Hello, Riyadh !
Greetings to the teachers in the Preparatory Year Program at Kind Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to our workshops during your Professional Development Week in January. I’ll be talking on the one hand about the teaching of reading and writing and on the other about the teaching of listening and speaking. Shortly after the talks, you’ll be able to download copies of the presentation slides from the resources page. As a reminder, I would love to hear from you about your opinions and experiences using Q:Skills for Success. Send me an email or use the contact form. Please be sure to note which level book and which strand (speaking/listening or reading/writing). If you’d like to be part of focus groups for the next edition, please make a note of that, too. Thanks!
Dear Sir,
I am reaching out to you because I am one of those ESL Instructors you spoke (at) through the use of video while visiting Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am located on the female campus, and I had an opportunity to observe your presentation.
I am writing you because I am curious about what you think you learned about “us.” I am eager to hear about your impressions.
Take care,
Belinda
Hi, Belinda,
Thanks for writing. By the way, I had no idea that those at the women’s campuses had a video feed of the presentations. I was told that you could see the slides and hear the audio. I would have done things a bit differently if I had known that you could “see” me. I’m not sure if by “us” you mean all of the teachers at KSU or the women. If the latter, then the answer is very little. If you mean all of the teachers, then, in the two hours that I spent in front of everyone, the snapshot that I got was of teachers of a very wide range of backgrounds and experiences. There were some whose knowledge of the field was rather limited and others with Ph.D.s in linguistics. The levels of motivation and interest of the teachers also varied quite a bit, at least on the men’s side. But I don’t think I really had much of an opportunity to get a real sense about “you.” With luck I’ll have the chance to return on another occasion and spend a bit more time with you. Thanks for writing.