the arts too. Internationally, the nascent movement towards modernism gained impetus because of the war; poets such as Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brookes, Wilfred Owen and Issac Rosenberg wrote moving poems about the futility of the war; a novelist such as Ernest Hemingway declared a farewell to arms fictionally; and dramatist George Bernard Shaw depicted a British society drifting towards disaster because of the war in his Heartbreak House. Rabindranath Tagore tried to warn the West and the Japanese of the evil consequences of nationalism and the war-mongering that it had lead to; and it was only appropriate that his collection of healing song-lyrics, Gitanjali would be found among Wilfred Owens remains. Kazi Nazrul Islam’s life showed that colonials too were part of the war effort; their lives and literature would also be changed forever by the war. (more…)

Continue ReadingConference: ‘The Great War and English Studies’, University of Dhaka, December 6-7

Research Paper: ‘Aspects of Editing’ by Professor (Dr) Shibu Simon

[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 14 | May 26, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]

Introduction

At the height of the Communicative Approach to language teaching in the late Eighties and in the early Nineties, it had become fashionable to speak derisively of translation, and also to some extent of editing, for its association with the ‘old-fashioned’ Grammar Translation Method1 (Duff 160). It was largely felt that translation and editing were drab academic exercises with no use for interactive and communicative use of language in classrooms and that they were more or less professional or commercial in their application.  However, of late there has been a revival of interest in translation and editing studies and in their adaptability and suitability for language classrooms to help learners learn the language rather than learn ‘about’ the language. Štulajterova points to this new trend (1),

Until recently, translation was out of favour with the language teaching community [. . . .] The reason why translation is, even today, ignored by many teachers as an effective language learning activity is mainly because teachers often feel that translation involves no oral interaction and therefore is not a communicative activity, and that it is not suited to the general needs of the language learner. Moreover, many of them consider use of the mother tongue in foreign language teaching undesirable, or feel that translation is time-consuming, boring and irrelevant. This does not have to be the case.

What Štulajterova speaks about translation is also true of editing. Like translation, editing too was misunderstood, but editing can be effectively used in different teaching contexts ranging from instruction to evaluation and to improve all the four language skills including oral skills if used resourcefully by a teacher. (more…)

Continue ReadingResearch Paper: ‘Aspects of Editing’ by Professor (Dr) Shibu Simon
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