Cross-cultural communication specialists, ELT experts, linguists, and faculty members convened to discuss various interdisciplinary aspects of English language teaching at a three-day international conference organised by the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
During the conference, participants explored topics such as English language teaching methodologies, constructive approaches to teaching, and AI-generated teachings. They also deliberated on methods and pedagogies related to cultures, regions, and needs, as well as appropriate pedagogy and assessment to address learning crises.
Titled "Appropriate Teaching Methodologies in Interdisciplinary Context: Mapping the Sociolinguistic Diversity," the conference was sponsored by ICSSR, New Delhi.
"English is the language of the world. Whoever and wherever English is to be taught, it has to be taught in the way they speak the language," remarked Prof Suresh Canagarajah, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor at the Department of Applied Linguistics and English, Penn State University, USA.
Professor Avinash Kumar Singh, Head of the Department of Educational Policy at NIEPA, New Delhi, highlighted the significance of such conferences in driving interdisciplinary studies. He discussed the socio-linguistic polarity in education, particularly focusing on disadvantaged communities' learning barriers, citing high dropout rates in remote tribal language areas due to language barriers identified by World Bank reports.
The conference featured 61 offline and 120 online paper reading sessions, with over 130 research papers presented on topics such as multiculturalism, sociolinguistic diversity, AI in English Language Teaching, sociology, and second language acquisition.
Anupama T's research paper titled "Impact of Digital Technology on Inclusiveness and Linguistic Diversity" received the best paper award. Ms Syyada Faheem, Assistant Professor at University Polytechnic, AMU, and Dr Md Sajidul Islam, Associate Professor at the Department of English, AMU, received the award for the best paper in the teacher category for their paper on "English Language Teaching Methodologies for Engineering."
In the Research Scholars' category, Aleena Khan, a Research Scholar at the School of English Language Education, EFLU, Hyderabad, along with professor ME Veda Sharan, Dean of the School of English Language Education, EFLU, Hyderabad, received the best paper award. Ms Inshirah Agwan, MA ELT student at the Department of English, AMU, secured the best paper award in the PG students' category.