ISSN 05851-609X

Newsletter of the Moroccan Association of Teachers of English, Volume 24 (3-4), Winter-Spring 2004

EDITORIAL
Quality Education should be more than exception. Consequently, and as it is stated
a mere display of figures and facts in all the official documents related to the
By Said BERDOUZ reform, public schools programs should
help our children acquire the values of our
Last year the educational authorities organized a series of symposiums, all society which is known by its openness
throughout the country, about the current educational reform seeing that it and its cultural diversity and teach them
has had very limited tangible encouraging effects on our educational system. and train them on the use of the higher-
Apparently, most of the driving forces, I mean people supposed to put it into order skills they will need to lead a life
effect, are not aware of the consequential role they have to assume as they better than the one led by their desperate
seem not to be fully convinced of the beneficial upshots of the challenge the elders who have been easy targets to hiring
nation has to meet in this millennium. Something has gone wrong somewhere terrorist organizations or by those who
and, unless the educational authorities put in more efforts to bring round make the new generation of boat-people
education stakeholders to contribute to the success of this enterprise, nothing and who foolishly squander their youth
will come of this reform. In my point of view, people have not been and their relatives’ money, seeking illegal
sufficiently informed about this utmost issue, that is why they have not come immigration into European countries.
to realize that ensuring its success is a part of the duties of any scrupulous Official texts and figures clearly state that
citizen, not to mention all educational practitioners. by 2015 every child, be it a girl or a boy,
will have profited from a high standard
Almost 5 years have passed since we started implementing the 2000 quality education; all necessary measures
educational reform and another new academic year is to be added to the will be taken to ensure school drop-outs
calendar of its implementation. It is the year 2004-2005, the year which will and school failures will be reduced to the
be forever marked by the merging of all departments involved in public least percentages one would think of if not
education under the umbrella of one ministry. This is a very important eradicated.
decision if we take it for granted that it is going to help fill up the gap of (Continued on page 2)
coordination that apparently lacked in the previous way of managing
education in our country. Until very recently our formal education used to be
managed by the MENJ, The MHE, and the state secretariat of scientific Published with this issue,
research and almost everything showed that there was little coordination
between these departments; each seemed to be working on its own. Seeing a supplement containing
that the deficit in the sector of education has been so significant, other state 14 reading
departments have been called upon to intervene; some of them have been in
charge of supplying some systematic education, whereas others have been comprehension tests for
made responsible for informal education; namely, adult vocational and Level 1 of English
literacy programs. A lot of efforts and big budgets have been and still are
spent on both kinds of education; however, we are apparently still lagging
behind the worldwide-recognized standards of education. Some concerned On the Inside
people would say that even if dozens of thousands of children are enrolled
every year in primary schools, only very few of them would finish their
* Minutes of the 1st & 2nd G.C. meeting
tertiary education, not only because of necessary funds university studies
* Reports on MATE Activities
would require from an average Moroccan family, but also because most of
* The theme-based approach to CBI
the time our students find themselves unprepared to cope with the requisites
By M. Redouane
of university studies.
* Textbooks don’t have meaning;
Teachers give meaning to textbooks
Now that education in its broad sense has become the concern of only one
By E. Fahmi
Ministry which declared its intent to make “Quality, Proximity and
* Synchronous online conferencing:
Regionalization” its motto for the future, people, mainly parents, would
Possibilities for the Moroccan teacher
probably want to be assured that no problems will prevent the achievement of
By M. Hassim
the reform objectives. Our education reform has been put forward with the
* MATE coming events.
view of assuring a qualitative improvement of the educational outcomes; it is
meant to make the educational system provide our children with quality
academic knowledge the highly required types and levels of skills and Edited by:
competencies they will need to survive in the world of globalization, where M. Hassim, E.Fahmi & S. Berdouz
only the fittest people can live. In other words, with the reform, our children
are entitled to be prepared to contribute, as accountable citizens who are This issue has been printed with a
proud of their being Moroccans, to achieve the nation real durable contribution from the British Council.
development liable to guarantee the welfare for all Moroccans without any

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -1-

However, reality seems not to confirm what is being preached. Our our students’ performance. To give every
educational system is still being mistrusted. The number of Moroccans who student the opportunity to excel and to
prefer not to send their offspring to public schools, because of the poor experience the feeling of success teachers
quality education these schools provide, is dramatically increasing and this is should pinpoint their students’ weaknesses
reflected through the flourishing business of paying schools. It cannot be and accordingly plan and provide
denied that a lot of efforts and money have been put into the implementation supportive teaching for struggling
of this reform, yet the quality sought has not been actualised, neither are learners. Furthermore, it is highly
there signs showing that it will be actualised within the timing set for its recommended that they work in close
implementation. In my point of view, we waited long before we took action collaboration so as to build up the feel of
to improve our educational system; therefore, as we are all concerned, our belonging to a professional community on
task is far from being easy, for we have cumulated a wide range of different which they may rely to overcome the
types of errors. Furthermore, improving educational quality is difficult even problems they may encounter in their
for rich developed countries; let alone countries with very limited resources teaching job.
like Morocco, where other sectors are to be reformed under all conditions.
As for policy makers, if they are really
I mentioned earlier that we should not have waited that long to start willing to carry out successfully this
reforming our system of education, but it is never late; nevertheless, I wonder extremely important project, the current
whether all actors concerned with education share the same vision as far as reform, they should be committed to
the search for quality education is concerned. The concept of quality is providing a safe and stimulating learning
borrowed from the world of industry. Almost all references I consulted agree environment by making schools attractive
on the fact that it means the endeavour which seeks to make products fit for a places wherein teachers will be glad to
purpose and with the fewest or no defects. With regard to this concept, there work and learners will feel at home to
are two opposing schools of thought. One of them adopts a statistical learn. As the number of students in each
approach to quality: after listing the identified defects it calls for taking the class and for each teacher is a key element
necessary corrective action. The other one subscribes to a more radical for quality education, they should give
approach which sees that products must be conform to priorly set thought to the problem of overcrowded
specifications; conformance to these specifications is more valuable than classes. They should also design curricula
producing goods with defects to be corrected later on. and teaching materials that will likely
enable learners to face the challenges lying
To enhance quality improvement is not a prompt action; it is a long process, ahead of them. They should also design
which may not work well unless all levers assumed to affect its evolution are quality standards and instruments which
called upon to come into play in the appropriate ways. Generally speaking, are to be used to assess the learners’
when quality is related to public education, I would say it implies that the achievement on the basis of these
services provided by public schools meet national expectations which are standards. Quality teachers, quality school
supposed to comply with the general policy of the state presumably based on administrators and supervisors are of
democratic principles. These services should also meet the education paramount importance to ensure quality
consumers’ expectations. In other words, I would say that public schools are education, that is why the educational
not providing quality education if they do not satisfy the aspirations of their authorities will have to provide the
clients, enrolled students and their parents. It is true that a lot of work is required means to give both pre-service
being done to see the objectives aimed at by the reform achieved. With the and in-service training to these
Ministry’s strategic plan which reflects a lot of professionalism in project practitioners whose efforts to fulfil good
making and the National Charter of Education and Training, which was achievements in their area of work must be
based on a very reliable diagnostic analysis of the sector of education in our rewarded. We cannot hope for quality in
country and its valuable recommendations, we do not have the right to miss education unless some reasonable amount
the target any more. It is true that most of us are sceptic about the whole of didactic equipments is provided;
matter because we have experienced many cases of disappointment caused therefore, all education stakeholders are
by brightly elaborated promises that have never come true, but this should required to supply education institutions
not be for us an excuse to dodge our obligation as hired professionals of with these equipments while the users are
education, as citizens concerned with the potential of our nation, as parents also required to make the best use of such
worried about our children’s future. We, the main actors of the system, tools.
teachers, school administrators, supervisors, or whatever position we hold in
the system, should all see that the challenge of improving the achievement of To conclude, I would add that in any case,
our learners is materialized. Education is one of our most important if we want to build up an economical
responsibilities liable to help us build up the better world we dream of. We system capable of generating employment
should not forget that we are accountable to our employer, the Ministry in and higher living standards, quality
charge of education, and to the whole nation, not only for abiding by the education is a must for our nation. We all
rules and directives issued to pursue the objectives of the reform, but also for know what we have to do, so, now, we just
need to get on and do it.

MATE new email account:

[email protected]

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -2-

 REPORTS ON MATE ACTIVITIES

Minutes of the 1st General Council meeting

Date: 23 May 2004
Place: Marrakech City People in charge
Attendance: 100% Casablanca Lamhiouli, Fawzi, Imad, Mouhib
Rabat ??????
Agenda: Fez Marjane
Marrakech Berdouz, Blibil
The transfer of power
Evaluation of the last annual conference
Designing a work plan Coordinators: Lamhiouli, Fahmi
Summer camps Materials: Lamhiouli, Raddadi
Fund-raising
Next conference 4. Fund-raising:
Partnerships * Summer camps
Local branches * Sponsoring:
Communication - Ait Ali will post a draft of sponsoring project to the
Needs in terms of equipment members of the board for feedback
- Mouhib, Kerkech, Fahmi will contact the Moroccan
Summary of the points raised concerning the above Association for Private Schools and English BA holders
agenda and work tasks: to discuss possibilities of MATE offering training to
newly recruited teachers.
1. Transfer of power * Ads:
Due to the constraints of time, details of the financial - Bouziane will do the statistics of MATE website
report were discussed at the end of the meeting between visitors.
Lamhiouli, former treasurer, and Mustapha, the newly * Membership
elected treasurer. - MATE should restore the distribution of FORUM
magazine to encourage membership.
2. Evaluation of the 24th conference - To reduce the expenses of mailing the newsletter and
After the transfer of power, Berdouz, the newly elected FORUM, MATE should purchase a Franking machine
president, thanked all the members of MATE who - ALCs will be targeted for potential members
contributed to the success of the 24th MATE National - Preparation of a database and letters to members to
Conference. The following shortcomings were renew membership will be needed
mentioned, though: * The British Council (BC) will be sought to contribute
* The programme was modified many times, which had some funds for regional colloquia, sponsor other events
a bad effect on the organization of the conference. (NGO management, etc.), pay its memberships and the
* Communication about the conference was very weak fees of some participants in MATE conferences.
because MATE website was blocked.
5. Eventual partners:
Some recommendations for improvement were Belkachla and Makhfi will draft partnership project with
provided: * Librairie Nationale
* The topic of the next conference should be announced * Ministry of National Education and Higher Education
as early as possible, and if possible the programme too. * The British Council
Information on the time and site could be provided when * El Amrani Institute (Berdouz and Belkachla)
confirmed. * RELO
* Work tasks should be assigned with enough precision * Local communes.
* More efforts in communication and advertisement
should be made. 6. Local Branches (LBs):
* Bouziane will make sure all the papers are delivered to * Problems:
MATE. This requires a continuous reminder. - There is a need for financial support from the National
* A lot of energy was invested on making the stay of the Board (NB).
trainees convenient, but the few of them who joined - It is recommended that in the future the relationship
stayed at the hotel; therefore, it was recommended that between the NB and the LBs should be more organized
in the upcoming conference trainees will be allowed to and that the members should consult the suggested
participate if they can afford the fees or if they are project of internal rules and regulations on MATE
sponsored by another organization. Otherwise, their website.
participation should be limited to regional colloquia - Responsibilities should be specified
which are less expensive. - Financial support for LBs should be structured (based
on the quality and the importance of the event)
3. Summer Camps:

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -3-

- A competition should be encouraged between LBs (in * A whole day in the conference will be devoted to the
terms of the number of members) achievements of MATE in the last 25 years.
- LBs should present concrete projects to the NB who - Bouziane: coordinating research teams, sponsoring and
can decide then about the amount and nature of the grants
contribution. * Venue: Beni Mellal or Ouarzazate (there is a change
now)
* Representing MATE NB in regional colloquia:
- Beni Mellal conference: Berdouz, Raddadi, Bouziane, 8. Work plan:
Ghaiti, Mouhib, Belkachla *Ait Ali will send a draft of a chart to be filled out by the
- Ouarzazate: Assebane, Blibil board
* Ait Ali and Bouziane will prepare the project for the
* Creating new branches: NGO management colloquium
- Casablanca
- Errachidia 9. Communication
- Other * It was decided that we would improve the quality of
communication among the members of the board in
* The board of Marrakech should be re-elected. yahoogroup and, therefore, the discussion will continue
on the net. Also, we should reinforce communication
7. The 25th conference: with other channels.
* Suggested theme: * Events should be announced in newspapers and the
Education, Citizenship and National Heritage radio.
Citizenship Content and Citizenship Values - Newspapers and Marrakech radio: Belkachla
The Citizenship School - Newsletter: Hassim and his team
The Citizenship Teacher
- Ayoub will be in charge of the theme of the conference 10. Equipment: The new board should decide on
* Research teams should be formed concerning MATE purchasing the necessary equipment.
publications

Minutes of the 2nd General Council meeting

Date: 10 October 2004 1c. Rabat SC should be reconsidered. A committee
Site: Academy of Marrakech composed of Berdouz, Bouziane, and Lamhiouli will
Attendance: A. Bouziane, A. Ait Ali, A. Rhaiti, A. fix a time to discuss this point with Mr. Zaki and clear
Lamhiouli, F. Mouhib, M. Blibil, E. Fahmi, M. Hassim, up the situation.
S. Berdouz, N. Belkachla
1d. A committee composed of Blibil, Lamhiouli, Fahmi
Agenda : and Mouhib was nominated and assigned the task of
1. Discussion of the Summer Course (SC) reports studying and marketing the SC for next year and give a
2. Finalization of the schedule for the upcoming events report to the board ahead of time. They should also look
3. National conference through the ministerial circulars that regulate the
4. Miscellanies relationship between associations and educational
institutions. This will help MATE launch negotiations
1. Discussion of the Summer Course (SC) reports with the Ministry and the Academies with informed
1a. Reports of the Marrakech and Casablanca SCs were knowledge.
presented by M. Blibil and A. Lamhiouli respectively
(see Marrakech report in this issue). In spite of the 2. Finalization of the schedule for the upcoming
success that the Casablanca SC knew, the following events
constraints were recorded: Finalization of a large part of the programme for the
* There was the problem of supervision. All the people upcoming events was made (see the table of the schedule
who were asked for help could not make it for a reason of coming events in this issue) :
or another. The organizing committee had to do the * Possible date of ESP conference : Jan 8th through 10th.
work. Site: Essaouira
* 5000 dhs were spent on cleaning the host school, Theme: English Teaching for Promoting Tourism.
which is quite a considerable amount of money. Bouziane will launch a call for papers on the net.
Team in charge: Berdouz, Fahmi, Bouziane, Zaki,
1b. The reputation of MATE might be at stake in Fez as Laarej, Zizi, Haddad, Najbi.
a result of what happened between the person in charge
and the educational authorities there. Therefore, it was Contacts will be made with:
decided that Lamhiouli should get in touch with Mr. Azoulay, National offices of tourism, Higher
concerned parties and arrange a meeting for clarification institutes of tourism, Professional associations of
and remedy. tourism, British Embassy, RELO, Governor of
Essaouira, Wali, Délégué, etc.

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -4-

NGO management conference: Bouziane will get in Team in charge: Local Branch of Ouarzazate and the
touch with the British council. National Board.
Translation conference: Contacts about it will be made
with Mr. Zaki soon by the committee mentioned before. Hassim will create a new MATE e-mail account.
Berdouz will be checking the fax. Modifications in
University day: Bouziane will assess needs and suggest Hassim’s suggested poster were made and will be posted
a possible date in yahoogroup. by Bouziane.

Berdouz will e-mail local branches and inquire about or 4. Miscellanies:

suggest dates and request themes for regional * BC is always ready to sponsor regional colloquia
conferences. * On-line course: selection was made in a haste because
of the constraints of time (three days)/ lack of database
ICT national conference will be organized by the local for MATE members (there is a great need for it.
branch of Agadir in February 2005, in addition to an Bouziane will consider that later).
ELTeCS training at the BC directed by Hassim and * The funding for the linguistic journal will stop when
Bouziane for the benefit of 6 people from Beni Mellal, the contract with Mr. Mouha Naji comes to an end.
Agadir and Ouarzazate * Ait Ali will post the sponsoring project for feedback
* The project of affiliation with IATEFL presented by
A MATE day on Quickway 3 will be held in Marrakech Berdouz in the meeting should be read and feedback
on October 13th. The schedule will comprise the election given in Yahoogroup.
of a new board. Dates for other MATE days will be * Berdouz will write to TESOL and negotiate affiliation
announced later. as a response to their request.
* Berdouz, Blibil and Belkachla will go to the bank to
3. National conference: solve the problem of the new account. Berdouz should
Suggested site: Ouarzazate clear out money problems with Hassan (Librairie
Theme: Education and Citizenship: Issues and Values Nationale) and Lamhiouli.
Reported by Nezha Belkachla

Concise report about Marrakech summer camp 2004

The summer course (SC) started, as was planned, on the trainees to give the most of their potentials and boost
July 12, 2004 with 60 beneficiaries. The following two their commitment.
days the number went up to 81. Six children whose During the whole course, no discipline problem or
parents are working at the CPR were exempted from absences were ever reported. The general atmosphere
paying. was very relaxed.

Before the SC started, a meeting was held with the CPR On July 17th, a pedagogical meeting was held for the
trainees where 32 expressed their wishes to take part in benefit of the trainees. It focused on the following issues:
the implementation of the course. However, only 20 of - Classroom management and lesson planning (Mr.
them kept their promise. This number was fortunately Berdouz)
large enough for the small amount of classes we had. - Teacher self-development (Mr. Blibil)
This also spared us the trouble of having to deal with - A video show related to the SC and different teaching
extra expenses and that of providing opportunities for all materials that teachers could use in their classrooms
the participants to teach the three levels formed on the (Mr. Rasmy)
basis of the placement test administered on July 09, - A former CPR trainee from Settat gave a brief account
2004. The number of classes (2 beginners, 2 pre- of his experience as a teacher and the difficulties he was
intermediate, and 1 intermediate) was just enough for the faced with.
20 trainees to teach at least one session a day.
The social aspect of the course was also given its due
The daily work load consisted of 3 sessions: importance. A surprise birthday party was offered to all
Session 1: 8.00-----9.30 the participants. It celebrated the birthday of the only
Session 2 : 9.45-----11.15 student whose date of birth happened to coincide with
Session 3 : 11.30----13.00 the period of the course. Another party was held to
celebrate the closing day and the distribution of both
Each group of 5 trainees was in charge of teaching the students’ and teachers’ certificates were awarded with
five classes in each session while the others peer the presence of parents who openly expressed their
observed. This greatly enhanced team, cooperative and gratitude towards MATE, their appreciation concerning
well planned teaching. The frequent visits of qualified the quality of the course, and their plea to see the
teachers from different schools and that of the experience reiterated next year.
supervisors from Marrakech Academy have contributed
a lot to the success of the training course and encouraged Reported by Mustapha Blibil

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -5-

 The theme-based approach to CBI
By Redouane Madaoui
Al massira high school, Massa, Chtouka Ait Baha

Content-based approach is a method of teaching foreign At least three general models of content-based language
languages that integrates language instruction with instruction exist: theme-based, adjunct, and sheltered
instruction in the content areas. In this approach, the second (Scarcella & Oxford, 1992). In the theme-based model, a
or foreign language is used as the medium of instruction for language curriculum is developed around selected topics
mathematics, science, social studies, and other academic drawn from one content area (e.g., marketing) or from
subjects; it is the vehicle used for teaching and acquiring across the curriculum (e.g., pollution and the environment).
subject specific knowledge. The theme-based approach is The goal is to assist learners in developing general academic
the most useful and widespread form of content-based language skills through interesting and relevant content. The
instruction (CBI) today, and it is found in many innovative theme must be very interesting to students and must allow a
ESL and EFL textbooks. wide variety of language skills to be practiced, always in the
service of communicating about the theme. In the adjunct
The objective of this paper is to provide the theoretical model, language and content courses are taught separately
framework of the approach through discussing its context, but are carefully coordinated. In the sheltered model, the
rationale, the view it has to language and language learning subject matter is taught in simplified English tailored to
as well as teacher’s qualities. The weak and strong points of students' English proficiency level. This model was
CBI are also considered. Mention should be made here that originally developed for elementary foreign language
the theme-based and CBI are used interchangeably in this immersion programs.
presentation.
Language in CBI
Key terms - CBI approaches “view the Target language as the
* In CBI, content can refer to academic content -subject vehicle through which subject matter content is learned
matter- or content in terms of cultural themes. rather than as the immediate object of study”. (Brinton
* Stoller & Grabe (1996) define Themes as ‘the central ideas et al, 1989:5)
that organize major curricular units; they are chosen to be - “Language is not just a medium of communication but
appropriate to students’ needs and interests, institutional also a medium of learning across the curriculum. The
expectations, program sources, and teacher abilities and goal of integration is both language learning and
interests’. content learning. Content-based classrooms are not
merely places where a student learns a second
Context of CBI language; they are places where a student gains an
Content-based instruction is hardly a new phenomenon, education.” (Mohan, 1986:8)
although it is most often associated with the genesis of
language immersion education in Canada in 1965. However, Language learning in CBI
it is believed that using a second language as the vehicle to Successful language learning occurs when students are
deliver content has been practiced for thousands of years presented with target language material in a meaningful,
throughout the world. Swain & Johnson (1997) pointed out contextualized form, with the primacy focus on acquiring
that “until the rise of nationalism, few languages other than information and knowledge. The following assumptions
those of the great empires, religions and civilizations, were illustrate how language learning is viewed in CBI:
considered competent or worthy of carrying the content of a - Students learn language best when there is an emphasis
formal curriculum”. This can be seen in the evidence that on relevant meaningful content rather than on the
Latin was used as a medium of education for a thousand language itself (Curtain, 1995).
years after the fall of the Roman Empire. Since then the - Second language acquisition is enhanced by
thread of teaching language through content has been visible comprehensible input; however, comprehensible input
through a variety of program models, most notably alone does not suffice -students need form-focused
immersion and bilingual education, and has had an content instruction (an explicit focus on relevant and
increasing presence in other second language education contextually appropriate language forms to support
programs. content learning) (Swain, 1985, in Grabe & Stoller,
1997).
Yet the balance between language and content varies - Both form and meaning (content) are important and
depending on the settings. In immersion and bilingual work together naturally; to separate them is unnatural
settings “the success of these [C-B] programs is critically (Met, 1991).
dependent on students’ mastery of the academic content to - CBI promotes negotiation of meaning, which is known
the same degree and level as students in native-language to enhance language acquisition (students should
classrooms.” (Genesee, 1994) negotiate for communication related to both form and
content) (Grabe & Stoller, 1997)
Models of CBI - Language learning becomes more concrete rather than
Although estimates of the number of language minority abstract (as in traditional language instruction where
students in U.S. schools vary, there is consensus that the the focus is on the language itself) (Genesee, 1994)
numbers are rising dramatically. In response, a number of
program models have been developed to meet the needs of Teacher characteristics in CBI
language minority students, many involving the integration The following characteristics are embodied in successful
of language and content instruction. language teachers who incorporate a content-based approach
in their teaching. Such teachers

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -6-

• use the target language consistently (or a combination of Strengths and weaknesses
L1 and L2 in bilingual contexts); make use of L1 when the - The primary strength of CBI is that approaches that foster
purpose calls for it independent learning can be incorporated into it.
• provide meaningful, communicative, significant contexts - It provides opportunities to teach higher order thinking
for language learning to occur skills.
• emphasize comprehension at beginning stages - It can be implemented in a variety of contexts (ESP,
• include reading and writing as tools even in early stages of immersion, bilingual education, K+12 classes). It is
language development especially beneficial to students who are expected to learn
• base planning on themes; in the context where language subject matter knowledge as they are acquiring language.
teachers & content teachers cooperate to make the language
syllabus Kinsella (1997) states that despite the effectiveness of CBI
• follow a communicative syllabus yet are aware of the need in contextualizing language and making input
to focus on form in the context of content instruction (With a comprehensible, this practice does not create independent
focus on communication, Grammar emerges through and for learners. She criticized CBI for being too teacher-driven.
language use) She argues that teachers adjust teaching materials to make
• understand that an emphasis on comprehensible input isn’t them accessible rather than teaching students the skills of
enough; demanding comprehensible and, when appropriate, learning on their own. CBI alone, without the integration of
accurate, output is also key (Total lack of attention to academic skills instruction does not foster self-directed
language structures does not help students to develop learners. By not teaching them how to be autonomous
accuracy in their language proficiency (e.g., Lyster, 1987); learners, CBI fails to prepare them for learning outside the
best practice involves deliberate and systematic planning for classroom.
and carrying out instruction in, through, and about the target
language but always with emphasis on meaning.) Conclusion
• gear activities towards students’ interests, developmental “A traveler in a foreign land best learns the names of people
levels, experiences, various learning styles, and needs and places, how to express ideas, ways to carry on a
• know that effective vocabulary instruction is key and conversation by moving around in the culture, participating
involves (1) determining students’ understanding and as fully as he can, making mistakes, saying things half right,
knowledge of vocabulary and concepts, (2) preparing blushing, then being encouraged by a friendly native speaker
students for the concepts/vocabulary to be introduced in a to try again. He will pick up the details of grammar and
lesson, that is, developing "pre-task" activities linked to usage as he goes along. What he must not do is to hold back
students’ prior knowledge, and (3) adapting from the teeming flow of life, sit in his hotel room and drill
lessons/assignments by providing multiple examples, himself on all possible gaffes before entering the street.
guidelines, and procedures (Boutin, 1993) He’d never leave the room.» (Mike Rose). Leaving the room
• emphasize tasks that are cognitively engaging and is the functional goal of theme-based approach.
intrinsically motivating
• make increased use of visuals and realia References
• increase the number and vividness of examples - Boutin, F. (1993). A study of early French immersion
• establish clear and meaningful contexts for learning teachers as generators of knowledge, Foreign Language
• draw upon learners’ past experiences and knowledge as Annals, 26, (4), 511-525.
well as previous experience from the curriculum. - Brington, D.M., Snow, M.A., & Wesche, M.B.(1989).
• provide for student-centered activities (activity-based Content-based second language instruction, New York:
learning and individual choice in activities) (Genesee, 1994) Harper & Row.
• step out of the role of "teacher as expert" and be willing to - Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the Spoken
learn with and from students. Language, NY: Cambridge University Press.
- Cummins, J. (1981). The role of primary language
The characteristics of a theme-based unit development in promoting educational success for language
Theme-based units are a vehicle for teaching a range of minority students, In California State Department of
skills and content by integrating curriculum areas around a Education Schooling and language minority students: A
topic. The goal is to assist learners in developing general theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: California
academic language skills through interesting and relevant State University, Evaluation, Dissemination, and
content. The theme must be very interesting to students and Assessment Center.
must allow a wide variety of language skills to be practiced, - Curtain, H. (1995). Video entitled "Helena Curtain:
always in the service of communicating about the theme. Integrating Language and Content Instruction," available
through the NFLRC Second Language Teaching and
A typical theme-based unit should make learning more Curriculum Center at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
personal, engaging as well as interesting. For this to happen, - Genesee, F. (1994). Integrating language and content:
the unit should be flexible, as students’ ideas and interests Lessons from immersion, Educational Practice Reports. No
may take you in unexpected directions. It should cater for 11. National Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and
individual differences in learning, and therefore enables Second Language Learning. Washington, D.C.: Center for
students to excel in one way or another. At the same time, Applied Linguistics.
students are able to understand a topic in greater depth. This (http://www.ncbe.gwu.edu/miscpubs/ncrcdsll/epr11.htm)
is what Oxford & Scarcella (1992:6) call “depth of learning - Grabe, W., & Stoller, F.L. (1997). Content-Based
-the notion that if students are actively engaged in Instruction: Research Foundations, In Snow, M.A. &
meaningful related theme-based tasks, they gain repeated Brinton, D.M. (Eds.). The Content-Based Classroom:
exposure to language that helps to process the language.” Perspectives on integrating language and content (pp. 5-21).
White Plains, NY: Longman.

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -7-

- Kinsella, K. (1997). Moving from comprehensible input to language learning: The individual in the communicative
“learning to learn”in CBI, In M. A. Snow & D. Brinton classroom, Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
(Eds.), - Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some
- Lyster, R. (1987). Speaking immersion, The Canadian roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in
Modern Language Review, 43, (4), 701-717. its development, In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.) Input in
- Met, M. (1991). Learning language through content: second language acquisition (pp. 235-253). Rowley, MA:
Learning content through language, Foreign Language Newbury House.
Annals, 24, (4), 281-295. - Swain, M. & Johnson, R.K. (1997). Immersion education:
- Mohan, B. (1986). Language and content, Reading, MA: A category within bilingual education, In R. K. Johnson &
Addison Wesley. M. Swain (Eds.) Immersion Education: International
- Scarcella, R., & Oxford, R. (1992). The tapestry of Perspectives (pp. 1-16). NY: Cambridge University Press.

Textbooks don’t have meaning; Teachers give meaning to textbooks

El Madani Fahmi, Lycée Med Reda Slaoui (CPGE), Agadir
Almost all teachers know that there is nothing worse in The Quick Way series (Quick Way 1, 2, and 3) is meant
their trade than getting sick of one of the main tools they to be used during the three years students spend in
use: the textbook. Not only does boredom kill the teachers’ high school. Quick Way 1 for the first year is different
creativeness, but it also inhibits learning; the aim behind from the other two books in that it includes most of
teaching. Fortunately, and unlike many trades, teachers are
the basic grammatical structures of English. The aim
lucky enough in that textbooks are changed from time to
time. behind this is to enable students acquire the language
needed to deal with the themes at the end of Quick
Moroccan teachers of English are now using a new Way 1 and those in Quick Way 2 and 3. There are few
textbook Quick Way. Undoubtedly, hundreds of questions grammatical structures in Quick Way 2. Simply
are being asked. In this paper, an attempt will be made to because the students are supposed to have already
answer some of these questions. The focus will be on learned what is needed, they are now to concentrate
showing how this new textbook, if used property, can help on the development of other skills. In the third book,
teachers teach and learners learn. there is almost no grammar because the main focus in on the
further development and improvement of output.
Do we really need to change textbooks?
There arc numerous reasons why it is advisable to change What is Quick Way based on?
textbooks from time to time. Some of these reasons are as Quick Way uses the content-based approach. Before
follows: shedding light on this approach, it seems reassuring to trace
back the meaning content has had in the different language
Short Shelf life: a textbook quickly becomes obsolete teaching methods. This is illustrated in the following chart
making the job of the teacher a much more difficult one in
that he or she tries hard to convince the students that some Language teaching Meaning of content
of the issues and people are still interesting. The truth, method
however, is that fame is fickle and famous names, which Grammar Grammatical structures of the target
most textbooks are teeming with, change. All these things translation method language
prevent a textbook from remaining current. Audio-lingual Grammatical structures.
method Vocabulary sound pattern
Harmful automatic reflexes: Using a textbook for a long
Communicative Communicative purposes for which
time may result in the teacher developing some automatic
approach speakers use the language
reflexes which could be described as viruses eating up
Functional notional Polite and impolite invitation forms.
teaching and learning. The teacher will lose his/her
approach Ways to accept and refuse invitations
creativeness while writing a lesson plan for instance. These
reflexes arc also a serious threat in that some teachers might Natural approach Problem solving
end up believing that everything they need to do their job is
available and that there is no need to prepare their lessons at In the content-based approach, content consists in the use of
all. In a word, the zeal and motivation, necessary for the subject matter for foreign Language teaching purposes. A
teaching and learning process, might fade away. Last but number of topics are chosen to teach the target language and
not least is that if we do not change, we will never progress. to satisfy the needs of the students who have already been
The reverse might happen. identified and used as the basis of material development.
This approach provides some of the necessary' conditions
What Quick Way is not. needed for second language acquisition. Swain (1985), for
Generally speaking, this new textbook is just like any other instance, claims that the development of communicative
textbook. It has not been written to help teachers overcome competence requires opportunities to use the second
all the difficulties they face while teaching. The need for a language productively. She argues that learners need to be
teacher is always there. One of the differences lies in the «pushed towards the delivery of a message that is conveyed
fact that the teacher now is in need of getting rid of so many precisely, coherently and appropriately». As for Krashen, he
“bad” habits he/she has acquired while using other believes that learning occurs when the learner receives
textbooks. comprehensible input, not when he or she memorizes
vocabulary items and does grammatical exercises. Taking
What Quick Way is. these two points of view into account, one can draw the

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -8-

conclusion that learning takes place when both important to note is that neither the teachers nor the students
comprehensible input is received and comprehensible. can do what is stated above unless the styles of teaching
Output is produced. Quick Way does provide this input and adjust themselves to make room for the necessary
what remains is the output that should be pushed by participation of students and teachers The latter have to take
teachers who should remember that learning is not how a much more organizational role. The use of time itself will
much you get in, but how much you get out. need to be carefully regulated between the more formal
approach to teaching and the informality of students’
Some key features of Quick Way production.
Before going any further, it must be made clear that like all
textbooks, Quick Way is not a perfect one. It has its Language components in Quick Way
advantages and drawbacks. It does, however, offer some It has been stated above that there is little grammar in Quick
new tools as far as EFL teaching in Morocco is concerned. Way 2 and almost no grammar in Quick Way 3. This does
Among these tools is the comprehensible input mentioned not mean that this important language component has been
above. Such an input, which is in the form of themes, neglected. The teacher is given the freedom to choose those
cannot and may not achieve its goals unless some grammatical structures from any input to explain to his/her
requirements are met. Teachers have to be trained and students.
supervised; and then inspected, to enable them to use the
textbook effectively. This training, among other things, Vocabulary is another important component in Quick Way.
should lead to some unlearning. While using previous Students are exposed to a rich lexical syllabus. Teachers are
textbooks teachers might have acquired some bad habits not supposed to teach all the vocabu1ary items in a text as
that have to be unlearned. This unlearning can take place learners are not supposed to learn all those words. What
only if new habits have been learned and used. It is believed should be done, however, is to arm students with the tools
that teaching is like doing business in that one has to take necessary to understand vocabulary items. They also should
risks. Teaching through Quick Way necessitates that risk be taught how to use a dictionary; which has to be done by
taking. Therefore, supervisors have to create a safe the end of Year 1. Another important quality Quick Way
atmosphere for their teachers students must have is becoming vocabulary' collectors.
There are hundreds of games to use in classrooms to enable
Supplementing Quick Way students to acquire any new words. Students' notebooks
How to supplement a textbook is a necessary quality themselves must have a new look. For example, the last
teachers using Quick Way have to have. Enriching a pages of a notebook could contain a mini dictionary or unit
textbook is not as easy and as efficient as it seems. It might dictionaries.
turn out to be meaningless especially when the textbook
used is not theme-based. Supplementing Quick Way, Last but not least is that recycling which is an important
however, can be done smoothly because when a teacher quality in teaching is among the features of Quick Way. Of
wants to use other teaching materials, she or he can do that course there are a lot of ways to recycle vocabulary items.
without disregarding the theme of the unit being taught. That is why teachers have to choose the ways they believe
can help them and their students achieve their goals.
Learner training
Focus on teacher training only is not enough to guarantee Literacy skills in Quick Way.
the “best practice” in EFL teaching. Learners themselves As far as the literacy skills are concerned. Quick Way does
have to be trained. They should learn how to learn or how give great importance to reading and writing. There is no
to be in charge of their own learning. Among their room in this new textbook for those “silly” and simplified
responsibilities is that of helping their teachers enrich the passages which do not improve any reading skills. The
textbook or make the input more comprehensible. Our reading passages in Quick Way are so challenging that
students know more than we do about relevance. They feel students have to be trained in how to understand a reading
their needs. The teachers just read about those needs. passage.
Therefore if we ask a student to do research, we will help
learning take place because the latter happens with use, not The work both teachers and students are supposed to do
passively. An example of what students should do resides in while going through the themes in the textbook should
the computers. The “Web” is a huge source of information eventually improve students' writing skills.
covering almost all topics/themes. Once this research is
brought into the classroom, both the input and the output Conclusion.
should be more comprehensible. To sum, there are no perfect textbooks in the world which
satisfy all the needs of both teachers and students. It is true
These activities would require groupwork and individual that some textbooks seem to be better than others. This
research. Groupwork should not take place in the classroom difference is due not only to what the textbook contains, but
only. It has more meaning when it is done outside the also the quality of work teachers perform while using the
classroom. Consequently our educational settings would not book. It is teachers that give meaning to textbooks.
be just a drop in. Therefore, Quick Way will never be a satisfying textbook
unless teachers inject into it the necessary new blood. This
The outcomes of these activities should not just be the new blood resides in the following:
passing of a test only, but they should be judged on the
quality of the work, the degree of participation and the - Teachers have to adapt their teaching styles to the
amount of initiative. Because they would have to report objectives of Quick Way.
everything, including process and drafting, students should - Classes should be noisy (especially in the 1st and 2nd years/
be encouraged to reflect on what they have done. Very Bac), but the noise there should be healthy.

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) -9-

- Classes centred on students’ needs and interests should References.
create an atmosphere of Cooperation and communication - Crandall, John, “Why use content-based instruction?
bearing in mind that efforts made occur both inside and Content-based language learning”,
outside educational settings. http://www.cal.org/ericcl/digest/cranda01.html
- Kasper, Loretta F. et al., 2000, Content-based college ESL
In a word, teaching is an art and teachers should acquire instruction, Mahwal, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
that passion for it because there are teachers with whom the - Krashen, S., 1982, Principles in second language
“worst” textbooks could be turned out into the “best” ones. acquisition, Oxford: Pergamon.

Synchronous online conferencing: Possibilities for the Moroccan teacher

By Mohammed Hassim, ELT supervisor, Zagora
INTRODUCTION: them, like audio and video conferencing. There are two
The first question that may immediately come to the mind types of online conferencing: Synchronous (taking place in
of Moroccan teachers when dealing with synchronous real time) and asynchronous conferencing. (See MATE’s
online conferencing (SOLC) is: “Is it not too early to talk experiences on the two types of online conferencing
about this in Morocco?” I will not answer the question published in MATE newsletter; vol. 24, issue 1, summer
straight away, but I will first refer to a very recent similar 2003). This article is concerned with synchronous online
situation. When the mobile phones started to circulate in conferencing.
Morocco, they were looked upon with a considerable
amount of scepticism and a mixture of resentment and awe. Put in simple words, SOLC is the use of different Internet
But before we could take sufficient time to discuss the facilities to communicate in real time about certain pre-
question whether it was necessary to have a phone in our specified topics; in our case as educational professionals, to
pockets wherever we went, the telecommunication communicate about educational concerns. This
companies had already done everything to put one in communication can be between two individuals or a group
everyone’s pocket. And nowadays nobody would question of people. The Internet communication tools used in a
the necessity of the phenomenon. It has amazingly been SOLC can be limited to one tool or can be extended to the
taken for granted in a very short time. Even most of those use of more than one tool. Among the available tools, the
who resisted ended up by giving way to the ownership of a following ones can be mentioned:
cell phone. - text-based conferencing, as in chat,
- audio-visual conferencing where audio and/or video
To go back to the initial question about SOLC, the answer, media are used such as in video conferencing, voice
whatever it might be, cannot be generalized. It depends on mail, internet phone calls, etc.
every individual. However, what is sure is that the - graphical utilities, as with desktop applications sharing,
technology is already there at the tips of everyone’s fingers. electronic whiteboards, etc.
The question in this case may be reversed and stated as - instant file transfer.
such: “Why are we so late in making use of such available
technology and service?” And again the answer cannot be 2. ADVANTAGES AND PROBLEMS OF SOLC:
generalized. Nevertheless, the least one can do is to know In fact, synchronous communication and conferencing are
about it and if possible to try it before producing any not much different in essence from traditional forms, i.e.
prejudices or value judgments about something one does exchanging letters, paper-based postings and publications,
not even know. Therefore, this article aims to face-to-face conferencing, phone calls, etc. It’s only the use
- introduce basics of SOLC of new technology that makes all the difference. Yet, it is
- introduce some of the possible ways for SOLC on the worth mentioning that the introduction of this new
net technological form of communication and conferencing
- present examples of SOLC that may be useful for should be considered as an enrichment to and facilitation of
Moroccan teachers the ways we communicate and conference rather than as an
- examine the advantages and difficulties in using it in extra burden. This does not mean that this form of
education communication and conferencing is free of problems.
- present some ideas, suggestions, and tips that may help Actually, as it provides some advantages, it also bears some
in fostering an optimal use of SOLC by Moroccan problems.
teachers.
2.1. Advantages:
1. WHAT IS SYNCHRONOUS ONLINE SOLC gives us the possibility to (a) communicate anywhere
CONFERENCING? anytime; (b) communicate as frequently as we want; (c)
Apart from its importance as a source of information, the communicate with less money and effort; and (d) instantly
Internet offers different ways and possibilities for archive our conferences.
communication. The latter aspect of the Internet is in fact
less exploited than the former though the communication 2.2. Problems:
aspect of the Internet may be of even greater importance. However, there are some drawbacks that accompany this
Forms of communication online are varied. Some of them form of conferencing as it (a) requires special technical
are well known and extensively used such as e-mail and skills; (b) requires certain technical materials; and (c) may
chat, while others are less familiar and less exploited by occasionally be hindered by some technical breakdowns and
Internet users though many of us may have heard about anomalies.

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 10

-
3. WHAT ARE THE SOLC POSSIBILITIES FOR THE - You will also need an Internet service and software
MOROCCAN TEACHER? that facilitate SOLC. These are of two types: free and
Perhaps two of the most acute concerns for the Moroccan paid. In this article I will be dealing with the free ones
teachers vis-à-vis SOLC are: though some of these may also include some paid
- money (How much does it cost?) and service.
- technical skill (Is it difficult to learn and conduct?).
3.2. Skills needed for SOLC:
3.1. The cost of SOLC: Same as the cost, the skills needed depend on the form of
For the first concern, the cost depends on the form of SOLC SOLC you want to use. Text-based conferencing (chat) is
that the teachers want to use. Generally speaking, the types the easiest. Audio and video conferencing are a bit more
of cost can be stated as follows: demanding as far as the know-how skills and administration
- The basic cost is Internet connection, which may be are concerned.
either at home, at work or in a cyber café.
- If you use free text-based tools such as chat, then you 3.3. Some online conferencing services and software
will not need any extra expenses. available on the net:
- If you use audio, then you will need a set of The Internet is full of a number of online conferencing
headphones with a microphone, which vary in price services and software provided both for free and with
according to quality. payment. Among the well known we can state, as examples,
- If you want to use video tools, then you will need a the following list according to the different forms of
webcam, which also varies in price according to conferencing provided though some of them provide more
quality. Some cyber cafés provide either/or both than one form:
headphones and webcams, which means in this
exceptional case no extra expenses.

Main types of OLC Email Chat Threaded Desktop Audio/Video Instant Directories/
discussions applications conferencing file Personal
Internet services & listservs sharing transfer contacts list
Hotmail, Yahoo, Caramail
MSN Messenger, Yahoo
Messenger
Yahoogroups
iVisit, PalTalk, CUseeMe,
ICQ
NetMeeting
Nicenet, Blackboard,
WebCT

Every software provides a help/manual of use with available at any time, virtually, whenever the
examples and templates that explain in details how to use it participant logs on.”
(I cannot go through this because the newsletter space does
not allow). The software programmes are constantly Generally speaking, what makes a successful conference is
changing so as to improve their service by simplifying not whether it is synchronous or asynchronous, or whether it
applications, introducing more services and improving their is text-based or audio/video-based, but how it is conducted
appearances. regardless of the medium. What does a SOLC consist of and
how should it be organized and conducted?
4. HOW TO CONDUCT AN ONLINE CONFERENCE:
After solving the material and technical problems (i.e. 4.1. Prerequisites for a successful SOLC:
money and technical skills), then comes the real work: The following prerequisites are important for the success of
conducting a SOLC. Let’s go back to the definition of a a SOLC (they may not apply to one-to-one communication):
SOLC. Jim Shimabukuro (2000) provides the following
detailed definition: - Like in traditional conferences, there are certain basic
“Like its F2F (face to face) counterpart, the online prerequisites: preparation, a work plan, contacts,
conference runs on a real-time schedule. It has a organisation, etc.
starting date and a closing date. It also includes - For technical reasons and skills adjustments of the
activities such as livechat that begin and end at a participants, you had better start with the easiest form
certain time. However, unlike the traditional of SOLC, i.e. text-based conferencing (chat).
conference, the online event (1) is not tied to a - The roles of the coordinator, moderator and facilitator
specific geographical location; (2) doesn't require the are very important for the success of the conference.
participant's physical presence; (3) includes Generally speaking, the coordinator takes charge of
numerous opportunities for interaction with fellow contacts and disseminating information related to the
participants, presenters, keynoters, and conference conference both before and after it. The moderator’s
hosts and staff; (4) is archivable, i.e., most if not all role is to organise and manage the conference while it
the discussions in the various media can be recorded is going on. She/He may also take charge of editing
for future review; and (5) isn't, for the most part, and archiving the conference. The facilitator is
timebound, i.e., presentations and forums are responsible for helping with the technical matters.

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 11 -

 - The participants should share similar interests and it effectively, it is needless to stress the fact that sufficient
concerns in order to assure a higher degree of training and practice are necessary. Teachers should first try
involvement and commitment. Here we speak about and practice SOLC with colleagues until they become
the creation of an online educational community or a confident in handling the technical side of it, then they can
community of practice. transmit their skills to their students. First, the use of SOLC
should be limited both in the technical side (start with text-
4.2. Structure and organisation of a SOLC: based SOLC then move to audio and video) and participants
As said before, a SOLC does not differ very much from a involved (the number should be limited and simulation is
face-to-face conference. The organisers and participants necessary before being involved in real SOLC). Above all,
still need to go through the same tasks and duties, and in learning through trial and error can be very helpful. Both
addition to that should consider the technological side of it. teachers and students need not be intimidated by the
The necessary tasks to conduct a SOLC will be divided into technicality and novelty of the medium. What is more
three main stages: i. before the conference, ii. during the important is to use it for educational purposes and real life
conference, and iii. after the conference. projects right after having initial training. The degree of the
mastery of the medium grows through time and practice,
4.2.1. Before the conference: the organisers and and the effort invested in getting the necessary skill surely
participants should: pays off once it has become part of the teaching and
- agree on a topic and announce it together with the date learning process.
and time (i.e. prepare an agenda for the conference and
transmit it via email) 5.1. For teachers:
- decide on the internet service and software to be used - Teachers can hold meetings online using both text-based
and make sure the participants are familiar with them and audio/video conferencing to discuss different issues
- decide on the number of participants which should be related to their concerns. In this way, they can contribute to
as limited as possible (this depends on the the creation of a community of practice, i.e., teachers who
technological choice, whether the group opted for text- are interested in using SOLC as another means for
based or audio/video mode of conferencing. The latter communication and conferencing.
mode for example should be limited to ten active - Teachers’ meetings and conferences via SOLC may not
participants) be limited to Moroccan teachers, but they can also include
- assign tasks, i.e. who is going to do what (this relates other practitioners from all over the world as the medium
to coordination, moderation and facilitation) helps in getting over the obstacles of space. So, holding a
- prepare necessary documents for reading or SOLC by Moroccan teachers with other Moroccan teachers
assignments to be undertaken by the participants prior in Morocco is the same as holding it with other teachers in
to the conference the other end of the world.
- decide on the strategy to be followed in the discussion - A SOLC can be organised by a group of teachers or by
- come at least half an hour before the start of the SOLC two teachers fostering collaboration and shared projects.
to get familiar with the material and make sure - SOLC can help break the isolation that some teachers may
everything works well. be suffering from because of geographical distances (of
course the availability of a computer and internet is a
4.2.2. During the conference: necessity).
- to establish a welcoming atmosphere, the participants - SOLC, and because of its advantage of overcoming the
start by socialising and getting familiar with each other obstacles of space and time, can be as frequent as the
- the moderator announces the start of the conference participants like without the need to search hard for time
and its current agenda and space conveniences, as SOLC can be held at home, at
- the moderator also specifies the strategy to be followed school or in a cyber café.
in the discussion of the topic and in turn taking - SOLC can be another possibility for in-service training
- the facilitator takes charge of solving technical purposes and meetings can be held with experts without the
problems whenever they arise need to move or travel long distances.
- the moderator manages the discussion, recapitulates
ideas at certain intervals of the discussion and declares 5.2. For students:
the end of the conference. She/he also needs to save - Through SOLC, communication with native speakers
the text from time to time. becomes easily accessible.
- In addition to its motivational power, SOLC adds to
4.2.3. After the conference: the following tasks should be students’ communicative skills.
handled: - SOLC is a skill and competency that will empower
- editing the conference for archiving, exchanging and students to get into meaningful and real life activities.
publishing - Students can be exposed to SOLC as a means of training
- receiving and sending feedback on the conference them for the job market.
- making recommendations for future consideration - SOLC can be another learning dimension and students can
- announcing the coming agenda/conference. be involved in projects where online communication and
conferencing can be used.
5. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND - Through SOLC students can continue to learn by
LEARNING: themselves through participating in foreign language
SOLC is a useful medium for both teachers and students. It specialised online groups/rooms (e.g. the ones provided by
can also be applied to either leaning, teaching or training PalTalk).
situations. But before teachers and students can start using

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 12 -

CONCLUSION: REFRENCES:
SOLC is a new phenomenon for the time being. By being
so, many teachers may have some doubts or feel - Hassim, Mohammed, 2003, “The obstacles to ICT
intimidated by using it for teaching and learning purposes. integration in Moroccan educational institutions, MATE
Also because of the limited availability of the necessary synchronous online conference, May 25th, 2003”, MATE
materials, very few may take it seriously. However, the way Newsletter, Volume 24, Issue 1.
and the speed in which the field of ICT is developing is in
fact in favour of making SOLC an accepted reality in the - Hassim, Mohammed, 2003, “In-service teacher training
very near future; and our involvement as educators in using in Morocco, MATE asynchronous online conference”,
it in education will surely facilitate and enrich the way we MATE Newsletter, Volume 24, Issue 1. (The two articles
work, especially in foreign language teaching. By this are also published in: www.mate.org.ma)
article, I hope I have made the task easier for those who
want to start using SOLC but do not know how, and I also - Shimabukuro, Jim, 2000, “What is an online
hope that I have lifted off some of the doubts and conference?”, Kapi`olani Community College, University
misconceptions that many other teachers may unreasonably of Hawai`I, Honolulu, HI.
have had vis-à-vis SOLC. http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/tcon2000/whatis.html

MATE COMING EVENTS

MATE Upcoming Events for the Academic Year 2004 - 2005

Team in Charge Site Date Topic Event

Task force 1 with Ouarzazate 04 to 08 April 2005 Education and National Conference
special su-teams Citizenship : Issues
and Values
Task force 2 with Essaouira 08 through 10 January ELT to promote Esp Conference
special sub-taems 2005 Tourism
Task force 3 with Rabat Institute of March 2005 Topic to be agreed Translation Conference
special sub-team Arabisation upon with partners
Task force 4 with Marrakesh Early June 2005 Topic to be suggested Marrakesh Regional
Marrakesh local branch by Marrakech local Conference
branch team
Agadir local branch Agadir 20 through 22 Topic to be suggested ICT National
team and special sub- February 2005 by the ICT SIG Conference
team
Beni Mella local Beni Mellal Late March 2005 Topic to be suggested Beni Mella Regional
branch by Beni Mella local Conference
branch
Ayoub – Bouziane – Greater Casablanca December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Raddadi and team 2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Ayoub – Ghati – Settat and Region December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Mouhib and team 2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Keliati – Ahelal – Kenitra Late December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Bouziane and team 2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
President and local Marrakesh December Quick Way 3 + ELT Regional Pedagogical
branch 2004 activities Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Agadir Local Branch Agadir and Region 14 December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Ayoub – Ghati – Khouribga and Region February Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Raddadi and team 2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Chaibi and team Errachidia and Region To be suggested by Mr Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Chaibi ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Raddadi and team Tangiers February Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 13 -

 Zaki – Raddadi – Fes and Region February Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Bouziane and team 2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Bouziane and team Oujda University February ICT Regional Pedagogical
2005 Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Bouziane and team Oujda and Region February New Teachers’ Regional Pedagogical
2005 concerns in ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Makhfi and team Taza and Region February Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
President – Hassim and Meknes and Region Late February Information and Regional Pedagogical
- Bouziane and team 2005 communication Colloquium
Technologies (MATE Day)
President- Hassim – Laayoun and Region March Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Fahmi and team 2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Bendouqui – Chaibi – Rabat and Region March Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Kerkesh and team 2005 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
Ayoub – Raddadi – El Jadida and Region December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Bouziane and team 2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
President – Belkachla Safi and Region December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
– Blibil and team 2004 ELT Colloquium
(MATE Day)
President – Zaki – Al Hoceima December Trends and Issues in Regional Pedagogical
Chaibi _ Nejbi and 2004 ELT Colloquium
team (MATE Day)

ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMING CONFERENCES AND MATE DAYS

CALL FOR PAPERS

The 25th National Conference

Date: 4-8 April 2005 Venue: Ouarzazate (South of Morocco)

Theme: Education & Citizenship:
Issues and values The conference will feature:
Sub-themes include (but not limited to): • Plenary sessions
• Language teaching and learning of • Poster sessions
citizenship values • 20-minute papers
• Citizenship values and the national • 1-hour workshops
heritage • Round-tables
• Curriculum and citizenship • Book exhibitions, etc.
• Citizenship and globalisation

MATE new email account:

[email protected]

CALL FOR PAPERS

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 14 -

 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) Conference

Date: 9-10 January 2005 The conference will feature:

Theme: English Teaching for Promoting Tourism • Plenary sessions
Sub-themes include (but not limited to): • Poster sessions
• Cross-cultural issues • 20-minute papers
• Methodological issues • 1-hour workshops
• Vocational issues • Round-tables
Venue: Essaouira

MATE new email account: [email protected]

Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Conference

Date: 20-23 January 2005

Theme: From Consumption to Production:
Creating and implementing ICT-based materials for the EFL classroom

Sub-themes include (but not limited to):

• Devising Interactive Activities Using HotPotatoes
• Building Animated Lessons With PowerPoint
• Creating Interactive Exercises With Flash
• Promoting Online Project Work Through Webquests
• Producing Video Materials With A Video Editor
• Project Presentation & Conference Evaluation

Venue: Agadir

MATE Days

Marrakech: Saturday, December 4th, 2004

Venue: Marrakech Academy - Teaching vocabulary through Quick Way,

Papers: M. Blibil
- Reading in the Moroccan Context, S. Berdouz
- The teaching of writing in Morocco: practical Workshops:
suggestions, A. Bouziane - Three competencies to improve writing in the
- General Assembly and Election of a new three Quick ways, A. Saadouni
local board - Problem-solving, Aicha Hilm
- Competency-based Education: From standards - Developing competencies in Quick Way 3
to competencies, N. Bondouqi (Unit 4), N. Belkachla

Agadir: Tuesday, December 14th, 2004

Venue: Agadir Academy at 2:30

Paper: Applying SQ4R in reading, M. Najrane
Chairman : Mr. L. Bouchouat
Panel Discussion : Promoting Quality Teaching in ELT: Reality & Prospects
Moderators: A. Atlagh, E. Fahmi, M. Abou Elfadel & Mohamed Hassim

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 15 -

Dispense
Dépôt légal : 84/9 du Timbre
CCP: 212 927 T N0 920

Destinataire

MOROCCAN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

B.P. 6223, Rabat-Instituts, C.C.P 212 927 T

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Last Name ……………………………………… First Name………………………….

Nationality ………………………………………………………
Type of membership : Full (Moroccan) Associate (non-Moroccan)
Occupation : Teacher Inspector
Institution ……………………………………………………………………………………..
City .……………………………………………………………………………………………
Mailing Address …………………….…………………………………………………………
Amount paid ……………………….………………………………………………………....
Mode of payment

CCP (enclose receipt or copy) Check (bank) ……………

Cash remitted to (Name ……………………………………… )

Date:
Signature

MATE Newsletter Winter-Spring 2004, Volume 24 (3-4) - 16 -