About the Department
Goal Statement
English is the language of instruction at the German-Jordanian University. Therefore all new students are required to use and develop their language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking, purposefully and articulately. The English Department at GJU uniquely aims for well-educated and informed students who are equipped to take responsibility for their own learning while at the same time having a sense of pride in their identity and appreciation of their own and others worth.
Summary of Objectives
It is important for the English Department to educate students beyond the academic, and to provide experiences through other activities to promote a broader understanding of what it takes to function as a human being in the world today.
As well as developing their ability to spell, punctuate and use grammar correctly, writing helps students to transmit information and communicate ideas for academic, personal, occupational, and public uses. Therefore students are required to complete frequent writing assignments which enable them to refine and expand both their knowledge base and their thinking skills.
In our advanced English classes, literature provides a ready means for students to understand the world in which they live. It provides students with the opportunity to gain an appreciation of the universality of human experience and a better understanding of themselves and others.
Placement Test
In order to provide students with the best academic environment, all new students are required to take a placement test in order to enroll in the most appropriate level. We provide six levels: Engl 098 / Engl 099 / Engl 101 / Engl 102 / Engl 201 and Engl 202. Classes are given by native speakers or near-native speakers of English whenever possible to ensure that students achieve maximum benefit.
Unlike other universities, it is the intention of the English Department at GJU to foster a love of the English language, not only through instruction, but also through extra-curricular activities. The following activities are designed to help broaden the scope of analysis already available within the classroom as part of a flexible and continuously evolving syllabus.
These activities, in the future, will include a chat room where students can ‘hang out’ and speak only in English while having access to English language newspapers and magazines together with a small library. A reading club invites students to read and critically comment on books in a relaxed atmosphere.
A debating club encourages students to appreciate different points of view, because the process of argumentation enables clarity and development of responses to important issues. A drama club helps students to express themselves through the medium of drama. A ‘viewing’ room is also essential for students to have the opportunity to watch news broadcasts and movies in English with the view to generating discussion and debate both inside and outside the classroom. A creative writing club aims to help students to express themselves creatively. These are all plans for the future of the English Department so some of them will not be implemented immediately but are planned for the permanent campus in Madaba.
The policy of the English Department is to foster graduates of the future, who will remain proud of their university.
Ms. Mary O'Brien, Acting head of the English Department.