News
Ms. Kosior, the English Studies Dept. ELT Methodology Lecturer, in 'The Teacher' Magazine
Earlier this year, Ms Margarita Kosior was interviewed for “The Teacher”, a well-known magazine publishing articles on English language teaching methodology. Ms Kosior spoke about her decision to become a teacher, inspiring and motivating moments in her teaching life, her passions within and outside ELT, about professional development, but also about storytelling and incorporating social issues into language teaching, the two areas which are closest to her heart. As a skilled storyteller, Ms Kosior talked about the role of creativity and the importance of developing a multisensory environment for (very) young learners, in order to stimulate their senses and curiosity, and consequently improve their attentiveness. As a globally sensitive education advocate, Ms Kosior explained that our role goes beyond teaching vocabulary and grammar: “One of the things that makes my teaching heart sing (…) is when I know that my students are leaving the classroom having learnt something fundamentally important, and I do not mean the passive voice or reported speech. This is a difference between teaching and educating. If one student gets inspired, I have left a trace. (…) I hope and truly believe that the world of tomorrow can be different, can be better, thanks to a discussion in my class today. If one student walks out of my classroom with the decision to fight for a better world, my mission has been accomplished.” This belief in the power of education, educators, but also in the power of young people, our students, to change the world and to make it a better place, no matter how utopian it may sound in these challenging times, sounds reassuring but also leaves us all with a sense of great responsibility as educators. Having her “activist” background in mind, it came as no surprise that when assigned the role of the coordinator of the “ELT Methodology for All” Open Seminar series organised by the English Studies Department, the first presentation was titled “Social Issues in the ELT Classroom”. Passion for teaching is like a flame which starts with a flicker and keeps growing; this is how Ms Kosior describes her journey as an educator. No wonder Ms Kosior is a Faculty member of the English Studies Department team, since we share common goals and ideals. To read the full interview, visit: www.teacher.pl
30/09/2016
Dr Michael Hughes’ End-of-year Visit to the English Studies Department
The end of every academic year constitutes the moment of truth in a Higher Education environment. The feelings of anxiety build as the External Examiner’s mirror is held up to reflect the progress and accomplishments, or lack thereof, of any one Department. Dr. Michael Hughes, Specialist Associate Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Kent, UK and External Examiner of the English Studies Department, visited the International Faculty, CITY College on July 8th and 9th. His visit, though short, was thorough and included various meetings with staff and students, moderation of material at both MA and BA level, Examination Boards and reflective meetings on the past academic year. Dr. Hughes met with the Head of the English Studies Department, Dr. Paschalia Patsala, who provided him with a complete and detailed account of the past academic year—ranging from course material and syllabi to actions and events, while a multi-faceted discussion took place on the progress and accomplishments of the ESD with the constructive contribution of the Director of Learning and Teaching, Prof. Petros Kefalas. This year Dr. Hughes had the opportunity to meet with student representatives from all Levels and Programmes, who provided first-hand accounts confirming their satisfaction and appreciation of the programmes, the Department, as well as how much they enjoy the individual attention by the ESD’s enthusiastic and committed staff. Dr Michael Hughes with MA and BA student representatives and Dr Paschalia Patsala During this meeting, two Prize Awards were held by Dr Hughes: Ms. Iro Sapouna (Level-2 student) received a book on Language and Gender as the ‘Best Presentation’ prize for her performance in a peer-evaluated oral presentation for the purposes of the Sociolinguistics Unit. Also, Ms. Eva Kanonidou (Level-2 student) received the Student Honorary Award in recognition of her active participation in almost all aspects of the International Faculty and ESD student life and learning experience. Both students were warmly congratulated and were wished an inspiring and successful academic life! Dr Michael Hughes with Ms. Iro Sapouna (BA Level 2) Dr Michael Hughes with Ms. Eva Kanonidou (BA Level 2) The overall verdict for the ESD is that it continuously strives for excellence, characterized as “a dream educational environment setup,” a notion humbling in itself as well as encouraging and uplifting. All the aforementioned constitute givens for ESD students and staff members alike, who consistently seek to maintain or follow the set standards. The positive confirmation of the ESD’s hard-work and quality leave us with feelings of satisfaction and validation amidst the end-of-the-year summer glee… Dr Michael Hughes with ESD Academic Staff Members
26/08/2016
Visit by Prof. Simons and Dr Vismans from the Sheffield School of Languages and Cultures to the English Studies Department
In the spirit of academia and the new collaboration of the English Studies Department (ESD) with the Sheffield School of Languages and Cultures (SLC) for the newly-launched MA programme on Translation and Interpreting, the International Faculty of the University of Sheffield wholeheartedly welcomed Professor Penny Simons, Head of the SLC, and Dr Roel Vismans, Deputy Head and Director of Learning and Teaching, during their visit (June 20-22). The three-day visit consisted of productive meetings with the Head of the English Department, Dr Paschalia Patsala, the IF Director for Teaching and Learning, Professor Petros Kefalas, as well as International Faculty and English Studies Department staff members. Professor Kefalas and Dr. Patsala presented the Learning, Teaching and Assessment Practices which have been incorporated and built into the ESD, providing an overall account of the Department, highlighting challenges that have been successfully faced. Emphasis was placed on teaching methods employed, the MA and BA student support mechanisms, assessment and feedback as well as on the Sheffield Graduate Profile; ESD staff members contributed by commenting on various practices they make use of in their Modules. A meeting with Prof. Panayiotis Ketikidis, the IF Director of Research and Innovation, Mr. Nikos Zaharis, SEERC Director, Dr Zoi Tatsioka, the ESD Research Coordinator and Dr Patsala was held focusing on Research Issues and Ethics. Mr. Nikos Zaharis delivered a detailed presentation of the South-East European Research Center, projects that have been undertaken, sources of funding, and, most importantly, the mode of cooperation that the SLC and ESD could design and develop. Overall, both sides are very interested in establishing ongoing research bonds between colleagues in Thessaloniki and Sheffield, which is anticipated to consolidate cooperation by building several research-related communication bridges in the near future. The visit as well as all meetings ended on positive, encouraging and hopeful notes. As an event it confirmed the necessity of networking and collaboration, team work and progress. It provided both parties with the opportunity to discuss, exchange ideas, provide constructive criticism and feedback as well as establish and promote new programmes and ventures. Most importantly, it confirmed the constant strive for innovation, excellence and maintenance of Higher Education standards.
08/08/2016
Dr Paschalia Patsala in the 30th Panhellenic Conference of Neurosurgery
Dr Paschalia Patsala attended the 30th Panhellenic Conference of Neurosurgery, organised by the Hellenic Neurosurgical Society in Volos on June 16th and 17th. This year’s Conference focused on the human brain, its areas and the corresponding functions, as well as on its pathophysiology, emphasising mainly on cranial-base diseases. In a conference exploring brain issues, the physiological processes or mechanisms associated with the human language capacity—an area interwoven with Neurolinguistics that Dr Patsala is working on—have been also discussed. Reference was made to the abnormal or undesired conditions associated with or resulting from neurosurgical diseases or injuries, and how these have affected the patients’ production and understanding of speech. According to Dr Patsala, the greatest benefit was that “the 30th Conference aimed at enhancing young neurosurgeons’ knowledge and skills, and as a result, it contained a great number of educational-type presentations and workshops.” The interactive character of the Conference was reelected in the lively discussions about the symptoms exhibited by patients and the diagnoses made during the oral presentations, together with decisions taken in terms of treatment and rehabilitation of patients. Within the framework of this Conference, Dr Patsala also had the opportunity to discuss about the future collaboration between the English Studies Department of the University of Sheffield International Faculty, and the Neurosurgery Department of a University General Hospital in Northern Greece, as well as explore the potential for joint research and guest lecturing between the two Institutions. Dr Paschalia Patsala with Dr Ioannis Patsalas (Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)
15/07/2016
Dr Tatsioka at the 21st Sociolinguistics Symposium in Spain
Dr Zoi Tatsioka, Lecturer of the English Studies Department, participated in the 21st Sociolinguistics Symposium (15-18 June), which was organized by the University of Murcia in Spain. The Sociolinguistics Symposium, a biennial conference established in 1976, is considered to be the most prestigious and leading conference on Language in Society, attracting more than 600 scholars from around the world. Dr Tatsioka delivered a presentation entitled “English Loanword Use and Linguistic Prestige on Greek Television”, which examined instances of language contact from a sociolinguistic perspective as depicted on Greek television. During her presentation, Dr Tatsioka provided the theoretical background of her study emphasizing the symbolic value of English and its prestige in the Greek linguistic community and offered indicative examples from the data collected taking into consideration the speakers’ perceived intentions as well as the needs of their audience. Her study has a range of linguistic and social implications as it demonstrates the influence of the English language and its popularity on the linguistic repertoire of Greek speakers and the plausible intelligibility issues that may emerge from this practice.
24/06/2016
International Faculty Members presenting in a Conference on Education in Slovenia
Between June 12th and 14th, Prof. Petros Kefalas, Dr Paschalia Patsala and Dr Suzie Savvidou participated in the International Conference on Education and New Developments (END2016), which took place in Ljubljana. During the Conference, speakers from the most diverse countries and educational cultures presented their work towards promoting teaching, learning, pedagogic innovations as well as their applications in Education, with a 27% overall conference paper acceptance rate. Dr Suzie Savvidou discussed in detail a “Framework of Practice for Educating Novice Students to become Professional Counsellors” enjoying her audience’s full attention to this innovative work that Petros Kefalas and Lena Gassi had also contributed to. Dr Savvidou explained the challenges that the design and delivery of a training programme for counsellors involves, as it necessitates considerable enhancement of trainees’ attributes that are key factors for effective counselling. Analysing the academic, practical and ethical issues that arise, she presented a framework developed within a postgraduate programme that not only ensures high-quality academic standards in teaching, learning and assessment, but it also offers students the opportunity to exercise the acquired skills within a real working environment safely, ethically and effectively for both themselves and their clients. During the same event, Dr Patsala and Prof. Kefalas delivered a talk entitled "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly…Practices in Higher Education" which reflected the experience of developing a newly-set-up learning environment within our University, namely the English Studies Department. Drawing on the relevant Western film in a very lively presentation, Dr Patsala and Prof. Kefalas provided the rationale and examples of various practices applied in relation to teaching, learning and assessment, student support, feedback provision, student engagement, and staff development. Practices applied within Higher Education programmes were classified into ‘good’ (worth applying and disseminating), ‘bad’ (to be avoided as ineffective), and ‘ugly’ (positive in principle, yet of questionable value or in need of refinement), and the methods employed to meet the learning objectives of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were presented in close connection to the Sheffield Graduate Profile promoted in our University. This International Conference on Education and New Developments has also offered a lot of opportunities for networking with scholars who deal with similar educational projects and issues, as well as for exploring new collaborations on joint research and teaching experiences with other educational institutions. Dr Paschalia Patsala with Dr Elina Megalou, Deputy Director of the “Strategy and Digital Educational Content Directorate” of the Computer Technology Institute & Press - Diophantus
21/06/2016
MA in Translation and Interpreting
The English Studies Department of the International Faculty, CITY College announces a new Master's programme recently added to its portfolio: the MA in Translation and Interpreting. This postgraduate programme aspires to meet the increase in demand for advanced translation and interpreting in the industry. Translation Studies as a discipline has witnessed unparalleled changes over the last ten years, with new technologies and research developments rapidly transforming the profession. The MA in Translation and Interpreting combines the theoretical issues involved in literary, technical, screen, legal, digital, scientific and commercial translation; or in publishing, localisation and management, with the practical aspects of the translation and the mechanics of the interpreting process. The programme will prepare graduates to pursue a range of career paths as translators, conference or community interpreters, subtitlists, localisers, literary translators, spokespeople, technical/linguistic consultants, editors, applications development consultants, and language project managers. Dr Paschalia Patsala, Head of the English Studies Department, said “Students who attend the programmes of the English Studies Dept. enjoy a challenging journey to a rich academic experience. Our primary goal is to guide and support you, making this a stimulating and constructive experience that will open up for you a wide range of career opportunities in numerous language-related professions. Our passionate commitment to academic excellence, our team of highly-qualified faculty members, our research-informed teaching, the rich opportunities for hands-on practice, and our collaboration with the industry will fulfill all your expectations!” Graduates receive their degree from one of top 100 universities in the world: the University of Sheffield. Admission period is now open! Information / Applications: For more information interested candidates may contact the English Studies Department or our Admissions Office at admissions@citycollege.sheffield.eu, +20 2310 275575.
14/06/2016
Ms Margarita Kosior on the stage of the 14th ELTA Serbia Conference
On 20-21 May 2016, Ms Margarita Kosior, an English Studies Department Lecturer, attended the 14th ELTA Serbia Conference, which took place in Belgrade, with the central theme "One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world (Malala Yousafzai, 2013)". During the event, Ms. Kosior delivered a talk entitled "Teaching for Social Justice: From Social Context to Teaching Content" representing the local teachers' association, TESOL Macedonia-Thrace, Northern Greece. During her session she presented, among others, ideas implemented at and promoted by the English Studies Department. Ms Kosior argued that the English teaching profession has acquired new aims ranging beyond the merely linguistic development of the students. With the guidance of inspiring educators, English language learners become well-informed and responsible global citizens. Moreover, Ms Kosior recommended a number of ways in which this can be accomplished: the use of TED talks, YouTube videos and documentaries, engaging students in silent discussion, or working on projects involving various kinds of oral presentations, to mention just a few. In the spirit of the conference, Ms Kosior convinced the audience that raising awareness of global issues and fostering social responsibility should be among the aims of every educator. The audience consisted of educators from Serbia, but also representatives of various teachers' associations and nationalities, which opens doors to potential collaboration in the future.
30/05/2016
"Services Optimisation for ‘Customer’ Satisfaction" within the ‘ELT Methodology for All’ Open Seminars of Our English Studies Department
The most recent event in the series of the "ELT Methodology for All" seminars organized by the English Studies Department was of an interdisciplinary nature. The guest speaker, Dr Dimitris V. Nikolaidis, is the Head of Business Administration & Economics Department, and the audience composed mostly of ESD students and staff, but also students of the Business Department and external guests. Dr Nikolaidis delivered a talk entitled "Services Optimisation for Customer Satisfaction." Although the majority of the audience is involved in foreign language teaching and the choice of a business-oriented topic may have surprised some, Dr Nikolaidis managed to convince everybody present of the importance of service quality not only in the corporate world, but also in academia and educational environments. Dr Nikolaidis talked about reasons for which ‘customers/clients’ leave and referred to the ways to make them stay, which can be translated into the context of foreign language teaching, and therefore the audience could identify themselves in the scenarios presented by the speaker. Just the way customer satisfaction is a major concern of every entrepreneur, student satisfaction is the concern of every teacher and educator. Some of the core messages the audience carried away with them were: make a difference by providing augmented products; do not make promises you cannot keep; constantly upgrade and improve your product or services; ask your customers and clients what they need and develop a genuine relationship with them; and be passionate about what you do! Dr Nikolaidis finished his session on a positive note reminding the audience to think positive, because opportunity can be found even in the most turbulent times. Watch Dr Nikolaidis' seminar
27/05/2016
Workshop on “How to publish a paper” offered to the English Studies MA Students by Professor Kefalas
The month of May 2016 marked the inaugural “Young Researchers’ Days” event including but not limited to the annual Students Spring Symposium, Career Day and a host of workshops aimed at helping young researchers to develop necessary skills, pose their insightful questions and receive useful guidance. One of the Workshops organised within the framework of “Young Researchers’ Days” offered additionally to the English Studies Department students of the MA program in Applied Linguistics with TESOL on Saturday, May 21st, was conducted by the Vice Principal and International Faculty Director for Learning and Teaching, Professor Petros Kefalas, titled “How to Publish a Paper.” The aim of the workshop was to focus on how Postgraduate students and PhD candidates can be successful in publishing papers across various platforms including journals, conferences, workshops, newsletters, magazines and online platforms. A detailed timeline and a useful check list were presented, making young researchers aware of the steps involved, either as an individual researcher and author or co-author. Through self-reflexive questions, Professor Kefalas managed to make young researchers think of why publishing is important, what it offers to a researcher individually as well as to the wider community and what are the benefits of publishing papers, findings and research. The workshop emphasised the formal procedures that must be followed when publishing, thus highlighting skills that our students acquire throughout their studies, such as: time management and effective organization, collaboration, draft writing, publishing ethics, as well as receiving and responding to reviews and being critically reflective. Overall, within a friendly, welcoming and supportive atmosphere, Professor Kefalas successfully drew researchers’ attention to issues related to the benefits, difficulties and pitfalls one may experience when publishing. More importantly, the workshop as well as the wider context within which it was situated, demonstrated the willingness and guidance of Departments and Faculty members to inform and guide students of all levels, raising their awareness of what is to follow in their future academic and career endeavors by offering them the tools and insight that will guarantee a higher success rate.
24/05/2016
Workshop on 'Digital Literacy' co-organised by the English Studies Department and the Hellenic Association for American Studies
On Saturday May 14th, our English Studies Department, the Hellenic Association for American Studies (HELAAS) and the Multimodal Group (School of English, AUTH) joined forces and delivered a Workshop on “Digital Literacy in the Humanities: Media Explorations and Creativity in Education.” The event was addressed to undergraduate students of the English Studies Department, who actively participated in it with great enthusiasm. The four speakers of the event were Dr. Tatiani G. Rapatzikou (Assistant Professor at the Department of American Literature, School of English, Aristotle University, and President of HELAAS), Dr. Despoina N. Feleki, Ms. Katerina Marazi, and Mr. Thomas Mantzaris. The objectives of the workshop were to introduce students to certain key terms and issues pertaining to media and identity, visual narratives, print and digital convergence, transmedia, and participatory culture, and well as to practically engage them with a wide range of activities, involving physical and online material. Through this workshop, students were exposed to further directions of intellectual inquiry, broadening their research awareness and horizons, and enhancing their critical thinking skills. This Workshop marked the beginning of the collaboration between the English Studies Department and the Hellenic Association for American Studies, which undoubtedly opens up opportunities for student, academic and professional development in the future.
17/05/2016
Violence through the lens of our English Studies Bachelor's students: A Poster Exhibition
The United Nations have established May 4th as the World Day against Bullying. In this direction, the English Studies Department has launched a Poster Exhibition on the theme "Wide-ranging forms of violence in the 21st century." The posters constitute the product of students' creativity in the 'Language Mastery' module, and offer diverse and valuable perspectives on the implications of violence, through visually engaging material. For the needs of this assignment, students are expected to select one form of violence, critically examine it and present it to their class, in the form of an oral presentation also aided by a poster they have crafted. We would, therefore like to invite students and staff members of the College to view the selected Posters in the Information & Learning Commons venue! The posters will be on Exhibition for the next 10 days. Special thanks are due to Mr. Thomas Mantzaris, the ESD Lecturer in charge of the specific assignment, as well as to the ILC Staff for hosting the Event.
11/05/2016
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