A chemistry academic has returned to De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) as head of a group of students from Saudi Arabia, nearly 20 years after coming here to study his PhD.
Dr Tarek El Gogary, Professor of Physical Chemistry at Jazan University, near the Yemen border in south west Saudi Arabia, is back at DMU with nine of his chemistry students for a five-week summer school. The school features daily classes with DMU’s Centre for English Language Learning (CELL), as well as a programme of academic lectures, workshops and lab work.
The group is also taking time to see the sights of London, including a ride on the London Eye and attending a lecture at the Royal Society of Chemistry, as well as visits to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
“I came to DMU for my PhD in Chemistry from 1996-98 and had a very good time here – that’s why I was very pleased to come back!” said Dr El Gogary, with a smile.
“This is the first time we’ve brought our students to DMU and hopefully it won’t be the last; I’m hoping there might be future scope for the two universities to collaborate on research and other areas of academic study.”
Jazan University also sends its students to summer schools in Germany, Denmark, the United States and Canada to develop their academic and communication skills.
“The students will gain many benefits from their time at DMU, learning about advanced issues in chemistry, seeing life at Western universities and building very valuable communication skills by developing their English,” added Dr El Gogary.
English tutor Claudine Carletti, who gained her Master’s in English Language Teaching at DMU, joined the university as a lecturer this summer.
“Although the students are only here for a short time, they’re getting valuable practice in the English language, as well as experiencing what it would be like to study at a UK university,” said Claudine.
One of the students, Abdulaziz Hamoud (22), who wants to become a school chemistry teacher back home, said: “The course is very challenging for me but I’m enjoying it and I want to study English because it is the global language.”
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Based in the Philip Tasker building, CELL offers a range of courses to help students develop their language skills, both before and during their studies at DMU. The centre is accredited by the British Council for the quality of its teaching, guaranteeing the highest standard of English language tuition.
It is also a member of English UK, the national association of accredited English Language Centres and BALEAP, the British Association for Lecturers in English for Academic Purposes. For the English Language Support classes, free to all DMU students, both daytime and evening sessions are offered to undergraduate and research students, as well as postgraduates. Classes are usually optional, though students may be asked to attend if they are assessed as requiring extra support.
Director of CELL Susan Barwick said: “The centre has a highly experienced team of tutors who have taught all over the world and have extensive knowledge of the current best practice for teaching English language, which is underpinned by our well-renowned MA in English Language Teaching and research carried out by our PhD students.
“We are currently teaching around 500 students from across the globe, either through short-term summer schools like this Saudi one or over a longer term, preparing individual students for their academic studies at DMU.”
Posted on Thursday 30 July 2015