Aiming at addressing the problems of English learners and teachers in the technical field, Confluence II saw three speakers take the stage – Dr. Amir Mehdavi Zafarghandi from Guilan University, Iran; Ruby Yang from the Hong Kong Institute of Education; and Dr. Mouhamad Mouhanna from Al Ain Men’s College, UAE.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Amol Padwad, National President of English Language Teachers’ Association of India (ELTAI). In his inaugural address Dr. Padwad said that a person’s communication skill does not necessarily depend on his knowledge of the subject but on how good a thinker he is.
Prof. Sharad Patil, President of the Gaikwad-Patil Group of Institutions said that teaching and learning of ESL / EFL in India needs to be thoroughly overhauled and that learning language through its literature is passé. Literature per se has no use for an ordinary person who wants to learn English simply to be able to better his or her prospects. He added that we need to remove the fear of this language from the minds of our students and for doing this we need to emphasize that English is just a language like any other, albeit a more useful one.
Around 300 participants from all over India and were present at this event. The event so impressed our speakers that both Dr. Zafarghandi and Dr. Mouhanna continue to contribute to Confluence as members of the Advisory Board and Editorial Board respectively.
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