Qatar TESOL Feb 2014 proposal accepted

Q-TESOL proposal accepted

My proposal for the 2014 Qatar TESOL Conference (21-22 Feb) has been accepted. The conference is focused on the theme of Promoting a Culture of Reading and will take place at the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.

Title: It’s long, it’s hard, it’s boring: Student Voices on Reading

As English teachers, we constantly bemoan our students’ low reading skills and their lack of interest in reading. My presentation focuses on some reasons behind this situation and offers possible solutions – but approaches it from the student perspective, bringing refreshing new views to the age-old and apparently insoluble problem.   

Summary:

The presentation is divided into three interconnected parts.

The first part aims to briefly describe a reading-related, meta-cognitive project, entitled To read or not to read, I conducted with my Academic Composition classes in the autumn semester of 2013.

The project’s objective was to encourage my Qatari/Arab students to articulate their views on reading as an academic skill and evaluate the strength of their own reading ability. They were also asked to consider reading as part of wider human culture and discuss factors contributing to a weak interest in reading in the region.  The project included participation in a short survey, reading (about reading…), class discussion, and writing a response paper. It was student essays that brought the most surprising results and illuminating insights regarding their attitude to reading.  

In the second part, I want to share what I learnt from my students’ papers, offer my interpretation of their views, and propose suggestions to address the issue of reading within the academic context, and ways to promote a stronger culture of reading among students. 

The final part is interactive and involves a discussion of the issues raised in my presentation.   

The presentation is based on student-led contribution, selected sources, and elements of my own research conducted as part of my doctoral studies at The University of Manchester.

Magda Rostron