Kuala Lumpur, 21st June 2023 – A much-anticipated workshop on CEFR-aligned English courses was hosted by the Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching Research Group (ALLT) at Dewan Bankuet, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur. The event’s purposet, which ran from 9 am to 4 pm, was to introduce a delegation from Universiti Islam Selangor to the concept of CEFR-aligned English courses.

The workshop commenced with an opening address by Dr Seriaznita Binti Mat Said, the ALLT Research Group Leader. Dr Seriaznita emphasised the importance of adopting the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in language teaching and highlighted its benefits in promoting language proficiency and facilitating international communication.

The spotlight of the workshop was on the esteemed invited speaker, Dr Nor Liza Binti Haji Ali. As a CEFR Master Trainer and senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Dr Nor Liza possesses a wealth of knowledge and experience in implementing CEFR-aligned English courses. Her expertise was eagerly anticipated by the participants.

A member of the organising committee, Nurfarah Athirah Binti Abdullah Sidek, expertly emceed the workshop, ensuring a seamless flow of events and keeping the audience interested the entire time. Four English instructors from Universiti Islam Selangor attended the session with tremendous enthusiasm and a desire to improve their pedagogical practices.

The workshop successfully achieved its goal of introducing the delegates to CEFR-aligned English courses. The participants gained valuable insights into designing syllabi, assessments, and learning materials in accordance with the CEFR guidelines. The workshop fostered a deep understanding of the proficiency levels defined by the CEFR and offered practical strategies for implementing these levels in the classroom.

Future collaborations between the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at UTM Kuala Lumpur and Universiti Islam Selangor were highlighted as a goal by the workshop’s organisers. This collaboration is expected to result in a workshop on CEFR-aligned English courses that is more thorough, caters to a larger audience, and makes it easier to share best practices in language teaching.

The workshop on CEFR-aligned English courses that ALLT arranged has significantly advanced language education practises in Malaysia. The programme will surely be helpful to English educators and students alike because it emphasises establishing international standards and improving language proficiency, paving the path for improved communication and linguistic competency in the global arena.