OBLIGATORY COURSES REQUIRED FOR THE MASTER'S DEGREE AT VARIOUS FACULTIES.
EXAMINATIONS TO BE TAKEN BY THOSE WHO APPLY FOR THE DOCTORAL DEGREE.
The English Language Center was established in 1982 as a separate academic unit to serve the purposes of teaching English at Damascus University. In 2002, it became part of the Language Institute. Today it is considered the most important center in the Language Institute, and one of the leading centers in the Middle-East. Among its services the center provides:
English language courses for the Master’s Degree candidates (mandatory requirement for all degree candidates).
English proficiency test for the Ph.D. candidates (mandatory test for all degree candidates).
General English courses for faculty members.
International TEFL conferences
Local and regional workshops
Language Training Unit (courses open to the university community and the public).
- 3- month courses held two times a year :
Early November
Early March
Additional Summer course is being held nowadays
- Registration Conditions:
- Course4s Features
- Documents and Certificates awarded
- Registration Conditions:
Registration in these courses should take place during a period before the course begins . These dates shall be advertised and put up at the faculties and parties concerned.
Place of registration is at the office of Students Affairs at the Language Institute, where applications are received from 10.00 to 21.30
Documents required : An application (found at the Student Affairs Office at the Institute ) duly signed by the Dean and the Head of the Division concerned.
All candidates are given the automated Placement Test. Those who get more than 80% are waived attending the course of general English, and proceed to the specialized course . Students who acquire between 40% and 80% shall follow a full course. Those who acquire less than 40% are not accepted at the center.
- Course Features:
The Master’s courses are divided into :
Course of humanities
Courses of Science and technology
Courses of Medical Sciences ( Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy )
- Each course lasts for 3 months, 3 Classes a week, each class is 4 hours
- Attendance is obligatory and must be 90% at least. In case absence exceeds 24 hours , the student will be prevented from taking the exam.
- An admitted participant may excuse himself from completing the course provided that he applied for withdrawal in writing to the Office of the Student Affairs of the Institute, within 15 days from the start of the course.
SYLLABUS
Syllabus is designed in accordance with specified objectives, the learners’ situations and future needs . It is subjected to yearly evaluation in which all the instructors of the Institute participate , and it can be amended after
A comprehensive study of their suggestions and the suggestions and results of the learners. In addition to the assigned text book , the learners will be given extra listening materials in order that they improve their comprehension of these materials , as well as the materials pertaining to their specialization.
It may be mentioned that the level of these materials is intermediate and the level of graduates is upper intermediate.
DOCUMENTS AND CERTIFICATES
- Students admitted in the course for Masters’ Degree will be given a document that can be presented to the military enlisting department, or to the concerned parties.
- Students who pass the examinations will be granted an Accomplishment Document, issued by the Director of the Institute as per the decision of the Institute Board and the suggestion of the Center’s Board. This document is considered as qualifying for registration for the masters’ degree at the universities of the Syrian Arab Republic
These examinations are given to those who wish to get the doctoral degree in non-specialized faculties . They have to get the Masters’ Degree prior to these exams.
Registration should be before the start of these exams which will be announced at all faculties and concerned parties. Examinations are held 4 times a year, once every three months, starting from September.
Registration takes place at the Students Affair Office at the Institute. Applications are received from 10.00 to 21.30
Required Documents : An application form , from the office , filled in . It has to be signed by the Institute Director and the Head of the concerned Center.
These are general English courses of specified levels and are held twice a year :
- The first course starts early November , and the second course starts early March
Registration Conditions - Features of the Courses - The Documents and Certificates
Qualification - Professors Training Courses
Registration for these courses takes place within a period that precedes the start of the courses . These dates will be announced at the faculties and the concerned parties.
Place of registration: The Office of Students Affairs between 10.00 and 21.30 daily.
Required documents are an application form duly filled in, and signed the concerned dean.
All applicants will take a placement test to assign the convenient level. The test depends on an international standard test, which graduates all learners , staff and teacher’s assistants according to their levels.
There are 5 levels:
1- Preliminary
2- Elementary
3- Lower Intermediate
4- Intermediate
5- Upper Intermediate
- The period of the course is 16 weeks, 4-8 hours a week according to the level.
- Examinations : Mid-course test and final test, which decide the results of the course
- Students should confirm their registration at the Office , when the results are put up.
- As the nature of language learning is accumulative and communicative , attendance is an essential reason of this process success. Therefore the Institute makes it necessary for students to commit themselves to attendance and not to exceed the allowed absence.
The British series “ HEADWAY” is adopted . It is one of the best series designed for covering the four skills of language learning: listening, speaking, writing and reading.
It adds at the higher levels materials for Oral Presentation in English in the field of specialization , and materials for writing Academic Project Papers . It also has all what is needed of the lingual and academic skills. The objective is to enable the professors and instructors to participate in conferences and prepare a research in foreign universities
in the field of specialization.
The staff members are awarded accomplishment documents at the end of each course
QUALIFYING TESTS AND COURSES
Staff members who wish to be qualified in English as full time professors may :
Apply for attending the courses that are assigned for staff members at the assigned dates, accomplish the courses successfully, and get an Accomplishment Documents which helps him complete the procedures of qualification irrespective of the attended level.
A staff member who wishes to be qualified in English can take the Aptitude Test at the Institute , without registering in any course. An appointment for the test should be made at the Testing Office at the Institute . Qualifying tests are run on Monday of every week.
The candidate is awarded a document if he is at the intermediate level or up. Otherwise, he has to register at his own level as indicated by his test.
TEACHERS TRAINING COURSES
The Center holds training courses for teachers who wish to teach English before they start teaching. In these courses the teacher is trained to adopt modern methodologies and to use audio-visual means.
CONFERENCES
In co-operation with the Ministry of Education, the British Council and the American Council, the Institute holds a yearly conference in which experiences and experiments are exchanged among the participants , and the experiments of the Arab and foreign states in the field of English language learning are reviewed .
This year the conference is to be held September 9-10-11, 2003 under the Title :
PRACTICAL APPROACHES TO CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN THE GLOBAL CLASSROOM
Preparation for the conference has started and suggestions through mail and e-mail are being received.
Workshops
The Center holds workshop at the rate of one a month in order to discuss teaching matters, students levels , and developing the syllabus in accordance with the students lingual problems and future needs. During these workshops, which are attended by all the teaching staff in the center, suggestions and proposals presented by the teachers and the students and the latter results are discussed. Professors and instructors from the Syrian universities as well as instructors from the American Cultural Center and the British Council who participate in certain researches that help improve the performance of the center’s teachers and learners.
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Registration at the Unit: Present yourself at the unit and buy aP.T. ticket: Syr. P. 500
* Buying the tickets starts as announced in the timetable
Placement Test (P.T.)
Students have to be present for the test as noted on the placement test ticket .
The test lasts for 30 minutes
The test consists of two parts : Listening and Grammar
Results are posted , and registration takes place as per vacancies
The student’ result is valid for the following course only.
Priority of Registration is reserved for the old students attending the ending course.
If you could not register at the course you have taken the placement test for, wait for the coming course, and be present during the period assigned for registration of old students.
Syrian Arab Republic
Damascus University
Language Training unit
Tel. 2120165
Fax. 2120164