AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Islamabad, May 25, 2012 (PPI-OT): English Language Teaching reforms (ELTR) Phase-II of Higher Education Commission in collaboration with British Council organizes eight month International Resource Person (IRP) course on Research Methods at HEC Islamabad.. The course comprises of three week long training workshops, a baseline study and follow-up program and between workshops online mentoring.
The course has been designed particularly keeping in view the modern trends in the area of research. Nineteen faculty members of different Colleges/Universities across Pakistan are attending this course. Most of them are enrolled in MPhil and PhD pursuing their higher studies.
The resource persons include Dr. Simon Borg, University of Leeds UK and Dr. Borg, a leading researcher in teacher education with international experience in the area of curriculum development. The purpose of the course is to provide research methods training for a cadre of trainee-researchers for covering a range of research settings across Pakistan and a range of research approaches, i.e. ethnographic and quantitative, without neglecting action research.
The course mainly focuses on the modern techniques of quality research in the field of English Language and Literature. The course content includes major research paradigms, nature and value of qualitative research, key themes/priorities in English language education research in Pakistan, strategies for collecting qualitative data: observation, interview, open-ended questionnaires, journal writing, narratives, visual methods, qualitative data analysis.
The workshop will contribute to an emerging research and teaching field in Pakistan universities and colleges which are moving from literature-based approaches to language teaching and ESOL/ELT approaches. Ms. Noor Amna Malik, Director General LI, Higher Education Commission and Mr. Murad Khan, Head of Programmes-English, British Council Pakistan were present at the opening ceremony of the workshop.
Director General LI said that keeping in view the importance of research, HEC is taking a number of initiatives in this regard. Mr. Murad Khan from British Council said that the course will be really helpful for the professional growth of teachers and help them in their research work for their higher degrees.
This was a third joint IRP training program of ELTR Project HEC and British Council. One course on Research Methodology and a series of training workshop on Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) earlier. The HEC and BC are also engaged in deliberations to finalize future trainings in the areas of testing and assessment in English.
For more information, contact:
Aayesha Ikram
Director (Media)
Higher Education Commission
Sector H-9, Islamabad
Tel: 90402404, 90402412
Email: aikram@hec.gov.pk
Website: www.hec.gov.pk