Using recorded PODCASTS instruction instead of MOCK exams

Beyond mock exams in a university context: Not a tenable method of assessment in the age of AI and digitalization!

As an educator in multilingual education and AI-assisted pedagogies, I am challenging the long-standing memorization paradigm that has dominated classrooms. Mock exams belong to a different traditional era of practice—rooted in the standardization and industrial paradigm that treated education like assembly-line production. Here's why I reject them and embrace dynamic alternatives.

Why Mock Exams Fail

Mock exams promote rote cramming, turning students into prisoners of repetition. They kill cognitive dynamism, ignoring how multilingual skills—like contextual fluency and cultural adaptation—demand real-world application, not one-shot tests from an outdated industrial model.

My Approach: Progressive, In-Class or off-class/remote Mastery

I favor continuous activities and mini-projects that build competencies situationally. Students apply multilingual skills through collaborative tasks, simulations, and AI-enhanced workflows, fostering deep, layered understanding.

Innovation: NotebookLM Audio Guides

Today, I used NotebookLM to create an audio overview of the final exam structure—an elaborate narrative linking questions to the full lecture network. Students engage multisensorially: listening, associating content (e.g., module on multilingual practices and ethics), and reflecting. This immersive prep boosts retention without mocks.

In the multilingual education's AI era, such tools augment cognition, reducing anxiety and sparking motivation... Yet, existing structure and policies, especially those plagued with micro-management philosophies and various types of control-mania practices, do not let these illuminating methods be nurtured and implemented.

 

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Politics and politically opriented motives, negative competition, insuecurity, endoctrination wuthout formal and macro knowl3edge and know how ....as well as centralizing ones throughts and being stuck in one place for years thinking the learned university culture is teh sole ap[roach that exists in academic....all these are posionous variables that can udnermine the future of an acdemic context if that context does not want to accomdoate changes, ongoing cganges in academci conatexts and practices as well as various contaextual, exatra academicn needs ( stdunets profiles/needs/ work place needs...etc)....if none of these, new faculty or frehs blood in teh system wil foind hard - imposisble- to breath and unleash their potential.

That kind of work atmosphjere rfelct lack of leadership that stresses less on errors, punitive methods, unnecessary warnings, conistent policing, factory models of shifts as if everbody should immitate teh shift of adminsitrators ( 9 to 5 shift), while in acadmeia , faculty do not need to abide by that shift pattern. Administarors get paid additional stripends or fees to do so, but not faculty. 

these type of work culture do everthing to ' keep facultu busy' to the point ofe xploiting them. Where on earth faculty do more than 2 to maximally three inivilation shifts in teh GCC region or else?? Usuyally, admin clerks do these invigilation tasks or faculty or else get paid to do so.

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Research on using dialogic competence in debates (classroom environments)

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On the symposium on AI & Translation in the field of national security (July 2025 in Morocco-Rabat)

We rarely hear about translation and interpretation in the context of national and international security. I  presented a paper at a symposium in Morocco (Rabat) at the ICESCO Headquarters, which was really significant and added value to my profile. I did indeed discover new areas of translation and interpreting practices. With AI on the horizon, the symposia attendees, including myself, exchanged intriguing ideas.

#Translation hashtag#Security hashtag#ArtificialIntelligence hashtag#ICESCO hashtag#NaifUniversity hashtag#SoharUniversity

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-7348952257167536129-JL_K?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAANQozEB0vWAMUmsd9JDKEyjWcWcXFOEmmU

A Case in Responsible AI Use: How Translation Students Applied Generative AI with Critical Oversight

Recently, I organized an online forum with my former students from the MA in Translation Technologies at The Saudi Electronic University, alongside my current Level 3 BA  translation students at Sohar University. The objective was to foster a community of learners, establish a network, and promote the exchange of practices across universities and the country. After the meeting, I asked the moderator of teh Omani group to prepare minutes that would document our experience. The format of the document, seemingly processed by an AI or generative AI tool, particularly struck me. In my classes, I have been gradually integrating the careful use of generative AI and AI tools with my Level 3 BA students, consistently emphasizing the importance of human oversight on any output.

 It appears that my students, whom I am teaching this semester in Audiovisual Translation, effectively utilized this factor in the processing of the meeting minutes document, which I find gratifying. When I inquired about their approach to preparing the four-page meeting minutes document, one student explained :

       'To prepare this document, I began with the video recordings, which totaled over an hour and a half. I transcribed them into text using Evernote. Subsequently, I divided the text into smaller sections and employed ChatGPT to extract the main ideas from each segment. After compiling all the key points into a Word document, I meticulously reviewed everything to ensure accuracy, and I discovered that most of what ChatGPT provided aligned with the actual discussions from the meetings. 

Translanguaging Pedagogy (Translation + Foreign Language education combined) : The way ahead in MENA English Instruction

Enough is enough!
In the MENA region, a significant portion of the student population continues to face challenges in acquiring proficiency in foreign languages, particularly in writing, speaking, and listening skills. This difficulty extends to tasks such as translation and post-editing, especially in the context of the recent surge in large language models.  

Listening to the video that discusses the essential role of translanguaging in both monolingual and multilingual education will illustrate its relevance, inclusivity, and capacity to empower and motivate learners. It is time to move beyond post-colonial recommendations regarding effective foreign language learning strategies, irrespective of the accent employed. This applies not only to countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and North Africa but potentially to other regions of the world that have experienced colonization by powers such as the French and English.

https://youtu.be/I-EwN6l_CPg?si=HwzMyGDz1xRGikWQ

Agree or not agree?

As educators, our primary objective is to provide impactful and effective learning experiences that reflect our areas of expertise. However, assigning faculty to teach subjects outside their specialization detracts from this objective and jeopardizes the overall quality of education. Teaching transcends mere content delivery; it involves interpreting the subject matter and assisting students in navigating intricate concepts. Assigning courses to individuals needing more in-depth knowledge of the subject is not only pedagogically unsound but also unprofessional, ultimately harming both students and faculty. Universities must prioritize aligning courses with faculty expertise to cultivate genuine learning environments.

We understand that due to the economics of the education syndrome factor, these practices are being avoided by stubborn administrators to save bucks at the expense of faking the ongoing narrative: student-centered learning, teacher well-being, increasing motivations, etc. How can we expect engagement and integration when we don't respect and seriously consider the faculty profile?

Once again, K12 prices are being transferred blindly (maybe purposefully) to higher education: a teacher of English can also teach history, geography, humanities, social sciences, mathematics...or any other subject in 5, 7, or 11. That is the mindset we are in, unfortunately.

 #HigherEd #Pedagogy #TeachingExcellence #EducationMatters.

Curriculum is conversation (Applebee, 1996), they say.

It has been quite some time since my last visit here, and it appears that my reflective faculties have been temporarily suspended. Such occurrences are not uncommon and arise for a multitude of reasons; this is simply a facet of life. Today, I wish to discuss a significant issue that has been a topic of conversation among many of my colleagues in various pedagogical and educational networks, particularly within the MENA region. This concern is notably less prevalent in countries where the identities and well-being of both faculty and administrators are duly acknowledged and respected. In the forums I have observed, there is a palpable dissatisfaction among my colleagues regarding the management of 'hidden curriculum practices' within their respective departments. Administrators often refer to these as 'operational and local practices,' granting them an unwarranted legitimacy, particularly when one considers that curriculum practices, as articulated by Applebee (1996), emphasize that 'Curriculum is Discussion,' especially in the context of higher education.

It is insufficient to merely assign a 'course' to a faculty member without engaging in a meaningful dialogue with them or thoroughly reviewing their curriculum vitae and professional profile. At the college or university level, administrative personnel frequently apply curriculum practices that are remnants of K-12 education, which is inappropriate. This approach may serve the administration's interests by fostering a hierarchical dynamic that undermines faculty autonomy, often justifying their decisions under the guise of unit/faculty/departmental needs. They must invest more effort into the selection and allocation process by gaining a deeper understanding of the instructors' profiles and engaging in discussions with them instead of focusing on exclusively quantitative and meaningless variables. Assigning a course without considering essential quality assurance criteria is fundamentally anti-pedagogical.

This assertion is corroborated by numerous faculty communities, albeit not extensively, throughout the region. I can personally attest to this observation, having visited/worked in various universities where such practices appear to be widespread, with only a few exceptions I must say. Probably these have to do with the cultural beliefs and philosophies of each institution.

Rethinking Assessment Methods in The Age of AI : Case of language or Multilingual studies

Rethinking assessment methods in the age of AI has become essential for anyone involved in higher education or K-12 settings. For example, tasks such as assignments and homework need to be reevaluated. These product-based assessment activities should be reshaped and reformulated through more authentic methods, such as case studies, peer-to-peer discussions in class, mind mapping, oral presentations, recorded videos, and podcasts. Additionally, we should incorporate critical thinking assignments where the critical thinking components are visually presented in a public speaking context, such as peer-to-peer interactions.

Assessments in courses focusing on writing, essays, translation, or commentary should be combined with other authentic activities. Typically, this involves integrating oral or visual artefacts with traditional assessment techniques. Another innovative approach would involve assessing the process a student undergoes to produce their work. For instance, providing a scanned version of their use of prompts would allow educators to see the intellectual investment and reasoning that led to the final submission.

Implementing these changes, however, requires significant pedagogical and philosophical shifts within the education sector, whether in K-12 or higher education. This might involve providing direct teaching assistants or tutors to maintain a steady student-to-teacher ratio per class or reducing the teaching load to allocate sufficient time for faculty to create corresponding authentic and high-quality learning environments.

The pressing need for political will within institutions to adopt this approach is evident when we consider the realities of modern higher education, especially in regions like the GCC. Faculty development opportunities must be established, and classroom sizes and faculty workloads should be reconsidered to align with the new assessment methods, which may include training faculty on innovative teaching strategies and ensuring smaller class sizes to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. Adopting a new educational philosophy is imperative to achieve these goals.

Fouad

Approche -Programme

New curriculum approach

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Translator Education : Pedagogy, Practice and Research: Today I had a very interesting peer-to-peer intera...

Translator Education : Pedagogy, Practice and Research: Today I had a very interesting peer-to-peer intera...: Today I had a very interesting peer-to-peer interaction with my colleagues in the department. I was pleased with their interest and reaction...

Today I had a very interesting peer-to-peer interaction with my colleagues in the department. I was pleased with their interest and reactions. We discussed the relevance of Gibb's pedagogical approach to teaching in a university context. In other words, teaching in order to enable students' competencies instead of providing educational experiences that force them to memorize. In other words, how to teach in order that students understand and perform at the same time. 

The core focus was on whether our educational context allows us to facilitate a competency based type of pedagogies, usually oriented to enrich students' experience and prepare them not only for work but also for a sustainable lifelong venture. 

The teacher's engineering ability in designing and developing thriving learning environments seems to be the most challenging criteria in this enterprise. Added to that, the ability to integrate the experiential model in instruction is another challenging hurdle to surmount. This continuous professional development may help instructors to lead the competency based approach to teaching & learning.

 

All in all, leadership and management support is definitely needed to activate that approach, since it will be difficult to implement that important aspect of the teaching and learning scholarship without reducing the useless administrative burden and twisted bureaucracy that usually inhibit educational success either at the student, faculty or institutional levels.