English Department

English Department is one of the first and most prestigious departments in College of Education Ibn-Rushd and in all of Iraq. It was established in the 1920s, when the college was called the Higher Teachers' College. Since its inception, the department has been keen to provide the country's educational and teaching institutions with the best competencies, as it has graduated a wonderful group of intellectuals, writers, translators, and applied sciences, in addition to English language teachers who have proven, for decades, high efficiency and superior professionalism in the field of teaching English as a foreign language at the secondary and primary levels. The department currently accepts more than 1751 male and female students distributed between morning and evening studies, in the four academic stages, and grants a bachelor's degree in English according to the academic year system (not semesters - SAT courses). Students in the fourth stage carry out practical application in local schools, under the supervision of an elite group of specialists who follow up with them with field visits to identify the strengths and weaknesses in their performance and evaluate the latter. It also hosts a number of postgraduate students - master's in the field of English language, English literature and methods of teaching English, in addition to a number of doctoral students in the last branch. However, the postgraduate studies system followed by the department in postgraduate studies differs from that in the initial study, as it relies on the semester system (SAT courses) in the preparatory year, while the student in the second year devotes himself to writing the thesis or dissertation and is not considered a graduate until he passes, with a good grade, a public discussion formed by the scientific committee in the department to test the student and ensure his eligibility to enter the field of university research and teaching. As for the teaching staff, the department includes an elite group of lecturers, some with doctorates and some with master’s degrees, most of whom graduated from Iraqi universities, while some graduated from European, Australian, American and Indian universities.

The general educational objectives are derived from the educational strategy followed in the country, and are based on the general policy that it follows, taking into account societal needs and meeting them in a way that responds to the process of technical and scientific development and keeps pace with the requirements of modern life. In addition, the interim objectives of the English Language Department for the next five years can be summarized in points that include, but are not limited to, the following: 1- Graduating qualified students to teach English as a foreign language in the country, especially for secondary education, which includes intermediate and preparatory schools. 2- Contributing - through preparing successful teachers - to building a civilized civil society capable of communicating with the Arab and international environment in terms of dealing with the data of modern science through mastery of this global language. 3- Advancing the scientific and professional reality of the department's teachers by encouraging participation in development courses, workshops, conferences, delegations and study leave, both inside and outside Iraq. 4- Trying to obtain opportunities to twin the department with English language departments in English-speaking countries - such as Britain, Australia and the United States - in an effort to raise the scientific level of students and teachers. 5- Reviewing and developing curricula for undergraduate and graduate studies in light of internationally approved curricula. 6- Seeking to obtain international accreditation (or accreditation certificate) for English language departments.

The department did not lack various scientific and cultural activities that expressed the feeling of its administration and teaching staff of the necessity of communication and renewal on the scientific and cultural level in light of the importance of continuing scientific progress. A number of these activities can be referred to as follows: 1. Holding seminars, research competitions and graduation ceremonies. 2. Participating in a course on developing curricula and using modern methods in teaching the English language and learning about TESOL in Baghdad. The participants obtained certificates of proficiency in this course.