Professor Ghada Abdel Hafeez, the local dean of the Faculty of Language Studies (FLS) at Arab Open University-Bahrain, has announced that the FLS will offer a highly important MA Programme in the area of teaching English, which is MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Offering this new Programme reflects the University's efforts to meet the requirements of national and regional socio-economic development as well as market demands.
Professor Abdel Hafeez has made it clear that the rationale for launching this Programme is derived from a number of factors. Firstly, it creates good job opportunities in education in the public and private sectors. The MA-in-TEFL holders are sought by English Language Centres at universities and schools. In addition, this degree opens up opportunities for its holders to seek higher degrees in TEFL, especially doctoral degrees.
Professor Abdel Hafeez states that the MA in TEFL Programme aims at training students to become effective classroom teachers, familiarizing them with the latest methods of assessment and evaluation, exposing them to various methods of preparing teaching materials, and developing their ability to conduct empirical research in the domain of EFL.
Finally, Professor Ghada Abdel Hafeez has added that AOU-Bahrain provides its students with all kinds of support during their educational journey, wishing them success in all their future endeavors.