Ahmad Mazli (sixth from left) and Abdul Kadir (fifth from left) with other officials and My_CASELT 2019 Champion and Top Gold Award winners.
KOTA KINABALU: The Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Negeri Sembilan branch and UiTM Perak branch were adjudged as winners of the Champion and Top Gold Award of the 6th Malaysian International Conference On Academic Strategies In English Language Teaching (My_CASELT) and the Third Language Invention, Innovation and Design Exposition (LIID), respectively, here.
The UiTM Negeri Sembilan team, comprising Irma Ahmad, Mohamad Jafre Zainal Abidin, Mohd Nur Fitri Bin Mohd Salim and Afni Anida Adnan, bagged the My_CASELT 2019 Dean’s Award after they outshone four other Top Gold Award winners with their entry titled “Benchmarking Undergraduates Listening Standards” in the My_CASELT’s poster presentation contest held on Aug 21.
The other Top Gold winners include three team and individual entries from UiTM Shah Alam titled “The Effectiveness Of Using Creativewords Activity To Promote The Learning Of Basic Lexicology”, “A Preliminary Study On The Curriculum Review Of Modern Languages At Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, UiTM” and “Establishing Predictive Validity Of English Exit Test Students’ EET Performance And Academic Achievement”, as well as UiTM Kedah through an entry titled “The Semai Folktales Cultural Heritage In The 21s Century: Preservation Through Innovation”.
Altogether, 93 entries were judged in the My_CASELT 2019’s poster presentation contest and of these, 30 were awarded Gold, while 38 for Silver and eight for Bronze.
A UiTM Perak team, comprising Airil Haimi Mohd Adnan, Nurul Nadiah Mustafa Kamal, Muhamad Khairul Ahmad and Muhammad Anwar Mohd Kamal, was named the Champion among five Top Gold Award winners and bagged the LIID 2019 Dean’s Award, with their entry titled “ELSA 360°-Videos: English Language Simulations Augmented With 360° Videos For Immersive, Interactive ‘ANYTIME, ANYWHERE’ Learning”.
The other Top Gold Award winning entries were “M-card, an Educational Game for the Learning of Mandarin as the Third Language among the Non-native Speakers” by UiTM Sarawak, “Preservation Through Innovation: Utilising Semai Folklore In The Teaching Of ESL” by UiTM Kedah, “Mobile i-Role Play (MIRP)” by UiTM Kelantan, and “GRAMM O’ THRONE” by UiTM Sarawak.
Altogether there were 41 entries judged in the LIID 2019 teaching innovation contest held on Aug 22, of which six were awarded Gold Award, while eight with Silver and another eight with Bronze, while four others received an appreciation certificate.
UiTM Melaka’s entry titled “Sayang Kinabalu: What keeps urban-originated English teachers in rural Sabah schools” by Ameiruel Azwan Ab Aziz, Suyansah Swanto and Sheik Badrul Hisham Jamil Azhar received the My_CASELT 2019’s Best Paper Award.
The prize presentation ceremonies for both contests were held at the closing of the 6th My_CASELT and 3rd LIID Exposition, which was officiated by Associate Professor Dr Ahmad Mazli Muhammad, the Dean of Academy of Language Study, UiTM, at the Pacific Sutera Hotel here on Aug 22.
In his closing speech, Ahmad Mazli said the 6th My_Caselt and the 3rd LIID Exposition 2019 discovered potentials among participants.
He said there were participants who showcased their innovative ideas and expertise in the fields of ELT research and product development.
When ELT practitioners engage themselves in exploring innovative and creative ideas and products, they are better empowered to make a difference in ELT, he said.
“The Akademi Pengajian Bahasa (APB) or the Academy of Language Studies, UiTM, are very grateful for having had the opportunity to work with our strategic partners, the Sabah Ministry of Education and Innovation, the Institute of Leadership and Development and the US Embassy of Malaysia in organising this event,” he said, adding that this was their first collaborative conference.
He extended his gratitude to guests, keynote and plenary speakers, and all participants of My_CASELT and LIID 2019 and expressed his hope that ELT practitioners would continue to engage in more professional development activities to achieve greater heights.
Next year’s 7th My_CASELT and 4th LIID Exposition will be hosted by UiTM Pulau Pinang.
Rector of UiTM Sabah, Associate Professor Datuk Dr Haji Abdul Kadir Haji Rosline, Assistant Vice-Chancellor, Institute of Leadership and Development (ILD) of UiTM, Professor Dr Fauziah Noordin, and Head of APB UiTM Sabah, Aries Henry Joseph, who is also Chairperson of My_CASELT 2019, among others, were also present.