• The process of registering and interviewing new admitted students to the Department

The English Department of Committees of Registration and Interviewing newly admitted students to the department commenced their duties on Sunday 1^st of October, 2023 at the department. The names of both committees are listed below.

Committee of Registration of New Students

• Basima Othman Mahmood
• Lecturer Asrin Hassan Saed
• Lecturer Alaa Younis Muhammad
• Lanja Jalal Ameen

Committee of Interviewing New Students

• Bandar AbdulQahar Muhamamd
• Lecturer Nawsha Ghalib Sharif
• Lecturer Haitham Hussen Bapir

 

• College of Education Dean’s Visit to English Department

English Department hosted Asst. Prof. Dr. Mazin Abdulkhaliq Othman, the Dean of College of Education, in his visit to the department on Monday 2^nd of October, 2023. The secretariat of English Department arranged a meeting for the Dr. Mazin with the English Department faculty members to closely introduce his vision and ambitions in his new position. The meeting also allowed the faculty members to highlight their challenges and shortcomings they encounter in the process of teaching and learning at the department. Taking a group photo and serving light refreshments ended the meeting.  

• Presentation of a Published Article Entitled “Effects of Explicit Written Corrective Feedback on Subject-Verb Agreement among Kurdish EFL Students: A Longitudinal Study at Salahaddin University”

On Monday, 9^th of October, 2023 Asst. Lecturer Muhamamd AbdulWahab Aziz gave a presentation of published article entitled “Effects of Explicit Written Corrective Feedback on Subject-Verb Agreement among Kurdish EFL Students: A Longitudinal Study at Salahaddin University” to the English Department faculty members. This article was co-authored with Asst. Lecturer Rizgar Qasim Mahmood at English Department and was published in “Language Teaching Research Quarterly”. Below is an abstract to the research and the access link to the article in the journal.

Abstract:

The research on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing has garnered considerable attention over the years, particularly concerning the impact of corrective feedback (CF) on students’ errors. However, in the context of Kurdish EFL students, this area of research has received limited attention, despite its potential to enhance their grammatical accuracy in writing tasks. This paper addresses this gap by examining the impact of Explicit Written Corrective Feedback (EWCF) on Kurdish EFL undergraduate students’ writing accuracy in terms of subject-verb agreement (SVA). For data collection, the study employed a mixed-method approach and recruited sixty junior EFL undergraduate students who were randomly assigned to two groups: the experimental group (n=30) received EWCF on their SVA errors for five weeks, while the control group (n=30) received only implicit feedback without correction on SVA errors. Data was collected through questionnaires and pre-and post-tests, and the results revealed that EWCF was preferred by students and was more effective in enhancing their writing accuracy in terms of SVA, as evidenced in the post-test. The study has several theoretical and pedagogical implications, including the need for instructors to provide EWCF to enhance students’ grammatical accuracy in writing tasks. Further, the study contributes to the limited body of research on EFL writing in the context of Kurdish students, highlighting the need for further investigation in this area.

• A Lecture for the Morning Fourth Stage Students Prior to Their Teaching Practicum at Schools on Teaching Techniques and Strategies

On Wednesday 11^th of October, 2023, the Observation and Teaching Practicum Committee Members gave a lecture to the (Fourth Stage Morning English Department) students about instructions and guidelines of the teaching practicum before these students commence their internship in the schools.

Observation and Teaching Practicum Committee Members:

• Prof. Dr. Pakhshan Ismael Hamad
• Rawshan Ibrahim Tahir
• Basima Othman Mahmood
• Lecturer Alan Anwar Hassan
• Lecturer Haitham Hussen Bapir

 

• A Lecture for Evening Fourth Stage Students Prior to Their Teaching Practicum at School on Teaching Techniques and Strategies

 On Wednesday 11^th of October, 2023 Dr. Pakhshan Ismaeel Hamad gave a lecture to the (Fourth Stage Evening English Department) students about instructions and guidelines of the teaching practicum before these students commence their internship in the schools. The head of English Department Asst. Prof. Dr. Dlovan Saifulddin Saadi and the members of the Observation and Teaching Practicum Committee were present in the lecture. 

Observation and Teaching Practicum Committee Members:

• Prof. Dr. Pakhshan Ismael Hamad
• Lecturer Alan Anwar Hassan
• Lecturer Haitham Hussen Bapir
• Mrs Hero

 

• Welcoming the First Stage Students/ Morning and Evening

On Sunday 15^th of October, 2023 both morning and evening first stage students were given a welcome speech by the Dean of College of Education Asst. Prof. Dr. Mazin AbdulKhaliq Othman. The Dean’s visit to English Dept. was accompanied by the Head of English Department Asst. Prof. Dr. Dilovan Saifulddin Saady,  Assistant Dean Asst. Prof. Dr. Samir Jawdat Bilal, the Head of Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Affairs Asst. Prof. Dr. Dler Dlshad Kurda,  and the college students’ representative Mr. Yousif.

 

• Retirement Ceremony

On Monday 16^th of October, 2023 English Department Committee of Social Activities arranged a retirement ceremony for Dr. Muhammad Omer Ahmed on the occasion of his retirement at the Department. The ceremony was attended by the English Department Faculty members. At the outset of the event a vide biography was presented, highlighting the important stages of Dr. Muhammad’s life. Later in the event, several speeches were presented by the head of the department and several other teachers. At the end of the ceremony, a special plaque was presented to Dr. Muhammad by the head of the department Asst. Prof. Dr. Dilovan Saifulddin Saadi, and a group photo the keep the memory was taken.

• Book Readers Organization Initiative at English Department

The Organization of Book Readers offered English Department a large number of books and hand sanitizers on Wednesday October 18^th, 2023. The materials and the books were given to both the teachers and many of the students of the different stages. This campaign was coordinated and arranged by Asst. Lecturer Nawsha Ghalib Sharif, a faculty member of English Department. This initiative by the teacher and the organization mentioned earlier was appreciated and recognized by both the head of the Department Asst. Prof. Dr. Dlovan Saifulddin Saadi and the dean of College of Education Asst. Prof. Dr. Mazin Abdulkhaliq Othman.

• PhD Thesis Viva at Entrepreneurship Convention Hall/ College of Basic Education at SUE

On Thursday 19^th of October, 2023 an English Department Postgraduate PhD candidate (Nazanin Shekh Muhammad Bapir) defended her thesis entitled (The Role Teaching Literature-Based Communication in Enhancing EFL University Students Intercultural Awareness). The examination committee members and their affiliations are listed below.

 

Prof. Dr. Hussen Ali Ahmed Gargary	Chairman	Applied Linguistics	University of Nawroz/ College of Languages
Asst. Prof. Dr. Qismat Muhammad Hussen	Member	Applied Linguistics	SUE/ Basic Education
Asst. Prof. Dr. Jamal Ali Omer	Member	Applied Linguistics	University of Raparin/Education
Asst. Prof. Dr. Khadija Saed Ismael	Member	Literature	SUE/ College of Education
Asst. Prof. Dr. Idris Ali Hassan	Member	Applied Linguistics	University of Duhok/ College of Polytechnic
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nada Jabbar Abbass	Member	Applied Linguistics	SUE / College of Education
Asst. Prof. Dr. Shirin Saadullah Hamad	Member and Supervisor	Literature	SUE/ College of Education

• Masters Dissertation Viva at Dr. Hikmat Hall/ College of Education

On Thursday 19^th of October, 2023 an English Department Postgraduate MA student (Banaz Faisal Shakir) defended her dissertation entitled (A Syntactic-Semantic Study of Emotional Metaphors in English and Kurdish). The examination committee members and their affiliations are listed below.

 

1	Asst. Prof. Dr. Nian Kaml Ghafoor	Chairwoman		University of Halabja/ Basic Education
2	Asst. Prof. Dr. Ismael AbdulRahman Abdullah	Member		University of Polytechnic
3	Asst. Prof. Dr. Muhammad Qadir Saed	Member		SUE / College of Education
4	Prof. Dr. Anjuman Muhammad Sabr	Member and Supervisor		SUE/ College of Education

 

• Participating in a Train the Trainer (TTT) Program by British Council in Erbil

Two faculty members of English Department (Asst. Prof. Dr. Asma Abbas Brime) and (Asst. Lecturer Muhammad AbdulWahab Aziz) participated in a five-day Train the Trainer (TTT) program held between 22^nd and 26^th of October, 2023 arranged and administered by the British Council. The (TTT) program prepared the participants to run (English for Freelancers) course at College of Education of Salahaddin University Erbil for fourth stage and fresh graduates who are or want to work as freelancers in a range of different fields such as translation, web-designing, etc. The prospective participants of the (English for Freelancers) course take the course in a hybrid mode for three months with the costs being covered by the British Council in partnership with the College of Education of SUE.