GAU-FES Representatives Attended 20th Anniversary Meeting of EAQUALS, Trieste, Italy, 10-12 November 2011
20th Anniversary Meeting of EAQUALS was held in Trieste, Italy on 10-12 November 2011. On behalf of Girne American University Foundation English School, Dr. Özlem Zabitgil (Vice Director of Foundation English School) and Özkay Aylin (Academic Affairs Corrdinator) attended the meeting. They reflect their impressions of this meeting as follows.
EAQUALS was initially founded in Trieste in 1991 with only four countries, namely, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. 20th Anniversary Meeting of EAQUALS was held in Sala Bartol, Teatre Politema Rosetti, Trieste, Italy. This meeting re-brought educators from around the world to EAQUALS’ original place of initiation on November 10-12, 2011. From only four member countries, EAQUALS’ members have now extended to many countries. We are proud that Girne American University is the first university in North Cyprus working towards EAQUALS accreditation for quality education. EAQUALS Meeting shared some of the key considerations in the assessment of educational institutions. Common European Framework (CEFR) shared the standards for Curriculum and Assessment in Language Education in order to meet EAQUALS Certification. It was a key consideration to ensure that classroom practices in institutions reflected their curriculum or vice versa. Furthermore, a must for the present day language teaching and learning practices is shared to be keeping up with the emerging technological teaching tools, especially utilization of interactive white board (IWB). Along the same lines, portfolio provides continual construction and assessment for language learning. Continuous teacher observation and giving feedback are shared as integral building blocks for effective and improved teaching practices. To sum up, EAQUALS aims to assist English Language Teaching (ELT) practitioners in engaging with the CEFR requirements to produce efficient and learning-focused classroom practices.
Trieste, a beautiful city, with a rich historical existence and marvelous sea-view was the perfect place of gathering for EAQUALS. It is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Trieste, and because of its position and very layout, it has been influenced by Germanic, Latin, Austro-Hungarian and Slavic cultures. The whole city faces the gulf and welcomes the last waves of the Adriatic – the sea which has played such a large part in writing the history of the city and its surrounding area. Well-known literary star, James Joyce also lived and worked in Trieste as an English teacher in early 20th century. Trieste is both a historical and an intellectual haven, which welcomes the wandering tourist as well as the intellectual crowds.