Keynote Speaker
Associate Professor Dr Kirpal Singh
Singapore
After a distinguished career of 45 years teaching full-time in Singapore’s top three universities, Dr Singh decided to retire and take on a corporate role. He is now the Chief Academic Officer at Training Vision Institute (Singapore).
Dr Kirpal Singh is among the foremost of today’s global thinkers, especially in the area of Creativity & Innovation. His ideas on and about Education provide on-going discussions among many who believe that the fundamental need globally, today, is to change the way we think about Education. Dr Singh believes, strongly, that our Education is almost totally out-dated and if we don’t heed the warnings clearly given to us by our young, we will be in for a very sorry state.
Dr Singh’s 2004 book-THINKING HATS & COLOURED TURBANS- made the bold assertion that Creativity is closely linked to language, an assertion which is the focus of debate among thinkers around the globe.
Dr Singh is a poet, critic, scholar and author of over 25 books and 150 articles.
Featured Speakers
Angela Moon
Canada
Angela Moon is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Language and Literacy Education at the University of British Columbia. A native New Brunswicker, Angela devotes her scholarship to social justice in education. Her current research aims to examine the contribution of classroom assessment practices on Canadian rural learners’ access to institutional capital, and the construction of some students as ‘struggling’. This research is situated in Atlantic Canada. Research Interests: classroom assessment, multimodality, literacy education, the sociology of education, and critical inquiry.
Assoc. Prof. Madhumita Mehrotra
United States of America
Madhumita Mehrotra has over 32 years of teaching experience, 14 of which have been as a language and culture instructor. she has had the opportunity of serving as an Associate Professor of Hindi in USA since December of 2006, prior to which she served as a Hindi Language and Cultural Instructor at the Department of State, Foreign Services Institute US from 2003-2006. After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in India, and Bachelor of Physical Education she was employed as a Hindi television newscaster and a high school educator. As a native of the target country, her understanding of both its language (Hindi) and its culture is extensive.
In addition, as a certified OPI tester and a DA specialist, she possess detailed understanding of ILR levels, which enables her to assess and prepare the students to exceed standards and expectations.
Assoc. Prof. Saime Matsu
United States of America
Saime has a broad experience in teaching. Currently, she is a Student Learning Specialist at the Faculty Development Division (SLS). She is certified to teach Art History and multiple subjects in Turkish public schools, and worked as an Art History, Democracy, ESL, K12 and Religious Studies teacher in Turkey. She also worked at Pebble Beach Company as a Retale Sale and Service Operations Specialist and served customers from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Saime has effectively taught Turkish to over 200 students during the 10 years at DLI. In her 10 years of teaching, she has maintained 100% graduation rate with no attrition. Therefore, she is a master educator in the classroom and high level course developer. She has been constantly rated highly (4.0) by the students in all areas. Students highlighted that saying “Saime is a phenomenal instructor, who has extreme patience when instructing and preparing the students in the language. She has an instinct for knowing what students need to be effective learners. Saime is a true master in teaching language. Her education and significant experience combine to make her an irreplaceable asset for DLI”. She prepared her students to validate DLPT5, and they passed with flying colors. She contributed in validating Turkish DLPT5. Working at DLI for such a long time equipped Saime with the necessary skills such as professionalism, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, and attention to detail. All those helped her to prepare herself as a subject expert in Turkish language.