On the first day of “Mastering English Communication” at Alfaisal University, high school students were invited to imagine themselves in their dream job and then make a list of all the ways that writing and speaking would be involved in the work they would do. Together, the class composed a list of over 40 different ways that strong communication skills are central to success in a wide variety of jobs.
To prepare students for a vibrant future in a variety of different industries, MEC was launched last summer to help students read critically, think clearly, and communicate persuasively. Light on lecture and heavy on intensive small-group, discovery-based learning, this English course helped take students to the next level of communication skills.
In this three-week intensive course, students wrote and shared opinion editorials about topics like climate change and space travel. They created presentations and practiced public speaking in front of a group. They learned how to tailor their messages to specific audiences in order to achieve specific purposes. They sometimes wrote collaboratively and asynchronously online through Google docs and other digital tools. As a final project, students even created their own mini-research projects in which they investigated a question, wrote a survey, and then analyzed the data they collected. All of these skills were put into practice in a fun, collaborative, and fast-paced environment.
After a successful launch last summer, Mastering English Communication will run again in August. To learn more about this course and to register, please visit https://auep.alfaisal.edu/mastering-english-communication.