English Mania Now - What Next? - 21 September 2011

English Mania Now - What Next?


In 2009 the American entrepreneur Jay Walker argued that the world’s mania for learning English is good because English “represents hope for the future” as the language of global problem-solving. In his talk “The World’s English Mania” he gave the example of Chinese students manically learning English in order to better their prospects - and here is a link to a transcript of the talk in case the video is inaccessible: http://dotsub.com/view/2b38ad8e-fd71-4f90-9534-40b3000f6a24/viewTranscript/eng. Knowing that English is currently the language of business, science, and diplomacy, many listeners would probably agree.

What Walker forgot to mention, ironically, is that the Chinese language Mandarin is one of the fastest growing languages in the world. Perhaps he was thinking only of the near future. In contrast, the British linguist David Graddol had taken a more far-sighted view of the issue as far back as 2006. In his book English Next he pointed out that global English may be a passing phase with the rise of other languages such as Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic. In fact, according to his research, Arabic seems to be the fastest growing language currently, demographically speaking, though even by 2050 the majority of Arabic speakers will be very young (p. 61). Two sections of his book, “English Challenged” and “Beyond English” explain the need for native speakers of English to learn other languages.

A mania is usually a passing phase, so what next is definitely a good question to ponder.


Posted by May Mikati on 21 September 2011, 11:48 PM

Teacher Quotes - 17 September 2011

Teacher Quotes


When the new academic year starts, the frequency of my blog posts will probably decline as I’ll be much busier. Lately, though, I’ve been scouring the web for quotations about teachers and teaching as a way of starting a new year: something very general but highly relevant nevertheless. Luckily, most of the quotes I encountered were favourable, but this one about teachers of English sounded really out-dated (though it may have been true a century ago, it could currently be interpreted as insulting):
•In order to teach chemistry or psychology or even history or Greek a man must actually know something, but for the teacher of English nothing seems to be necessary beyond a crude capacity to read and write. ~Henry Louis Mencken

On the other hand, here are the quotations that rang the most true:
•In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. ~Jacques Barzun
•Teaching creates all other professions. ~Author Unknown
• Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more. ~Bob Talbert
• Education costs money, but then so does ignorance. ~Sir Claus Moser
• Nine-tenths of education is encouragement. ~Anatole France
•Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose. ~Bill Gates
•Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. ~Bill Gates
•A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary. ~Thomas Carruthers
•The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. ~William Arthur Ward


Posted by May Mikati on 17 September 2011, 1:18 AM

Blended Learning: "The Best of Both Worlds" - 13 September 2011

Blended Learning: "The Best of Both Worlds"


Blended learning, also known as hybrid learning has rightly been described by many as superior to both distance education and conventional, face to face education as it combines “the best of both worlds”. Pedagogically speaking, the online environment fosters a constructivist approach to learning more easily and transparently than the traditional classroom does. It encourages student input and interaction, allowing the teacher to become more of a “guide on the side” than a “sage on the stage”. It also allows for the display of course content in an organized, systematic way. Furthermore, it is more flexible in that it caters better to multiple learning styles. While some learners are verbal (preferring text), others may be auditory or visual learners, preferring audio or video, which can also be delivered online. In this sense, some deliberate redundancy in content is considered not only desirable but commendable, as long as the effect is not one of “cognitive overload”.

The face-to-face environment tends to be considered more suitable for certain aspects of education: some experiments and discussions, certain components of team assignments, oral presentations, individualized tutoring of students, and most of all, for reliable assessment. Not that all assessment needs to be conducted in the physical classroom: most diagnostic and formative assessment can be carried out successfully online.

In 2005, I presented a paper on the subject of blended teaching & learning at the annual conference of the International Association of Teachers of English, in the U.K. The paper was entitled “The Transition to Hybrid Courses: Some Practical Implications”. At that time, there was talk on campus of possible future distance course delivery, but sensing justified opposition to the idea of 100% online courses, I felt that exploring less aggressive possibilities was necessary. Besides, the online infrastructure we had gradually built up for our web-enhanced courses could easily cater to blended courses. All that remained to be done was further development, refinement and organization of the online components of courses we already had in place. There was no need to change learning objectives although some could be tweaked to reflect the online course elements more effectively. By 2010, AUB had started offering blended courses, along with the relevant training for faculty members. The class I offered last year in this new format went well.

Pedagogically, it is difficult to argue with blended learning. Technically, though, it may rightly be observed that internet speeds in Lebanon present a hurdle. Lebanon has been very unfortunate in this regard over the past two decades; it has had the slowest connections at the most exorbitant prices. On the other hand, if internet speeds and prices improve soon as promised, new horizons will open up for teachers: better reliability of e-learning in general and, in particular, better prospects for using online video in teaching and learning. Currently peripheral and supplementary, video may become more central, not only to content delivery but also to assessment. Teachers: brace yourselves for this brave new world of teaching and learning.


Posted by May Mikati on 13 September 2011, 8:28 PM

Should Students Work or Learn? - 13 September 2011

Should Students Work or Learn?


The term “work” is used synonymously with “study” when it comes to describing what is expected of students, yet the appropriateness of the term in the context of learning has been challenged by Alfie Kohn, who has written extensively on education and human behaviour. In the article “Students Don’t Work – They Learn” he explains that in paid work the important outcome is the product, while in learning (especially at the school level), the process is much more important. Whereas a worker’s product is expected to be perfect, a student’s product should be valued for the improvement it shows rather than perfection.

While Kohn is known to be unconventional in his views and somewhat controversial, his idea of the need to de-emphasize grades may ring true with many teachers, and may be especially relevant in the teaching of English as a second language and composition where grammar and writing skills develop gradually over time and rigid formulas are to be rejected. On the other hand, his opposition to take-home assignments may be opposed by stakeholders who believe that “practice makes perfect”. Still, he sees such assignments, especially for children, as an unwelcome “second shift”. In a newer article, Kohn launches a more vehement attack on “homework”: “If slogging through worksheets dampens one’s desire to read or think, surely that wouldn’t be worth an incremental improvement in skills. And when an activity feels like drudgery, the quality of learning tends to suffer, too (“The Truth About Homework: Needless Assignments Persist Because of Widespread Misconceptions About Learning”).

Kohn concedes that some aspects of the workplace do apply to the classroom, but they are not enough to complete the metaphor. While in both collaboration should be valued over competition, people’s input over dictatorship, and intrinsic motivation over extrinsic rewards, the objectives are not of the same nature. Even though some managers may care about their workers in the same way that teachers are concerned about their pupils, there is more emphasis on results in the workplace: “the bottom line is that they are still focused on--well, on the bottom line.” This business-style approach, where every task is a means to an end (in this case a grade, the honour list, etc.) is unsuitable for the educational system in Kohn’s view; curiosity, exploration and discovery should be appreciated, rather than mere “factory-style” performance and achievement.

Rejecting the workplace metaphor for student learning, as many teachers would, has implications for teaching and assessment. If we expect students to experiment, be creative, and learn through trial and error, we cannot compare their outcomes with those of an employee, and our assessment tools need to reflect this, hence the need for greater emphasis on constructivist learning and formative assessment, and hence the superiority of terms such as “activities” and “projects” over “homework”.

Finally, Kohn has produced a DVD entitled NO GRADES + NO HOMEWORK = BETTER LEARNING. Quite a character – no wonder Time magazine has described him as "perhaps the country’s most outspoken critic of education’s fixation on grades [and] test scores." Taken with a grain of salt, his ideas present a brave challenge to conventional thinking in education.


Posted by May Mikati on 13 September 2011, 12:30 AM

Considering Workplace Metaphors - 12 September 2011

Considering Workplace Metaphors


As a language teacher, I am rather fond of metaphors, and among those I have analyzed with my students are a number of workplace metaphors. For example, the metaphor of the tree and the shadow represents the difference between true character and reputation, and the metaphor of the shark portrays the attitudes and behaviours of the workplace bully.

This blog post will take more of a bird’s eye view of the workplace. Whether you would liken your place of work to a home, a military establishment, a prison, or a lunatic asylum may be a personal matter, and the list of possibilities is extensive. A thorough internet search can produce dozens if not hundreds of possibilities that have already been used – though of course it is always nicer to invent one’s own. For now, let’s examine some of the workplace metaphors found on the internet and see if any are especially suited to educational institutions. Here are some from the Creative Think blog by Roger van Oech:
•Our company is like a supertanker. It's large and powerful, but moves slowly. Also, once the course is set, it's tough to change.
•Our company is like the sun shedding light on the computer world.
•Working here is like a nightmare. You'd like to get out of it but you need the sleep.

Horse metaphors are common in describing the workplace from the leader’s point of view as Nancy Lowery explains in her article “The Perfect Metaphor”. She illustrates the idea using these examples: "Handing over the reins of responsibility", "Leading the charge" and "Don't put the cart before the horse".

Sports metaphors are popular in the workplace, as in “touching base”, being “in the zone” and “winning the game”. The “family” metaphor is also common; however, as Dale Dauten argues in his article “We are Family. Really?”, one doesn’t want employees to feel like children in relation to managers. He proposes the “group of allies” metaphor instead as allies bond through a shared cause without necessarily having to be friends or “family”; they simply recognize that by helping each other, they are furthering their cause.

While interesting, these metaphors may not be particularly relevant to the teaching/learning experience though I suspect many students (and probably teachers and administrators) might identify with the “nightmare” one!

The metaphor of “bringing the whole world into the classroom” (used by Norwegian teachers to describe the introduction of smart boards to Norwegian schools) would be one of the most relevant to our current educational mission. With the faster internet the Lebanese government has promised, our teaching should more easily bring the world into our classrooms for the benefit of our ambitious, knowledge-hungry students and our society as a whole.


Posted by May Mikati on 12 September 2011, 1:51 AM

Reflecting on Affirmative Action - 09 September 2011

Reflecting on Affirmative Action


The subject of affirmative action is a highly controversial one in the U.S. for several reasons, including the fact that some people view the phenomenon as a form of reverse discrimination, negating meritocracy. Still, AUB purports to be an affirmative action institution, so it would be interesting to reflect on what the concept means and how it originated.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, affirmative action is “a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment.” A key term here is “past discrimination”; instituting affirmative action therefore means that you are admitting past wrongdoing, a noble thing. Another key term is “active measures”; in the U.S. these measures generally involve quotas for women and minorities in order to counteract, for example, the effects of discriminatory employment practices. Still, the definition of “discriminatory practices” has been contested; for example, it has been claimed that there is a difference between intentional and unintentional discrimination. Furthermore, the meaning of "equal opportunity" has been questioned.

A euphemism for affirmative action commonly used these days at AUB – and please correct me if I am wrong - is “promoting diversity”. However, besides the quotas we hear about (but most of us don’t know much about) in admissions and hiring, the method of application of affirmative action remains somewhat elusive. We do see the following statement appended to job advertisements: “The American University of Beirut is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer”. Additionally, we can find a “Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment” mentioning equal opportunity regardless of “gender, race, religion, color, national origin, disability, marital status, age, creed, citizenship, or veteran status”. That’s about it, though.

Historically speaking, civil rights programs in the U.S. grew out of the need to end slavery and stop racial discrimination. By the time the Civil Rights Act had taken effect in the 1960s, the concept of affirmative action had come to encompass - besides race - color, religion, sex, and national origin. In the 1980s the Reagan administration sought to water down the effects of the phenomenon, but Congress later passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, emphasizing the importance of compensation, payback, and restitution in cases of unlawful harassment and intentional discrimination.

In the past decade, affirmative action has come under attack once again, especially by those who believe that it is obsolete, no longer needed, because their society has already become egalitarian (colour blind, etc.). However, its proponents want to broaden the concept further. The latest news on affirmative action comes from a New York Times article proposing the widening of its scope to include the physically unattractive, offering “ legal protections to the ugly, as we do with racial, ethnic and religious minorities, women and handicapped individuals” (Hamermesh, “Ugly? You May Have a Case”). You might think this is a joke, but the author, a professor of economics at the University of Texas, Austin, ends on a serious note: “… you shouldn’t be surprised to see the United States heading toward this new legal frontier.”

AUB has more urgent issues to deal with, but it does tend to follow U.S. trends. Following up on this latest piece of news, therefore, wouldn't be an entirely irrelevant activity.


Posted by May Mikati on 09 September 2011, 2:41 PM

Analyzing University Rankings - 07 September 2011

Analyzing University Rankings


From my point of view, this year’s global university rankings have been propitious. First of all, AUB has made it into the “Top 300 in World QS University Rankings” for 2011/2012, moving up significantly from last year. Its rank is identical to that of Beiging Normal University and very close to that of well known institutions such as National University of Ireland, George Washington University, University of Newcastle, and University of Utah. This is an amazing achievement, considering the difficulties AUB is constantly bombarded with by virtue of its location in a particularly troubled part of the world. Secondly, Cambridge, which I have also become associated with, has once again established itself as the number one university in the world. Not only that, my Cambridge department/subject, Linguistics, ranks first globally, and my college, Trinity, has outdone all other Cambridge colleges (“First-Class Arts and Humanities Students Help Trinity to Top Place in Cambridge League Table”).

Since the QS world rankings have come to be regarded by many as the most reliable guide to university performance, it is important to understand what they mean and where they come from. Well, the letters Q and S stand for Quacquarelli (a Wharton MBA graduate who in 1990 founded a company specializing in education and study abroad) and Symonds, the British entrepreneur who partnered with him in 1998. Today, QS has hundreds of employees operating from offices in different parts of the world. QS methodology appears to be based on six indicators, with different weights: academic reputation (40%, from a global survey), employer reputation (10%, from a global survey), citations per faculty (20%, from SciVerse Scopus, a global database), faculty student ratio (20%), proportion of international students (5%), and proportion of international faculty (5%). In terms of sub-categories for academic reputation, the QS advisory board claims to have rejected financial criteria such as research income, focusing rather on the following: geographic/cultural diversity, unbiased approach to different subjects, contemporary relevance, reduced language bias, statistical validity, and resistance to data manipulation. As for the “employer reputation” indicator, it targets the reputation of university graduates among employers (focusing on quality) rather than the other way around. As part of this, employers are asked to list “up to ten domestic institutions they consider best for research” as well as “up to thirty international institutions they consider best for recruiting graduates”.

What has kept Cambridge at the top then, exactly? Its average of ratings across indicators: it is second globally on academic reputation, third on employer reputation, thirty eighth on citations per faculty, thirty second on faculty student ratio, thirty fourth on international faculty (with two gulf universities ranking first and second) and thirty eighth on international students. On average, it has scored better than Harvard, MIT and Oxford. For example, while Harvard ranks first on both academic and employer reputation, it is way behind on the last three indicators.

Back to AUB: Attempting to compare it with other universities in Lebanon on the QS web site, using the site’s search engine, can be mystifying. It produces only two hits for “Lebanon”: American University of Beirut and “Islamic University of Lebanon”. Where are the other Lebanese universities we are all familiar with? Could some of them appear among the top 700 to be released next week? That would definitely be something to explore.


Posted by May Mikati on 07 September 2011, 12:47 PM

Avoiding Workplace Gossip - 05 September 2011

Avoiding Workplace Gossip


Here is a follow-up on the topic of workplace noise and chit-chat.

One form of such noise is gossip. From the point of view of evolutionary psychology, gossip seems to have had a survival value for human beings in the past; in terms of networking, influence, and alliances, it can play a constructive role according to the Psychology Today article “The New Word on Gossip”. However, in the workplace, gossip can be a waste of time and, in that sense at least, counterproductive. Additionally, it is often based on half-truths and concocted ideas, as illustrated in this educational video: “Gossip in the Office and Workplace”. Twisting information while passing it on is rarely funny. Common sense dictates that you don’t pass on certain things you’re told, yet some people can’t help doing this. They parrot what they’ve been told, either as they’ve heard it or in a clearly contorted form. Hence, a relatively benign comment may metamorphose into a hideous story – often blown out of proportion – propagated to a third, fourth, and fifth party. Those who gossip usually forget the possibility of “spontaneous trait transference”, also known as “the boomerang effect” in social psychology. They forget that gossip can backfire.

On the other hand, one cannot deny that some types of gossip can have their benefits. Unless you hear that someone’s just had a baby or that another’s relative has passed away, you are not likely to take the right action. This type of workplace chatter is a far cry from the other type often confused with free speech.

Dealing with workplace gossip is a tricky business. It may be likened to handling computer worms, Trojan horses, and viruses that corrupt people’s work, or to cookies at best. No matter how careful you are, things may unexpectedly go wrong. Still, professionalism dictates that you find for yourself a workplace environment that is relatively immune to such intrusions so that you may work in peace, ensuring efficiency – prevention is better than cure. If you can’t find such an environment – as such things don’t come pre-packaged with jobs – then you may need to create one for your own sake and that of your colleagues and organization as a whole.

Here is how Einstein related work to idle talk: “If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.”


Posted by May Mikati on 05 September 2011, 8:10 PM

Handling Office Clutter - 03 September 2011

Handling Office Clutter


My previous blog post was about office noise and one way of escaping it. Besides the chatter, there is also the clutter to be dealt with.

Office clutter, whether physical or electronic, can be very distracting, and at best unsightly. Whether you are the source of the clutter or not, the more you control it, the more efficient your work is likely to be. Overflowing paper and e-mail can be a sign of disorganization, and though they may take time to sort out on a regular basis, the time saved later, for better productivity, is worth it. In fact, an organized office not only saves time, it also saves face. As Don Aslett, author of The Office Clutter Cure puts it, “Your desk is you.”

Reducing initial use of paper and/or saving only electronic copies of paper documents is definitely one way of reducing clutter. Let’s face it: old documents that have long been dealt with belong in the recycling bin, not on desks or in the corridor outside. Clicking “Save” should be given priority over clicking “Print”, and proper filing should replace hoarding. This can be combined with making sure that one’s desk contains only the material pertinent to the work currently at hand.

E-mail and electronic files need sorting on a regular basis. Old useless documents should be deleted and important ones arranged into clearly labelled folders and subfolders. If you’re afraid of losing these documents, keep multiple copies for backup, and never place important office documents on a personal computer that is virus-prone. Always update your anti-virus. Even workplace computers aren’t perfect; for example, if you are a teacher, your usb may be affected by a virus picked up from a classroom computer, which might then affect an office computer, etc., hence the need for more than one backup: backups may be affected simultaneously, in a sort of chain reaction, so try to keep at least one of them properly secured and relatively out of reach.

It may be argued that an organized office is a purely personal matter or a matter of keeping up appearances, but it is partly a professional matter and could be more public than you think. Besides wasted time, disorganization may lead to missed deadlines and meeting tardiness. Besides, your office may give an impression not just about you personally, but also about your organization and how you work. It might additionally affect neighboring offices depending on the situation.

It may also be a cultural matter, and correct me if I’m wrong, that in some workplaces people like to physically display their work because, if they don’t, the perception may be that it doesn’t exist: a relatively empty office, no matter how neat, is not as convincing as one with piles of paper here and there – right? Some even go as far as citing Albert Einstein on this: "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what's an empty desk a sign of?"

If Einstein had envisioned our digital age, wouldn’t he have phrased his statement differently?


Posted by May Mikati on 03 September 2011, 7:13 PM

Headphones in the Office - 29 August 2011

Headphones in the Office


My first use of office headphones took place several years ago when I attended an international online conference on online teaching, and – ever since – their use has become multi-purpose, including selection of video and audio material for courses and listening to background music while I work.

In this blog post I would like to focus on the latter application: background music. What is it for? Well, calm music can create a mildly stimulating yet relaxing atmosphere. I’ll have to admit though that I find it more appropriate when involved in routine, simple office work such as straightforward typing than when the work requires deep concentration or focused reading. The headphones also help muffle any intruding noise from corridors, neighbouring offices, etc.

Before AUB subscribed to the online Naxos music database, available on campus through the University Libraries, one would have to play audio clips (or CDs) over and over again, but now one has a wider choice from the database. The bulk of the music seems to be classical/ instrumental though one can still find other genres such as opera. Search for Pavarotti, and you’ll see. Searching for Fairouz though won’t deliver any hits, nor will searching for pop groups such as ABBA, which you’ll have to find on sites such YouTube; any accompanying videos should preferably be kept in the background away from view as they can be distracting!

Basically, when there is external noise in the office, rather than ask people to be quiet, one can try to muffle the sound – but should one have to? When people take a break, talk in the corridors, or chat loudly with their students, shouldn’t they remember that someone else is working and may need to concentrate? Or is the “real” work of a teacher supposed to take place at home these days, with the office being a mere transitional stop between the classroom and the home? Deliberate noise should, in my view, be considered a form of harassment, but most workplace noise does not seem to fit into that category. Disturbance from campus construction and student events is an example I’ve encountered complaints about in faculty emails.

Am I recommending the use of headphones as a solution? Yes, it could be a partial solution. One must be realistic though: it won’t block out all the noise and may be interpreted as burying one’s head in the sand rather than confronting the source of the problem.


Posted by May Mikati on 29 August 2011, 11:28 AM

Workplace Etiquette/ Netiquette - 21 August 2011

Workplace Etiquette/ Netiquette


Etiquette is a broad subject relevant to various aspects of one’s social life, including school, air travel, driving a vehicle, sports, and of course the workplace. Workplace etiquette is important because it helps people avoid misunderstandings by encouraging organization and effective communication. It also fosters a less stressful, more productive workplace atmosphere. In one way or another, the subject is relevant to all employees, regardless of their field and where they have been placed, or misplaced ;-), on their institutional hierarchy. For example, emoticons such as the one I have just used may be considered a violation of the workplace code, depending on the type of communication. They would definitely be frowned upon in formal correspondence, whether in the form of letters or e-mails. You need some guts to break some of these taboos, but in an informal, semi-professional blog such as this, it wouldn’t be considered too eccentric to use them – or at least one would hope not.

Netiquette is only one small part of workplace etiquette. One would need several blog posts to touch upon other important aspects of workplace etiquette, which encompasses peripheral matters such as gossip, written and unwritten dress codes, and various issues relating to sight, sound, and smell, as well as core matters such as punctuality and productivity, and avoidance of discrimination: nepotism, sexism, racism, looksism, ageism, discrimination based on lifestyle or irrelevant disability, etc.

Back to netiquette then. Since a considerable proportion of workplace communication takes place through electronic means (e-mail, web postings, teleconferencing, etc.), the topic is not to be taken lightly. For example, researchers have noticed that people tend to be more spontaneous in electronic communications than face to face. While this is commendable in some situations, rash messages are to be avoided. With one click, your message is irreversible, while face to face you may more easily clarify it if it is vague or patch it up if it is regrettable. The use of rude, angry messages known as “flaming” is a well-known problem in internet messaging. Online, people more easily forget the human at the receiving end, or misinterpret messages due to the absence of nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and posture. Special care is therefore necessary.

Lack of concision, rambling on and on, is yet another violation of workplace rules of conduct as in terms of efficiency, it wastes your audience’s time, affecting their productivity. It may also be interpreted as a personal insult to recipients if they sense that their time is not being valued. Caution is necessary: whether in writing or verbally, give your audience what they need, no more, no less.

Furthermore, electronic communication renders the disclosure of information to third parties much easier. Inappropriate forwarding, cc’ing and bcc’ing of messages are unacceptable, as is misuse of company resources such as computers, e.g. in playing games while on duty. Yet the worst type of violation of all in my view is hacking into personal or sensitive information, especially when accompanied by further illegal or unethical use of the data, as in plagiarism or selling of content to third parties.

The list of subtopics is endless – and of course no one is perfect, especially since people may say or do things under stress that they would never accept under normal circumstances. Still, as a language teacher I’d like to stress that minding your language is an essential part of minding your workplace manners. For more insight into the topic of netiquette, see Virginia Shea’s famous book, The Core Rules of Netiquette, which I have recommended to my students; it is an EXCELLENT resource.

P. S. Please excuse the capital letters above; I didn’t mean to shout!


Posted by May Mikati on 21 August 2011, 10:29 PM

Soaking Up the Sun, and Not Just for Fun! - 12 August 2011

Soaking Up the Sun, and Not Just for Fun!


How could sunbathing help with your career? Isn’t the idea a little far-fetched – possibly outrageous even? Not really. You’re only going to sunbathe in your vacation time, so – unless you overdo it – there’s no negative impact whatsoever on your work performance. On the contrary, you may be relaxing, recharging yourself for work, and possibly even reflecting on your work as I am doing now while writing this at the beach – if you’re not actually getting some work done there that is!

Reading work-related material and writing while at the beach is easy if you’re not distracted. I’ve done it repeatedly and successfully in the past though I’ll have to admit that this vacation was so seriously busy that half the summer slipped by before I finally got to the beach.

Scientifically speaking, the sun can give you a useful mood lift too, especially if you don’t normally get much sun due to the nature and environment of your work – e.g. if you’re in a closed office most of the time. Depression is a top enemy of productivity and creativity. Haven’t we all heard of people who became depressed and much less productive partly due to insufficient outdoor exposure? Haven’t we also heard of people in Scandinavian countries who have committed suicide partly due to sun deprivation? Clearly, if you’re living in Lebanon you’re not likely to be that deprived of the sun, but you may still need more of it, depending on your lifestyle. In any case, everyone needs to get away from the office every now and then, even if only for a change of scene. Monotonous work routines are notorious for killing creativity.

The sea and wind can give you the perception of an added energy boost at the beach. It’s windy today although the temperature is over 35 degrees C. Water is spraying from the waves, reaching me, a dozen or more meters away. The sound of the waves crashing and the wind humming stimulates the mind in an unusual way. The cooling effect of the wind, along with the water spray, will keep me in the sun a little longer than initially anticipated. A second application of sunblock will allow me to finish this piece in one sitting. I’m running out of paper and my laptop isn’t with me; I’m not in the habit of carrying it to the beach though I do envision a paperless beach, in parallel with a paperless office, in the not too distant future.

On a still lighter note, come to think of it, a tanned co-worker or teacher may be perceived as a less boring, and possibly less threatening character – someone to listen to and cooperate with. Who wants to be around a serious, pale-looking teacher or colleague sitting at their computer day in, day out, year after year? Very few I would think. Wouldn’t you agree that a bronzed employee tends to be perceived as more fun to have around than a nerdy looking one, who is more likely to give the impression of being strict and mean, possibly even nit-picking, if not ruthlessly competitive (and hence to be fought and, whenever possible, humiliated)?

Appearances can play a role in one’s career, and they can be surprisingly deceptive, so one must unfortunately pay attention to them though of course not at the expense of one’s time or dignity. Not that everyone around is superficial in judging others; rather, it is more of a subconscious matter. Everyone knows that even intellectuals are affected by appearances though I suspect few would want to admit it. Sad, isn’t it? Well, cheer up, there’s much more to life than this superficiality. Get out and get some sun, and (forgive the pun) - who knows? -perhaps you’ll remember this post the next time you roast!


Posted by May Mikati on 12 August 2011, 10:33 PM

Connecting With Students - 10 August 2011

Connecting With Students


If you are a university teacher these days, you are likely to find yourself connecting with students not just during a course but before and after it. This has become much more common in the past ten years, first with e-mail and now, additionally, with social and professional networking. How does one manage this upsurge of communication and all these “contacts”?

Before a course, you are likely to receive enquiries about the content of the course, the assessment methods used, as well as your grading range. Some students like to fathom the likelihood of their scoring high with you well in advance; some will explain that they are, for example, pre-med students in need of high grades – as if you’re supposed to promise these before you know them. While explaining the syllabus in advance is fine, giving promises is completely inappropriate. Others will simply ask you to raise capacity in your full section, so that they can register, even though they don’t know you and they still have years to graduate. Their persistence is usually unjustified and is not always flattering. Rather than feeling flattered one may rightly wonder whether these students have been told one is an “easy” teacher.

Technology facilitates interaction during a course as well though it can be abused at times. Some of the enquiries one receives are completely redundant, such as questions about assignment deadlines and presentation dates. These are usually posted on the course website – and often in more than one location. Still, one finds oneself answering one such question after another on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. Other enquires revolve around “why did I get this grade” when the posted scoring rubrics or checklists clearly indicate the required criteria – and these have already been explained in class. While it is commendable for a teacher to be responsive to student enquiries, some of them are frankly a waste of a teacher’s time, and I wouldn’t blame you if you were to ignore the redundant ones though I haven’t had the nerve to be so mean yet.

After a course there may also be questions of “why did I get this average” when simple calculations would explain it – or comments such as “I didn’t know we had to submit a reflection at the end” when it is clearly indicated on the schedule and elsewhere. On the other hand, if you are a member of a professional network, such as Linkedin, you may receive requests to connect with students there. I don’t find it inappropriate to accept such requests from former students, and actually consider it wiser to add them as contacts there (where one can follow their career progress) rather than as “friends” on Facebook, which can get a little too informal at times. This is of course a personal choice for a teacher though I’ll have to confess that one of the few students whose friend requests I did accept on Facebook graduated this year with the highest average in the history of AUB, and this wouldn’t have come into the light if it hadn’t been for Facebook. What a double-edged sword!


Posted by May Mikati on 10 August 2011, 11:49 PM

How Jogging Can Jog Your Memory - 23 July 2011

How Jogging Can Jog Your Memory


No, this posting isn’t about the fitness or weight loss benefits of jogging – that’s really old hat! What I’d like to reflect about are the mood and memory boosts associated with jogging/running, as there is interesting new scientific research in this field, and anything that can enhance one’s mood or memory should definitely enhance one’s work.

Psychological research has proved that running can be addictive because some related chemicals produced – mood enhancers – are just like those that drug addicts take when they want to get “high”. Take a look at this article on “Endocannabinoids and Exercise”, from the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It emphasizes the sedative, anti-anxiety effects of exercise such as running, along with the general sense of well-being produced. While it does mention the “impaired working memory ability” and “difficulty in time estimation” associated with the “runner’s high”, these effects appear to be temporary; one may compare these effects to the rise in pulse which is reversed after exercise (Olympic athletes, for example, are known to have very low resting pulse rates – around half of the normal person’s).

Here is a 2010 Guardian article discussing the link between running and the brain: “Start Running and Watch Your Brain Grow, Say Scientists”. It revolves around a study claiming that aerobic exercise triggers new cell growth, and that the region of the brain affected is linked to memory: “Neuroscientists at Cambridge University have shown that running stimulates the brain to grow fresh grey matter and it has a big impact on mental ability….The work reveals why jogging and other aerobic exercise can improve memory and learning, and potentially slow down the deterioration of mental ability that happens with old age.” The study compared two groups of mice: a sedentary group and a running group. The latter showed better memories and sharper perception when objects were switched: “Brain tissue taken from the rodents showed that the running mice had grown fresh grey matter during the experiment. Tissue samples from the dentate gyrus part of the brain [one of the few regions of the adult brain that can grow fresh brain cells] revealed on average 6,000 new brain cells in every cubic millimetre.”

The Cambridge study appears to corroborate findings from an earlier Columbia study involving 11 volunteers: “Aerobic exercise—an hour a day, four days a week for three months—led to changes on brain scans that seemed to indicate the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus” (Anne Underwood, “Jogging Your Memory”, Newsweek, Dec. 1, 2007).

So if you haven’t started jogging yet, what are you waiting for? On the other hand, if I see you at the track some day soon I might assume that you’ve read this and caught on. See you there!


Posted by May Mikati on 23 July 2011, 3:20 PM

Long Summer Holidays - 18 July 2011

Long Summer Holidays


Long summer holidays can bore one to death if unplanned. I don’t often opt for a long vacation in summer, but when I’m not teaching I’m usually busy with something else: working on a publication, preparing new material for the following year, etc. I might get to travel a little but cannot rest for long without the sense that time is being wasted. Do I consider myself a workaholic? The Merriam-Webster definition of a workaholic is simply “a compulsive worker”, so I assume I’m probably a borderline case though this self-assessment is rather subjective! Luckily, workaholism is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), so one may safely assume that it is not an illness though the “compulsion” part does have a ring of OCD to it (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)!

Besides, there’s a difference between merely working/ being busy and being productive. It’s good to find tangible ways of measuring one’s own productivity, for the sake of self-fulfillment. One’s self-esteem must not depend on what others think, however, but rather on one’s conviction that one has done one’s best. The quality of one’s work and efforts should matter the most. One must never be proud of high quantity poor quality work output no matter what pressures one is under.

In the end, it remains true that “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Vacation time is important for refreshing oneself and zesting up one’s spirit. One can be more physically active in the holidays than when one is glued to one’s desk or in front of a computer all the time. Without vacations we would all be duller, and probably fatter and much less healthy as well; and vacation time needn’t be all play: it can be partly productive. Just consider this blog, for example. It wouldn’t have started if it weren’t for the summer holiday that triggered it. Instead of silently ruminating about one’s work, one can blog about it, reflecting and sharing one’s experiences for the benefit of others.


Posted by May Mikati on 18 July 2011, 11:18 AM

Head in the Clouds - 22 June 2011

Head in the Clouds


The internet has transformed teaching at AUB to such an extent that one may safely claim our heads are now in the clouds. Ever since the learning management system WebCT (now called BlackBoard) was adopted at AUB, our lives have been taking a different turn. The chalkboard and class handouts have been replaced with online course material within a much more interactive framework. Although we have not yet reached the stage of the “paperless faculty” envisioned by a former dean, teaching and learning will never be the same again at AUB.

Back in 2001 I took to WebCT like a fish to water although my computer experience was quite limited. I was the first teacher to use an LMS in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences though I’ll have to admit I didn’t plunge deeply into it till 2004. By that time my teaching had become substantially web-enhanced.

This year – after years of training in online and blended learning (most of it voluntary) - I have finally transformed one of my courses from face-to-face into blended/hybrid format, meaning I have placed enough material and activities online to actually eliminate more than a quarter of class contact hours in that course. Moodle, the LMS AUB now uses instead of WebCT, has definitely made its mark. Lecture notes and assignment submission, glossaries and discussions, team projects, wikis, videos, and other supplementary material are now all accessible on or through Moodle. Without it, most faculty and students would be like fish out of water.

I enjoyed teaching online – and still do – and when the process was still new, I researched it thoroughly, giving conference presentations and publishing a number of articles about it. The next step after web-enhanced and hybrid/blended courses would be a far riskier one: 100% online course delivery. I doubt that AUB will ever want to reach that stage. Besides, from my latest continuing education interactions with Illinois Online Network participants, I have gathered that many blended courses were created as a step back from the fully online format rather than the other way around.

Having one’s head in the clouds does not mean floating in the cloud altogether. One’s feet must be kept firmly on the ground.

Note: While the term “cloud” is used metaphorically here, “cloud computing” in the strict technical sense of the term could mean hosting of data and applications on remote servers such as those of Google and Microsoft. See, for example, this InfoWorld definition of “What Cloud Computing Really Means” and this University of London Computer Centre blog entry: “Moodle in the Cloud”.


Posted by May Mikati on 22 June 2011, 4:07 PM

To Blog or Not to Blog - 16 June 2011

To Blog or Not to Blog


The democratic nature of the internet is well-expressed through blogs. Ever since blogging came into fashion, I have admired bloggers for their initiative and courage, and for sharing valuable information and experience with readers. Such participation of ordinary people in the shaping of trends and opinions globally was still a dream a decade ago. Thanks to the internet, the dream is coming true.

Although I admired blogging, I was not enthusiastic about starting a blog myself initially – whether professional or personal. A professional blog would be time consuming – too much of an additional responsibility. It would require research, substantial investment of energy, and constant updates and follow-up. A personal blog would be – well – too personal; only extroverts would go for that kind of thing I thought, and I shrank from the idea. I do enjoy writing, however, so I finally started this blog: a record that is neither intended to be professional in the sense of a conventional “niche” blog nor strictly personal or diary-like, but rather a synthesis of the two extremes. I decided to focus it on my work and workplace in general rather than on anything else. Relatively unknown among colleagues despite decades spent at AUB, this could be a chance for me, I thought, to step outside the realm of anonymity. The text could also enlighten readers less experienced with AUB, and possibly provide a different angle on things to fellow old-timers.

As this blog evolves, it may drift from its initial purpose, but if it does, I hope it moves more in the professional direction rather than the personal direction. I also hope it becomes interactive, so please feel free to post your comments.

Finally, here’s a funny YouTube video on blogging: "To Blog or Not to Blog!!"


Posted by May Mikati on 16 June 2011, 9:52 PM

The Feline Population of AUB - 11 June 2011

The Feline Population of AUB


In my student days, the campus cat population was much smaller than it is now. No one ever really seemed to take much notice of the cats, let alone feed them as I occasionally did with “Picon” cheese while waiting for early morning classes. Their presence did not seem obtrusive, either, but you can’t really judge till you have an office where they can barge in uninvited. Why do they barge in if I longer feed them? Do some of them still remember me from back then? One would doubt that as they don’t live that long. It must be because others feed them, and they get used to it.

Times have certainly changed. Lately, the AUB cats have become a prominent campus phenomenon, something of a trademark. Having multiplied over the years despite seemingly serious efforts to curb their numbers, they now feature on university post cards and calendars, and in various publications, such as the student yearbook. They sleep in office buildings, such as Fisk Hall. One also suspects that they will soon outnumber the faculty members; as if it’s not enough that faculty have to compete with each other, they now find themselves competing with the cats for attention and recognition! A special cat budget was announced once, at a time when budgets were being tightened in other areas.

When the AUB administration decided to organize cat feeding, this seemed ironic: how could feeding the creatures help AUB? Wouldn’t it attract more of them to the campus? The answers are found in former AUB president Waterbury’s new book, A Photographic Remembrance of Lebanon (p. 138). He states that well-fed animals are less likely to fall ill and spread disease than neglected, sick ones. Besides, he confirms that many cats were spayed/ neutered over the years under the supervision of a university vet. Waterbury admits though that, after the 2006 war, AUB suffered from the effects of “a new surge in cat dumping”.

Personally, although I don’t like the creatures, I can easily recognize some of them. There’s an attractive white cat which, on close inspection, has different-colored eyes; you can see it on the 2010/11 AUB calendar. Sadly, a particularly charming grey Persian disappeared a couple of years ago; when I mentioned this to some animal feeders, they commented that its disappearance was a good sign – someone was probably taking good care of it.


Posted by May Mikati on 11 June 2011, 4:04 PM

AUB Campus Parking - 06 June 2011

AUB Campus Parking


There isn’t much to be said really about parking on campus except that it’s been a controversial issue ever since I first heard about it in 1992 when I applied to park on campus. The November 1991 College Hall disaster was still fresh, and although all my colleagues were still parking inside the campus (outside Fisk Hall) back then, I was told that for security reasons everyone would be moved to the peripheral parking areas soon, and I was one of the first to have to park in the periphery. Only deans and chairs kept parking in the same old spots for a while after that. My fellow instructors resented having to park in the periphery, especially when years later the convenient peripheral lot behind Fisk was completely evacuated (also allegedly for security reasons), but with some exceptions of course. Many English Department faculty members were then asked to park in places such as the lower campus, and later an area closer to the Medical Center, now used for public parking.

In case you’re wondering why I walk up and down the campus stairs every day, peripheral parking is the answer – very peripheral in some cases! My colleagues prefer to park on or near Bliss Street – and those who live near by just walk.

A very new development is student parking on campus. Though expensive, the possibility now seems to exist in the Olayan School of Business. One wonders how many students are using the facility and how many waste time daily looking for a place to park outside. From what I’ve seen, parking is a nightmare for some students.


Posted on Monday, 06 June 2011, 3:16 PM

Flashback Three: To Publish or Not to Publish? - 03 June 2011

Flashback Three: To Publish or Not to Publish?


Well into my thirties, I was often mistaken for a teenager on campus. Around the year 2000, during a Student Representative Council voting event, a student asked me whether I was a sophomore when I was merely passing by on the way to my office in Fisk Hall. Similarly, a year later, while queuing for an event outside the Assembly Hall, the then-Head of Public Relations at AUB pushed me forward in a manner that a military officer might use with an impudent teenager. I don’t know if anyone noticed or reprimanded him, but when he passed by me at the next such event, his expression was one of someone whose head had just been struck with a hammer. It was clear to me that something was amiss, and that I’d have to work doubly hard to prove myself in the workplace.

One way of proving oneself in an academic setting is through publishing. At the very beginning, no one ever told me to conduct research or publish, and the idea of academic publishing did not cross my mind. Being young and relatively naive, engrossed in teaching and marking, and from a non-academic family background (though academically inclined since early childhood), the closest I got to publishing was flirting for a while with the idea of writing a novel about AUB – something akin to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, except revolving around aliens from another planet landing at AUB and reporting about it.

In the mid-to-late nineties an opportunity finally presented itself. Along with a number of other AUB faculty members, I was selected to work on a national curriculum English language textbook committee. Over the next three years most of my energy was focused on this project, and by the end, I had emerged as the published co-author of a number of English language textbooks, each with its workbook and teacher’s manual. At an early stage in our work though we were advised to withdraw from the project or remain only as individuals rather than as representatives of AUB; tensions had developed between the university and the National Center for Educational Research and Development, and although the nature of the tensions was not disclosed to us, it later dawned on me that foreign publishers had opposed the project as they wanted their books on the Lebanese market instead. When we finished the first book, a couple of outside “readers” were hired to edit it before it was released. Luckily, I got a chance to see their work just before the book went to the printers. Those “readers” had clearly left certain things unread: they had modified the student book without making the necessary parallel adjustments to the workbook or teacher’s manual, leaving a trail of discrepancies behind. “They’ve messed up their book!” exclaimed an NCERD employee when I brought this to their attention. A compulsive perfectionist by nature, I volunteered to repair those discrepancies after everyone else on the committee had disappeared for the summer holiday, the co-authors and the so-called “coordinator” of the textbook.

The episode with the government textbooks was a great learning experience though I’m not sure I’d want to go through that kind of tunnel again. Since then, I have published only teaching-related articles, many of which were initially presented at English teachers’ conferences. The course material one posts on course web sites is also a form of publication, albeit much less formal, and I’ve been involved in that for years, initiating and contributing to various English Department metacourses - sites available to multiple sections.

It is easy to begin slacking after such accomplishments, deluding oneself that there is nothing more to be done, but complacency is the enemy of progress. For the motivated, new vistas are always on the horizon.


Posted by May Mikati on Friday, 03 June 2011, 1:06 PM

Flashback Two: Coordinating the Extension English Program - 01 June 2011

Flashback Two: Coordinating the Extension English Program


A few months after joining the English Department, I was asked to coordinate the English Program for the AUB Extension (now known as the Continuing Education Center). That was over and above my full-time departmental teaching load. I was grateful for the opportunity, and I did that for three consecutive years before finally extricating myself.

The Extension job involved dedicating afternoon office hours to seeing Extension English teachers and coordinators, checking all exams, and revising the curriculum. I wrote detailed course objectives for the five levels, changed all the textbooks, and produced an elaborate new placement test, along with placement criteria. I was also involved in the placement of students; while most of the questions were multiple choice, there was a writing component that had to be checked before finalizing every student's placement. Additionally, I was consulted regarding the aptitude of instructors.

Did I leave a mark on Extension? Probably, because I was told that the then-Director of REP (Research and External Programs), the higher body in charge of Extension, was surprised I had left them. Additionally, a decade later, one of the Extension instructors brought to my attention that the placement test I had created was used for ten years after my departure.

The then-Director of the Extension, Antoine Kassab, also an Arabic Department faculty member (now deceased), had informed me that I had been asked to coordinate the Extension Program as a form of preparation for coordinating the English Department's Communication Skills Program in the future. Was I ever asked to do that? Never formally; rather, the possibility was flung at me very fleetingly and somewhat comically (in question form) once in the Department, a year after leaving Extension, when we were being individually consulted regarding the rotation of the Department's program coordinator - and you can imagine my reaction.

After the initial bumpy start there were many more puzzling moments as you may have gathered. AUB can definitely be a mystifying place, and as one of my AUB professors, in the eighties, once rightly remarked, "The Lord works in mysterious ways [at AUB]."


Posted by May Mikati on Wednesday, 01 June 2011, 11:05 AM

Flasback One: A Bumpy Start - 31 May 2011

Flasback One: A Bumpy Start

Back in 1991 when I became a full-timer at AUB, I received a memo inviting me to my first Arts and Sciences faculty meeting. My curiosity was fed with a confusing concoction of impressions.

The atmosphere at the meeting was somewhat informal, which I appreciated. On the other hand, something in the air didn't sink in very well. First of all, few of my English Department colleagues were present at the meeting; besides, it struck me that those general meetings were male-dominated back then. Secondly, all FAS departmental Chairs stood up and named all new faculty members, but my name was not mentioned although I was in physical proximity to the Chair at the time (whether that was a deliberate omission or not I honestly have no clue, but it definitely made an impression). And thirdly, an older faculty member from another department stood up and asked the dean defiantly, "Why are you terminating older, well qualified faculty members and bringing in these new hires? Is it because they're so cheap?"

Quite a start.


Posted by May Mikati on Tuesday, 31 May 2011, 10:09 AM

After Twenty Years at AUB - 17 May 2011

After Twenty Years at AUB


"Twenty years?" you may ask. Yes, I've been a full-time instructor in the Department of English since spring 1991 - a survivor.

After twenty years, have I soared or am I bored? Probably a bit of both.

After twenty years, can one judge AUB? Certainly, though in my case it always seems to be judging me as if I'm a new phenomenon!

What can one say about the faculty members and the students? Well, in short, they took a long time to understand and get used to, but one can see through them after some time. They don't seem to change much.

And the administration? That's ever-changing. One can't generalize about that though there are certain individuals that stay for so long that one begins to recognize them as true members of AUB.

As for the campus, it's as green and well-kept as ever - a boon to AUB. One of my favorite spots is the green field (which, parenthetically, now has artificial turf). I still jog there from time to time as part of my effort to stay fit, which also includes walking up and down the campus stairs every day - something I suspect most of my colleagues would expect only in a nightmare.

I hope to find the time to blog in more detail about the past twenty or so years. Stay tuned.

Posted by May Mikati on 17 May 2011, 10:14 AM