Last November, I was nominated for the U.S. Department of State E-Teaching Scholarship Program and got accepted into the Winter 2012 ‘Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web’ course. The course will take place Winter Term 2012 (January 9 – March 16, 2012). This 10-week online course is offered through the University of Oregon, Linguistics Department, American English Institute (UO AEI).
I am very excited to start this course as part of my continuous education and skills’ development in TEFL, a personal commitment to keeping updated and up to the highest standards in my career as an EFL instructor at Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), Beirut – Lebanon.
I would like here to thank the U.S. Department of State for this precious opportunity, the University of Oregon Team for putting up such an interesting course and the English Department at USJ for their encouragement and support.
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ReplyDeleteDear Hassan ji,
ReplyDeleteBest of Luck to YOU too!
Vijay
Hi Hassan!
ReplyDeleteGreat new blog! It'll be fun to read it as we go through the term.
Jodi
Hi Hassan!
ReplyDeleteSuch a nice name for your blog!!! Very creative!!!
Thank you Yuliya.
DeleteTurning back to the title, why have you chosen such an extraordinary one?
ReplyDeleteYuliya, before I answer I would like to hear your interpretation just so I assess the efficiency of my choice and the design of my page.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is invited to share their interpretations too.
:)) My imagination can drift me far away...
ReplyDeleteI see it this way, actually, - it is like you are 'looking' into your side of the mirror=blog, thus you are learning something during the course, at the same time, all the rest of us are 'looking' into our side - learning about you and from you. By and by the miror will surely turn into the window we will communicate through - knowing very little at the begining, maybe friends at the end of the course.
That was the first idea that came to my mind the first time I visited your blog. Maybe because I remember the quotation from Sydney J. Harris, 'The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows'.
Yuliya, you've interpreted it better than I can ever do!
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked how you sum it up with Harris' quote.
I wonder where else did your imagination drift to!
Hassan, we belong to different cultures, this means we view the world in different ways, that is why I am REALLY glad I could understand your idea on blog title. Hope I will not misunderstand further on...
DeleteYuliya, I don't totally agree with you here; coming from different cultures doesn't necessary mean we view the world in different ways. Not always applicable, specially when you maintain an open mind and a good critical thinking and top them with a rich culture.
DeleteSaying that, I see nothing wrong with interpreting things and viewing them in totally different ways while sharing with others. It only adds to the richness of the meaning of life.
You don't have to worry about misunderstanding anything further; I will try to make sure to clean things out if I detect any. Hope you will be generous enough to do the same for me too.
Hello Hassan,
DeleteI like your blog and the effort you put on it. I like also the little chat you have with Yuliya and I feel that you are getting along well with each other. Talking about culture is something critical because everyone has his own view and his or her culture is sacred. I do respect all cultures all over the world and we can really learn from each other regarding cultures because it is a big world. Glad to communicate with you.
Thank you!
Salam