Proceedings of MATE 36th Conf 2016

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0 Proceedings of the 36 MATE Annual Conference

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Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference

Fes, Morocco, 14-17 April, 2016
"New Education Reform:

Alternative Pathways in
Language Education."
: "
".
Edited by:
Mohammed Hassim
Noureddine Bendouqi
Fahmi El Madani
Lahcen Tighoula
Mustapha Zanzoun
Publication of Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE)

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The views expressed in these proceedings do not
necessarily reflect those of MATE.
Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE), 2017

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Table of Contents
Foreword 4
Editorial 5
Noureddine Bendouqi
Enhancing Teacher Professionalism: A Humanistic Approach 7
Reddad Erguig
ELT Teacher Education Program at Ecole Normale Suprieure 19
(ENS) Rabat: Achievements and Challenges
A. Azhar, R. Kerkech, M. Monadi, F. Mouhdi & I. Nejjar
A Study of Web 2.0 Self-Directed Learning and Academic 30
Achievement
Fouad Boulaid
Students' Use and Perceived Usefulness of Social Media Software 37
for Academic Purposes
Hicham Fatmi
Will(not) the Use of Mobile Phonesi Boost the Quality of EFL 46
Teaching and Learning in (the) Moroccan Universities?
Azize Kour
Project-Based Learning (PBL): Enhancing High School Students 57
Cultural Knowledge and Language Skills
Asmaa Bouchouk
Facilitating Critical Thinking through Collaborative Online 67
Learning
Saad Eddine Akhajam
From Reading the Word to Reading the World: 72
Rethinking the Goals of TEFL
Karim EL Hiani
The Moroccan National Framework for Certification in Languages 81
Driss Marjane
E-Learning and ICT: Seeking Novelty in ELT Teachers 87

Professional Development
Fatimaezzahra Abid
Implementing Mind Mapping in ELT at the University: 99
The case of Writing and Grammar
Saida Hdii and Smail Kerouad
School-based Activities as a Source of Professional Development: 109
MATE CIRCLEs as example
Mohammed Hassim
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Foreword
This volume of MATE Proceedings includes written versions of the
papers presented during MATE 36th annual conference in Fes the theme
of which was:
"New Education Reform:
Alternative Pathways in Language Education."
". : "
As for the choice of the theme, it is a timely one, firstly for the
importance of the theme in today's world characterised by quick change
and innovation. Secondly, it has come in a time of reform in national
education. So it serves as a contribution to the current discussion about
education change and reform in our country. This volume is so rich and
varied in articles and ideas and is a contribution to ELT publications in
Morocco. Therefore, MATE is so grateful to the authors of this volume's
articles for being so generous as to share their experiences and expertise.
On behalf of MATE national board, I would to express our indebtedness

to the Ministry of National Education and Vocational Training for the
long and continuous support and cooperation with our association both at
moral and material levels. We are also grateful to our strategic partners,
namely, Regional English Language Office (RELO), the British Council
and Macmillan publishing house for their continuous support.
Mohammed Hassim, ELT supervisor,

President of MATE (2016-2018)
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Editorial
Language education has long been geared towards students academic
achievement, cognitive development and the promotion of their conceptions of
the self and the others. However, because of the on-going social developments
and the rapid advancements in technology, language education nowadays still
faces the challenge of coping with the continuously shifting demands of its
customers. This has made of nearly all of the consecutive reforms in Morocco a
relative failure. Our policies regarding foreign language teaching in general,
and ELT in particular, have been lagging behind and unable to keep up with the
demands of the new generations.
To address this issue in Morocco, the High Council for Education and Training
has incorporated among its Strategic Vision a set of actions to reform the
teaching of foreign languages. In this vision, English language learning is
attributed a vital importance for the personal and academic development of
learners. At the operational level, the ministry of education has in turn launched
a set of actions concerning English language education within what is referred
to as priority measures.
Given all these initiatives, all language educators are therefore called upon to
reconsider their conceptions and practices in the areas of teaching, assessment,
and teacher training and at the same time expect shifts in the roles of the
different actors in the English language education process. Equally important,
considerable efforts need to be invested in the production and provision of
appropriate and effective teaching materials. In brief, without these shifts and
efforts, these new suggested reforms might not bring about the desired change
and may therefore be doomed to failure.
As part of servicing the educational community and based on numerous

educational reports, the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE)
is trying to contribute to this debate and has decided to analyse, discuss, and
evaluate these initiatives. MATEs 36th Annual National Conference has raised
some of these issues. One of the aims of this conference was therefore to help
the participants deepen their understanding of this language education reform
and get equipped with the necessary tools to address these concerns
appropriately.
Through discussions of all the related topics during the plenaries and the
workshops, the participants were helped to spot the challenges and ramifications
of the suggested reform, ranging from research to teaching and administration at
the district, local, regional and central levels. Some new pathways were then
outlined, as they came out during the panels with a few recommendations that,
according to most participants, should contribute to the smooth implementation
of this strategic vision. The discussion of the existing approaches and the ones
to be adopted in the near future was another major aim of the conference. In
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order to come to terms with the above stated aims and objectives, the theme of
the conference has been approached from a variety of perspectives. The papers,
workshops, panels and poster sessions delivered at the conference were both
rich and varied. They tackled a variety of issues seen from different
interdisciplinary and theoretical perspectives. At the level of frameworks and
educational policy, special attention has been directed towards the adoption of
project-based learning (PBL) approach to English language education which,
according to the writers, would enhance high school students cultural
knowledge and language skills. Others call for the rethinking the goals of TEFL
in Morocco and towards promoting a global perspective to 'reading' the world.
At the level of teaching methodologies, some papers encourage the promotion
of critical thinking and collaborative online learning. In the same direction,
evaluation of learning has received its due attention where some papers call for
a reconsideration of the Moroccan National Framework for Certification in
Languages. It is highly recommended that MATE officials take the main points
raised in these articles and submit them to the ministry.
Information and communication technologies received the lion share in
MATEs 36 conference. Many articles and workshops have tackled ELT
pedagogy from the perspective of ICT. Some have asked for example for
promoting learner autonomy through the yduts of Web 2.0 in order to enhance
self-directed learning and academic achievement. In the same vein, a whole
article is devoted to the exploration of students' use and perceived usefulness of
social media software for academic purposes. Another article, in Moroccan
Universities this time, addresses the issue of the use of mobile phones and tried
to answer the question of whether they boost the quality of EFL teaching and
learning or create a source of disturbance to both teachers and administrators.
Another important section in this compilation is devoted to teacher education.
In this regard, an article argues for the enhancement of teacher professionalism
through the adoption of a humanistic approach, where teachers are encouraged
to conceptualize the teaching profession not as a job but rather as a 'community
service' action. Apart from that, some schools of education have displayed their
experience and legacy with pre-service teacher education and highlighted their
most recent developments and innovations, including the use of ICT and other
internet tools. The current challenges of teacher education have also been raised
with more questions and answers.
The issue of English language teachers professional development was
addressed from an E-learning perspective seeking novelty and alternative ways
in this domain. I hope that the coming MATE conferences or other ELT spheres
can handle this same issue further by conducting further field research, surveys
and benchmarking studies with other remarkable educational systems seeking
best practices to help the ELT community come to terms with the dynamic
needs of both teachers and students in 21st century environments.
Noureddine Bendouqi
ELT supervisor, Former President of MATE (2014-2016)
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Enhancing Teacher Professionalism: A Humanistic Approach

Reddad Erguig
Applied Language & Culture Studies Research Centre, Faculty of Letters and
Human Sciences, Chouaib Doukkali University, El Jadida
Abstract
Within the framework of the theme of MATEs 36th Annual Conference, New
Education Reform: Alternative Pathways in Language Education, the present
paper is concerned with the importance of boosting teacher professionalism as a
prerequisite for the success of the language education reform currently
undertaken by the Ministry of National Education in Morocco. The thrust of the
argument is that a major factor that should contribute to the realization of the
Strategic Vision as conceived by the High Council for Education and
Training is that along with mastery of the technical competencies and the
instructional strategies, teachers should also invest in the human dimension or
affective competencies. In other words, I argue that strong emphasis should be
laid not only on the need to enrich teachers knowledge of the most innovative
and viable instructional methods and approaches and enhance their ability to
manipulate the most up-to-date teaching skills and strategies but more
importantly on the importance of developing professional teaching attitudes and
behavior. Efforts should be invested in training humanistic teachers who are
fully engaged in the learners affective needs of self-esteem and personal-
growth rather than ones who attend primarily to their students language
learning and more specifically exam-related needs. To this end, the paper
stresses the importance of professionalism in the ELT practitioners day-to-day
teaching instruction and suggests ways to help them develop their current
professional and instructional practices that positively impact their students
engagement and learning outcomes and set the ground for a sustainable positive
teaching environment. More specifically, the paper aims to: (i) discuss the
attributes of professional teachers, (ii) suggest some professional behaviors and
attitudes that teachers can apply to boost their teaching methodology, and (iii)
consider alternative learning environment and assessment practices for a better
teaching and student engagement.
Key words: teacher professionalism, humanistic education, quality of education
0. Introduction
The purpose of the present paper is to stress the importance of professionalism
in our day-to-day teaching instruction as teachers of English in an EFL context.
It aims to revisit our current professional and instructional practices with a view
to (i) positively impact our students engagement and learning outcomes and (ii)
set the ground for a sustainable positive teaching environment. The ultimate aim
is to suggest ways to boost teacher professionalism as a prerequisite for the
success of the language education reform currently undertaken by the Ministry
of National Education in Morocco.
The thrust of the argument is that along with the need to develop technical
skills and competencies in ELT, we should also invest in the human dimension
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or affective competencies in order to contribute to the realization of the

Strategic Vision as conceived by the High Council for Education and
Training. My contention is that there is a dire need to invest efforts in training
humanistic teachers who are fully engaged in the learners affective needs of
self-esteem and personal-growth rather than ones who attend primarily to their
students language learning and more specifically exam-related needs. It is
undeniably crucial to enrich teachers knowledge of the most innovative and
viable instructional methods and approaches and enhance their ability to
manipulate the most up-to-date teaching skills and strategies. However, it is
equally important to develop professional teaching attitudes and behaviour that
align with the principles of the humanistic school of education in order to
establish a sustainable educational environment.
The significance of addressing the issue of teacher professionalism and stressing
the importance of humanism as a key component of what makes truly
professional teachers resides in the strong emphasis laid in the current debates
in education circles in Morocco on the promotion of quality education. The
Strategic Vision of the Reform of 2015-2030, designed by the High Council
of Education, Training and Scientific research, revolves around the need to
ensure quality education to all Moroccan students regardless of their
background; emphasis is laid on the fact that this vision can be implemented
through offering all students equal opportunity and equity (Conseil Suprieur de
lEducation, de la formation et de la Recherche Scientifique, 2015: p. 11-12).
The Strategic Vision also underscores the fact that the goal is not only the
enhancement of the individuals skills and competencies but also the
contribution to the flourishing of a whole society. The Strategic Vision
interestingly emphasizes the role of the school in offering an adequate and
coherence training to the students. The school is conceived of as a space where
students have the chance not only to accumulate knowledge and develop skills
and competencies but also acquire the art of life and of living as a group. In the
same vein, the Strategic Vision stresses the role of the school in shifting from
a knowledge-based pedagogy to a learner-centred pedagogy that can contribute
to the know-how, well-being and self-growth of students as autonomous
citizens in a globalised and information-based context.
To achieve this objective, the current educational policy in Morocco therefore
stresses the need to establish a healthy learning environment where the teacher
is no longer the sole performer but rather one where students are involved in the
construction of their own learning. Indeed, it is suggested that a new
relationship between teachers and students based on effective and creative
interaction should be forged so that the latter can develop the spirit of initiative
(Conseil Suprieur de lEducation, de la formation et de la Recherche
Scientifique, 2015: p. 14). This claim is supported by the research literature,
which highlights the centrality of the role of teachers in shaping the future of
our planet. As Hargreaves (1994) underlines, "[i]t is what teachers think, what
teachers believe and what teachers do at the level of the classroom that
ultimately shapes the kind of learning that young people get (p. ix).
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The present paper is organized as follows. Section One, Teacher

Professionalism, offers a discussion of the related literature on the issue of
teacher professionalism. Section Two, Humanism and the Humanistic Teacher,
reviews the basic assumptions of the humanistic school of education. As for
Section Three, The Teacher as a Humanistic Professional, it offers a discussion
of the main characteristics of professional teachers from a humanistic
perspective.
1. Teacher Professionalism
Professionalism is defined in The Merriam-Webster Dictionary as "the conduct,
aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional
person; it is referred to as "a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often
long and intensive academic preparation. Lorenz and Lorenz (2011) provide a
more elaborate definition of a professional, in which they note that a
professional is a Person formally certified by a professional body of, belonging
to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of
studies and/or practice and whose competence can usually be measured
against an established set of standards.
Definitions of teacher professionalism remain a controversial issue in education
debates. Whitty et al. (1998), for instance, note that there is a struggle among
different stakeholders over the definition of teacher professionalism and
professionality for the twenty first century (Whitty et al., 1998: p. 65). In point
of fact, the literature abounds with research on the characteristics that constitute
a professional (see Reeves, 2009: p. 108) because professionalism is
multifaceted, and there is a general tendency that the term is elusive and
consensus on one encompassing definition is hard to achieve (Brehm et al.,
2006; Demirkasimoglu, 2010: p. 2050; Helterbran, 2010). However, it is
interesting to note that professionalism in the broad sense of the term is defined
as an ideal to which individuals and occupational groups aspire, in order to
distinguish themselves from other workers (Pratte & Rury, 1991: p 60). It is
also important to underline the fact that, against a background where universal
definitions of professionalism are lacking, a recurrent theme in the literature is
that a professional possesses and uses their specialized knowledge and training
as well as the standards of the profession to make judgments and thus be
accountable for the expectations of the profession.
Yet, Day (2007: p. 600) stresses that professionalism is related to mastery of
subject matter knowledge, ethical commitment to meeting the clients
expectations, and professional commitment to the standards of the professional,
namely professional delivery of teaching. Another interesting working
definition is as follows: The term professional is an honorific in our society,
and denotes occupations characterized by certain attributes. Chief among these
is a body of specialized, expert knowledge together with a code of ethics
emphasizing service to clients (National Board for Professional Teaching
Standards, 2002). In this regard, it is necessary to recall that [a] teacher is a
facilitator of learning and of the development of the youth; he shall therefore,
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render the best service by providing an environment conducive to such learning

and growth (Almeida, 2005: p. 74).
Korthagen (2004) highlights the classical controversy between a competency-
based view of teachers and an emphasis on the teachers self (p. 79). He points
out that while policy makers stress the importance of the learning outcomes in
definitions of teacher professionalism, researchers emphasise the role of the
teachers personal characteristics, including motivation and commitment to the
profession. However, Tschannen-Moran (2009) succinctly defines teacher
professionalism as the:
teachers perceptions that their colleagues take their work
seriously, demonstrate a high level of commitment, and go beyond
minimum expectations to meet the needs of students. In schools
with a high degree of teacher professionalism, teachers respect
their colleagues competence and expertise. Teachers work
cooperatively with one another, are clearly engaged in the teaching
process, and are enthusiastic about their work. (p. 232)
It is important to note in this regard that teachers commitment has been found
to be a strong predictor of their work performance, absenteeism, retention,
burnout and turnover, as well as having an important influence on students
motivation, achievement, attitudes towards learning and being at school (Day,
2007: p. 608).
To conclude this section, it is interesting to point out that professionalism has at
times been viewed a shifting, rather than a concrete phenomenon (Hanlon,
1998). p. 45). It has also been considered as an outcome but rather as a process
and life-long project which is expected to culminate in the effective contribution
of the personal growth of the learners into autonomous and responsible human
beings. This is summed up in Seiferts (1999) contention that:
Professionalism is a process more than an outcome a way of
encountering new students and new classroom problems and of
finding meaning and solutions to them as you grow. It is not a
thing worn like a piece of clothing; at no time will you have
become professional once and for all. (p. 95 as cited in Helterbran,
2010: p. 126)
2. Humanism and the Humanistic Teacher
The literature indicates that there have been three successive paradigms in state
education systems, with a change in the goals of education and the roles
teachers are expected to play. Williams (1961: p. 163), for instance, suggests
that many state education systems have evolved since the turn of the twentieth
century from humanism which is based on the belief in the intrinsic value of
education for the betterment of the learner to the notion of public education, in
which emphasis was laid on the right of all people to gain access to education in
order to fully participate in a democratic society. These systems later shifted
into the notion of the industrial training, in which public education is viewed
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as an essential means to socio-economic development. The focus of the present

paper is on the first stage. As a matter of fact, an important issue in debates
about teacher professionalism relates to teachers identity. Humanistic
approaches to education were a pioneer in this regard as the question often
debated by humanists consists of who the teacher is and how can he or she carry
out his or her mission of contributing to the learners self-growth (see
Korthagen, 2004, for a discussion).
Humanism is a philosophical and ethical school of education which emerged in
the 1960s and which focuses on human freedom, dignity and potential.
Growing as a reaction to the behaviourist school, which stressed the notion that
human behavior is the result of operant conditioning and that the discovery of
knowledge and the construction of meaning are central to learning, humanism is
based on the central belief that, according to Huitt (2001), people act with
intentionality and values and learning is not an end of the educational process
but rather the means to self-development, self-actualization and self-efficacy.
Humanists therefore believe that it is necessary to study the person as a whole,
especially as an individual grows and develops over a lifespan. It follows that
the study of the self, motivation, and goals are areas of particular interest.
Humanism is highly relevant to our discussion of teacher professionalism
because the humanist paradigm is based on the central assumption that the
purpose of any educational enterprise goes beyond teaching students sets of
skills and techniques. Although humanism does not underestimate the
importance of teaching a variety of the basic language and academic skills
students need to function in today's world, its main goal is, more importantly,
the satisfaction of the learners affective needs based on the assumption that
positive affect facilitates learning. This school of education emphasizes the need
to involve the whole person and stresses the importance of the learners inner
world by moving beyond cognitive and intellectual education to focus on the
learners emotions and feelings. To this end, it is crucial within the humanist
school of thought to establish a learner-centred and anxiety-free environment
where the students development of self-esteem is facilitated and where the
achievement of their full potential is made possible. Following this line of
thought, emphasis is laid on the teachers need to provide feedback
characterized by appreciation, respect and encouragement regardless of how
low the students language proficiency level may be. As Roger (1969)
underlines,
I see the facilitation of learning as the aim of education, the way
in which we develop the learning man, the way in which we can
learn to live as individuals in the process that the initiation of
such learning rests not upon the teaching skills of the leader, not
upon his scholarly knowledge of the field, not upon his curricular
planning, not upon his use of audio-visual aids, not upon the
programmed learning he utilizes, not upon his lectures and
presentations, not upon an abundance of books the facilitation
of significant learning rests [instead] upon certain attitudinal
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qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the

facilitator and the learner. (p. 105-6)
Humanism thus prioritizes the value of human dignity over any other economic,
religious, nationalistic or ideological set of values. Through an inquiry-based
approach to teaching and learning, it advocates the promotion of meaningful
learning and encourages learners to pursue knowledge, to grow, to love, and to
find meaning for their existence. In the aim of preparing young people to be
citizens in a democracy, humanists recommend that efforts should be focused
on fostering the learners self-respect and respect for others, encouraging
compassion and understanding and finally developing the values of punctuality,
fairness, health, courtesy, respect for property, neatness and the like.
Although humanism dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, it is still highly
relevant to mainstream approaches to education today. For instance, the 1996
UNESCO report, Learning: The Treasure within, stresses the belief that
education has a fundamental role to play in personal and social development
(UNESCO, 1996: p. 13). The report also underscores that:
education is at the heart of both personal and community
development; its mission is to enable each of us, without
exception, to develop all our talents to the full and to realize our
creative potential, including responsibility for our own lives and
achievement of our personal aims. (p. 19)
An additional reason why humanism is still of paramount importance nowadays
is that mastery of academic content and development of instructional methods
have been deemed a key component of teacher education programs (see Brophy,
1998). Day (2007: p. 602) interestingly warns that the moral expectations of
teachers are under threat by [the adoption of] teaching and learning agendas
which focus upon improving schools and raising student achievement within a
restricted, measurable range of subjects, abilities or competencies. This implies
that the teachers expectation to meet the goals outlined in the school curricula
within a specified period of time creates strains on their capability to assist their
students in their pursuit to achieve self-growth. This hurts their professional
identity because within the humanistic school teachers are viewed as facilitators
who have to contribute to the learners self-growth rather than as employees
who merely have a content or a set of skills to deliver (see Day, 2007: p. 603;
see also Woods et al., 1997: p. 152). The contribution of humanism to the
teacher professionalism debate is its insistence on the shifts in the teachers role
from one who transfers knowledge to one who guides students, facilitates their
learning and contributes to their personal development (see Korthagen, 2004: p.
82).
3. The Teacher as a Humanistic Professional
We will now address the extent to which the Moroccan teacher of English can
be professional from a humanistic point of view. Before we embark on such a
task, it is important to be realistic and bring to mind the fact that the Moroccan
education context features a whole range of problems and obstacles. Chief
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among these are challenges related to the lack of the necessary infrastructure
relative for instance to the insufficiency of human resources and teaching staff
as well as Information Technologies. They are also related to the problem of
large classes and overcrowding and the existence of continuous but
disconnected reform plans. In addition, this education context is characterised
by the prevalence of teacher-centred approaches and the overuse of instruction,
lecturing and even spoon-feeding at times. It further features the problem of
grade inflation and students obsessive concern with grades. As a result,
standards are lowered and students lose motivation for learning (see Conseil
Suprieur de lEducation, de la formation et de la Recherche Scientifique, 2015:
p. 7-8 for details about some of these problems and others).
Despite the aforementioned difficulties, our answer to the question posed above
is certainly positive. In point of fact, the object of this paper is to advance the
argument that the Moroccan teacher can be a professional from a humanistic
perspective so that s/he can contribute his/her share to the realisation of the
goals outlined in the Strategic Vision. What the paper proposes is a set of five
attributes that teachers should possess and demonstrate to boost their
professionalism while at the same time affiliating with the humanistic
philosophy of education. The object of this section is therefore to offer a
discussion of our argument that for teachers to rightly and confidently claim to
be truly humanistic professionals, they should demonstrate a number of
qualities and characteristics. The attributes to be discussed below relate to two
aspects that overlap and complement one another: the first relates to
professionalism and the second related to humanism. A starting point for the
selection of these attributes was the literature, but more importantly it was based
on my personal observations as an EFL professional.
Firstly, it is important to stress the role of attitude in making a teacher a
humanistic professional. Attitude is so important that it is usually compounded
in the literature with knowledge to constitute some of the competencies teachers
should possess (Korthagen, 2004: p. 80). To put it differently, it has been
argued that a substantial body of evidence has emerged ... suggesting that
teacher beliefs drive instructional pedagogy (Minor, Onwuegbuzie, Witcher, &
James, 2002: p. 117). In similar terms, Helterbran (2010) notes that:
Vital aspects of professionalism include attitude and role modeling.
A teachers attitude - be it positive, negative, or indifferent - pervades
all that he or she says and does. It defines the difference between
teaching as a passion and lifelong commitment and teaching as a
fallback. The ingredient of attitude involves confidence, initiative,
personal investment in teaching and children, and enthusiasm in
accomplishing the tasks of teaching. (p. 124)
In this respect, for teachers to be humanistic professionals, they should view
themselves not as employees for whom teaching is a mere duty they have to
mechanically and carelessly carry out but rather as dedicated professionals who
have an interest in and show concern about the quality of their teaching and
students learning. They should be committed to serving their students learning
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needs and educational expectations and promoting active student learning. They
can do this through interacting with students during as well as before and after
class, relating to students as individuals and most importantly taking pride in
both the process and product of their educational mission.
In terms of attitude, also, teachers are expected to be accountable for their
teaching instruction in the sense that they should be fair and honest and avoid
any forms of double standards. Being accountable relates to fact that the
teachers though not totally to blame for some students failure to learn -
should take responsibility for their students' results. This entails that teachers
should be adaptable, embrace change and be self-starters: they should instantly
make changes to lessons or courses because of unforeseen situations or
problems. Indeed, professionalism implies the non-uniform treatment of all
students and the need instead to adapt the teaching strategies and assessment
practices based on the teachers professional judgment of the needs of
individual students (see Darling-Hammond, 1988: p. 59). Most importantly,
humanistic professional need to be determined to overcome any challenge in
search of the necessary means to satisfy the students learning needs. They need
to be inspirational and not only teach but also motivate students to become
lifelong learners. Of course, to achieve all these objectives, teachers should
support colleagues and school management and engage in any endeavour to
serve the students.
The second prerequisite to be satisfied for teachers to be humanistic
professionals consists in the personality traits that they should possess and
display (see Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000, for a detailed discussion; see
also Korthagen, 2004: p. 88). For teachers to be able to care for the person of
the student, they should first and foremost be considerate of others feelings and
willing to be cooperative with others, be they students or teachers or
administrative staff. They should be polite, respectful, supportive, inclusive,
flexible and self-confident so that they can provide a warm classroom climate
one which is inviting for learning. In addition, teachers should be not only
dynamic and energetic, but they should also be passionate and enthusiastic
about the subject. What is more, they should behave professionally in public,
including being punctual and maintaining confidentiality. This implies they
should be patient and handle complaints, provocation and misconduct without
any loss of temper or irritation.
The third component of the profile of the humanistic professional teacher is
related to adequate and effective teaching methodology. Teachers should not
simply demonstrate a command of the technical skills of teaching, classroom
management and assessment. In fact, nowadays teachers are expected more than
ever to go beyond the basics and show a sense of creativity. It is important to
note that a creative learning environment involves less teacher-centred
practice, and making creative processes and collaborative ways of working
more explicit (Cachia, Ferrari, Ala-MutkaPunie, 2010: p. 20; Minor,
Onwuegbuzie, Witcher, & James, 2002: p. 117).
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Indeed, although highly desirable, it does not suffice for teachers to simply be a
technician in the sense of being well prepared for class, know the subjects they
teach and how to teach those subjects to students, state the objectives for each
class session, use a variety of instructional strategies, encourage class
discussions and vary the speed and tone of ones voice, etc. Being a true
humanistic professional should be manifest in creating lively courses that
engage students and make a difference in their lives. It may perhaps even
consist in not creating courses at all but rather enticing students to partake in the
process of course design and manipulating the latest multimedia technologies
that are available for developers to create far-reaching learning opportunities for
students irrespective of their cultural, linguistic and socioeconomic
backgrounds.
Fourth, interaction between teachers and students as well as among teachers
themselves is an important area where teachers should show the qualities of a
humanistic professional. Truly humanistic professional teachers should be
respectful towards their students and also respectable regarding the standards of
the profession. They also ought to be fair and treat all students equitably
without discriminating against anyone of them based on background, attitude or
language proficiency. This can manifest itself in showing students their
strengths and assisting them with their weaknesses through responding to their
questions and queries and providing them with regular constructive feedback.
Humanistic and professional interaction should equally be clear in the teachers
interaction with colleagues. A teachers relationship with colleagues should be
based on mutual respect, and this can be achieved through avoiding gossip and
fostering instead a healthy environment where different teachers debate issues
of mutual interest and share resources and expertise.
Fifth, to adhere to the vision of a humanistic professional advocated in the
present paper, teachers should conduct professional and effective assessment
practices and offer students feedback that can enable them not only to develop
the targeted skills but also grow as responsible and conscientious individuals.
To this end, teachers should clarify to students the learning objectives of the
course and elucidate how these outcomes will be measured drawing on the
notion of rubrics. They should also provide students with timely, corrective and
detailed feedback and also grade their papers and evaluate their performance on
time. What is more, teachers should combine formative and summative
assessment and administer non-credit tests and quizzes which have the potential
to enhance students creativity through giving them a second chance; this also
includes the need to design respectable tests in the sense that they satisfy the
conditions of validity and reliability.
Finally, with respect to professional development, truly humanistic professional
teachers should both keep abreast of education policy and legislation and
continuously self-evaluate, critique and reflect on their own teaching with a
view to improving their teaching instruction, including their teaching
methodology, classroom management techniques and assessment practices (see
York, Sommers, Ghere & Montie, 2001: p. 6). Moreover, they should pursue
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professional learning and development through professional meetings, courses,

conferences, seminars and (action) research. Third, they should engage
professionally with colleagues, parents and the community (see Hargreaves &
Goodson, 1996, pp. 20-21; Helterbran, 2010: p. 124).
In short, being a humanistic professional involves a multitude of skills and
characteristics that are succinctly summed up by Helterbran (2010: p. 124) as
follows: having a societal purpose and obligation, ethical foundation, a degree
of regulatory autonomy, an accretion of content knowledge, and agreed-on
standards for the entire profession.
4. Conclusion
The aim of this paper has been to stress the importance of teacher
professionalism for teachers to be able to contribute to sustainable educational
development and to the achievement of the goals of education as outlined in the
Strategic Vision adopted by the High Council for Education for the period of
2015-2030. The thrust of the argument is that, as far as I am concerned, for
teachers to adequately and satisfactorily perform their roles and carry out their
noble mission, they should possess and enact the ethics of the profession and
simultaneously adhere to the principles of the humanistic school of education.
To this end, and to be truly humanistic professionals, it has been argued that,
along with the technical skills teachers should possess, they equally ought to
demonstrate desirable characteristics related to attitude, personality traits,
interaction with colleagues and students, assessment and feedback and finally
professional development. In a nutshell, it has been argued that for teachers to
be humanistic professionals, they should be more supportive, understanding and
dedicated than critical or judgmental. By way of concluding the present paper, it
is worth-recalling that to adequately accomplish their mission,
Every teacher shall actively insure that teaching is the noblest
profession, and shall manifest genuine enthusiasm and pride in
teaching as a noble calling. Every teacher shall uphold the highest
possible standards of quality education, shall make the best
preparations for the career of teaching, and shall be at his best at all
times and in the practice of his profession. (Code of Ethics for
Professional Teachers, n.d.)
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ELT Teacher Education Program at Ecole Normale

Suprieure (ENS) Rabat: Achievements and Challenges
A. Azhar, R. Kerkech, M. Monadi, F. Mouhdi & I. Nejjar
Introduction
The English department at Ecole Normale Suprieure (ENS), Rabat, one of the
oldest English departments, has considerably contributed to ELT development
in Morocco. Thanks to its adoption of a coherent vision of what teacher
education means, the department has constantly strived to progress by
introducing qualitative changes to the teacher education program it
offers prospective teachers of English. Accordingly, it has regularly adapted its
curriculum and education approaches to meet the expectations and needs of new
graduates, preparing them, thus, for the challenges they may face in their future
professional life.
Generally, the department has devoted sustained effort to incorporate new

theoretical advances in the fields of education, teacher education, language
teaching, ICT and other related subjects. To this end, it has adopted two main
regular evaluation practices: a course and instructor evaluation, every semester,
and an annual program evaluation. The main objective of these evaluations has
basically been to determine the effectiveness of the teacher education program
offered. Besides its concern with quality and effectiveness, the department has
also strived to offer a teacher education program that would fit the current
national and international educational contexts. ENS graduates are accordingly
expected to remain updated on education issues and to acquire the ability to
understand, analyze, and evaluate emergent teaching and learning situations.
The world is constantly changing; so are educational requirements, concepts,
concerns, and education research. The teacher education program at ENS has,
therefore, witnessed a paradigm shift reflecting important changes in terms of
principles, objectives, and the profile of its graduates.
The main purpose of this paper is to 1) highlight the major changes that have
occurred in the ELT teacher education program at ENS-Rabat in terms of the
curriculum and methodologies adopted, 2) shed light on the rationale behind
those changes (globalization, internal and external context-sensitive factors,
etc.) and finally 3) point out the challenges faced by the department, its
accomplishments, and the future prospects it envisions.
1. Curriculum Development Strategy
To accommodate the concerns with quality within the shifting sands of societal
demands on the educational system, the teacher education program in the
English Department at ENS, like many other current educational programs, has
undergone continuous evaluations bringing about small and large scale
modifications in practices. The recent change of the status of ENS following its
annexation to the university in 2011 has necessitated a major reform to meet
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both the institutional expectations and the socio-economic requirements of the

Moroccan context. In fact, the evaluation strategy adopted for the teacher
education programs falls within a generalized view of curriculum development
where evaluation is conceptualized as a development strategy feeding out of and
into each and every phase of the program development. The evaluation starts
from an environment analysis of the different factors involved in the process. It
is no less axiomatic that any education and training program is a reflection of
the requirements of the social environment where it is conceived in the first
place and where its graduates are going to function. The environment dictates
the form and use of the program by providing criteria and standards geared
towards fulfilling sets of needs in the job market in various social contexts. In a
teacher education program, four major factors are at play when designing a
curriculum: stakeholders (institutional goals), teacher trainees feedback and
perceived needs, recent innovations in teacher education theory, and the job
market (prospective job needs). Of note here is that the order of these sources of
information does not imply any type of qualitative precedence; rather, the
factors refer to evaluative processes that take place more or less at the same
time and inherently interact at various levels pointing to different directions in
curriculum design.
A major factor in the program development is the requirements set by the

Ministry of Higher Education. The program needs to abide by several guidelines
in terms of content, form, timing, and evaluation as spelled out in the Cahier de
Charges pour les Licences Professionnelles. These guidelines are intended to
guarantee that all programs conform to the education policy of the country in
every detail. They are also expected to express the needs of the new graduates at
the level of the job market. In fact, there are implicit and explicit beliefs and
practices that have guided the structure and the design of ENS teacher education
program, which indicate a fundamental consensus to abide by the national
guidelines for teacher education. The Standards-based framework that is at the
basis of the ELT curriculum development in Morocco has also inspired the re-
designing of the teacher education program. Further, the UM5R curriculum
development orientations have reinvigorated the ELT program and have opened
up the scope for several opportunities to upgrade the initial program in terms of
its structure as well as in terms of its content.
A second, but equally important, contributor to the constant upgrading of the

program is the feedback provided by the trainees themselves. Their perceptions,
reflections, and feedback are a great source of evaluative information on the
current program content and the related methodological practices. This feedback
is regularly collected through questionnaires and group interviews. The
resulting data is analyzed and translated into needs statements and performance
descriptors which are then incorporated in the formal depiction of the target
profile of the ENS ELT teacher education program. The trainees feedback is, in
fact, a major factor in determining the program goals.
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Another major factor is the constant interest in the advancements in the theory
on teacher education. Research findings accumulate in favor of key principles
that relate to the what and how of learning. The ELT program at ENS has
indeed always been very well updated with regards to the new innovations in
the fields of teacher education, language teaching and learning, and applied
linguistics. Theory, in fact, develops in response to the social changes described
above. This means there is a correspondence between the context requirements
and the new explanatory theories, both of which interact continually with the
evolution of the teacher education program.
Another source of information is the target jobs the graduates of the teacher
education program are prepared for. These are formulated in terms of profiles,
roles and specific characteristics that teacher trainees are expected to have
developed by the end of the program.
Taking into account these four factors, the evaluation process has resulted in the
identification of three main areas in teacher development stated as follows:
ELT competencies
- Knowledge of methodological approaches and methods
- Skills in instructional procedures and strategies
- Skills in the management of the learning context
Psycho-social awareness and skills
- Psycho-social skills
- Socio-cultural awareness and skills (Co-curricular Activities,
Community Service, Values Education)
Teacher professional development
- Reflective andcritical practices
- Autonomy and leadership skills
- Professional conduct
- Employability skills
These areas have been found to be fundamental to the development of

professional ELT teachers. They are used as the basis for developing goals and
standards which in turn feed into first, the identification of teacher education
program management principles, and second, the design of the program
components and methodology.
2. Teacher Education Program Principles
The English department at ENS-Rabat has developed a set of innovative

teaching principles that have guided its practice in the teacher education
program it offers. All these principles revolve around the creation of an
appropriate learning and teaching environment that allows the teacher trainees
to benefit from the different learning situations they are exposed to. Among the
main principles the department faculty abide by, we can mention the following:
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(1) Reflective thinking: teacher trainees are encouraged to engage in the

processes of analyzing and evaluating what they have learned. They become
aware of their learning and are able to control it by actively participating in
reflective thinking assessing what they know, what they need to know, and
how to bridge the gap during learning situations.(2) Learner-centeredness: in
this teacher education program, teacher educators put the teacher trainees at the
center of the learning process through taking into consideration their individual
needs. (3) Cooperative learning: While the focus when teaching is on enabling
each teacher trainee to learn and to develop as an individual, the learning
environment is organized in such a way that teacher trainees are offered many
opportunities to work cooperatively on tasks and to exchange their ideas in
small groups both in class or when working on projects they are assigned. (4)
Experiential learning: the adoption of experiential learning is based on the
assumption that any form of teaching should support teacher trainees in
applying their knowledge and conceptual understanding to real-world problems
or situations. It comes in contrast with the transmission approach of education
in which the learner acquires knowledge passively from the teacher. (5) Task-
based teaching: this approach is based on the premise that teacher trainees learn
best if they are given the opportunity to contribute to their learning, that is, if
they are considered active learners. Accordingly, an active learner is a learner
who is provided with tasks to do and problems to solve. It is a learner who has
the chance to put into practice what they have learned and who would adapt to
any educational situation. (6) Using ICT for learning and teaching: based on the
conviction that teachers should take into consideration the profile of their
students when designing any learning experience, teacher trainers have deemed
it necessary to integrate the use of technology in all their teaching and learning
environments as ICT offers numerous possibilities for meeting the needs of
21st century learners. Its use significantly enhances student learning when
properly designed and implemented. (7) Multiple approaches to assessment and
evaluation: Using multiple measures of teacher effectiveness is necessary for
teacher assessment and evaluation. In fact, to examine the teacher trainees
outcomes in our program, one measure cannot capture the complexity of the
learners learning and growth or development. Thus, the core of the teacher
assessment and evaluation system aims at tracking the learners achievements
using both test score results (both formative and summative assessments) for
mastery of content of subject matter and forms of performance-based
assessments (mostly criterion-referenced using rubrics); namely: oral and
written reports for subject matter courses and co-curricular activities, reflective
critical thinking written reports about practice teaching and classroom
observations, project-based activities, a small scale research project and
portfolio compilation as an evidence of the learners professional growth at
various levels.
3. Program Description
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This section describes the four main components of the ELT teacher education
program at ENS, Rabat, namely: A) Modules, B) Practicum, C) Portfolio and
Research Project, and D) Co-curricular Activities.
A. Modules
The English department offers a range of modules intended to build up teacher

trainees fundamental knowledge, skills and appropriate attitudes that will
prepare them for the challenges of the teaching profession.
1) ELT Methodology Program
The main purpose of the methodology modules is to provide prospective EFL

teachers with the basic teaching and learning principles, techniques, skills and
strategies in the ELT field to enhance their professional practice so that they can
meet the needs of their own students in different teaching contexts. Therefore, a
number of modules allow the trainees to explore relevant traditional and
innovative ELT approaches and methods and, accordingly, to plan and teach
effective lessons.
ELT Approaches, Methods and Assessment
In this module, the teacher trainees are introduced to the main characteristics of
the historical development of foreign language teaching and the major
traditional and current methods and approaches in vogue. They are encouraged
to identify and evaluate the main assumptions or principles of these methods
and approaches, their objectives, techniques, roles of teachers and learners, and
the role of the teaching materials, taking into consideration their relevance to
the Moroccan context. In addition, the teacher trainees are invited to align
assessment to teaching by exploring the theoretical foundation of assessment
theory and, therefore, to develop the skill to evaluate and design appropriate
formal and informal assessment procedures and instruments according to their
future teaching contexts.
Competencies and Standards in the EFL Curriculum
This module is designed tohelp teacher trainees acquire skills in identifying the
major competencies that Moroccan students need to developaccording to the
EFL curriculum. The trainees are encouraged to refer to the standard-based
language teaching framework when making decisions for short and long term
planning, when formulating teaching objectives and when devising meaningful
teaching materials.
Teaching Language Skills

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This module focuses on the methodology for planning and teaching different
language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading, writing, grammar, and
vocabulary, and on the use of classroom materials for language teaching.
Classroom activities aim at involving the teacher trainees in the
teaching/learning process, allowing them to reflect on and share their own
experiences, opinions and knowledge. Trainees are expected to learn the
teaching skills by observing, planning and simulating mini-lessons.
Lesson Planning, Materials Adaptation and Evaluation
Thecourse enables trainees to develop essential lesson planning skills and

strategies for effective teaching. An effort is made to help them understand and
integrate the principles of Blooms Taxonomy of Thinking in designing their
lesson plans, formulating their teaching objectives and planning their classroom
language. Trainees are introduced to instructional strategies for teaching
different language skills and are expected to design ELT materials. Finally,
besides creating pedagogical materials, teacher trainees also explore the
assumptions behind the adaptation of ELT textbooks.
Microteaching
An essential component in the teacher training program, micro-teaching

provides a strong link between theory and practice. The trainee creates lesson
plans, performs micro lessons, receives feedback, self-assesses and learns from
observing other trainees.
School Life, Extracurricular Activities and Values Education
This course has three main objectives:
i. To raise the teacher trainees awareness of the fact that a teachers role
extends far beyond the classroom borders. As such, it considerably
affects her/his classroom performance and relationships.
ii. To sensitize them about the importance of activities undertaken inside
or outside the classroom and which are not part of the students core
curricular content.
iii. To emphasize the trainees future role as educators alongside being
subject matter instructors.
2) Educational Psychology Program
Educational Psychology modules are designed to ensure quality teacher

education in concordance with the main vision and goals of the teacher
education program at ENS, Rabat. The modules provide teaching and training in
the psychological foundations of education. The main goals of Educational
Psychology modules are: f1) to prepare teacher trainees to become competent
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teachers who will have acquired the basic knowledge, skills and attitudes to
teach and educate, 2)to train them to become active educators who will ensure
the cognitive, psycho-social, and intellectual development of their students, and
3)to prepare future educators who will positively impact their school and
community.
Learning Theories
Learning is a key issue in the field of education. Theobjectives of this module

are1)to familiarize teacher trainees with the major learning theories, and 2) to
enable them to identify the mechanisms involved in the process of learning. By
the end of the course, teacher trainees should be able to demonstrate knowledge
and understanding of how individuals grow, develop and learn, and to provide
learning opportunities that support the cognitive, social, and personal
development of learners.
Classroom Management Skills
This course aims at providing teacher trainees with basic principles of efficient
classroom management and equipping them with managerial skills that would
enable them to create a healthy, motivating, and supportive learning
environment in their classrooms. By the end of the course, teacher trainees
should be able to create a structured and safe learning environment, adjust
lesson plans and instruction and efficiently manage discipline issues.
Individual Learner Differences
This course aims to help teacher trainees acquire a knowledge foundation in

individual learner differences in terms of students physical, intellectual,
cognitive, and psychological abilities and their possible limitations. They are
acquainted with some major differences which they can encounter in various
educational settings and are offered efficient instructional methods and
techniques which can help them connect with and engage a variety of students.
Best Practices for Specific Age groups
This course links EFL theory and knowledge about the teaching of different age
groups (children, adolescents and adults) to the best practices in teaching
English Language Learners (ELLs). These are woven together to provide
trainees with an excellent basis for working with ELLs according to their age
needs, abilities, and interests. It covers current techniques, methods, and
materials utilized for effective instruction. Emphasis is on the best practices and
approaches through the use of experiential learning.
3) Professional Development
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The following modules are designed to emphasize future teachers ongoing

professional development in terms of their research, ICT, and professional
communication skills.
Educational Research
Educational research is conceived of as an initiation course into research

methodology used in education settings. The main objectives are to provide the
teacher trainees with the concepts and techniques used in educational research
with special emphasis on research in language teaching and learning and to
enable them to understand and critique educational research. The course
methodology includes interactive lectures and discussions, presentations, hands-
on practice on developing research instruments and analysis schemes, and
individual projects.
Learning Technologies for the EFL Classroom
Learning technologies for the EFL classroom is an initiation of the teacher

trainees into the field of information and communication technologies used in
education. The main objectives are to sensitize the teacher trainees about the
crucial role of technologies in the lives of their future students, and to provide
them with different ways ICTs can be exploited inside and outside the
classroom for the purposes of enhancing the students learning. The course
methodology includes presentations and discussions, hands-on practice on
appraising and developing ICT-based materials and activities, and individual
projects.
Employment Communication Skills
The module gives teacher trainees the opportunity to understand and discuss the
benefits of effective communication for themselves and for their future work
place. The trainees study the requirements of effective communication while
focusing on the process of preparing and designing effective business messages.
.In addition, they are encouraged to identify the components of workplace
effective interpersonal communication and to develop relevant soft skills as well
as appropriate phone manners and effective verbal and nonverbal
communication. Finally, teacher trainees are encouraged to develop the skills
associated with leading and participating in teams.
Employment Communication in Arabic and in French
Bearing in mind the importance of professional communication in the Arabic

and French languages nowadays in the job market, the objectives and the
content of both these courses have been thus adapted. The aim is to enable them
to acquire written and oral skills in Arabic and in French, and have further
opportunities to review their grammar and enrich their vocabulary. Basically,
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they will be exposed to the specifics of professional and business

communication.
School Law
This module, taught in Arabic, introduces the main legislation and legal texts
pertaining to school laws. The aim is to inform the future teachers about, on the
one hand, the teachers rights and responsibilities, and on the other hand, the
students rights and responsibilities.
B. The Practicum
The three components of the practicum, namely microteaching, classroom

observation, and teaching practice, provide the trainees with an opportunity to
put into practice their newly acquired teaching skills and knowledge. The
practicum is planned in collaboration with experienced ELT teachers in public
high schools.
Microteaching
Microteaching is a supervised initiation to practice teaching. Trainees are

divided into manageable sub-groups so that everyone is given the opportunity to
perform, self-assess and give and receive feedback. Trainees observe and
analyze model lessons on videos, plan and deliver mini-lessons, observe their
peers teach
Teaching Practice
During the five-week practice teaching in public high schools, trainees are
exposed to real learning situations where they have the opportunity to: make
decisions about what to teach, try out techniques, have their teaching
constructively criticized, develop criteria for self-evaluation and gradually
become independent.
Service Learning
This is an essential component of the English Department teacher education

program which promotes trainees civic awareness and engagement. Service
Learning is a comprehensive and an integrative component as it takes the
trainees out of their comfort zone. Service learning activities can take the form
of tutoring middle school and/or high school students in English. In this
component of the practicum, trainees are given opportunities to develop their
leadership skills, cooperation skills, problem-solving skills and critical thinking
skills.
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4. Portfolio and Research Project
The portfolio complements the teacher education program. It accompanies and

cuts across the other three components, modules, practicum, and co-curricular
events, and provides a more individualized and reflective re-visiting of the
content and skill areas covered therein. The portfolio plays three very important
roles. It is used as a learning tool; the trainees get the opportunity to reflect on
the training activities they are involved in for a second time enhancing in this
way the learning process. Second, it provides evidence and justification for the
methodological choices the trainees make and thus develops their awareness of
professional, accountable, and ethical practice. Third, it serves as an evaluative
form. It documents changes, modifications, adaptations, and adjustments in the
teaching knowledge and skills of the trainees along the training period,
providing thus a formative evaluation of their progress.
5. Co-Curricular Activities
The incorporation of co-curricular activities (CCAs) in the regular ELT teacher

education program has been essential in the upgrading of the program at ENS,
Rabat. The participation of teacher trainees in these activities serves at least
three major purposes: (a) At the academic level, CCAs offer them the
opportunity to consolidate and apply the knowledge and skills they are
acquiring in their regular program curricula. (b) At the personal level, CCAs
offer them extra opportunities for personal growth. (c) At the professional level,
teacher trainees discover their interests and talents while developing values and
competencies that will prepare them for a rapidly changing world. They also
raise their awareness to the importance of designing and organizing CCAs for
their own future students.
6. Department Management Principles and Strategies
To overcome challenges and meet its educational goals, the English department
has developed over the years a set of fundamental managerial principles and
strategies. These have contributed a lot in implementing the program along the
set guidelines and in enhancing quality education overall. Accordingly, it has
based its management on the following principles and strategies: prioritizing
team spirit and collaborative work, favoring long term planning, sustaining
critical and reflective practice, opening up on other institutions (partnerships),
and involving native speakers and highly experienced practitioners in the
program.
7. Challenges and Achievements
Generally speaking, institutional restrictions represent the major challenge for

the department. Reduced department faculty over time, budget restrictions, and
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short-time notice ministerial plans have always been more frustrating than any
other factor. Other major factors could be summarized as follows:
- Teacher trainees changing profile over time: the Moroccan BA is

reduced to 3 years instead of 4 years, which considerably impacted
teacher trainees proficiency level in English.
- Rapid advances in new technologies: Faculty members have had not only
to struggle with ICT advances, but also to decide which ICT techniques
work to the best interest of the teacher education program.
- Graduates future career prospects: Government educational institutions
like ENS no longer guarantee a teaching position with the government.
Consequently, teacher trainees motivation in terms of future job security
may be affected.
These challenges, nonetheless, were more of a motivator for further evaluation

and improvement of the program. In fact, the way the program has developed is
mostly in response to problems of adaptation to the ever-changing society
where we live today. This strong commitment to serve quality training for
future ELT practitioners has indeed given birth to promising results.
The department of English at ENS-Rabat has produced well-qualified high

school English teachers who have been able to develop professionally. Many
ENS graduates have become university researchers, teacher trainers,
supervisors, ministry officials, etc. The biggest achievement of ENS teacher
education program, nevertheless, has always been its ability to considerably
contribute to teacher trainees personal, psycho-social, and intellectual
development. In addition to subject matter, teacher trainees are provided with
golden opportunities to acquire life skills and professional ethics.
As explained earlier, the evaluative strategy adopted by the ENS English

Department is a never-ending process; this is particularly so because the
strength of a program is gauged not only by its achievements but also by its
ability to deal with daily challenges, to adapt to changes, and to develop to serve
the function it has been created for. The social responsibility implicated in
education, especially programs preparing future teachers who would be
responsible for educating generations, is particularly critical; it necessitates full
commitment to the common welfare of the Moroccan society, and this has been
the main drive behind the sustained effort of the English department faculty to
promote quality.
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A Study of Web 2.0 Self-Directed Learning and Academic Achievement

Fouad Boulaid
Abstract
Self-directed learning (SDL) is acknowledged as a significant predictor of
students academic motivation and achievement. SDL is vital to the learning
sphere where learners spot their learning needs, establish learning objectives,
and feel more autonomous, independent and responsible (AIR). Hence, SDL
creates opportunities for students to manage their own resources and perform
better in all learning phases. Indeed, achievement is the ultimate goal of any
student. The present study attempts to find out the correlation between Web 2.0
SDL and academic achievement of 300 EFL undergraduate students at Moulay
Ismail University in Meknes. The outcome reveals that Web 2.0 SDL is highly
positively correlated with academic achievement. At different dimensions of the
SDL, male and female EFL graduate students do not differ. The implications
which come to the surf are that Web 2.0 SDL creates substitutions in academic
achievement among students. As well, a person who possesses SDL and
manipulates Web 2.0 will also achieve more in his/her academic activities.
Moreover, SDL is an increasing factor of academic achievement.
Introduction
Learners self-motivated commitment to SDL is crucial to their academic
improvement (Benson & Reinders, 2011; Kormos & Csizer, 2013). The recent
learning platform characterized by appropriate access to expanded resources,
venues, and learning spaces, means that more than ever learners are expected to
take the initiative in their learning (Knowles, 1975; Torrance, 1984; Brookfield,
1986; Candy, 1990; Rbotham, 1995; Zimmerman, 1998; & Teo et al., 2010). As
Web 2.0 provides significant learning spaces and venues and enables self-
initiated construction of learning experience (Benson, 2006; Lai & Gu, 2011;
Reinders & White, 2011), it is highly recommended that language learners
possess the necessary competence to engage in Web 2.0 SDL (Benson, 2011;
Lai, 2013; Reinders & Darasawang, 2014). SDL is also said to be a lifelong
inclination to learning and knowledge acquisition, meaning that a learner with
this characteristic will continue to learn throughout his or her lifetime (Gasevic,
Kovanovic, Joksimovic, & Siemens, 2015).
Research on students Web 2.0 SDL for language learning has produced mixed
findings. On the one hand, learners do actively use Web 2.0 to enhance their
language learning experience outside the classroom (Inozu, Sahinkarakas, &
Yumru, 2010; Lai & Gu, 2011; Murray, 2008). On the other hand, active
involvement in Web 2.0 does not necessarily guarantee sophisticated and
effective use of Web 2.0 applications for language learning (Lai & Gu, 2011;
Winke & Goertler, 2008; Winke, Goertler, & Amuzie, 2010). Previous findings
have approved that the Web 2.0 applications learners use are very limited (Lai
& Gu, 2011; Winke & Goertler, 2008), and that learners use of available
applications does not echo a good understanding of their effective use (Kennedy
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& Miceli, 2010; Oxford, 2009). Thus, more and more scholars are arguing for
the need for learners to develop the relevant competencies in the active and
effective use of Web 2.0 for language learning (Cohen & White, 2008;
Hubbard, 2005; Hubbard & Romeo, 2012; Levy, 2011).
Theoretical background
Current literature has defined SDL as both a process and a product. Knowles
(1975) defined self-directed learning as a process in which individuals take the
initiative, with or without the help from others, in diagnosing their learning
needs, () choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies and
evaluating learning outcomes (p. 18). Later, a self-directed learner is seen as a
mature who is aware of his/her learning goals, discovers appropriate resources,
devises learning strategies, and is responsible for evaluating the progress made
toward the attainment of those goals (Brookfield, 1986).
In short, the theoretical framework of the present study will be grounded mainly
on Piagets constructivism and Vygotskys social constructivism as well as that
of Zimmermans social theory of learning. Interestingly, constructivism is a
new approach in education that claims humans are better able to understand the
information they have constructed by themselves. According to socio-
constructivist theories, learning is a social advancement that involves language,
real world situations, and interaction and collaboration among learners. The
learners are considered to be central in the learning process. In addition, Social
learning theory posits that learning is a cognitive process that takes place in
asocial context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction,
even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement.
The study
This case study constructed an intervention program that adopted Hubbards

three-part training framework to target the two major components of self-
directed use of Web 2.0 for language learning willingness and the knowledge
and skill base and was structured around Zimmermans three-phase socio-
cognitive model of SDL. Specifically, it focused on enhancing learners
perceptions of the need for and value of SDL use of Web 2.0 for language
learning and their technical, strategic, and pedagogical knowledge of effective
Web 2.0 use for language learning. The intervention program was conducted
with a group of undergraduate EFL learners to examine whether the workshop
would lead to attitudinal and behavioral changes towards SDL use of Web 2.0
for language learning.
Five hundred university EFL learners at Moulay Ismail University in Meknes

were invited to participate in the study. After discarding the responses that were
incomplete or did not have identifiers to allow the matching of the pre-survey
and post-survey, 300 participants responses were included in this study. Of the
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300 participants, 170 were female and 130 were male. Their average age at the
beginning of the semester is within the 18-23 group age. The participants are
enrolled at Department of English from S1 through S6, but the majority of
participants are from S1 and S3.
The online workshop was hosted online. The survey involved general
pedagogical training and discussed approaches to language learning, effective
learning strategies and habits of good language learners, rationales and tips
related to SDL, and the relationship between technologies and language
learning. The study aimed to examine learners attitudes towards Web 2.0 SDL.
The respondents were administered questionnaires before starting the training
and another exhaustive questionnaire after experiencing the Web 2.0
interactions.
Hence, the informants filled out a pre-training questionnaire at the beginning of

the semester. The intervention program was then introduced to the participants.
The training, in the form of self-study of the online training program as weekly
assignments and in-class teacher-led collaborative debriefing, lasted 3 weeks.
An equivalent post-training questionnaire was administered at the end of the
semester.
The questionnaires elicited the participants demographic data, their perceptions

and actual use of SDL with Web 2.0, and various factors that are associated
with the readiness to involve in, or the knowledge and skill base necessary for,
SDL use of Web 2.0 for language learning (Lai, 2013). The questionnaire
instrument measured the following main constructs:
After some demographic information, the informants were first asked to report
whether they were aware of some Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Edmodo, etc. a great number reported
Facebook as a most known Web 2.0 application followed by YouTube. The
other applications, no matter how their academic usefulness offered, are still
unfamiliar among many students.
When the informants were asked about the extent of their access to internet
connection, most of them show strong satisfaction to Internet availability. The
Figure displays that 87.67 % reported to have easy access to the Internet and
only 12.33% do not have easy access. This means that most university learners
possess personal computers and do not encounter any difficulty in having access
to the Internet.
The participants were asked whether they own a computer as well as whether
they possess a smartphone. It is lucid that thanks to the most recent technology
availability, many students are able to get a smartphone and a large number can
possess a personal computer. 82% (N= 246) of the informants reported to have
their own personal computers, while 196 (65%) of them own a smartphone.
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The participants were asked to report how often per day they log into Web 2.0
applications and how much time they spend on using Web 2.0 to support
various metacognitive, social, resource, and attitudinal needs of English
learning. Figure 4 demonstrates that the vast majority of the respondents in the
survey logs in very frequently and stays for a long time. It is visible that using
one of the Web 2.0 applications is said to be a central constituent in university
students daily life and its occurrence becomes unavoidably sprawling.
As it is clearly seen in Figure 5, most of informants enjoy Web 2.0 and add their
comments on other posts. Almost every participant (98.67%) reports to have
inserted comments in English on one of the Web 2.0 applications. The
participants rated their enjoyment of interaction through Web 2.0 SDL by
indicating whether they confirm or disconfirm their pleasure in learning
individually using Web 2.0 applications. The following data shows that almost
every participant (93.67%) enjoys interacting through Web 2.0 SDL.
The participants rated their perceptions of their abilities to use Web 2.0 for
English learning by indicating the degree to which they agreed or disagreed
with the idea that they check online dictionaries, make internet research, and
look for their instructors courses. As it is clear from Figure 6, a great number
of informants reported to have sought information on the Web. This implies that
learners are now aware of the importance of technology use throughout their
study.
The subjects were asked to share whether they had used Web 2.0 in their
preparation to finals, and whether they had cheated on exams using one of the
Web 2.0 applications. More than half of the participants (75.33%) reported to
have made use of Web 2.0 while preparing for their exams. Though the data
shows a small percentage (31.67%) of participants to have cheated on exams, it
sounds dangerous (one of the dangerous aspects of Web 2.0).
Concerning the discussion of three taboo elements (the forbidden triad), Figure
8 demonstrates that 78.8% dare discuss religion, 82.4% find an open breathing
space to discuss politics, and 56.1% (N= 313) openly speak about sex. Such an
outcome implies that there is no room for taboo subjects on Web 2.0. For
example, learners are no longer afraid to talk about faith, god and religion
overall. Students can also chat about different perceptions to government,
constitution, parties strategies, educational system, corruption, joblessness,
situations at schools and hospitals, and so on. This means that Web 2.0 does not
only facilitate discussing the frequently restrained topics of political visions, but
political leaders appear to have no trouble with overtly audience contradicting if
not assaulting them. As well, it used to be regarded as ill-mannered to talk about
sex with anyone especially in class in the presence of the opposite sex, but
today students and teachers are much more open thanks to Web 2.0.
The participants were asked to rate on a Likert scale of 15 the degree of

satisfaction of the contribution of Web 2.0 to the improvement of the English
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language skills and communication. Figure 10 displays that there is a high rate
of informants who agree (and strongly agree) with the fact that SDL Web 2.0
effectively helped them improve their skill of English communication an
language in general. Though users do not aim primarily to develop English
language skills via Web 2.0, they seem to unintentionally improve some basic
skills at least at the level of reading and writing.
This construct measured the participants perceptions of the compatibility of

Web 2.0 use with their language learning preference and needs by asking
participants to indicate the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with
statements like Using Web 2.0 is compatible with my preferred language
learning activities.
This means that some university learners and instructor are friends on one of
the Web2.0 applications. The latter, when used efficiently, can be a great social
networking means of instruction. It helps both students and teachers to
overcome their fear and mistrust. Web 2.0 takes place in an e-mediated milieu
where the instructor and learner are physically separated for some part, if not
all, of the instructional process. Such communication could be synchronous
(simultaneous) and asynchronous (delayed) and, thus, student coursework and
tasks might be returned to the instructor as Web links and e-mails. This implies
that today Web 2.0 is a gateway to a strong educational connection and thus
encourages instructors and learners to have greater access to ones private
account than ever before (as in FTF contact).
In the post-questionnaire, the participants were also asked to report their

frequency of accessing the workshop site and the recommended technological
resources, their evaluation of the workshop, and the changes the workshop had
brought to their learning behavior.
The participants evaluated their perceptions of the value of the workshop, their
perceptions of the effects of the workshop and their perceptions of the changes
in their attitudes towards and use of Web 2.0 induced by the workshop.
The participants were asked to indicate whether the workshop had led to any
changes in their English study behavior. Specific behavior changes were elicited
via two open-ended questions, one tapping into the change in their English
learning behaviors and the other tapping into the change in their Web 2.0 use
for language learning.
A paired t-test was used to compare the participants pre-survey and post-survey
responses to see whether there were any positive training effects in general. In-
depth comparative analysis of the frequent user and infrequent user of the
workshop site and the recommended technological resources was also
conducted through an independent t-test to identify whether frequency of
accessing the training materials led to different effects. In addition, a chi-square
test was conducted to examine whether there was an association between the
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frequency of training and reported changes of learning behavior. A comparison

of the participants responses in the pre- and post-surveys revealed that the
participants reported a significantly greater frequency of SDL use of Web 2.0 in
the post-survey.
Among the factors associated with the learners readiness to involve in WEB
2.0 SDL, the respondents reported significantly more positive attitudes towards
Web 2.0 use, and more positive perceptions of the compatibility of Web 2.0 use
with their learning needs.
To understand the participants perceptions of the various components of the

workshop content, the participants were asked to rate the usefulness of different
components, from not useful at all to extremely useful on a Likert scale of
1-5. The participants rated all the components the general pedagogical
workshop the pedagogical workshop relevant to specific skills, the introduction
of the technological tools and resources, and tips on how to use the
technological tools effectively for language learning positively and
somewhere in between slightly useful and quite useful.
Conclusion
This small-scale study explored the significance of an online workshop aimed at

providing language learners with the educational motivation for Web 2.0 SDL
use for taking the initiative, autonomy and responsibility in learning. The
investigations outcome reveals that this online workshop was a successful tool
in bringing to life a higher rate of SDL use of Web 2.0 for English language
learning. The derived data confirmed that Hubbards three-part training
framework of pedagogical, strategic, and technical aspects of training (Hubbard
& Romeo, 2012) is a viable framework in constructing effective workshop to
enhance SDL use of Web 2.0 for language learning outside the language
classroom.
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Students' Use and Perceived Usefulness of

Social Media Software for Academic Purposes
Hicham Fatmi
School of Arts & Humanities, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes
I. Introduction
Although higher education plays an important role in society, it has hardly been
affected by the pedagogical and technological breakthroughs that the world has
witnessed during the last decades (Anderson, Boyles &Rainie, 2012). Higher
education still sticks to the old structure of previous generations, ignoring the
economic, educational and social demands and requirements of the 21st century.
University students, on the other hand, as research evidence has recently started
to show us, are not learning the same ways as previous generations. As Prensky
(2001) puts it, "Our students have changed radically. Todays students are no
longer the people our educational system was designed to teach." (p. 1).
The new face of higher education is now being sketched by the rapid
technology advancements and social media adopted by the university student
who belong to the internet generation. The forces of the evolving nature of
technology are having a huge impact on higher education practitioners. The
proliferation of smart phones, tablets, and social media and the expansion of
broadband are changing student expectations of how higher education
practitioners engage, communicate, and connect with university student.
This has created a disparity between the tech-savvy students who are using
technology for recreation, communication, and for education and professors
who are still reluctant to acknowledge the huge opportunities offered by these
new technologies in the field of education. If educators continue to allow this
divide to spread, learning experiences for future students may be negatively
impacted. According to Pheiffer et al. (2005), "matching students learning styles
and teaching style can increase achievement and retention" (p. 429).
While it is unreasonable to expect those in education to suddenly embrace all

available forms of technology and immediately implement them into the
classroom, exploration of these tools that students are frequently using to
determine if and how they foster learning in the classroom must begin. The
present study aims, therefore, at contributing to the body of research on
students' unstructured use of social network sites (Facebook) mainly because
"studies of voluntary student-managed Facebook groups without participation
from teachers are underrepresented in educational studies on Facebook."
(Aaen& Dalsgaard, 2016, p. 161).Further investigation is necessary in order to
determine whether university students' use of Facebook is an issue of concern
for higher education professionals.
This study seeks to contribute to an on-going dialogue about the importance of

social network sites, both for practitioners and researchers. The purpose of the
present study was 1) to explore students' use of social media (Facebook) for
academic purposes, and 2) to explore students' perceived usefulness of social
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media for academic purposes. Two research questions were developed for this
purpose:
RQ1: How do students of the English Department at the School of Arts and
Humanities in Moulay Ismail University use Facebook groups for academic
purposes?
RQ2: What is students' perceived usefulness of these Facebook groups?
II. Review of the literature

1. Social media and social networking sites (SNS)
In the digital age, communities self-organize around the Internet, which has
created a global platform that has vastly expanded access to all sorts of
resources including formal and informal educational materials. The Internet has
also fostered a new culture of sharing, one in which content is freely contributed
and distributed with few restrictions. The development of Web 2.0 along with
mobile computing devices has also produced a connected student body on
university campuses.
While there are several definitions of social media, this study uses the
following: a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological
and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and
exchange of User Generated Content (Kaplan &Haenlein, 2010, p. 61).
Social networking, as defined by Gunawardena, Hermans, Sanchez, Richmond,

Bohley, & Tuttle (2009) is the practice of expanding knowledge by making
connections with individuals of similar interests (p. 4). Boyd &Ellison (2007)
define Social Networking sites (SNS) as "web-based services that allow
individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded
system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection,
and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary
from site to site." (p. 211). Facebook, the worlds largest SNS, integrates
communities, connections, and interactive discussions, allowing users to
become transmitters of information, subverting traditional communications
media. Today the use of Facebook in universities is beginning to incorporate
actions that were traditionally aligned with learning communities that were not
virtual. According to Clem & Junco (2015), "Facebook has been used as a
replacement or supplement to traditional Learning Management Systems
(LMSs) due to many LMSs lacking tools for social interactions and personal
profile spaces found on Facebook". With the Introduction of Facebook closed
and secret groups in 2010, the creation of closed, course-specific communities,
where only the lecturer, instructor and students constitute the group members
became possible. These self-contained communities can be used for
asynchronous and synchronous interactions in an academic course. The use of
Facebook groups also allows sharing of information, documents, pictures, links
to websites, etc. The open nature of the Facebook group (to its members only)
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provides a convenient platform for cooperative and/or collaborative learning

(Miron&Ravid, 2015).
2. Facebook for academic purposes

Many studies have demonstrated that Facebook affects all levels of students'
academic life (Mazman & Usluel, 2010). For example Ellison et al. (2007)
found that, as students entered college, they were already quite familiar with the
use of Facebook. This familiarity promotes positive behavior of students to be
more socially engaged online than they would be in a classroom. Ease of access
and familiarity lowers the barrier to participation in a virtual learning
community. According to Ziegler (2007), SNSs offer "the capacity to radically
change the educational system to better motivate students as engaged learners
rather than learners who are primarily passive observers of the educational
process" (p. 69). Studies have also reported that an increased use of Social
Media in higher education would lead to reconnecting academic institutions to
the new generations of students (Karvounidis, Chimos, Bersimis, &Douligeris,
2014).
Irwin, Ball, Desbrow, and Leveritt (2012) report in the results of their study that
the high rate of student engagement with a Facebook page suggests that this
technology could promote a collaborative and cooperative learning
environment. They also argue that continued integration of Facebook into
courses may see further benefits through enhanced student to student and
student to instructor communication, which in turn may translate to greater
learning outcomes.
Kitsis (2008) describes how she channeled her students enthusiasm for online
discussions by creating engaging electronic homework assignments. In another
example, recognizing the students enjoyment of Facebook, Romano (2009)
describes the fun teachers and students can experience in English classes.
Kabilan et al. (2010) investigate whether university students considered
Facebook as a useful and meaningful learning environment that, in turn, could
support and enhance the learning process of English. They found that while
students thought Facebook could be used to facilitate English learning, teachers
noted that Facebook had to be integrated into an educational project with pre-
determined learning objectives and outcomes to make these learning
experiences meaningful.
Mazer et al. (2007) measured motivation, affective learning, classroom climate,

and appropriateness of Facebook for a teacher, including elements of self-
disclosure. Results indicated that students looked favorably on a teachers use of
Facebook for academics. Specifically, the students considered Facebook to be a
tool that could be used to contact the instructor, and students found an
instructors use of Facebook to be beneficial, as long as instructors remained
professional and politically neutral on profile pages. Furthermore, students
encouraged teachers to provide information about their interests and looked
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positively on electronic self-disclosure by the instructor. Students valued the

professional use of Facebook by instructors to share information about their
lives and experiences.
Several studies have examined use of Facebook groups organized by institutions

and with participation from both teachers and students (e.g. Aydin 2012; Wang
et al. 2012). In many of these studies on institutional use of Facebook groups,
the groups have specifically been employed as a Learning Management Systems
(LMS), primarily managed by teachers. Studies of both Meishar-Tal, Kurtz, &
Pieterse (2012) and Wang et al. (2012) conclude that a Facebook group can
successfully be employed as an LMS. Although Wang et al. (2012) argue that
Facebook groups can serve the basic purposes of LMS, they also identified a
number of shortcomings of Facebook compared to functions of standard LMS.
On the other hand, Meishar-Tal, Kurtz, and Pieterse (2012) concluded that
Facebook groups hold certain advantages over traditional LMS.
Meishar-Tal, Kurtz, and Pieterse (2012) examined the opportunities of

Facebook groups to be utilized as a course Website, including a platform for
delivering content and maintaining interactions among the students, and
employing interactive learning activities. This study shows that students
primarily used the Facebook group for interaction with the instructors, including
task fulfillment, but that several students also found Facebook to be useful for
interaction with colleagues, including collaborative learning and mutual
support. These results are in line with Wang et al. (2012) who also highlight the
potentials of Facebook groups to distribute documents, put up announcements,
conduct online discussions, administer discussion lists, and handle assignment
posts.
III. Research method
The first research question (How do students of the English Department at the
School of Arts and Humanities in Moulay Ismail University use Facebook
groups for academic purposes?) was explored through a systematic study of the
content of the Facebook group page set up by undergraduate students of the
English department studying at the school of arts and humanities, University
Moulay Ismail, Meknes during the 2015-2016 academic year. Data collection
took place between November 2015 and January 2016.The procedure can be
best described as non-participant ethnographic research. The content of the
group page was analyzed in terms of:
- Themes discussed by the members, and
- Students' versus professors participation
The content was coded and the data labelled inductively, then these codes were
converted into emerging themes, then, similar themes were grouped under
general headings. Finally, the data was converted into figures in order to
compare the frequency of the themes.
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The second research question (What is students' perceived usefulness of these

Facebook groups?)was answered using a survey questionnaire designed for
students (see appendix). The survey consisted of 17 items. The first item sought
to determine the respondents' gender. Items 2 to 9 were designed to capture
students' Facebook uses and frequency of use. The last 8 items were designed to
explore students' perceived usefulness of the Facebook group page for academic
purposes. The survey was sent to some of my Facebook contacts. The reason for
not posting it on the group page is that more than 80% of the 10,122 members
of the group do not study at the school anymore. I wanted to make sure that my
respondents are actually studying there.
IV. Resultsand Implications

1. Answer to RQ1:
For the analysis of the Facebook page content, posts were categorized by type
of post theme of the post. The posts about course information generated the
fewest number of comments as these were all posted by the instructor and were
meant to be announcements. Most of these announcements were posted by
students as requested by their professors. The posts that posed a question to the
students generated the most comments. The most frequent themes of the posts
were (in order of frequency):
1. Trying to find colleagues from the same group (during the first month of
the semester)22%.
2. Posting/Asking about timetables of specific groups. (During the first
month of the semester) 19%.
3. Posting/Asking about professors (competence, attendance, character
)(during the first month of the semester) 16%.
4. Asking about exam content(during the last month of the semester) 14 %
5. Posting/Asking about exam schedules(during the last month of the
semester) 12%
6. Posting course content 08 %
7. Miscellaneous posts.08 %.( sharing links, videos or "relevant"
information)
Most of the posts were initiated by students (about 99 %). Professors rarely
participated on the page (3 professors including the head of the department),
and when they did, it was more frequently to answer a question or to comment a
post than to start a new one.
In general, newly enrolled students tend to ask questions that are usually
answered by senior students. This leads to two important conclusions. First,
there is a huge communication gap between faculty and students. Second,
Facebook groups considerably help in filling this gap.
2. Answer to RQ2:
100 survey questionnaires were sent privately to students on my Facebook
contacts. 87 completed surveys were collected (The response rate was 87 %).
46% of respondents stated that they used Facebook to discuss academic work
th
with other students on a daily or weekly basis and 22% on a monthly basis.
Almost 70 % of the students were therefore using Facebook for some sort of
informal academic purpose every week However, 62% of the respondents did
not perceive Facebook as beneficial to educational success (with 29 % disagree,
33 % strongly disagree).This probably reflects the fact that students login to
Facebook far more frequently for social rather than academic purposes and see
it predominately as a social tool, not an academic one. Concerning the question
about whether communicating with professors via their Facebook profiles helps
students achieve their educational goals; most respondents (65%) disagree or
strongly disagree. Yet the majority of the respondents believe that it is
important is for higher education faculty to use Facebook as a platform to
communicate with their students (41% agree, 22% strongly agree). This could
be explained by the fact that professors rarely interact with their students on
Facebook.
Interestingly, 25% of respondents believe that Facebook should be formally

integrated into the educational process of higher education whilst only 17% of
respondents reported that Facebook can have a positive impact on higher
education. These findings suggest that students use Facebook for academic
purposes as well as for other purposes (socialization, entertainment), but they
prefer to use it only informally to ask for or provide information and advice
about study-related issues.
V. Discussion and conclusion

The results of the present study have demonstrated that students are turning to
Facebook for guidance with their projects, homework assignments, or just
advice. Facebook and education can go hand and hand in a beneficial way.
When students become the stakeholders of their own learning, education will be
truly revolutionized through the effective collaboration between educators and
students, Lim (2010).
Informal learning experiences occur outside the context of formal education

settings and offer ways of engaging students in academic content without the
time constraints of the formal curriculum. While extracurricular programs and
book clubs provide opportunities for informal learning, social media offers the
additional advantages of an informal, mobile setting and less rigid time
constraints as class discussions can be held outside of regular class times. (Cain
&Policastri, 2011)
The academic community developed among students and professors could be a

powerful tool in the students learning experience, but it needs to be developed
and maintained. It is important that new technologies are incorporated into
learning and teaching only when driven by pedagogy, rather than technology for
technologys sake (McCarthy 2010).
Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook may facilitate informal

communication around classroom activities. In considering how Facebook may
th
be employed by students to support organizing within a course, there are a

number of software features that may lower the coordination costs associated
with communicating with other students to reduce equivocality about
classroom-related content. Facebook simplifies the process of managing a large
network of connections. Users are presented with multiple communication
channels, including private messages, public Wall postings, status updates,
instant messaging, groups, and applications. Therefore, it may offer expanded
opportunities to scholars for professional endeavours, transforming the ways
academics engage in teaching and research.
Rather than viewing learning as acquisition of a body of knowledge, this

perspective views learning as the process of becoming a participant in the socio-
cultural practice of scholarship through social interaction, development of
shared (or non-shared) practices, and activities within socio-cultural
environments.
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Appendix
1. what is your gender?

__ Male __ Female
2. Do you have a Facebook account?
__ yes __ No
3. How frequently do you use Facebook?
___ times a day ___ times a week
th
___ times a month

4. How much time do you spend on Facebook? ____________________ a
day
5. Are you a member of Facebook, the online social networking (OSN)
site?
__ Yes __ No
6. How often do you interact with other students from a school you
attended via its Facebook Page?
__ Never __ Once a Month __ Twice a Month
__ Once a Week __ More than 3 times a Week __ Once a Day __
More than once a Day
7. How often do you useFacebook as a medium to receive help from other
students on your assignments?
__ Once a Week__ More than 3 times a Week __ Once a Day __
8. Before you joined your schools Facebook Page, how often did you
utilize online social networks (OSNs) to communicate with classmates?
9. How often would you like your professor(s) to interact with you via an
OSN?
10. Indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following
statements
Strongly disagree = SD Disagree= D Neutral= N Agree= A Strongly agree= SA
SD D N A SA
1. Facebook is beneficial to my educational success.
2. It is important to participate in students'
Facebook groups.
3. It is important for higher education faculty to use
Facebook as a platform to communicate with
their students.
4. It is important for university students to use
Facebook to communicate with their classmates
via Facebook.
5. Facebook should be formally integrated into the
educational process of higher education.
6. Facebook helps me achieve my educational goals
7. Communicating with my professors via their
Facebook profiles helps me achieve my
educational goals
8. I think Facebook can have a positive impact on
higher education.
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Will(not) the Use of Mobile Phones1 Boost the Quality of

EFL Teaching and Learning in (the) Moroccan Universities?
Azize Kour
Abstract
The Ubiquity of smart phones in our daily lives has become an uncontested
truism. Their use ranges from personal to professional purposes in various
private and public settings. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, their use for
educational purposes in Morocco is starkly under-researched. This paper
addresses the (im)possibility of integrating smartphones in learning English in
the tertiary levels in Morocco. It seeks to answer one major question: will (not)
the use of smart phones in Moroccan universities enhance students motivation
to learn English? This paper sketches out a tentative review of the literature on
mobile learning (m-learning) in teaching/learning languages, English in
particular, around the world. A questionnaire has been devised and administered
to 100 students in two higher education computer science engineering
institutions in Rabat to investigate the issue in an attempt to unravel students
affective and attitudinal perspectives in connection with the integration of these
devices in the Moroccan classrooms.
Key words: e-learning, m-learning, EFL, attitudes, smartphones
Contextualizing the use of social media tools in Teaching and Learning

(English)
The popularity of mobile phones among learners has become a truism. Isnt it
high time we used them exponentially in education. The incorporation of smart
phones in education can be subsumed to the so-called Mobile Learning (ML)
defined as an e-learning through mobile computational devices. Generally
speaking, by mobile technology we mean all mobile devices that include
Personal Digital Assistance (PDA), digital cell phones and IPOD. These devices
are small, autonomous and unobtrusive enough to accompany us in every
moment in our everyday life, and that can be used for some form of learning
(Al Amri Kamla Suleiman, p:143). Indeed devices such as mobile phones and
MP3 players have grown to such an extent over recent years and thus are
gradually replacing personal computers in modern professional and social
contexts (Atwell & Savill-Smith, 2005) (Ismail Cakir, 2015,p. 239). Digital
education finds its full enactment in the context where digital natives
(Prensky, 2007) or the net generation (Oblinger, 2003) prime. Attwell (2005),
for instance, conducted research with participants from three countries having
designed an SMS-based course in order to motivate learners to study foreign
languages. The results displayed that the students had great improvement in
reading comprehension and increased motivation towards the target language.
(Ismail Cakir 2015, p. 242). Ismail Cakirs (2011) research carried out with
1
Despite the differences between them, this study uses mobile, cellular and smart
phones interchangeably. Almost all trendy mobile phones have inbuilt applications that
can be used for educational purposes.
th
university students who expressed their interest in mobile learning

environments and wanted to make use of mobile learning technologies if given
the opportunity is significant in this respect.
Uzunboylu and Ozdamli (2011) carried out research to illustrate attitudes

towards technology-based cooperative learning. The participants in this study
developed significantly positive attitudes towards technology at the end of the
experiment (Ismail Cakir 2015, p. 242). Nah, White and Sussex (2008) also
found that the students expressed positive attitudes to these activities; students
found the activities offered by the mobile phone to be convenient and
interactive Thornton and Houser (2005), in the same vein, carried a research
with Japanese foreign language learners targeting the use of mobile phone
functionalities such as e-mail exchange, receiving vocabulary lessons, and using
video-capable mobile phones for explaining English idioms. Saran, Cagiltay
and Seferoglus (2008) equally found that the use of mobile phones had a
positive effect on language learning. When Cavus and Ibrahim (2009) explored
the use of mobile phone in learning English vocabulary using Short Message
Servive (SMS) text messaging. Basoglu and Akdemir (2010) conducted another
study with 60 university students; they compared the effects of mobile phones
on vocabulary learning with that of flashcards.
A close exploration of this literature reveals that there are mainly two
categories: proponents and opponents of the incorporation of mobile phones in
learning languages. The first category outnumbered and outperformed the
second one. For the first group, mobile devices can be used as writing tools for
taking notes and composing essays and reports (Thornton and Houser, 2005)
(Al Amri Kamla Suleiman, p:149). Mobile phones can interestingly fine-hone
reading skills in that Learner doesnt need to check the dictionary, all they
have to do is to move the mouse to the unknown word and the engine will
translate the word for you and give you some examples.And you can also put
the new words in your personal memo list to review them in a fast way. And the
translation function can help you better understand the meaning of the whole
sentence. These functions will speed up your reading ability (Yi-Sheng Yu,
Yu-Ying Lin 2013, p. 190)
Accoding to Abdellatif Zoubeir (ELT Supervisor) Moroccan schools are in dire

need of the integration of mobile apps in EFL context because:
In-class instruction time is insufficient
Almost all students have a cellphone
Most phones include built-in apps
More apps are downloadable
Students use cell phones more than computers
Mobiles promote practice anywhere anytime
Mobile apps benifit EFL learners in many ways. They:
Support learning, enhance autonomy, promote authentic communication
and collaboration
th
Reduce the gap between the classroom and the outside world
Allow more practice and exposure time to the target language
Provide control over ones learning (Ss choose when and how to learn)
It helps learners to remain more focused for longer periods.
it helps raise self-esteem and self-confidence (Attwell, 2004)
Opposers posit that smart phones are a a source of irritation, delinquency and
even crime. (Katz, n.d. P. 92) (Al Amri Kamla Suleiman, p:144) and that
using mobiles in the classroom would end up causing more distractions and
they just interrupt teaching (cited in Katz p. 94) (Al Amri Kamla Suleiman,
p:144). Kiernan and Aizawa (2004) believe that modern phones with photo and
video functions are not very obviously useful for foreign language learning
as it is moving from verbal to visual forms of communication. They have found
in terms of the limitations of mobile as a learning tool such as economy of
words , quality of language that can be seen and also limited message
length (P.80)
There are plenty of apps in App Store (iOs) and Play Store which provide
learners with interactive games, quizzes, dictionaries, podcasts.These apps turn
ones mobile phone into 24/7 English language instructor namely:
Dictionary.com (offline)
English Grammar in Use (based on the worlds best-selling grammar
book by Raymond Murphy (it isnt free)
Hangman: Standard English words as well as IELTS and TOEFL
vocabulary. It interactively supports two-player mode (free)
Learn English Grammar (4 levels from beginner to advanced
60-second word challenge: vocab quizz (free)
Mobile Air Mouse: once you have the software installed on the main
computer in your classroom, you can present powerpoint or allows
students that have this application on their mobiles to take control of
the computer. That allows them to write or draw on the board and
interact with learning material without leaving their seats (free)
English Idioms Illustrated: the secret of over 160 beautifully
illustrated English idioms. (free)
Big City: Big City Small World is another British council audio soap
for learners of English (set in London) in which a group of young
people from around the world share their lives over a cup of coffee. The
application consists of 48 episodes to listen to, with a tape script to read
while you listen (free)
Duolingo: it structures lesson as a skill tree with skill points
achievements for tracking progress
Lingua.ly: language learning and vocabulary tool that tries to turn web
content into language-learning opportunities
Johnny Grammars Word Challenge: little quiz application that tests
spelling, grammar and vocabulary
th
Speaking Pal English Tutor: a highly interactive app that helps

improve English by using ones devices voice recognition technology
to simulate a voice call with a native English speaker to improve
spoken English and pronunciation (yet the free version offers only 16
levels from more than 100 levels)
My Word Book 2: interactive vocabulary notebook app flashcards
containing pictures, sounds and sentencesextra-activities: a quick
word review feature, the ability to create ones flashcards
Busuu: like a social network for learning languages offering more than
150 topics, 3000words and phrases
Fun Easy Learn English: a vocabulary app with more than 6000
words in its database including seven different games to learn English.
It has a Spin Categories function that chooses random topic,
subtopic and a game for you (its offline)
Phrasalstein: phrasal verbs. This app is designed like a classic horror
movie and has 100 phrasal verbs that will teach us through humorous
animations. It provides meanings and example sentences and
translations
The Case Study:
The prime objective of this study is to disclose students attitudes regarding the
use of smart phones in learning/teaching English at the university level in
Morocco. The study was conducted during the academic year 2015-2016 in two
engineering schools in Rabat. The target population of the study comprised 100
university students who kindly and enthusiastically answered the questions in
the questionnaire administered. All the questions were close-ended . The Data
collected using a questionnaire is quantified and converted into graphs. The
concern in this paper emanates from the assumption that students attitudes
towards mobile phone in language learning and the challenges they face in
Morocco have been, to the best of my knowledge, under-researched. The
current study, therefore, seeks to explore and understand this area more, better
and further aiming at the fulfillment of two major objectives:
To investigate students perceptions, problems and attitudes with regard
to the use of smart phones in EFL context
To find out whether/how students use their mobile phones in learning
EFL
These two objectives along with the rationale of the study stipulate the attempt
to respond to three main questions:
Do(nt) computer engineering students use their mobile phones to
enhance their learning of EFL?
Does (nt) the use of these mobile devices affect their motivation to
learn English?
How do these students perceive of the integration of mobile phones in
EFL teaching and learning?
th
The study utilized a quantitative methodology. A questionnaire was designed

and administered to 100 participants The data were processed and
descriptively analyzed bringing about the following findings:
Fig 1 Fig 2
More than half (66%) of the respondents were males, while females constituted
almost 34%. These figure, to my mind, cannot wholly or partly confirm or
disconfirm the gender-b(i)ased allegation that boys opt for technical subjects
more than girls. It is observably revealing to note that an overwhelming
majority own a mobile phone when only 1% of the respondents does not
possess one.
Fig 3 Fig 4
It is noticeable that more than a half of the participants in the study affirm their
use of the mobile phone in learning English when an equal number point out
that they either dont use them or are not sure whether or not they intentionally
make use of these devices for EFL learning purposes (Fig 3). The apparent
indecision on the part of the respondents in fig 3 should be pit against their
willingness to have these digital tools be part and parcel in the EFL teaching
and learning so much so that almost three thirds believe that mobile phones
should be availed for pedagogical purposes in EFL context (Fig 4)
th
Fig 5 Fig 6
The possibility to use mobile phones in learning EFL is highly welcomed by the
participants. Only two students expressed their reluctance with regard to the
utility of mobile phones to the teaching/learning operation of EFL (Fig 5). Half
the students involved in the study sometimes purposefully use mobile phone in
their leraning of EFL when a considerable one-third posited that they rarely
resort to theses digital devices for learning purposes (Fig 6).
Fig 7 Fig 8
Ninety students confirm their frequent use of mobile phones to check the
meaning and pronunciation (68 participants) of unfamiliar words. An important
number interestingly claim targeting communication skills in their use of
mobile phones to learn English (Fig 7). Students indecison and reluctance vis--
vis various aspects of the incorporation of smart phones in learning English find
echo in legal explanation in that an overwhelming majority expressed their
school laws clear and firm forbidding of any potential use of mobile phones at
school. No wonder that a minestrial memorandum stricly disallows any tacit or
clear use of these devices mainly during regional and national exams at high
school levels (Fig 8).
Fig 9 Fig 10
th
The EFL community having always pioneered in implementing educational

novel theories and approaches, students believe, find its enactment in the
assumption that some teachers of English (have) allowed and encourged
students to make use of their mobile phone during in-class learning activities.
Yet, a fair number of practitioners still resist and negate any utility of these
devices in the teaching/learning enterprise (Fig 9). Two thirds of the students
involved contend that the permission to use their mobile phones in the EFL
context will undoutedly motivate them to be engaged in their learning. One
third, however, is not sure whether or not their motivation will be energised and
enlivened by the unconditional incorporation of mobile phones in teaching and
learning English as a foreign language (Fig 10).
Fig 11 Fig 12
The aforementioned contention is confirmed in the agreement of more than one

third of respondents that the use of mobile phones in the classroom can improve
the quality and the effectiveness of learning English in Morocco. Another one
third, on the other hand, is neutral concerning the link to be drawn between
mobile phones and the quality of EFL teaching and learning when twelve of
them expressed their disagreement with the assumption that mobile phones, and
by extension any digital tool, will boost the quality of education in the EFL
context( Fig 11). The majority of the respondents approve the premise that the
use of mobile phones can be very effective in enhancing the quality of EFL
teaching and learning. Yet, almost 20 of them expressed their neutrality with
regard to (not) using these digital devices in education (Fig 12).
Fig 13 Fig 14
th
The use of mobile phones to target which language skill generates divergent
responses from the participants. 76 of them use them for reading purposes when
57 for listening and more than one-third for writing and importantly 12 students
avail them for the four skills (Fig 13). Any attempt at the incorporation of ICTs
in education cannot proceed without bringing about serious (at varying degrees)
problems. Phone ringing and insidious misuse in watching videos or playing
games are deemed to be the major potential side effects of any integration or use
of smart phones in EFL teaching/learning methods and techniques (Fig 14).
Conclusion
This paper has endeavoured to explore the (im)possibility of integrating smart
phones in Learning EFL in the Moroccan university level. It has concluded that
students express their motivation and willingness to avail these digital tools in
their learning, and by implication incite teachers to start implementing these
tools in their teaching techniques and activities on a daily basis. The merits of
these devices for eduaction are enticingly promising and worthwhile. It can be
recommended, in the final analysis, that overcoming the challenges to be
potentially encountered in the use of smart phones in learning EFL entails pre-
service and inservice experiential and academic training in the content (the
what) and the methodology (the how) of using these tools and their inbuilt
digital applications in teaching English. Teachers ought to sensitize and support
their students regarding the use of mobile by explaining the benefits of mobile
phones in teaching and learning. This study would have been deeper if a bigger
number of respondents had been involved in it. The sample of 100 students in
Rabat can, by no means, represent all Moroccan students standpoints in
connection with the implementation of smart phones in EFL classrooms. It
might have been equally worthier if the study focused on some specific mobile
apps and experimentally (dis)confirm their utility for learning and teaching.
Importantly, teachers perceptions and problems were not addressed. These
three limitations imply that the area of research is a very fertile and promising in
the Moroccan academic spheres.
References
The Use of Mobile Phones in Learning English Language by Sultan
Qaboos University Students: Practices, Attitudes and Challenges
AlAmri, Kamla Suleiman Canadian Journal on Scientific and
Industrial Research Vol. 2, No. 3, March 2011.
The Evaluation of Use the Mobile Phone Learning English in Taiwan
Yi-Sheng Yu, Yu-Ying Lin et al International Journal of Information
and Education Technology, Vol. 3, No. 2, April 2013.
Opinions and Attitudes of Prospective Teachers for the Use of Mobile
Phones in Foreign langauge Learning , Ismail Cakir Contemporary
Educational Technology, 2015, 6 (3), 239-255
Abdellatif Zoubeir Using Mobile Applications to Promote English
Language Learning IST Workshop, March 2016 accessed at www.
slideshare.com
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http://www.englishforums.com/content/resources/top-mobile-apps-for-
learning-english.htm
www.honkiat.com/blog/mobile-apps-learn-english
Appendix
Here are students responses with regard to the potential problems and their
additional comments on the incorporation of smart phones in EFL teaching and
learning:
What problems do you face in your use of mobile phones at school?
(mistakes in these answers are intentionally left uncorrected to reflect the
authenticity of students viewpoints)
No listen teacher, the first problem
Dependence
Troubling/loss of concentration
Problem with the teacher
The teachers take our mobiles until the end of seance
Connection/ no network/ Wifi/ lack of access to internet/ We havnt
Wifi to navigate/ No internet connection/ in the lack of internet
Some teachers doesnt agree to use the phone in school
Teachers take our mobile phones in the classroom
We cant use phone in class
Like ringing all time
The phone is prohibited at our institution
Abcence of electricity sector in some classrooms
Deconcentrate and create a perturbation in classroom
Some teachers cant be able to understand phones for learning
It seems to me that teachers today have become afraid of mobile phones
and dont even think about a way to use them positively
I am not allowed to use it at school:-p
Its prohibited
I use it but without the teacher notice
None (2)/no problems (3)/I dont face any problems/ I face no problems
It disturbs me
Personnaly, I dont use it very match at school except in break time, so
no problems/ I dont use my phone in the classroom/ I dont use in
school so I dont have problems
I have not the permission to use it at classroom/ We dont have always
the permission to use mobile phone at school/ The taechers dont allow
us to use phones at school/ Teachers rejection
We are not allowed to use mobile phones in classrooms
Teacher
Distraction (3)/ I get distracted from the teachers course (?)/I cant pay
attention to the teacher/ dont concentrate/ It kills the concentration at
class/ you cant constration/ Lacke of focussing on cours
Some teachers dont accept that
th
No inspect laws
Some teachers not allow to use mobile phone in the classroom
Teachers permission (2)/ We dont have a permission to use our
mobile phone in the school/ Permissions of professors/ We dont have
the permission to use it in the classroom
Being afraid of the teachers reaction if he catches you using it
Low battery
Some teachers dont trust that some students use their mobile phone in
the classroom for improving their knowledge level
Sometimes the teacher tell us to shut down our phones at the beginning
We usually hear the famous sentence the use of mobile phones is
forbidden at school
Using mobile phone is kind of breaking the law in school; the teacher
may punish you
Peronaly I dont face any problems because I know how to use it
appropriately
The rules of our school forbed the use of mobile at all the classes/ Its
forbidden (2)/ We are not allowed to use them/ Since mobile phones are
not allowed within class premises, none
The fear that a teacher might take away your phone and file a report
against you
Playing games
None, I can use it whenever I want to
The teachers restriction
Use other applications
No problem because I have a modest phone
The teachers discourage the use of mobile phone in class/ The
teachers disagreement or sometimes be suspended from attending the
course
I cant think of any particular problem
Teachers dont accept it, they have a very old behaviour as if they were
afraid of something.
Additional comments/suggestions:
Google traduction (3)
Application Duolingo/ Evernote/ Dictionary app/ Website of e-learning/
Some applications that helps learning in general: khan academy,
udemy, udacity, coursera; for learning languages: Duolingo/ A mobile
application: Duolingo is a fun app to learn not only English but a lot of
other languages/ There are application that helps reading books using
phone such as adobe Reader/ Duolingo is the best application for
smartphone to learn foreign language/ application: Book one/ The
application that I use mostly to learn English are: Google traduction,
Quora (for reading and writing English articles), English (a computer
english dictionnary)
th
Thats good to use the mobile phone to learning English but just if
wanna to learn, not playing or something
I feel that reading fun articles are a great way to improve English level
It has to be interactive
Technology is a good way for a good learning such as mobile phone
An efficace application: learnenglish- engrid
We can use the Airplane mode to stop all kind of destraction
Its important for us as engenier to develop applications for helping
students in their studies
Phones are useful if used to improve english, but sometimes its
distracting in boring classes
I see that English can be teached by using smart phones and it must be
teached in this way
May Morocco do as Turkey does and make education deeply based on
the use of smartphones
I think that we dont need to study english in school and university. Its
hard to study other language.
The teachers should be aware that our generation is different and should
use the techonlogy advantages to improve their educational methods
Using mobile phone in Morocco will demand a lot of effort from the
whole ministry like that teachers should be really aware of anything
concerning technical side. Moreover, it should afford true ex.
appropriate material to macth the whole connected. Finally people
should be aware of all the benifits of that use
I suggest to encouraged student to use a dictionary in there sellphone
because I personaly used it and seems good
Mobile phone is just a tool. It depends on our motivation to use it well
or not.
If mobile is to used in english education. It had to be watched from any
possible distraction
I think the mobile phone is not the best way to learn english but
watching some documentaries or movies in your laptop is better
We have to try this idea and after we can make a decision about using
mobile phone in learning English
To learn a language we have to practice it and communicate by it every
day, and the cellphone is our main speaker and communicer in the day
I think that using mobile phones to learn foreign languages may help by
creating an interactive interface. However, using phones in the
classroom may not be effective due to the distraction and dependence it
can cause
I disagree with the use of mobile phones in the classroom since I think
it would be distractin) but if student want on themselves and use them
out of their own choice, I think its gonna be a great thing.
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Project-Based Learning (PBL): Enhancing High School

Students Cultural Knowledge and Language Skills
Asmaa Bouchouk
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Sais, Fes
Abstract
The ever-growing need of teachers for improving their students achievements
has resulted in a number of different approaches to teaching. Project-Based
Learning is one of the instructional methods that encourage learning through
projects. This approach to teaching entails learners to actively investigate
significant content and develop skills that are essential in solving a specific
problem (Bender, 2012; Robert, Capraro, Morgan, 2013; Markham, 2015).
Although no one denies the fact that implementing PBL is challenging and
demanding for both teachers and learners, (Veermans, Lallimo, and
Hakkarainen, 2005; Clark, 2006; Gran, Hill, 2006), the role of PBL in teaching
and learning process remains prominent and continue to be used in many ELT
contexts.
This paper examines how Capstone projects offer learners an opportunity to

document their exploration and expand their understanding of the culture of the
community they live in. Also, this papers main goal is to explore the impact of
implementing such projects on the process of learning, and the extent to which
this approach can increase or decrease students motivation and eagerness to
learn. The participants of this study are sixteen American high school students
who are enrolled at NSLIY and YES Abroad programs. Interview was the major
instrument that is used for collecting the data. The study also investigates the
challenges that Moroccan high school teachers encounter when implementing
PBL into their classes. To achieve this goal a questionnaire was used to elicit
the information needed. The questionnaire was submitted to 28 Moroccan high
school teachers from different Moroccan cities.
This study is beneficial in that it encourages Moroccan high school teachers to

integrate Project-Based Learning into their classrooms and allow their students
develop and deepen their understanding about their culture and identity as well
as about the culture of the target language.
Key words: Project Based Learning, Capstone projects, Teaching, Learning,
EFL.
Introduction
The history of teaching approaches and methods has recognized prominent
changes and adjustments. These changes considered learners need. An example
of this is demonstrated in the shift from focusing on developing learners
writing skills to developing learners speaking proficiency.
The origins of Project-based Learning go back to the experiential learning,

which is the process of learning through experience. Learning in this case is
based on observation and interaction. Experiential learning was developed by
Kolob (1985) who focused on the work of the pioneers of experiential education
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such as John Dewey, Kurt Lewin theories and Jean Piagets model of
development.
Educationalists and instructors testimony of the great significance of

experiential learning, hands- on learning, which is regarded as one of the forms
of experiential learning though it does not necessitate learners to reflect on their
product, and student- directed learning in the process of teaching and learning
can be considered as one step forward towards valuing the prominent role of
students engagement in the process of learning, arranged field trips, workshops
etc.
The evolution of PBL has been the outcome of a number of reasons. It was a
result of the enlargement in the field of research that is related to the process of
teaching and learning, more specifically; to how learning takes place.
Researchers center of attention focused on how learning is somehow tied to
context and social activities. Educators confirm through a number of
experimental studies that learning takes place when learners are invited to
actively accomplish and perform activities that enable them to apply what they
know in order to develop skills to investigate, interpret, analyze Researchers
also show the positive effect of problem solving and how beneficial it is for
learners. It has become a fact that instructors have to acclimatize to the
requirements of this century. Unlike ancient times when learners needed to
develop their writing and the focus was on knowledge and accuracy, currently
learners are not satisfied with knowledge only. With the invasion of technology
Knowledge is everywhere, and searching for information is no more a problem.
Instead learners have to develop their skills as well as learn to solve problems.
Knowledge alone is not sufficient anymore. Instead, learners need ,besides that,
to enhance skills like collaboration, communication abilities, planning etc.
Project- based learning is generally regarded as an approach to language

teaching. It has been defined by many scholars and instructors and thus has
numerous definitions but no universal one. To understand project-based
learning first we have to agree on a definition of project. According to Lenz,
Wells (2015), Kingston project can be defined as an act of creation over time
(p.67). Sylvia Chard defines project as an in-depth investigation of a real-
world topic worthy of childrens attention and effort. (Curtis, 2002, p. 50)
Curtis (2005) also approves of the three-phased approach to projects which
are an initial discussion of the topic or the issue of the project, fieldwork and
data collection, and finally the phase of presenting the project to an audience.
(Welsh, 2006) Given its importance there is an urgent need to sharpen and
clarify our definition of project-based learning. Buck Institute of Learning (BIE)
(2003), an organization whose priority is to grant teachers of all levels the
information they need in order to successfully integrate PBL into their
classrooms, defines PBL as the systematic teaching method that engages
students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process
structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products
and tasks. (Luisa & Caado, 2013) Thus, PBL develops learners problem
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solving skills (such as: analyzing, synthesizing, comprehending, evaluating,

collaboration, leadership) and this method ends up with a final product that
can be presented to a specific audience. The problems that students are exposed
to are changeable depending on many aspects (time, space). Thomas et al.
(1999) maintain that the need for education to adapt to a changing world is
the primary reason Problem Based Learning is increasingly popular. Project
Based Learning is an attempt to create new instructional practices that reflect
the environment in which children now live and learn. And, as the world
continues to change, so does our definition of Project Based Learning. (Cited
in: Gerlach, 2008 p.43)
In Project Based Learning (PBL), students go through an extended process of

inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. While
allowing for some degree of student "voice and choice," rigorous projects are
carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students learn key academic
content, practice 21st Century Skills (e.g. collaboration, communication &
critical thinking), and create high-quality, authentic products & presentations.
(Keengwe, 2015, p.13) Project- Based Learning is, therefore, a teaching
approach that organizes learning through projects and of course a variety of
other activities leading to an end result such as presentation or publication of the
outcomes of such projects. Using PBL allows students to become engaged in
complex, real-life issues and they are expected to expand, develop, and relate
the skills and knowledge they learned in a variety of contexts. Also,
implementing BPL into teaching plays a central role in the shift to focus on both
learners and the process of learning instead of teachers and, therefore, it
contributes to the shift from teacher centered approach to learner centered
approach.
It could be assumed that project-based learning, which emerged in the last

decades, persists in the present period as the dominant model in the teaching
domain. Although many researchers such as (Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Donnelly
& Fitzmaurice, 2005 Stauffacher et al., 2006; Joyce et al. 2013) observed many
challenges that teachers may encounter while adopting it in their classrooms, its
benefits have remained largely undeniable. A huge number of researchers (e.g.
Stoller, 1997; Fried-Booth, 2002; Beckett & Slater, 2005; Beckett & Miller
2006) concurred that BPL is an effective means of teaching in general and
teaching languages in specific.
Motivating learners has a prominent role in encouraging students to use various

types of learning strategies that can facilitate greater skills in language learning.
(Oxford & Nyikos, 1989; Griffiths, 2008) Project-Based Learning is proven to
have both motivation and learning benefits. Many practitioners and
educationalists (e.g. Bartscher et al., 1995; Liu & Hasaio, 2002; Curtis, 2005;
Beckett & Miller, 2006; Larmer, Mergendoller & Boss, 2015) advocate that
PBL has a significant role in enhancing learners motivation and eagerness to
learn. Larmer, Mergendoller & Boss (2015), demonstrate that BPL involves
four main factors that are proven to promote learners motivation. The first
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factor is that Project-Based Learning invites learners to work in groups and

collaboratively, the activity of working with other colleagues according to
Blumenfeld et al. (1991) increases students motivation. The second factor is
that through PBL learners have the chance to make their own choices and
decisions. The third factor is the fact that PBL stresses originality and
authenticity in performing a task to end up with a unique product that can be
presented publicly. These last two factors were approved by Brophy (2013) to
have great influence in augmenting learners motivation. Lastly, through PBL
students experience new interesting and exciting things that encourages them to
be innovators while addressing the questions/ problems they are provided with.
Also, PBL is an instructional strategy that enables students to learn meaningful

content and practice skills needed for the current century success. According to
Rost (2013) PBL contributes to developing learners language skills in the sense
that instructors assign project tasks that end up with a product. The addressed
questions, however, are prepared on the basis of the skills that are needed to be
developed. Another positive aspect of this approach to teaching is that learners
as Bell & Garofalo (2005) state become the owners of new knowledge as they
defend their positions to their peers and others. Gaining knowledge by making
connections with prior experience in a social setting remains with students
(p.23) The classroom activities that are suggested following this approach to
teaching also imply new roles in the classroom for both teachers and learners.
PBL cannot be implemented to teacher-centered classes. There is a strong
necessity to shift from teacher centered classes to learner centered classrooms
which necessitates students independence and autonomy. (Beckett & Miller,
2006) In this case, the teacher is no more a teacher but rather a facilitator whose
job is to guide his students and to help them develop their own questions and
research strategies to facilitate learning. Learners are responsible for their own
learning.
Research Instruments/Methods and Participants

The participants in this study were American native speakers 1 male and 14
females; their age ranges between 15 and 17 years old. The participants are high
school students who enrolled in Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program
sponsored by The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program
grants scholarships for a number of high school students who have a record of
high academic achievement, to spend at least one academic year in a host
country. These students live with Moroccan host families, attend high schools,
and participate in various activities. The main purpose of such programs is to
encourage students to build a comprehensive understanding of the host
countrys culture, develop leadership skills and at the same time serve as
cultural ambassadors for their home countries by representing their own
heritage in their host communities. Also, the programs aim is to enhance
students flexibility and commitment to promoting cross cultural understanding.
At the end of the program each individual is required to accomplish a research

project referred to as Capstone Project. Students are free in their choice of
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topic as long as it is associated with a specific aspect of Moroccan culture.

Students are encouraged to choose a topic about which they are truly passionate
even though it seems hard they get support in every step of the process. In this
way, they could become invested in it rather than doing it because it is due.
Interests are diverse and students usually tend to give more effort and work
harder when they are interested in a project rather than working on an imposed
topic. Each student discusses his/her choice with his/her Moroccan Culture and
Society professor and later submits a proposal in which they are obliged to
generate a preliminary outline along with projected dates, to follow up on their
progress, and waits for approval. Students are then encouraged to find
remarkable and interesting ways to present their projects. They are able to use
videos, photo essays, blogs, books, or social media pages etc. Also, they are
welcomed to present their projects at the end of the year to the US Embassy.
The goal is to encourage them to invest in and gain knowledge about their host
country.
An interview was conducted in order to gain in-depth information about the

attitudes and perceptions of students, who were exposed to Capstone projects,
towards working on projects. The interview also sought to investigate the extent
to which Capstone projects enhance the students cultural knowledge and
language skills. 15 American high school students participated in a semi-
structured interview. A semi-structured interview is open and allows new
information and ideas to be brought up during the process of interviewing the
participants. The interviewing process took about 25 to 30 minutes.
Another research instrument that was used in this research paper is a

questionnaire submitted to Moroccan High School students. The main purpose
behind this questionnaire was to have an idea about some of the challenges that
teachers face when implementing PBL into their classrooms. 28 Moroccan high
school teachers participated in this study.
Findings and Discussion

The aim behind this study was to investigate the extent to which implementing
PBL influences students cultural knowledge and language skills as well as the
challenges that Moroccan high school teachers face when adopting this method.
As Figure 1 indicates all the participants (100%) confirmed their satisfaction
and approval of working on projects. They talked about their experiences with
delight.
100%
Did you enjoy
50% this
experience?
0%
Yes No
Figure 1: American high school students attitudes towards Capstone projects
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According to the interviewees answers, projects that were undertaken were

different in their nature. Here are some of the issues they tackled: Religious
tolerance in Morocco as implemented by the government and shown by the
people, Moroccan bread, Rap music as a form of social protest amongst Rabati
youth, Moroccan Hammams, Pottery in Morocco. Concerning the question of
how much time it takes each one to complete his/her project. Most of the
respondents declare that it takes about 3 to 4 months and that they need about
10 hours of work a week.
Concerning the things that they learned from doing projects, the students
answers vary. Their answers were associated with their research topics.
Following are some of the answers:
I have been able to utilize my business studies at school and my knowledge of
Moroccan culture to really delve into an ancient facet of the culture. I have also
learned lots of Darija along the way and have been lucky to learn about the
fascinating lives of women in the hammam.
I learned about religious tolerance and what constructs from peoples
tolerance. I am also learning about Islam and Morocco
Focusing on the topic of bread, which seems very simple, allowed me to delve
in deeper into the complexities of Moroccan culture.
I have learned the history of pottery in Morocco, how pottery affects the
Moroccan economy, the difference in pottery by religion, and the process of
making Tagines and other pots in Morocco.
Their answers demonstrate that they learned a lot from doing projects. The
things they learned cannot be reached at schools or other in educational
institutions.
Additionally, respondents in this study disclosed that they developed many

skills when working on their projects. They stated that they developed their
interviewing and valuable research skills, how to manage their time,
interpersonal skills (life skills that each individual develops and uses in
everyday life to communicate and interact with others). Respondents also
asserted that they had a chance to enhance their presenting and writing skills.
Moreover, many of the interviewees confirmed that through doing this project
they had a great opportunity to enhance their speaking abilities either in
Darija or in French when seeking for the information needed. Some of the
respondents maintain that this experience helped them develop their personality
and gain confident when talking to strangers. Here is a sample of answers: I
am generally an introvert, so having to go out and speak to people and conduct
research pushed me out of my comfort zone, and also made me more
comfortable with talking to strangers and random shopkeepers.
Getting good at reaching out to strangers and asking to interview them
The interviewees also had a chance to share what they like about this
experience. Here are some of the answers thy provided:
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The chance to talk to all sort of people and to research/discuss a topic I am

passionate about.
I like how much freedom we are given with our Capstone Project. It allows us
to reflect on what we have learned in our first semester in Morocco, and gives
us a reason to focus even more on a part of the culture that interests us most.
I really liked being able to go to many hammams and seeing how each one is
unique. I love the culture of the Hammam and how it is a way of socializing
with your community.
I like the openness and flexibility of the project. I am able to choose what I
research and how I want to present my research and so on.
All the answers were optimistic and show positive sides of PBL and its
effectiveness.
Participants also asserted that their project contributed to enhancing their

language (target language) abilities. Here is a sample of their answers:
I haven't finished my project yet, but I hope to make my presentation in
French. Doing this would force me to refine my French-speaking skills and
practice more often.
I am doing most of the interviews and research as well as the presentation in
French. This forces me to use and practice French and gain confidence in the
language
Some of my interviewees didn't speak English so I had to conduct my
interviews in Arabic which were great practice
This project helped me because going to the hammam, everyone only speaks
Darija. In order to communicate what I needed, I needed to be able to
communicate well in Darija, which I have been able to do over time.
I rely heavily on my AMIDEAST language partner to help me conduct
interviews with potters because most of them only speak Darija. However my
capstone project is being written in French and English and that is improving
my written French abilities.
Existing discussions of implementation of PBL in the classroom are supportive

to the results mentioned above, and provide factual information about its
benefits. Coy (2009) maintains that PBL has a major role in improving learners
competencies like time management, responsibility, creativity, team work, and
autonomy. Also, Beckett & Miller (2006) affirm that PBL is one way to
promote both language and content learning. In addition, many researchers (e.g.
Brron, 1998; Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Breault & Breault, 2005) approve that
PBL aims to engage students in the investigation of real-life problems and
develop students creativity, problem-solving skills, and lifelong learning.
(Cited in Beckett & Miller, 2006)
Moroccan high school teachers also took part in this study. The purpose was to
identify some of the challenges that discourage and prevent Moroccan teachers
from integrating PBL into their classrooms. The main four reasons that most
teachers criticized were: the issue of time, students attitudes towards
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collaborative learning, issues of reliability and the students different styles of

learning.
Overall, regardless of its great advantages, the actual implementation of PBL in

any classroom raises several questions. It is evident from Figure: 2 that (65%)
of the participants thought that students attitudes towards collaborative learning
create a serious challenge for teachers when using PBL. These teachers believe
that a number of students for some reason may not favor working in groups and
this might affect their progress. A number of researchers (e.g. Lehman et al.,
2006; Garcia& Rose, 2007; Scigliano, 2011) raised this issue and assert that the
Lack of collaboration or when members among the group might not support
their team members may create serious problem when using PBL in the class.
Results also indicate that (20%) of the participants assume that students
different learning styles and tendencies can affect the flow of learning
especially if theyre involved in group work.
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Figure 2: Moroccan high school teachers attitudes about the limitations of PBL
Figure: 2 also demonstrates that (54%) of the participants presumed that PBL
raises the matter of reliability especially when students are working in groups. It
is harder for teachers to assess their students, since some members of a group
may probably work harder than others, while some students may rely on their
colleagues to do the entire work. To avoid such a problem, and to guarantee that
all students have contributed to the project, researchers have provided a number
of guidelines and suggestions for teachers (e.g. assigning each individual with a
specific role). Finally, (78%) of participants agreed that PBL is time demanding.
Teachers will have to spend much time forming groups, explaining the task etc.
These results go hand in hand with many researches (e.g. Ladewski, Krajcik,
&Harvey 1994; Sahin, 2015) which conclude that teachers criticize PBL as
being unrealistic because implementing it in the classroom consumes a great
deal of time.
Implications for high school teachers

This study proves that PBL has an immense effect in improving learners
language skills and cultural knowledge. As the study reveals, the participants
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enjoyed working on projects and at the same time they seized the opportunity to
learn novel things about their host culture. Also, they expressed how this
experience helped them develop their language skills (Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
and French); as well as their communication abilities and interaction with other
people and so many other skills that can be of great assistance to them in their
daily life.
Moroccan high school teachers, thus, have to encourage their students to learn
about their own culture and motivate them to tackle issues related to their own
traditions and culture to be investigated. Students then can be requested to end
up with a concrete product, which can be presented publically in the target
language. In this case, teachers will kill two birds with one stone in the sense
that 1) teachers will ensure that their students are enlarging their own cultural
awareness and identity. And 2)The final product which has to be in the English
language is a great opportunity for learners to boost and refine various skills
such as delivering presentations publicly, have an open discussion; which is a
great opportunity to develop speaking skills or prepare a written report to
improve their writing skills.
Also, there is an urgent need for sponsored activities to raise their awareness of
the importance of such new trends of teaching and enroll them in training.
These meetings are an opportunity to share their experiences and discuss the
problems they encounter in order to find reasonable and adequate solutions.
Finally, organizing competitions can be of great effect on students, since it

increases their motivation and eagerness. Teachers can make a competition of
the best project in an institution. The event might involve many other activities.
Further research
This study is a start to revealing the educational prospective gained from the
implementation of PBL into the learning and teaching process. A number of
unanswered questions need to be addressed and tackled in an attempt to
overcome all the pitfalls of PBL and to get over the challenges that teachers
encounter when adopting this approach into their classrooms.
Conclusion
To wrap up, PBL has given the process of teaching a new appeal. Thus, it is not
surprising that many universities and high schools are attempting to include it
within their programs. It is apparent from the findings of this study and of many
others that project-based learning has a focal role in enhancing learners'
language skills as well as raising their cultural awareness of a specific culture if
it is used appropriately. However, the implementation of PBL in the Moroccan
context remains questionable since many teachers admit that they faced many
challenges that create serious problems and require further action on their part
to overcome.
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References
Beckett, G., Miller, P. (2006). Project-based Second and Foreign Language

Education: Past, Present, and Future. Reseach in Second Language
Learning. Information Age Publishing. United States of America.
Bell, R. & Garofalo, J. (2005). Science Units for Grades 9-12. International
Society for Technology in Education. (ISTE).Eugene, Oregon
Coy, M. (2009). Practical Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching and
Learning. PETER LANG. Germany
Curtis, D. (2002). The power of projects. Educational leadership. 60(1), 50
Dixon, Nancy M.; Adams, Doris E.; Cullins, Richard (1997). Learning Style.
Assessment, Development, and Measurement
Gerlach, D. (2008).Project-based Learning as a Facilitator of Self-regulation in
a Middle School Curriculum. University of Pittsburgh.
Griffiths, C (2008). Lessons from Good Language Learners. Cambridge
University Press.
Keengwe, J. (2015). Promoting Active Learning through the Integration of
Mobile and Ubiquitous Technologies. University of North Dakota,
USA.
Lamer, J.; Mergendoller, J; & Boss, S. (2015). Setting the Standard for Project
Based Learning. ASCD
Lenz, B., Wells, J., Kingston S., (2015). Transforming Schools Using
Project-Based Deeper Learning, Performance Assessment, and
Common Core Standards. United States of America. Published by:
Jossey-Bass. A Wiley Brand.
Luisa, M. & Caado, P. (2013). Competency-based Language Teaching in
Higher Education. Springer Science & Business Media. London
Rost, M. (2013). Listening in Language Learning. Routledge. New York and
London
The University of Texas at Tyler Innovation Academy, (2014). Retrieved from:
http://www.uttia.org/about/project-based-learning/
Welsh, J. (2006). An Exploration of Project-Based Learning in Tow California
Charter Schools.
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Facilitating Critical Thinking through Collaborative Online Learning

Saad Eddine Akhajam
PhD student Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdelah University, Fes
Abstract
Nowadays, we live in an era when most students are technology-oriented. There
have been a number of studies which demonstrate that technology use in
language learning and teaching continues to grow. So, its integration in the
learning process is a must, and it should facilitate deep learning and critical
thinking skills. Gee (2003) proved that students are greatly fascinated by
information and communication technology and rely heavily on it. In this
regard, collaborative online learning is the use of technological tools that help
students to work in a group with meaningful learning interactions between each
other. All in all, the paper will shed light on the steps to follow so that we can
improve students critical thinking skills through collaborative online learning.
Key words: Critical thinking; Collaborative online learning; Technology
1. General background
Historically, language learning went through a long process marked by different
theories of learning, from behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism,
intercultural competence to humanistic approach. All these theories paved the
ground to some methods of teachings like Grammar translation method (GTM),
Audio-lingual method, Communicative language teaching ( CLT) and task
based approach (TBA). Vygotsky as a psychologist is the pioneer of the Zone of
Proximal Development (1987) which means how a learner can do independently
and what he/she is capable of doing with the target assistance. Vygotsky (1978)
confirmed that students are capable of performing at higher intellectual levels
when asked to work in collaborative situations than asked to work individually.
Therefore, working in collaboration is very effective in terms of students
output and it helps to develop their critical thinking skills. However, critical
thinking and problem solving are two extremely difficult skills to teach because
according to blooms taxonomy these skills are considered as high order
thinking skills which are hard to master.
The main purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of collaborative

online learning on student critical thinking skill, and also to help students
become critical thinkers instead of passive learners; and last but not least, to use
technology effectively and help students to boost their critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking is defined from different perspectives, and the majority of

definitions fall within the improvement of cognitive skills like synthesis,
evaluation and analysis. Halpern (2003) defined critical thinking as cognitive
skills and strategies that increase the likelihood of a desired outcome thinking
that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal-directed the kind of thinking involved
in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and
making decisions (2003, p. 6). One can deduce from this quotation that
developing critical thinking skills is mainly based on cognitive skills like:
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inductive and deductive reasoning, analysis, inference and evaluation. Mainly it

is through discussion in the classroom or online discussion. The benefits of
learning in collaboration are proved by Springer, Stanne, and Donovan (2009)
who found that small groups provide students with a better learning experience
and ultimately greater academic achievement (as cited in Brindley et al.2009).
Additionally, Patricia A. Smith (n.d) claimed that group activities help learners
to a higher level of thinking and responding to ideas in educational philosophy
of teaching practice in online class. As a result, students improve their thinking
when they work in collaboration especially when they are in online classes.
2. Why collaborative online Learning

Collaborative learning happens when a group of people help each other to learn
especially through sharing and exchanging of ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. Laal
& Laal (2011) defined collaboration as a philosophy of interaction and
personal lifestyle where individuals are responsible for their actions, including
learning and respect for the abilities and contributions of their peers (p. 494).
Collaborative online learning is called online team or online groups where
people can discuss virtually in a meaningful way. Collaborative online learning
demonstrates the ability to work effectively and respectively with a diverse
team, it also exercises flexibility and willingness to be helpful in making
necessary compromises to accomplish a common goal. Moreover, the shared
learning in online discussion gives students an opportunity to engage in
discussion, take responsibility for their own learning, and thus become critical
thinkers. Likewise, it promotes creative thinking through social stimulation and
sharing of ideas, as well as an increase of preparation and practice working with
one another. Lastly, it affords students the opportunity to share thoughts and
interact with peers, facilitators, and experts in a defined area.
3. The use of technology

With the abundance of technological devices, teachers and students have to pay
careful attention to which technological tools can boost students collaboration
and critical thinking. Book creator, online games; social networks could be the
best tools to foster students critical thinking skills.
3.1 Book creator

Students can collaborate asynchronously on online group projects. The crucial
importance of group project is that it helps students work in teams where
everybody is going to work on a section of a book. The book creator is effective
in the sense that it improves students sense of collaboration and it is the best
tool for authentic learning. To improve students writing, Book creator is the
best technological tool. Its goal is threefold: it allows students to engage in
collaborative writing, it helps them to sharpen their writing and also it helps
them to improve their critical thinking skills, mainly it gives the opportunity to
students to analyze and evaluate their owns work and their friends work as
well. Once students are done creating their book with a combination of text,
images, video, audio and hyperlinks, the book can be uploaded to any service
including Google Drive.
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3.2 Online games

They help students to solve problems while playing games, thus, it helps to
create a safe environment for learning. Game tasks should require students to
analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information from various sources or solve
problems in order to find answers. A number of games can trigger students
critical thinking skill like Mastermind. This game should be played in pairs. At
this stage, students are collaborating and they are boosting their critical thinking
skills as well. The main goal of this game is to generate which color and order
of four pegs are selected by the opponent. Another interesting game is called
Riddle of the Sphinx. This game helps the learners to solve some problems that
are in a form of question/answer. Answering the questions accurately will lead
them to win the game and open the gates to Thebes.
3.3 Social networks:

On social media sites, students are bombarded with data, and they need to apply
their critical thinking skills in order to analyze and interpret this data. This is
done by asking a range of critical questions such as; is this believable?, is it
reliable?, who shared this information?, Why?..etc. In addition to that the
teacher can post the instructor roles, course management, student support; also
the teacher can assess students through online discussion. In Facebook, for
example, students can be motivated in discussing various topics that can trigger
their understanding where the teacher can intervene and use Socratic
questioning like asking thought proving questions especially questions of
clarification, questions that prove assumptions, questions that probe
implications and questions for reasoning. The online discussion can help
introvert students to participate and in the discussion also. Facebook as a social
network can give them comfort and confidence.
The use of Wikis as a collaborative tool is extremely helpful social networking

especially in fostering students critical thinking skills. Wikis shift students
from consumer of knowledge to creators of knowledge, which is a great way
to encourage students to develop critical thinking skills, to learn from one
another, and to improve their ability to work in groups. Retrieved from
www.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis.
4. Implications
The most effective way to enhance students critical thinking is through
collaborative online learning. since students use technology every time and
everywhere, I believe that teachers role in fostering critical thinking skill is to
use technology effectively especially using the above mentioned technological
tools that boost students way of thinking. Its true that critical thinking skill is
the most difficult twenty first century skill to teach and learn, but the use of
these technological tools can be very helpful for students to sharpen their
critical thinking skills. Also for teachers, they are the most appropriate and
effective tools. Gokhale (1995) found in a research conducted that students who
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participated in collaborative learning had performed significantly better on

critical thinking. Therefore, collaborative learning is the best strategy to foster
students critical thinking skill.
5. Recommendations
It is high time to cultivate critical thinking through E-learning, as well as
blending the teaching process with technology. Implementing ICT
inside/outside of the classroom effectively becomes a must. If students use their
technological devices anytime and anywhere, teachers have to take this into
account and use technological tools as an asset.
As far as teachers are concerned, they must consider teaching as a process of

improving students ability to learn. In so doing, to boost students critical
thinking skills, teachers should no longer deal with students as jag learners. In
this modern age, the twenty first century skills are the most appreciated skills
among students. Therefore, teachers for all levels have to give much importance
to the teaching of critical thinking skill in the sense that they have to rectify
their way of teaching from the teacher who is the source of knowledge to
teacher who is a facilitator and a guide.
The use of Socratic questioning and debate virtually is the best strategy.
Students as well as teachers can discuss topics virtually where all students can
participate asynchronously, and that will help them to interact and exchange
feedback. In regard to debate, students will improve their critical thinking skill
especially by formulating ideas, defending their positions, and counting their
positions reasoning (MacKnight, 2000).
Conclusion
As a matter of fact, students are highly technologically bound and teachers have
to take this into account and use it as an asset so as to help them use technology
effectively and boost their critical thinking skill mainly through discussion,
analysis of others thoughts and evaluation.
6. References
Brindley, J.E., Walti, C., & Blaschke, L.M. (2009). Creating effective
collaborative learning groups in an online environment. The
International Review of Research in Open and Distance
Learning.Retrieved from
www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/675/1271
Gee, J. (2003). What Video Games have to Teach Us about Learning and
Literacy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Gokhale, A. (1995). Collaborative learning Enhances critical Thinking. Journal
of Technology Education. V.7
Halpern, D. F. (2003). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical
thinking. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
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Laal, M. & Laal, M. (2011). Collaborative learning: What is it? Social and
Behavioral Sciences. Retrieved from
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042811030217
MacKnight, C. (2000).Teaching Critical Thinking Through Online Discussions.
N 4. Retrieved from www.educause.edu.
Patricia A. Smith (n.d). Devoloping Community Online. Student Collaboration
in the online classroom, Retrieved from www.FacultyFocus.com
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological
processes.
Webliography
https://cftx.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/wikis/
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From Reading the Word to Reading the World:

Rethinking the Goals of TEFL
Karim EL Hiani
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Rabat
Abstract
Over the last two decades, it has widely been recognized that communicative
language teaching, which derives its origins from communicative competence,
has partially failed in expanding learners horizons in favor of their personal and
academic development. Many scholars (e.g., Byram, 1997; Alptekin, 2002;
Deardorff, 2009; Fantini, 2012 among others) believe in the powerful impact of
foreign language education on developing human relationships through
mediating and negotiating multiple identities and communication styles instead
of restricting learners autonomy and creativity, which are limited by virtue of
the blind adherence to the American or British native speakers competence.
Hence, the new trend of TEFL calls for extending communicative competence
(CC) to adopt intercultural communicative competence (ICC).
The present paper, therefore, highlights the major components and dimensions
of ICC, which go hand in hand with the demands of the contemporary society.
These dimensions include: a) Attitudes (towards otherness and cultural
differences), b) knowledge (of ones own and ones interlocutors culture and
the relationship between them), c) skills (of discovering and interacting with
others), and d) critical cultural awareness (which pays attention to the critical
dimension of evaluating cultural differences). They are illustrated with regard to
the salient goals (in general) and objectives (in particular) that are needed in
foreign language curriculum.
This paper provides insightful implications to the status of teaching foreign

languages in Morocco, especially English language, and the urgent need to re-
formulate and extend the goals of foreign language curriculum as a springboard
for internationalizing Moroccan education.
Key Words: Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC); Foreign

Language Education; TEFL; Dimensions of ICC; Implications.
Introduction
The present paper is a contribution to the literature on intercultural
communicative competence (ICC) especially in the Moroccan educational
context. The growing interest in including ICC as a central goal for foreign
language education has been remarkable in the last two decades. This has been
the result of the process of globalization and its concomitant calls for placing
the concept of culture in a global context. Today, the increasing contacts with
people worldwide together with the technological revolution, which provided
countless opportunities for virtual learning especially for EFL learners, have
raised controversial issues including learners identity, intercultural citizenship,
and autonomous learning (Byram, 1997; Sercu, 2002; Corbett, 2003).
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Taking into consideration identity in its modern context, learners are exposed to
numerous cultural identities. In addition to the basic knowledge EFL learners
get about their own cultures, they are exposed at least to two foreign cultures:
British and American culture. Some learners are exposed even to other cultures
through virtual discussions with people throughout the world. Thus, and in view
of these multiple identities, EFL learners identity needs to be questioned more
than any time ago. In this respect, Niegorodcew (2011) points that one of the
most important questions to be asked is the students identity as simultaneously
speakers of one or two national languages and, additionally, of English as a
lingua franca (p. 19).
Besides, the traditional conception of citizenship, which has long been equated
with ones duties and responsibilities to ones community and cultural
environment, has been challenged for restricting learners to the geographical
space of their own environment (Guilherme, 2002). Accordingly, education for
citizenship must be a state-of-the-art translation of global citizenship. Byram
(2008) suggests that EFL learners need to be armed with the skills of
understanding deep issues of culture, develop an analytic capacity to identify
different cultural practices, and evaluate them with equal importance. Thus,
learners can see the world from a neutral position and have a good sense of
being global citizens.
In addition to the contemporary perceptions of identity and citizenship,

autonomous learning is salient factor in TEFL. Amongst the huge resources of
information today, learners huge access to these resources re-considers their
roles as responsible for their own learning. Furthermore, the responsibility is
doubled when the educational process guides EFL learners for better
understanding of autonomous learning (Sercu, 2002).
In light of the massive factors under discussion, foreign language education has
been placed under great pressure to respond to the immense development of the
globalized world. The landscape of TEFL, Therefore, calls for alternative
approaches and methods to keep the pace with the consequences of
globalization. Within this framework, the resent paper aims at shedding a great
amount of light on intercultural communicative competence (ICC) as the most
desired outcome of foreign language education in this millennium. The aim is
also to highlight its major components/dimensions stressing some interesting
implication for the Moroccan education system. This paper is divided into five
main sections. The first section describes the motivations behind the inclusion
of ICC as a major goal in FLE. The second section highlights some recent
developments in the area of ELT in Morocco to pave the ground for discussing
the place of ICC in the third section. The fourth section is devoted to prominent
issues in researching ICC, and the last section is concerned with some
implications for developing ICC in the Moroccan education system.
1. From Communicative Competence to Intercultural Communicative

Competence
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The significant place of communicative competence (CC) in language teaching

was attributed to Hymes (1972) reconsideration of Chomskys linguistic
competence. Thus, he coined the concept communicative competence as a
reaction to Chomskys shortcomings, which restrict language to the strict rules
of grammar, phonology, and syntactic rules. Hymes salient notice was heavily
oriented towards the social forces that shape language taking into consideration
the conventions of social groups. He, then, introduced communicative
competence as an inevitable factor in the concept of language.
By the same token, Canale and Swain (1980) stress the influences of the social
conventions on learning language, especially ESL and EFL, and divided the
concept of communicative competence into three major components:
grammatical competence, sociolinguistic competence, and strategic
competence. In addition to the grammatical rules of a language that is linked to
language usage, they argue that some rules of language use are heavily
important in view of the contextual factors including role of participants,
setting, and norms of interactions. Besides, Canale and Swain (1980) refer to
strategic competence as an important factor for successful communication. It
deals mainly with the useful strategies to manage communication breakdowns
that may stem from a lack of language/cultural misunderstandings. Later on,
Canale (1983) introduced discourse competence as a fourth component, which
highlights the intersentential power of meaning. That is to say, it describes the
relationship between the combined sentences to convey a particular meaning
based on the contextual forces.
As a result, ELT started to move into a new dimension of language competence

(Bachman, 1990). The issues of communicative competence and pragmatic
competence (Bachman, 1990) gained a large ground in EFL classrooms in an
effort to equip learners with sufficient knowledge to reach the native-like
fluency in English.
However, many researchers have questioned the goal of restricting EFL learners
to the native speakers competence (e.g. Kramsch, 1993; Byram, 1997; Fantini,
2012; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013). Following the premise that EFL learners
must have a native-like fluency in English, the controversy arises when the
phrase native speaker itself is not transparent. Provided that the native speaker
is the model for EFL learners, this presupposes that there is only one native
speaker in view of the different people whose native language is English, for
example, Australian native speakers, Indian native speakers, American native
speakers, British native speakers, and Canadian native speakers. Consequently,
the aim to consider the native speaker as a model is challenging given the
multiple Englishes worldwide. Moreover, Kramch (1993) argues that the goal
of reaching the competence of native speakers is already a harsh task, if not
impossible for EFL learners. The aim, rather, should take into account the
different experiences of learners in learning languages/cultures to see the world
from different perspectives, which do not narrow EFL learners eyes in
becoming imitators of native speakers. In its simplest expression,
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communicative competence may not respond properly to the globalized world

that is based greatly on different cultures and identities. Hence, intercultural
communicative competence is more recommended to be the most desired
outcome of foreign language education (Corbett, 2003; Byram, 2008).
In light of what has been discussed, the title of the present paper reflects the
move from communicative competence (CC) to intercultural communicative
competence (ICC). The latter is defined generally as the ability to perform
appropriately and effectively in intercultural situations (Deardorff, 2006). More
precisely, Fantini (2012) explains the ability to perform appropriately as the
adherence to the sociocultural rules including the major social conventions of
social groups, and the ability to perform effectively as the mutual understanding
and reaching the reciprocal goals of interlocutors in intercultural situations.
Furthermore, there are different models of ICC, which differ slightly in the
envisaged dimensions. These models differ also in the way of explaining the
relationship between the components of ICC (see Spitzberg & Changnon,
2009). Significantly, Byrams model of ICC has been the most powerful in ICC
given its exhaustiveness and strong focus on foreign language dimension.
According to Deardorff (2006), Byrams definition and conceptual framework
of ICC is the most complete one among ICC models. In a similar vein,
Guilherme (2002) declares that Byram is probably the most prominent scholar
who argues in favor of centralizing an intercultural approach, especially the
critical dimension, in foreign language education.
Byrams model (1997) comprises four main dimensions: attitudes, knowledge,

skills, and critical cultural awareness (figure 1). It should be noted here that the
rationale behind ICC is not to exclude communicative competence, but it
extends the concept to highlight more complex issues of cultural diversity.
Additionally, communicative competence remains an important element in the
profile of what Byram calls the intercultural speaker. Because of educational
purposes including assessment, Byram describes his dimensions as savoirs to be
the aim for learners. He introduces savoirs (knowledge), which consists of
knowledge of ones own culture, knowledge of the target culture, and
knowledge about their relationships. These relationships include historical and
contemporary relationships and social distinctions of sociocultural conventions.
Savoir tre (attitudes) emphatisez learners openness and readiness to engage
with otherness without prioritizing their own culture, this includes the readiness
to suspend disbelief about others. Skills can be divided into two major types:
skills of discovery and interaction (savoir apprendre/savoir faire) and skills of
analyzing and interpreting (savoir comprendre). Critical cultural awareness
(savoir sengager) deals with learners ability to evaluate different cultural
beliefs/practices in explicit and implicit documents based on explicit criteria.
This includes a direct reference to ones ideological perspectives when
expressing a particular idea.
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Clearly, Byrams dimensions of ICC include complex processes of noticing,

negotiating, and evaluating different practices to highlight cultural diversity.
The acquisition of ICC remains a demanding goal in view of its additional tasks
to the general goal of communicative
Figure 1: Byram Model of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Byram, 1997, p.73)
competence. As a result, many researchers and scholars argue that ICC is a

developmental process that goes through various stages of complexity (e.g.
Byram, 1997, 2008; Alptekin, 2002, Deardorff, 2009; Benntt, 2009).
In brief, ICC has raised a number of nascent issues vis--vis foreign language
education particularly English as a foreign language (EFL). Given the salient
role of EFL in the Moroccan context, ICC remains a debatable issue in the
Moroccan educational context. But, some recent developments in the landscape
of ELT in Morocco are worthy of attention before embarking into the place of
ICC in Morocco and its possible inclusion.
2. The Recent Developments of ELT in Morocco

The status of English language in Morocco has gained a great amount of
attention in recent years. Then main reasons might be attributed to the
increasing demand to keep pace with the huge number of research studies and
technological developments that are produced greatly in English language.
Additionally, the Moroccan government is aware of the significant role of
English in the education system. In this regard, the minister of higher education,
scientific research and training, Lahcen Daoudi, declared that English is
remarkably the language that promotes technology and sciences worldwide.
Similarly, the minister of national education and vocational training stressed
during mates 36th conference the increasing interest in adopting English as
interesting foreign language in Morocco. It is, then, one of the Moroccan
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governments priorities to generalize the use of English in Moroccan

classrooms.
Amongst the steps in the direction of promoting English in Morocco, programs

of an international baccalaureate has been included in a number of Moroccan
high schools in an effort to produce qualified students able to be competitors in
the global market. The role of English in these programs is prominent.
Interestingly, the international baccalaureate presupposes that learners must be
armed with a deep understanding of global issues-say-citizenship and identity,
and good intercultural speakers who communicate with different people
throughout the world. Consequently, the role of foreign language education,
particularly EFL in view of its status in the world, is outstanding to foster EFL
learners ICC.
Moreover, there has been a strong endorsement to generalize English in middle

school and prospects of extending it to primary school. This is based in turn on
the conviction that English can best be promoted in the Moroccan education
system provided it is integrated from low levels. Implied in these plans and
decisions is the ongoing interest in strengthening the position of English in
Morocco.
In a similar context, the ministry of higher education, scientific research and

training has encouraged doctoral students to prepare some articles in English
stressing the importance of providing these scientific papers to general
readership. Other suggestions were introduced in terms of defending doctoral
theses in English. Doctoral students from different disciplines are required to
defend their theses using English language.
Hence, the status of English in Morocco has become valuable due to the great
effects of globalization together with the growing impact of foreign languages
on general education. Morocco, then, is a fertile ground to include ICC as a
salient aim of education in view of the central position of EFL in the
development of ICC (Byram, 1997; Corbett, 2003; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013).
However, the inclusion of this desired outcome implies that many unfamiliar
issues should be taken into consideration to reshape the goals of communicative
competence. Accordingly, it is crucial to refer to some research studies and
ideas to include ICC in Morocco.
3. The Place of Intercultural Communicative Competence in Morocco

In spite of the growing interest in ICC and placing it at the heart of foreign
language education, it is still a fresh area of research in Morocco. Apart from a
few studies (e.g. Azhar, 2009; Koumachi, 2015; EL Hiani, in press), much
effort is still awaited to strengthen research on the field. As was suggested in the
previous section, the status of EFL is immensely valuable in ICC as the
international education sees English as a lingua franca (ELF). The development
of EFL in Morocco, therefore, paves the ground to the development of ICC
alike.
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Deardorff (2006) argues that the development of research in ICC must begin
with assessment because of the fruitful feedback it provides for learning. In this
regard, Koumachi (2015) conducted a study in which he assessed ICC and its
development among EFL university Moroccan students. The assessment
adopted Byrams model of ICC (1997), which includes attitudes, knowledge,
skills, and critical cultural awareness. The results obtained showed an average
mastery of Moroccan EFL learners ICC. Accordingly, the objectives set or
fostering ICC need serious efforts to provide learners with experiential
opportunities and a needed approach of interculturality in EFL classrooms. In a
similar vein, EL Hiani (2016) declared that ICC reaches an average rate though
it is developmental among Moroccan EFL university students (unpublished
thesis).
As a result, it is clear that the goal of ICC is not strongly matched at Moroccan
EFL classrooms. In spite of the average results, it may not help students develop
their ICC if they dont take regular intercultural courses in the view of the
complexity of ICC tasks that take place in long phases (Fantini, 2012). Also, the
results might be an indication that Moroccan EFL learners are not provided with
useful methods and techniques to practice intercultural issues such as a deep
understanding of global phenomena (e.g. citizenship). That is to say, teaching
practices must reflect clearly the basic issues of cultural diversity, global
citizenship, and international identity.
Moreover, it must be made clear that the development of ICC in the Moroccan
educational context must undergo numerous research studies either at the level
of the conceptual framework of ICC or ICC assessment to understand the
particularities of the learning environment in Morocco (Kumaravadivelu, 2003).
This justifies the importance of assessing-say-the development of ICC among
Moroccan EFL learners to get insights into the complexities of each phase of
the educational process. Besides, it is crucial to take into account different
implications as an initial step towards the development of ICC in Morocco.
4. Implications for the Moroccan Education System

Implications are useful for getting an in-depth understanding of what has been
discussed. First, the complex nature of ICC, which goes through stages of
noticing, evaluating and interaction, suggest that the educational process must
respond to these developmental processes based on the levels of students. In
other words, ICC should stick to a hierarchical order of complexity from lower
to higher levels of education. Second, moving from communicative competence
to intercultural communicative competence presupposes new materials, methods
and techniques of teaching ICC which highlight cultural diversity instead of
bridging learners information gap about the native speakers life. Besides,
developing any educational practice entails a plethora of theoretical and
empirical research studies. It is, then, a great responsibility on the part of
researchers and practitioners to investigate further studies.
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Conclusion
In short, the huge development of the global village calls for encouraging
learners in the 21st century to recognize global issues that strengthen
collaboration among people worldwide. The role of education, then, is vital to
equip learners with the needed necessary knowledge and skills to act as
intercultural speakers and global citizens. Intercultural communicative
competence, in this regard, is gradually taking place as a major goal of foreign
language education particularly English as a foreign language (EFL) in Europe
and many parts of the world (Byram, 2009). It is indispensable for the
Moroccan education system to keep abreast with the ramifications of
globalization and prospects of international education.
References
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The Moroccan National Framework for Certification in Languages

Driss Marjane
Faculty of Science at Dhar El Mahraz
Laboratory of Didactic, Pedagogic and Curricular Innovation
Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fes
Abstract
Moroccan universities have recently started offering certification in a number of
transversal skills that are thought to be important on the job market. They have
for that end developed a national framework for certification in these transversal
skills, including language and communication skills. This paper is the first
presentation of the general architecture and the contents the Moroccan national
framework for certification in languages and communication at an academic
event. The paper first proceeds to a presentation of the methodology that was
adopted in the development of the project, then it describes how the framework
is articulated in terms of domains of linguistic competencies, the competencies
themselves, the constituent sub-skills of these competencies and a sample of
situations where these competencies are deployed. In addition to these, it
presents the evaluation activities as well as the level of mastery for each
competency that the framework includes. This paper ends by discussion and a
critical appraisal of the methodology that was adopted in the development and
dissemination of this framework.
Keywords language certification, Moroccan higher education, transversal
skills, framework of competencies
1. Introduction
In order to enhance the employability potential of university graduates, the

Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education has developed a national certification
framework for a number of transversal skills that appear to be required on the
job market on the national and international levels. These skills include
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Project Management (PM),
Entrepreneurship (ENT), and Languages and Communication (LC). A European
project, Tempus P@lmes 530430, was selected by the European Commission to
support the process leading to the delivery of certificates during the period
2012-2015. Its mission was to assist in defining a set of real transversal skills,
that is, a common core of competencies for all Bachelor and Master Degree
graduates regardless of their disciplinary major. In addition to developing a
national certificate of transversal competencies, which aims at enhancing the
employability of graduates, the project also aimed at facilitating the transfer of
existing certification tools and their technical infrastructure in Europe, thus
empowering Moroccan universities in the deployment, use and adaptation of
these products, especially, the tools for evaluation, validation and certification
of skills. The Tempus P@lmes project involved twelve Moroccan universities
as well as the Moroccan corporate confederation (CGEM), the University of
Mons in Belgium, the University of Aveiro in Portugal, and in France, the
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Universities of Savoie Mont Blanc and Claude Bernard Lyon I, in addition to

the French private company PENTILA.
The purpose of the present paper is to present the work which was carried out
within the Tempus P@lmes project on Languages and Communication (LC)
skills. In fact, this is the first public disclosure of the results of the project in an
academic paper form. And since this work is the fruit of a large group of
university professors, I will first provide some background information on how
the groups work was organized as well as the methodology that was adopted in
the development and implementation of this project. However, the most
important pat of the paper will be the description of the architecture of the
national framework for certification in Languages, which is made up of a
number of domains of linguistic competencies, the competencies themselves,
the constituent elements or sub-skills of these competencies and sample
situations where these competencies are deployed. In addition to these, the
framework also specifies the evaluation activities as well as the level of mastery
for each competency. In the final part of the paper, I will proceed to a brief
critical discussion of the methodology that was adopted in the project as a
whole.
2. Methodology
As it was mentioned in the introduction of this paper, the Moroccan National

Framework of Certification is the fruit of the joint work of twelve Moroccan
universities, two European universities, one Portuguese and one Belgian
university, and a private company in France. The project was coordinated on the
Moroccan side by Cadi Ayad University in Marrakesh, and on the European
side by the University of Savoie Mont Blanc in France. But in addition to these,
the project also involved Moroccan socio-economic partners such as the
Moroccan corporate confederation (CGEM) and the chambers of commerce in
addition to the Commission for the Development of Tensift Region in Morocco.
At the level of the Ministry of Higher Education, a national committee was set
up in order to integrate the various initiatives and proposals. Its first mission
was to lead to the definition of a national certificate of transversal competencies
for the employability of graduates, which would constitute a real common core
of competencies and skills of Bachelor and Master Degree graduates. Moreover,
the national commissions mission consisted of being attentive to the needs of
the Moroccan society, relayed by the socio-economic actors, and the expertise
of various university representatives. In fact, each university had to consult the
local socio-economic partners and identify with them the transversal skills they
expect from students at the end of the Bachelor or the Master Degree regardless
of their particular major. Therefore, the national commissions itself was no
more than a space of exchange and capitalization of local proposals and
experiences.
After local teams of professors revisited the existing trainings and identified
those that were more likely to enable universities to better meet the expectations
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of the socio-economic actors, they opted for the development of already existing
trainings rather than creating new courses or new modules. The proposal that
was put forward rested on the transversal modules that already existed within
most university degree programs. Four areas of certification were identified:
Information and Communication Technology, Entrepreneurship, Project
Management and Languages and Communication, and the work of the different
representatives of universities was organized around groups of expertise
corresponding to those four areas. The certificates that were proposed to be
issued in each of these areas were meant as degree supplements and not
mandatory elements of the degrees themselves. Additionally, the certificates
were meant to have the side-effect of improving training already offered in
colleges and universities by focusing on the skills to be mastered and the final
assessment of their mastery. In addition, the ultimate goal was that those
certificates would also facilitate the selection of candidates for hiring purposes
by businesses.
The project was subject to cyclic evaluation at each stage of the process to
ensure the quality of the project results. The Belgian and Portuguese evaluation
specialists in the use of accreditation and certification in education put in place
procedures of qualitative and quantitative periodic assessments that focus in part
on the use of the general methodology as well as its outcomes.
3. The Framework
3.1 A Common Structure

In order to arrive at coherent standards of the Moroccan national framework of
transversal skills, a common structure and terminology were defined by the
Tempus P@LMES project for the four areas of transversal skills, hence, the
following taxonomies:
A referential framework contains several areas of expertise referred to
as domains of competence.
One domain of competence is a family of vocational situations that
define a coherent field of activities. One domain includes several
competencies.
A competency is the know-how to act in a given situation. It is specified
by a set of competency constituents.
The P@LMES project defined four types of constituents of competencies:

1. The knowledge and skills associated with the competency.
2. The situations where the competency may be implemented.
3. The activities that assess the mastery of a competency.
4. The indicators of the level of mastery of the competency.
3.2 Language and Communication

The Languages and Communication referential framework -just like the other
three frameworks, Entrepreneurship, ICT, and Project Management - consists of
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several domains of competency. Within the present project, five domains of

competency were identified. These are the following:
D1. Seeking and Delivering Information
D2. Public Speaking
D3. Negotiating
D4. Producing and Using Professional Documents
D5. Managing Difficult and Conflicting Situations
As it was mentioned earlier, domains consist of at a number of competencies

and the competencies themselves consist of at least four types of constituents:
1. The knowledge and skills associated with the domain of competency.
2. The situations in which the competency is put into use.
3. The assessment activities of the level of mastery of the competency.
4. The indicators of the level of mastery of the competency.
3.3 A Sample Domain

In order to give some substance to the description provided above, let us take a
look at one sample domain among the five domains that were included in the
framework, which is Public Speaking.
Domain D2: Public Speaking

Speaking in public is frequent in professional settings; however, speaking in
front of a large number of people is not always a comfortable experience.
Therefore, being aware of and observing a set of simple rules can help lower
anxiety and improve performance. For example, preparing ones speech, finding
out about ones audience and ones objectives from the talk as well as being
able to follow a pre-defined plan and backing ones talk by visual supporting
aids can all improve ones performance. This domain consists of the following
competencies:
Competence D2.1 : Being able to take part in a conference
Competence D2.2 : Being able to deliver a speech,
Competence D2.3 : being able to talk about ones work environment
and ones projects in public
Each of these competencies will in turn consist of constituent elements, which

are knowledge and skills associated with them, the situations in which these are
put into action, and the activities that enable us to assess the mastery of these
competencies, and, finally, the indicators of the level of mastery of these
competencies.
Constituents
In order to give an example, if we take the first competency above (D2.1 Being
able to take part in a conference), it will have the following constituent
elements:
1: Knowledge and Skills associated with the competency

Being able to introduce oneself briefly
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Situating ones interlocutors

Observing turn-taking rules
Presenting ones arguments
Being concise and relevant
2. Situations in which the competency is put into use

Work Meeting
Round Table
Interview
Discussion
3. Activities of assessment of the mastery of the competency

Describing a sequence of exchanges in a discussion
Identifying the rules of politesse and their implementation in a
discussion
4. Indicators of the mastery of the competency

Clarity of speech
Use of politeness rules
Comprehension of information content
Understanding implicit message
3.4 The Assessment Platform

The Moroccan national framework for certification in languages and
communication, and in other transversal skills, makes use of an online
evaluation platform named EmaEval. This platform is provided by the company
Pentila which is based in France. In fact, this platform is the one that serves to
support the certification C2i level 2 in France to more than 10 000 students.
This platform is also used at two Moroccan universities: the Cadi Ayyad
University in Marrakech and Moulay Ismail University in Meknes, and more
recently at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fes.
4. Discussion
In the final part of this paper, I would like to make a few comments on the
project as a whole with the hope of highlighting some of its strengths as well as
possible weaknesses. Firstlyy, it is to be noted that the project adopted a
participatory methodology which meant that the project was open to professors
from various Moroccan universities. Therefore, throughout the four years of the
program, some professors joined in on different gatherings in different locations
across the country and some others dropped out at some point of the program
for some reasons or another. Secondly, the project made no reference
whatsoever to any theories in the field of language certification and
accreditation. It all seems that the project relied heavily on the intuitive
knowledge and field experience of various participants in it. Therefore, even if
the project had the advantage of being unbiased by theory, there is another
negative side related to this fact. The project seems to have no firm theoretical
grounds and does not appear to be informed by research in the area of language
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certification. Another criticism that may be leveled at the project is that the the
framework for languages and communication was carried out exclusively in the
French language by teachers of French at various Moroccan universities and it
was later documented in French2. One may be tempted to wonder if the whole
project was implicitly targeting the use of French in the Moroccan university
system. All in all, the project was the first national framework for certification
in languages and can be viewed as a starting point for long and fruitful research
in the future.
5. Resources
http://e-palmes.uca.ma/
The projects webpage
This is a collaborative portal used by the P@lmes project partners, students
preparing for certification, and those interested in the project results.
https://palmes.uca.ma/
The National Evaluation Platform
The national platform for evaluation and certification of skills (EMaEval)
managed by the Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech is duplicated in each
university on a service infrastructure funded by the project.
2
The author of the present paper was the only teacher of English on the project
and there were no teachers of other languages at all. One may wonder why such
an important project was carried out exclusively in French.
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E-Learning and ICT:

Seeking Novelty in ELT Teachers Professional Development
Fatimaezzahra Abid
Abstract
The present paper is a simple reflection on the teaching and the learning of
English in ELT classrooms in the Moroccan context. Keeping up with the high
pace of technological changes requires teacher training that adopts the 21st
century technology. The latter will motivate students who are well aware of the
English languages worth around the world, but unfortunately lack the basic
competencies to excel at language learning. The paper will focus on teachers
professional development as an effective key factor in the learning process. It
will demonstrate how to develop ones teaching resources to create entertaining
learning experiences and keep up with students, as digital natives, through
online courses. This paper will also showcase how the use of ICT tools can help
teachers effectively create learner-centered learning situations to motivate them
to learn the language. I will introduce alternative means that can actually be
used to appropriately evaluate learners and assess their linguistic and cognitive
use of the English language and the learning experience as a whole.
Keywords: ICT resources, Professional Development, E-learning, Testing and

Assessment.
Introduction
Teaching the English language in Morocco follows a textbook, whatever its
name, which outlines the curriculum expected to be completed at each grade.
These educational textbooks provide the guidelines of the courses to be taught
with a special focus on second year baccalaureate given that the results of the
exams will determine the academic and occupational future(Tomlinson 19).
The content is gradually taught following a timeline that would be finished by
administering two quizzes and a global test. If the learners get high grades, then
they are considered to have successfully got the content theyre exposed to at
school. Yet, if they perform poorly on the exam, it is assumed that they have
learning disabilities that hinder them from success and getting good grades that
qualify them for the next level.
The textbooks adopted in English rarely change, and the content remains largely
the same, despite the social and economic worldwide changes on one side, and
the altered learning environments and learnerss individual differences,
psychological and social life experiences on the other side. Indeed,
coursebooks seems to mean big business(Tomlinson 17); hence, the
Moroccan educational system proves to be pedagogically and technologically
helpless given that it still relies on formal institutions that are supposed to cover
more than forty students and traditional approaches that instill memorization
and good grades. Teachers are rather left to bear the blame for learners failure
to pass the exam and for not being able to achieve the expected learning
outcomes measured only by grades.
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The paper will highlight the significant role of adapting and supplementing
learning materials with particular classroom environments that introduce
learners to the social and technological changes through the use of ICT
(information and communication technology). It will also enhance teachers
professional development in a way to acquire the skills necessary to incorporate
those tools inside class and keep up with the so-called technological changes.
Hence, success in achieving the learning outcomes given the aforementioned
tools would be an unfinished task in regard to assessment tools that should align
with these evolutionary educational changes.
The New Trend in ELT: ICT Resources

Researching in the field of language teaching and learning never fails to prove
the significance of learning foreign languages in acquiring lifelong skills given
that learning is not restricted only to schooling. Hence, learning languages is
such a debatable issue in Morocco as the state and policy makers are still
debating whether to adopt English or French in Moroccan public schools given
the linguistic variety of the country: Arabic and Amazigh varieties and French
as the first foreign language. Indeed, these languages do not fulfil all the
linguistic functions, since each one covers only a limited number of domains.
For instance, Moroccan Arabic and Berber cover the domains of home and
street, while Standard Arabic is used in education, public administration, and
the media. French is utilised to complement the picture, as it has functions and
domains which overlap with those of Standard Arabic, in addition to covering
the private sector, science, and technology (Ennaji 2).
Hence, the Moroccan educational system has gone through educational reforms
that fail continuously to satisfy the needs of Moroccan learners or even meet the
requirements of the job market. The ongoing debates over education constantly
stress how these reforms have always let down educational practitioners due to
their inability to measure up to the high expectations of educators and fieldwork
actors. These consistently aspire to work in institutions that are fully equipped
with the necessary pedagogical means to perform well in the most successful
and fruitful learning environments that embrace students who use technological
resources on a daily basis. Teaching foreign languages, namely English, with
the minimum resources (teacher, classroom and textbook) is all that is
accessible to Moroccan learners to keep up with the changing technological
pace worldwide. Moroccan learners fail to acquire the language properly and
even to communicate with it at the university level, though high numbers of
students are majoring in English.
Being technologically literate is a skill that equals more or less the mastery of
the reading and writing skills as they are conventionally taught in schools to
reproduce literate learners and hence citizens. So opposed to earlier times,
learners are better equipped to learn the English language given the high contact
with ICT resources mostly consulted outside the classroom walls. Political
speeches concerning the Moroccan educational system go hand in hand with the
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international changes and the importance of adopting the language of science,

but they never line up with the teaching and learning environments on the
ground. Given that no pedagogy is politically or socially neutral; no learning or
lack of learning is without economic and cultural repercussions for society or
individuals (Birch 4).
The teaching of foreign languages, namely English in this case, becomes

politically, pedagogically and even socially sensitive due to the low status of the
Moroccan educational system ranking last even among the underdeveloped
countries. Despite the ongoing debates that stress the urgent need for the
renovation of the educational system and particularly public schools that mostly
reproduce passive learners and stream them into different disciplines according
to their corresponding grades, a minority of high performing students would
have more promising chances to have access to professional careers; while the
majority of disadvantaged students, who come from poor, illiterate and working
class backgrounds do fail to continue their studies and leave school deficient in
basic skills as reading and writing since most of their learning comes from the
textbook and their only remaining option would be following in parents
footsteps.
The situation hasnt changed much since independence except in political

discourses that are mostly meant to join the international developing
communities. Hence, countries in the Maghreb are increasingly seeing English
as a way to modernize their workforces and strengthen their access to
Europe(E First 46). Morocco is still struggling with literacy in a changing
world of massive information and technological evolutions. Neither teachers nor
supervisors can do much to change the situation as theyre the ones directly
affected by the ministrys decisions and reforms; theyre left with the only
option to do the job and teach the 21st century learners with the least amount of
available resources: blackboard and chalk. Learners who are said to grow faster
than ever as they get exposed to too much knowledge about the adult life
through media means and high contact with social networks that affect their
cognitive and physiological growth and shape their views and their
understanding of the world and their country as well.
The use of ICT tools in language learning turns out to be of paramount

significance to both learners and teachers as it makes communication as well as
education most accessible than ever. The overwhelming existence and
accessibility of these technological resources such as the internet, computers,
and smart phones all along with the very sophisticated 2.0 applications forces its
incorporation into the curriculum to bridge the gap between the actual world
where learners have access to all these tools and the school that lacks the
minimum of these resources. Yet, the lack of well equipped classrooms, teacher
training, and learners lack of the basic competencies in languages, and the
inflexibility of administrative staff in supporting and sponsoring its
implementation to mention but a few, fail to match these highly and radical
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worldwide technological changes and cater for the learners interests and digital
competencies that find no room at school.
The human and social traits attributed to education regarding its pivotal role in
the development of individuals and societies would definitely frame the
educational approaches in producing learners who become well aware of the
significant role education plays in their progress from basic to advanced levels
as well as their transition into adulthood. An education that is supposed to
render them knowledgeable learners who are quite able to process information
and analyze it and have critical and research skills that will make them effective
and productive learners concerning their schooling and their future career
prospects.
Beside a curriculum, a blackboard and a simple cassette player, the teachers

toolbox expands to include the very sophisticated applications that would
facilitate language learning and aid learners to visualize their learning
experiences. There is an abundance of sites that provide reading, listening and
writing materials which would support the curricula and render the teaching-
learning process more effective than ever. Using such tools in the classroom
proves to be very efficient in motivating learners for better practical learning
that does not rely much on theorizing and lecturing. Thus, integrating
technology into instruction tends to move classrooms from teacher-dominated
environments to ones that are more student-centered(Marzano et al. 3).
Incorporating ICT in teaching languages necessitates designing approaches and
methods that stress learners linguistic and cognitive skills on one hand and
technology literacy on the other hand. A contemporary philosophy of teaching
is to be adapted to the current information technological advances; a philosophy
that consistently questions the teaching materials and their applicability within
the social and psychological framework of the learners.
The introduction of ICT resources in the classroom is more challenging than it

might appear. Technology-based activities have concrete and immediate effects
on the learners motivation as it fosters communication and speaking, which is
the most difficult part in learning a language. But technology is not a magic
option for resolving the woes of education. Technology, in and of itself, does
not create better teachers, learners or administrators. However when technology
is used side by side with oher school improvement efforts, it can be a very
effective vehicle for progress (Carbonara 2/3).
Yet, how to integrate these tools given the specificity of the learners and the
teaching context does really matter to ensure the learners interaction rather than
passivity. Learners are to be introduced to information technology gradually
starting at early grades to ensure their proficient use of technology and to foster
a positive attitude towards its use in other school subjects, particularly
languages. Thus, learners will find it more appealing to them as they get
familiar with its use in class as a learning tool, but not being distracted with it
and forget all about the course thinking how or when they could get such tools
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at hand. I could never forget how my students look stunned at the idea of
reading a short story online though they study informatics and theyre pretty
much familiar with the use of a computer and the internet. Having immediate
feedback on their answers and navigating simultaneously to check online
dictionaries renders them extremely excited for the other following activities.
The whole experience of replacing the reading text assigned in the textbook to
an online short story and doing all the related activities online alters students
attitudes towards learning the English language as they start immediately to ask
about the next similar lessons while they were supposed in a later discussion to
evaluate the lesson and talk about what they have learnt and how they feel about
it.
Learners exposure to educational technologies differs from teachers attitudes

towards the use of those tools. The first time I started using my own computer
in class was an attempt to adopt new approaches to the teaching and learning of
the language and to put into practice what I learnt via online courses. It is a real
challenge that would take more time in lesson planning so that one can ensure a
safe and an effective use of these tools and maintain a stimulating environment
for interaction and productive learning. Implementing ICT resources in the
learning environment makes the teacher and the learner socially connected in a
way that trespasses the usual traditional interactions that rarely go beyond the
textbook. Yet, it takes time to learn about the integration of such tools and adapt
to the technical issues that come along the way.
Indeed, learning about these tools, being it computer educational applications,

mobile or tablets are a necessity that teachers have to invest time to learn and
experience its use prior to integrating it in the teaching practices. Professional
ICT trainings are no longer an advantage in teacher training; yet, Information
technology is invading the lives of teachers and learners that the learning
experiences are to be assimilated with life and everyday experiences. Given the
lack of trainings in that field and the Moroccan Ministry of educations
deficiency to provide training in the field, MOOCs seem to be the remaining
option that we as teachers could make use of to boost our professional
development and keep up-to-date with the current radical changes in education.
MOOCs: Teachers Prospect for an Effective Professional Evolution

Educational researchers have consistently stressed the significance of
continuous training for teachers to keep up with the current changes in the
educational field. In the last five years, the Moroccan Ministry of Education, as
the official training provider, stopped in-service training for teachers due to the
lack of financial resources following the world crisis. But, the latter has come
up with some emergency projects to reduce the number of students dropping out
of school, raise awareness about girls education and last but not least improve
the quality of education in public schools. One of these programs that is directly
oriented to the implementation of IT (Information Technology) in schools is
GENIE (Generalization of IT in Education) which was launched in 2009. The
objectives have been designed around teachers mastery of ICT tools for its
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successful implementation in the classroom and the improvement of education

in Morocco. The projects primary goals were very promising as they aim at
equipping school labs with computers and provide teachers with the 21st century
skills. Soon after, it was announced that the program failed to achieve its whole
objectives due to some financial and human resources, though teachers are still
enrolling in this program to take elementary courses in Microsoft Word, Excel
and Access.
I took part for a short term in this program and stopped as I moved to another
area; I had taken basic courses in Microsoft Office; tools that I learnt long
before this program. The content to be learnt and the timing as well as the final
exam that participants take to ensure the mastery of the learnt skills were very
ordinary and frustrating as participants expected more practical and up-to-date
skills that would be smoothly implemented in class to improve their teaching
skills. Teachers were looking for what they would learn about educational
technology as advanced practitioners and not as mere beginners. The GENIE
program all along with the other following programs, namely the Emergency
Program was very ambitious with its objectives, goals and structural integration
designed to support the curricula, the infrastructure of schools as well as
training sessions. Yet, none of these programs objectives were fully achieved
due to the government change and successive political decisions overthrowing
the previous ones. This rather ensures the fact that there is no political will to
improve education or the advancement of public schools that are losing the
ground for private schooling.
Online courses or distance learning provides a great opportunity for teachers,

namely English teachers for their professional development and career
advancement. A myriad of courses in Arts and Humanities, Literature, Science,
Language Learning, Personal Development and almost in all majors is
available. These courses are delivered by prestigious universities around the
world, providing educational platforms for distant learning where passionate
learners meet virtually to learn, exchange, collaborate and evoke critical
discussions over the latest issues with no displacement obstacles. Moreover,
free certificates of participation are granted following the outlined objectives of
the course; while a Verified Certificate could be purchased. These educational
websites ensure learners flexibility and free will to join any course that might
be of interest to them. They can enroll in courses that suit their schedule and
needs as well. Further, the materials to be studied vary between video lectures,
reading materials, discussion platforms, short term quizzes and a final test to
complete the course and meet its requirements to earn a certificate of
completion. These courses can last for ten weeks while there are other courses
that can last no longer than five weeks.
Ive been enrolled in two kinds of courses: short term and long term courses on
different subjects ranging from literature, social sciences and language teaching
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and learning. I joined Coursera to pursue most of these courses that are of
interest to my academic and professional career. One of the most influential
courses that practically enabled me to join global communities, make
connections with teachers from all over the globe, exchange teaching
experiences and practical approaches on the teaching of English is delivered by
the Oregon University following the E-Teacher Scholarship Program, that can
be accessed via the following link http://aei.uoregon.edu/teachers/elearning.
The following graphic represents the platform that contains all information
needed to apply for such course.
The university provides different courses that are of relevance to the teaching of
the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing, giving teachers the
choice to opt for the one that fits their interest and need as well. Here is a
picture that showcases the variety of courses to opt for.
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The course Critical Thinking lasts for ten weeks; reading materials and
multimedia resources as websites, online articles, videos and interaction with
other teachers were compulsory to the completion of the course so as to qualify
the candidate to pass the final exam. Interacting with other teachers from other
parts of the world, peer reviewing and collaborating on projects make the
learning experience more effective.
As aforementioned, the other kind of online courses that I have experienced

lately is a course that involves both teachers and students, namely iEARN. The
following screenshots represent a new way to connect students and teachers
from all over the world to open up to new diverse learning experiences that
trespass the textbook and the biased theoretical curricula activities. The projects
are designed to suit students abilities and learning styles and skills no matter
what their level of mastery of the language is.
The iEARN community provides an interactive platform for both teachers and
students to create a fruitful space for learning and collaborating on a learning
project. These educational projects foster teachers discussions and exchange of
experiences while students learn and have fun with other students from all over
the world in a safe educational atmosphere. This online course is divided into 4
weeks that are supposed to provide teachers with the needed collaborative skills
to monitor their students online interactions and guide them through every step.
The four weeks activities are to be completed to successfully engage and join
one of the educational projects as it is shown in the picture below.
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After the completion of the course, teachers engage with their students in one of
the projects and work on its completion for one month. Students do share and
communicate with their counterparts virtually. My students have enrolled in a
project entitled Global Food show and Tell; they were very enthusiastic about
the idea of informing foreign students about Moroccan food and Moroccan
eating habits. A group of 6 students out of 20 students who first enrolled in the
course, worked on delivering a presentation using a video and a poster to talk
about Moroccan eating habits. Given studentss rural and poor background as
they live far from school and do not have daily access to the internet, as well as
the school lack of a multimedia room, they managed to post their feedback
through my computer. By the end, they presented the project in the classroom.
These online courses provide very educating platforms both for professional and
personal development. There are many other platforms that provide such
courses such as Coursera, Future Learn and last but not last Open2study, which
offers educational materials and learning opportunities that can mostly measure
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up to a face to face learning experience. Online educational courses offer an

opportunity to learn in new ways, interact on a daily basis and get feedback on
classroom issues and the latest teaching and learning practices that could be of
great benefit to ones learners.
Continuous Self Assessment: Students Peer Review and Frequent

Interaction
Researchers have significantly stressed that regular assessment of learners
progress and teachers evaluation and feedback on the learning results are key
factors that determine the success of the learning and teaching process. Given
that both terms are used interchangeably to refer to assessing the learning
process, learners and educators portray two features of the same process of
addressing students and teachers performance. Hence, Learners educational
achievement is mostly and traditionally assessed through regular tests or
national exams that take place at the end of a unit, the term or at the end of the
academic year. Testing provides physical evidence of the learners progress;
and thus accreditation constitutes one of the vital components of the learning
process for parents, the ministry of education and learners. Test scores and
evaluation sheets are considered as the official evidence of teachers regular
work following the ministrys circulars that showcase the processes of preparing
tests and scoring. To some extent, assessing learners refers to the calculation of
good grades that are only achievable if the content is perfectly mastered by the
learner. Thus, continuous assessment often carries with it a large workload,
which can occasionally be daunting, especially to students whose previous
experiences of education have not been entirely positive(Corder 77). Yet, the
ministrys circular, to be precise the 142 circular, stresses the adoption of
formative assessment through short quizzes that would enable teachers to
evaluate the students progress and to adapt ones teaching practices to students
learning performances and needs. Yet, this process does not align with the latest
changes that have addressed the implementation of technology in the grading
system, namely MASSAR.
Following the latest reforms lately launched by the Moroccan Ministry of

education, Massar is meant to regularize the grading system through the use of
technology. The grading assessment process creates a tense atmosphere for all
the educational actors: teachers, administrators, learners and parents as it leads
to students protests to this reform that simply intends to give up the traditional
way of filling up the grades manually on papers. The whole idea of MASSAR
revolves around typing grades on EXCELL software which would enable the
ministry and the parents to access students grades smoothly. Yet, it does not
reflect the real change that educators aspire to. The sites weak performance,
lack of computers at school, difficult access to the internet in remote areas, and
the ministrys deficiency to equip schools with multimedia tools does rather
highlight the ministrys deficiency to reform the educational system and address
vital issues as overcrowded classes, shortage of teachers and even
administrators and last but not least the lack of expertise and training in the field
of technology.
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Assessing learners progress takes many forms ranging from formative,

summative and continuous assessment to informal ways that include learners
self and peer assessment which may be more efficient for it motivates learners
to invest more efforts in their learning. I have been introduced to this kind of
evaluation via online courses. Peer-reviewing is one of those tools that is vital
and mandatory to review your e-peers and assess their work following certain
criteria. Hence, I have started encouraging my students to review their peers
writings guided by the writing checklist that they have been introduced to
beforehand. I noticed that they are more open to their classmates remarks and
hence they make more effort to learn how to overcome their mistakes and get
motivated by being engaged in a process that teachers tend to usually
monopolize. Indeed, learners need positive feedback from themselves, their
peers and you, the tutor. They need to be given it clearly in a supportive
atmosphere as soon as possible. Assessment isnt just a case of throwing your
students on the mercy of an accrediting body(Corder 80). Self and peer
assessment guarantee the full involvement of learners in the learning process as
they are given the chance to assess their skills which makes the learning
interactive, interesting, and dynamic.
Conclusion
With the growing need for the 21st century skills in the job market, online
courses offer a promising opportunity for teachers as well as learners to acquire
innovative teaching skills and learning experiences that will meet the
expectations of todays students: digital natives. Nowadays, the constant
economic, technological and educational changes make students learn
differently and require them to reconsider those changes with all their prospects
and requirements as well. Online courses prove to be a rewarding experience for
learning and exchanging new ideas, methods and approaches of teaching a
language through social interaction with peers, instructors and sometimes
experts in the field of education. Indeed, teachers would be armed with
untraditional teaching skills and resources that could reduce their full
dependence on those dull textbooks that instil memorization and relieve
students from teachers mundane lectures.
Engaging learners in assessing their skills and academic achievements can make
them active in their learning and the evaluation of that learning as well. Being
aware of the testing processes and how they are being assessed and the extent to
which they themselves can exercise the same process in their own learning
would justify the ends of assessment to students. Rather than taking it as an
obligation, they see it as a tool that justifies the worth of what is being learnt
and how it is taught. A mere paper and pencil would never be enough to
evaluate students perception of what they are learning, their personal beliefs
and values and prospects of education as a whole. This could be approached
through informal regular assessment that should be an integrated part of the
learning process.
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References
Birch, Barbara M. The English Language Teacher in Global Civil Society.
Routledge, 2009. Print.
Carbonara, David D. Technology Literacy Applications in Learning
Environments. IGI Global, 2005. Google Scholar. Web. 1 Apr. 2016.
Corder, Nicholas. Learning to Teach Adults: An Introduction. Routledge, 2008.
Google Scholar. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
E First. EF EPI English Proficiency Index 2015. Education First, 2015. Web.
Ennaji, Moha. Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco.
Springer Science & Business Media, 2005. Google Scholar. Web. 27 Nov.
2015.
Marzano, R. J. Et al. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That
Works. Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL).
Denver, CO (2007).
Tomlinson, Brian, Ed. English Language Learning Materials: A Critical
Review. 1 edition. London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Print.
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Implementing Mind Mapping in ELT at the University:

The case of writing and grammar
Saida Hdii
(School of Arts & Humanities, Beni Mellal)
Smail Kerouad
(School of Arts & Humanities, Meknes)
Abstract
ELT teachers are faced with the challenge of being up to date and finding new
ways to improve and facilitate the teaching and learning process. To this end,
Mind mapping, a technique developed by Buzan, has proved to be a promising
instrument for the teacher and the learner alike. Our paper discusses the
implementation and adaptation of Mind maps in teaching language courses,
basically writing and grammar.
Introduction
Mind mapping, a graphic tool which was first introduced in the field of
psychology by the British psychologist Tony Buzan in the late sixties, has
proved to be beneficial in the teaching of foreign languages. It entered the scene
in the nineties as an activity to brainstorm learners knowledge on a certain
topic or to help them acquire items of vocabulary. In fact, as it has been noticed
in some textbooks, New Interchange (Richards & Lesley, 2000) a case in point,
mind mapping has become a common technique in teaching vocabulary.
Recently, however, other skills are of no exception, for it has been implemented
in teaching reading (Merchie & Van Keer, 2012), spelling (Al-Jarf, 2011), and
writing (Riswan & Putra, 2012). This paper comes as a continuum to previous
works on this promising technique, with the aim to present how it has been
explored in teaching advanced composition and grammar, mainly modal
auxiliary verbs. The paper is divided up into two main sections. The first one
deals with an overview of mind mapping: its definition, benefits and
characteristics. The second section concerns the incorporation of this tool in
teaching grammar and writing at the university level.
1. Background
1.1. Defining mind mapping
Buzan & Buzan (1996) defines a mind map as an expression of Radiant
Thinking and is therefore a function of the human mind, and a powerful graphic
technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain.
At the heart of a mind map is a key concept from which radiate the main ideas
expanding into sub-concepts through a system of branches. In other words, each
idea is connected to its more or less important ideas, creating networks of
relationships (Sim & Pop, 2012).
Along the same lines, Metchie & Van Keer (2012) state that in a mind map, as
used in the educational context, one key concept is located at the middle of
the page. From this central topic, several related main topics in different colors
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are radiated out in the shape of thick branches. Attached to these main branches,
other smaller branches represent related concepts (p. 1388).
Common among most definitions in the literature is the characteristic that mind
mapping is a pictorial organizer; it gets its effectiveness from being a visual
diagram that can attract learners attention, and help them recall as much
information as possible. This is so since it has proved to be a graphical
technique for visualizing connections between several ideas or pieces of
information (Sim & Pop, 2012).
1.2. Benefits of mind mapping

Mind maps have several benefits for the teacher and the learner alike. Within
the era of student-centeredness, this technique has made the teachers role easier
and more compatible with this approach. A fully completed mind map can help
reduce teachers talk and enhance a students centered class where students feel
autonomous and empowered. The teacher is at the same time a mediator, a
facilitator, and a motivator. He or she can use this tool for designing courses,
planning or revising lessons, and varying exercises.
Since the main objective of teachers is the students learning outcome, mind
maps represent a useful technique that can make the learning process easier,
more effective and more enjoyable. This can be reached through different
advantages offered by mind maps:
a. Concentrating: the generated ideas revolve around and radiate out from a
central theme, which permits the learner to focus on tasks and be concise
and to the point for better results.
b. Thought stimulating: mind maps allow generating more and more new
ideas that can easily expand into larger branches allowing a flow of ideas.
c. Organizing: The learning process becomes easier as mind mapping enables
the organization and clarity of thoughts. It enables students to better
organize, prioritize, and integrate material presented in a course (Al-Jarf,
2011, p. 5). This organization permits students to understand the
relationship between different ideas and focus on the way they might be
connected.
d. Overviewing: Mind maps give an overview of an idea; you can see the
whole picture, the global view of a concept.
e. Memorizing: Mind maps can strengthen memory retention.
Overall, this technique with its properties (e.g. colors, curving branches, and
pictures) can trigger learners attention and enhance their motivation and
confidence in their learning abilities.
1.3. Mind mapping in ELT

The last few decades have noticed a growing interest in implementing mind
mapping as a tool in ELT. A number of researchers have studied its
effectiveness in teaching some language skills. For example, Dilek and Yuruk
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(2012) investigated the effects of using the semantic mapping technique in

comparison with traditional techniques in vocabulary learning and found that
the mapping tool is more effective. As for Supriyanto (2013), he conducted a
study to figure out the impact of using mind mapping strategy on students
ability in writing. The study showed that students taught by mind mapping got
better scores than those taught by conventional teaching.
Other researchers have integrated mind maps in teaching some skills. For
instance, Al-Jarf, (2011) has used mind mapping software in teaching spelling
to help learners connect the spoken form with the written text. To illustrate how
she introduced the spelling of the silent letters, we borrowed the mind map that
she designed as shown in the following figure:
In fact, the teaching and learning process is always in need of new strategies
that can attract the learners interest and motivate them. This need is significant
when we deal with courses that they generally consider tough or challenging
such as writing and grammar. Actually, the choice of these two skills does not
undermine the value of other skills, but it merely stems from the fact that
writing and grammar are still, for many students, obstacles and difficult to
master and also because the researchers have started exploring the use of this
mind mapping technique in teaching the two aforementioned courses. It is
believed that this technique can help render subjects that are hard to teach and
learn more accessible and enjoyable.
2. Teaching grammar and writing using mind mapping

2.1. Teaching grammar: Modals as an example
Modal auxiliary verbs have always been among the biggest challenges for both
the grammar teacher and learner, given their complexity and variety of
meaning. Students face difficulties in learning modals since they are different
from ordinary verbs in a number of ways. First, they never take the infinitive
to; second, they never take the third person singular -s or the -ed ending for
the past; finally, they never use forms of do or be to make negatives, ye/no
questions, or tag questions. Teachers, in turn, to successfully teach the uses of
modals, strive to find meaningful and comprehensible techniques. One such
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technique that we have used and found very effective in teaching this complex
grammar component is mind mapping.
In the approach we adopted, mind maps are designed by the teacher and
expanded upon by the learners as it will be presented in the example below. The
context is the School of Arts and Humanities, Department of English, second
semester students: Grammar course.
Example: Teaching modal auxiliary verbs

Task 1.
We provide students with a handout in which we design a map, allowing them
to brainstorm the different functions of modals as illustrated in the following
diagram:
Figure 1.
We usually help students by giving them a function (ability, for example), and
then have them fill out the map with their prior knowledge on this grammar
element. In this way, we try to help learners recall and discover the information,
instead of being spoon-fed.
After accomplishing this task by agreeing on the different functions fulfilled by

modal verbs as it is shown in figure 2, we move to the second task.
Figure 2.
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Task 2.
At this stage, students are given another handout in which the first function of
modals is written in the center (see the figure below). We engage them to work
in pairs and try to branch out the different modals that express ability.
Figure 3.
Then, the teacher involves the whole class in explaining, illustrating, discussing
and giving examples, and summarizes the entire task in a mind map: figure 4.
Figure 4.
The same procedure is used until we cover all the functions and the variety of
modals used to fulfill the different meanings. As with modal auxiliary verbs,
mind mapping has been explored in teaching advanced composition.
2.2. Teaching writing: using mind maps in the stage of prewriting

One of the skills that students struggle with even at an advanced level is writing.
This is due to many factors, among which neglecting the process of writing and
particularly the phase of prewriting is one.
From our experience and observation of students during the task of writing, we
have noticed that they usually spend the first ten minutes or more just thinking
to find ideas without trying to write anything on the paper. Consequently, they
have problems managing time, particularly during exams. Moreover, they
generally spend time thinking about well formulated sentences right from the
beginning; they pay attention to the structure and organization first. Another
challenge that students face is that, while writing, they follow the usual order of
introduction, body and conclusion. They rarely brainstorm and when they do,
the ideas or concepts they put on the paper are not clear or do not follow a
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certain logic, a fact which reflects the disorder and confusion they have in their
minds about the subject matter. Students also find difficulties in narrowing the
topic of writing, focusing on certain aspects, and leaving others.
Actually, a useful starting point for students to overcome the above obstacles is
to explore more the process of writing and its different phases in order to
produce a piece of writing of a good quality.
Accordingly, the process of writing is an essential part of the course of

advanced writing in university which also covers other important elements that
can contribute to the promotion of students writing skills such as using
professional essay models and writing mechanics. Brown (2001) argues for the
development of the process approach to writing which leads to the final written
product and helps students build repertoires of strategies for prewriting,
drafting, and rewriting (Brown, 2001, p. 335).
As a matter of fact, the steps of the writing process which can help students
write effectively are as follows: pre-writing, outlining, drafting, revising, and
editing (see figure 5).
Figure 5.
The concern of the present paper is the first stage, namely prewriting which is
of a paramount significance since it involves the starting point for the writing
and can help students save time for the subsequent stages. In addition to
choosing and narrowing a topic, prewriting is concerned with thinking about
and generating as many ideas as possible about that topic. In order to be
effective and save time, two techniques can be used (see figure 6). The first one
is brainstorming which involves coming up with as many ideas as possible and
writing everything related to the topic. The second one, a more organized way
of brainstorming, is mind mapping which is the central point of the present
paper.
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Figure 6.
In this regard, the strategy of mind mapping has proved to be very useful in
triggering learners thinking and can be an effective method for generating ideas
by association. As Hayes (1992) argues, ideas are freely associated and written
out without pressure, thereby reducing tension and resistance often associated
with writing (Cited in Supriyanto, 2013).
To this end, what follows are some suggestions of creating mind maps that can
be used for developing a composition and which we have used in the course of
advanced writing.
It is worth noting that mind maps used for the writing task generally take the
form displayed in figure 7.
Figure 7.
Task 1.
Students can create mind maps from reading or listening tasks. They try to
determine the central idea of the reading or listening, write it in the middle and
start relating it with other ideas they remember until they reach a whole picture
of the task. In doing so, they prepare the basis from which they can shift to the
other stages of writing.
Task 2.
Teachers can design a map or provide ready-made maps and students can use
them to develop paragraphs or essays (see figure 8)
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Figure 8.
Task 3.
Teachers can provide only the main topic and write it in the center of the board,
and students can create their own maps by writing all the ideas and concepts
related to this topic. From this map, they can develop their own writing. (see
figure 10)
Figure 10.
Task 4.
Students can also create a collective map on the board. When the map is ready
with a number of subtopics radiating from the central idea, the teacher can use it
to have a class discussion about the best order in which ideas could be presented
in a composition. Students can then develop a piece of writing using the mind
map on the board.
Task 5.
Students can create their own mind maps by choosing their favorite topics as
shown in figure 11.
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Figure 11.
Conclusion
In this paper we have tried to contribute to the body of research on the use of
mind mapping, mainly in ELT. The incorporation of this tool in our grammar
and composition courses is a new experience that has been found to be effective
and promising. This conclusion is based on the researchers observations of the
students enthusiasm and willingness to be engaged in the learning task given to
them. The teachers have also experienced a detachment from the traditional
methods of teaching at the university which are based on lecturing, a fact that
facilitates the teachers task, reinforces his/her required role as a facilitator, a
monitor, and a motivator, and finally renders his/her duty more enjoyable and
relaxing. Further empirical research is needed to study the effectiveness of mind
mapping in promoting learners motivation and ultimately in achieving a better
teaching and learning outcome.
References
Al-Jarf, R. (2011). Teaching spelling skills with a mind-mapping software.
Asian EFL Journal, 25, 4-16.
Brown, D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language

pedagogy. 2nd ed. New York: Longman.
Buzan, T. & Buzan, B. (1996). The mind map book: How to use radiant
thinking to maximize your brains untapped potential. New York: Penguin
Book.
Dilek,Y. & Yuruk, N. (2013). Using semantic mapping technique in

vocabulary teaching at pre-intermediate leve. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences 70, 1531-1544.
Kuzmych, S. (2008). Mind mapping opens creativity of the brain. TESOL-

Ukraine Newsletter, 14(1), 7.
Merchie, M & Van Keer, H. (2012). Spontaneous Mind Map use and learning
from texts: The role of instruction and student characteristics. Procedia - Social
and Behavioral Sciences 69, 1387-1394.
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Richards, J. C. & Lesley, T. (2000). New Interchange: English for international

communication. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Riswanto & Putra, P. P. (2012). The use of mind mapping strategy in the
teaching of writing at SNAN 3 Bengkulu, Indonesia. International Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(21), 60- 68.
Sim, M. A. & Pop, A. M. (2012). Mind mapping and brainstorming as methods
of teaching business concepts in English as a foreign language. Academica
Science Journal, 1(1), 75-83.
Supriyanto J. (2013). The effect of mind mapping strategy on the students

writing ability. JP3, 1(13), 184-190.
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School-based Activities as a Source of Professional Development:

MATE CIRCLEs as Example
Mohammed Hassim, ELT Supervisor
Introduction
Education's major goal is to prepare good citizens for the community. Apart
from the family, the school is the best place for students socialization and
education to become good citizens who can hopefully integrate smoothly in
social life. The school, like most social institutions, is a community in the first
place and not a gathering of students, teachers and administrators as it might
look. The school has a life of its own and an internal system, and is not a mere
collection of subjects, classrooms and exams. In the final run, the school is a
collective culture and not a building or an academic content. What happens in
schools should always bear in mind this major goal for education including both
class-based activities (CBAs) and school-based activities (SBAs).
1. What are school-based activities?

SBAs are educational activities that go beyond one class and involve the school
while including students from different classes. SBAs may be in the form of
clubs, extra-curricular activities or shows where students and administration
might be involved in. They may involve one teacher or many teachers, same
subject matter teachers or teachers of varied subjects, teachers from the same
school or other schools, and they may also involve invited people from outside
the school like experts in specific fields.
SBAs may be part of a teacher or a group of teachers action plan, or they may
be part of the school programme. They may also be part of a national or an
international programme like MATE students-related activities, Connecting
Classrooms project, iEARN and many other ones. The activities may be related
to one school subject or integrated subjects. They may be related to school
subjects, life skills or community service. The activities may be conducted
inside or outside the school.
2. School-based activities versus class-based activities

SBAs can be compared to class-based activities (CBAs) at many levels. The
following table shows the main differences between the two types of activities:
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Class-based activities School-based activities

Syllabus and curriculum based Life skills based
Lesson-based Project-based
Limited in scope and space Wider in scope and space
Much related to exams as an Related to community and life
ultimate goal
Classroom-based School-based and community-based
Follows the factory model Follows a humanistic and social
model
More individualized More collective and collaborative
Local. Can go beyond the local to the
national and global dimensions.
If we consider education's major goal which is to prepare good citizens for the
community, schools can achieve this ultimate goal via SBAs in a better way
compared to CBAs. CBAs are more related to the academic content and formal
evaluation system, while SBAs are more related to personal development, social
life and skill-building.
3. Benefits of school-based activities

SBAs serve the very essential aspects of schools as a community based on a
collective culture. These activities foster collaboration, help build a school
culture and support a community structure in the school. Moreover, SBAs open
the school to the community locally, nationally and internationally. As far as
personality development is concerned, SBAs help develop leadership and
managerial skills. They foster professional development through peers and
through practice and they also nurture a sense of volunteerism and solidarity.
Ultimately, they make the school work visible beyond the school itself.
4. Challenges of school-based activities

Like any other educational activity, SBAs do not go without some challenges.
There are at least five types of challenges.
4.1. Sometimes, teachers involved in SBAs may face lack of a flexible

administration as the activities involve students and classes in activities
different from the normal day-to-day activities that take place within the four
walls of classrooms. The administration may consider SBAs as an additional
burden they do not feel comfortable with. SBAs also create a break in the daily
routine of the school life which might not be welcomed by some administrators.
4.2. The second major challenge is how to involve colleagues in SBAs which
are a collective activity if the major goals are to be achieved like creating a
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community spirit and a collective culture. Otherwise, if done by the same

teacher all the time, they might run the risk of being limited and fall short of
impacting the whole school. Collaboration is a major element in creating a
sense of belonging to a community and creating a collective culture.
4.3. Involving and seeking partners is another challenge. By its very nature,
SBAs involve the whole school and sometimes they go beyond the school and
open up to the community and other institutions. Therefore, working with
outside school partners is always a possibility. Community service and
voluntary work, for instance, would require collaborating with institutions like
the houses of the elderly, youth centers, blood donation centers which would
push both teachers and students to seek partners. Sponsorship might be required
to do certain activities, hence teachers and students need to build up skills of
how to market their projects and seek help from potentially interested partners.
Skills built up through these activities are related to leadership and managerial
qualities that both teachers and students need in life and community service.
4.4. SBAs surely require extra time and energy on the part of both students and
teachers. However, the time and energy invested in them are worthwhile
because they serve in building good citizens and life skills rather than good
teachers and students within the limits of the four walls of the classroom and the
formal curriculum.
4.5. Sustainability is another challenge facing SBAs hard work. The fruits of
SBAs are much seen when they are sustained through time and continuity. A
school culture cannot be built overnight or through a single shot activity. It is
built through building clear goals and short/medium/long-term planning. Then,
it is sustained through collaborative work.
5. MATE CIRCLEs as an example

5.1. The general background of the project
Clubs of Instructional Resources for Culture and Language Enhancement
(MATE CIRCLEs) is a project launched by Moroccan Association of Teachers
of English (MATE) in the school year 2015-2016. It is based on the ideas and
principles of SBAs but at a wider level that includes schools nationwide. In
addition to achieving the goals of SBAs as mentioned above, the project seeks
to actively contribute to the efforts of the Moroccan ministry of education to
implement the current educational reform in Moroccan middle and high
schools. MATE CIRCLEs project has come in a critical period; a period of
reform and change. So it needs to be given a boost through all MATE branches,
partners and synergetic collaboration. It is also a versatile project, i.e. it is
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basically a student-centered project, but it is also an opportunity for teacher

development through experimenting with new pedagogies and materials away
from obsolete contexts of teaching and learning. Moreover, it is a contribution
to the improvement of ELT in Morocco by its varied and non-traditional
practices.
5.2. MATE CIRCLEs as a contribution to educational reform

This project is based on four axes included in the priority measures adopted by
the ministry of education for the current educational reform. As mentioned in
the introductory document of the project issued by MATE, the project covers 4
axes included in the new educational reform; namely
1. Axis 2: Mastering foreign languages
a. Strengthening foreign language learning in middle and high schools as
well as changing the learning model.
b. International streams of the Moroccan Baccalaureate.
2. Axis 4: Transversal competencies and self-enhancement
a. Openness Institutions (cultural, artistic and sports activities and
languages)
b. Initiative taking and entrepreneurial spirit.
3. Axis 6: Educational training
a. Coaching and training through practice
b. Reviewing teacher basic training.
4. Axis 8: School ethics
a. Integrity and values in Moroccan school.
5.3. Global objectives of the project

Based on the introductory document of the project, the global objectives of
MATE CIRCLEs are as follows:
Creating appropriate spaces to promote learnings based on new pedagogies
(project-based learning, learner centeredness, 21st century skills, and the
use of ICT in teaching, learning, training and activities);
Setting up platforms for experimenting with new pedagogies and
enhancing teachers competencies through professional learning
communities and peer-coaching;
Strengthening the mastery of foreign languages in an integrated way in
relation to competencies, skills and the interdisciplinary relationships
among the various school subjects that constitute the Moroccan
curriculum;
Promoting learners cultural openness through joint exchange programs
with foreign language speaking countries;
Supporting independent learning through enabling students to acquire
autonomous and lifelong learning skills;
Encouraging learners to acquire the ability to take initiatives, engage in
personal development and acquire leadership skills;
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Enabling learners to acquire the required skills to integrate in the job

market and the entrepreneurial field;
Involving learners in active citizenship behaviours, positive values and
community service.
5.4. The adopted educational approaches

The CIRCLEs are built upon an educational philosophy that considers the
integration of language learning and culture enhancement as an integral part of
language education. The project also considers the integration of culture and
language at the centre of the learning process by incorporating the activities
within the whole curriculum. This can also put language at the centre of society
through the openness to all the components of this society. Furthermore,
language will facilitate students' involvement in global projects that foster
international communication, global cultural understanding and concern with
global issues.
These CIRCLEs are not necessarily for language learning. They are basically
meant for strengthening students achievements and acquired knowledge and
skills in all school subjects, developing their personalities, and making them
active citizens both locally and globally. Hence, the learners should become
active actors at both the academic and social levels. As mentioned above, all
this cannot be achieved unless new learning and teaching pedagogies are
adopted; such as project-based learning, learner centeredness and the acquisition
of the 21st century skills.
There are many definitions and frameworks for the 21st century skills in the
literature, but the one adopted by this project is the one put forward by Bernie
Trilling & Charles Fadel, 2009 (pp. 175-177). This framework can be
summarised in this table:
12st Century Learning Skills
st
3Rs X 7Cs = 12 century learning skills
A. Basic skills: 3Rs

1. Reading
2. wRiting
3. aRithmetic .
B. 7Cs
1. Critical thinking and problem solving
2. Creativity and innovation
3. Collaboration, teamwork, and leadership
4. Cross cultural understanding
5. Communication, information, & media literacy
6. Computing and ICT literacy
7. Career learning and self-reliance.
Bernie Trilling & Charles Fadel, 2009 (pp. 175-177):

21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times
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5.5. CIRCLEs Activities

To achieve the goals mentioned above, each MATE CIRCLE should come up
with an action plan that includes at least the common activities suggested by the
National Committee. Of course CIRCLEs are free to take initiatives and add
other activities of their own.
The common activities are as follows:

1. Reading: written, visual and audio texts.
2. Creative writing: poetry, short story, articles, plays.
3. Performing arts: public speaking, acting, singing, drawing.
4. ICT skills: audio-visual skills, editing and publishing skills, internet-
related skills.
Students run circles should also be created based on students common

interests. These students circles could be:
1. Drama circle;
2. Poetry circle;
3. Public speaking circle;
4. Reading circle;
5. Journalism circle;
6. ICT circles;
7. etc.
5.6. Internal and external evaluations

a. Portfolio: The portfolio is considered as an efficient tool for documentation,
evaluation and showcasing achievements. MATE has prepared a clear and
practical model of a portfolio with its components and how to do external and
self-evaluation.
b. Reporting: Each MATE CIRCLE should write at least three reports a year.
The first one should be about the setting up of the CIRCLE, the managing
committee and the action plan. The second report should be about the
CIRCLEs work progression. As for the third one, it should be a comprehensive
report detailing all the activities carried out throughout the school year.
5.7. Teacher Training

MATE CIRCLEs project is an efficient platform to train teachers through
practice on the implementation of the new learning pedagogies.
5.8. The Use of ICT

Thanks to their growing importance and efficient pedagogical usefulness,
information and communication technologies will be used in teaching, learning,
training, communication, publishing and other activities. MATE organises
practical training sessions for teachers in this field.
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5.9. MATE CIRCLEs best practices and celebration of success

MATE CIRCLEs participate in local, regional and national events to display
students best achievements. Students, parents, administration and local and
national authorities are invited to attend these events to encourage teachers and
students creativity following clearly defined academic and educational
standards set by MATE.
Conclusion
School-based activities go beyond the limits of the classroom and open to
collaborative work, solidarity, a sense of belonging to the institution, building a
culture of volunteerism and fostering project-based work. They also offer many
opportunities for continuous professional development (CPD) that cannot be
possible with classroom-based activities. However, SBAs do not go without
some challenges of involving varied partners and professionals with different
backgrounds, hence the need for leadership qualities and conflict resolution
competencies. This paper has attempted to explore these challenges and probe
opportunities for professional development. MATE CIRCLEs have been given
as a practical example of a wider scheme for SBAs. This project that has been
launched by MATE is a strategic project and has proven to be a successful and
rewarding experience based on last year's piloting stage. With the experience
MATE has gained through this project and many others, it has shifted its
attention to long term projects because they have a lasting impact and show the
value of this association and the maturity of its experience.
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0 Proceedings of the 36 MATE Annual Conference

Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference

"New Education Reform:

Publication of Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE)

The views expressed in these proceedings do not

necessarily reflect those of MATE.

Moroccan Association of Teachers of English (MATE), 2017

E-Learning and ICT: Seeking Novelty in ELT Teachers 87

On behalf of MATE national board, I would to express our indebtedness

Mohammed Hassim, ELT supervisor,

As part of servicing the educational community and based on numerous

Enhancing Teacher Professionalism: A Humanistic Approach

or affective competencies in order to contribute to the realization of the

The present paper is organized as follows. Section One, Teacher

render the best service by providing an environment conducive to such learning

as an essential means to socio-economic development. The focus of the present

qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the

professional learning and development through professional meetings, courses,

Commission: Institute for Prospective Technological Studies.

ELT Teacher Education Program at Ecole Normale

Generally, the department has devoted sustained effort to incorporate new

1. Curriculum Development Strategy

both the institutional expectations and the socio-economic requirements of the

A major factor in the program development is the requirements set by the

A second, but equally important, contributor to the constant upgrading of the

These areas have been found to be fundamental to the development of

2. Teacher Education Program Principles

The English department at ENS-Rabat has developed a set of innovative

(1) Reflective thinking: teacher trainees are encouraged to engage in the

The English department offers a range of modules intended to build up teacher

1) ELT Methodology Program

The main purpose of the methodology modules is to provide prospective EFL

ELT Approaches, Methods and Assessment

Competencies and Standards in the EFL Curriculum

Teaching Language Skills

Lesson Planning, Materials Adaptation and Evaluation

Thecourse enables trainees to develop essential lesson planning skills and

An essential component in the teacher training program, micro-teaching

School Life, Extracurricular Activities and Values Education

This course has three main objectives:

2) Educational Psychology Program

Educational Psychology modules are designed to ensure quality teacher

Learning is a key issue in the field of education. Theobjectives of this module

Classroom Management Skills

Individual Learner Differences

This course aims to help teacher trainees acquire a knowledge foundation in

Best Practices for Specific Age groups

The following modules are designed to emphasize future teachers ongoing

Educational research is conceived of as an initiation course into research

Learning Technologies for the EFL Classroom

Learning technologies for the EFL classroom is an initiation of the teacher

Employment Communication Skills

Employment Communication in Arabic and in French

Bearing in mind the importance of professional communication in the Arabic

they will be exposed to the specifics of professional and business

The three components of the practicum, namely microteaching, classroom

Microteaching is a supervised initiation to practice teaching. Trainees are

This is an essential component of the English Department teacher education

4. Portfolio and Research Project

The portfolio complements the teacher education program. It accompanies and

The incorporation of co-curricular activities (CCAs) in the regular ELT teacher

6. Department Management Principles and Strategies

7. Challenges and Achievements