2022 RECAP. SEE YOU IN 2023!

2022 finds us opportunities and challenges, yet we committed ourselves to fight a good fight in our lives. At the Centre for Modern Languages (CML), thanks to the dedication, support and passion of all academicians, administrators and the technical team, everything was made possible. 2022 has been a great year, and here are some of the amazing chapters captured through the lens.

January – March 2022
2022 started with a bang when a few CML representatives attended the MoU signing ceremony for UMP Yayasan al-Sultan Abdullah (YASA). This MoU established the agreement to coordinate a program between the Akademi Menara Gading (AMG) UMP YASA and SMK Indera Shahbandar, Pekan. CML also managed to organise several events in the first quarter of the year, including a Digital Sharing session on Power Up Microsoft Teams: Basic Course using Microsoft Teams in Teaching & Learning by Mr. Khairul Bahri and Ms. Yanti Salina, and the MUET E-Seminar by Ms. Noor Azlinda, Ms. Noraisah Nurul Fatwa, Ms. Rosnani and Ms. Nor Suhardiliana. We also had a session with Sembang-sembang E-Pembelajaran on developing a Micro-credential course delivered by the Technical Product Presentation Team, led by Ms. Nabila. The university held the Yaasin recitation and “doa selamat” event in celebrating its 20th anniversary and also had the 15th Convocation from 17th to 20th of March at Dewan Jubli Perak Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan.

April – June 2022
April saw the Muslims welcome Ramadhan wholeheartedly. At UMP, every responsibility centre including CML took turns in preparing daily iftar meals at both UMP Pekan and UMP Paya Besar campuses. It was exciting after a two-year break due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The festive mood continued when UMP organised a huge Eid celebration at the Pekan campus with more than ten booths. A special Eid celebration was held for the frontliners as a special dedication to their hard work during this pandemic. We also had our most awaited event of the year, CML’s Eid Celebration, serving fantastic food, particularly the delectable meat grilled just outside of our building. Such good times!

July – September 2022
The year continued with the celebration of new graduates for the 16th Convocation from August 6th until August 8th. Earlier, CML had an insightful discussion on the topic Global Classroom: The Way Forward, presented by Dr. Al-Fahim, CIReL’s Head of Technical. Despite the busy year, CML managed to organise the Webinar on Language Learning & Teaching (WeLLT) on the central theme ‘Practices in the Era of Post COVID-19’ with a panel that included Ms. Aisyah Khaleeda, moderated by Ms. Aisyah Hanum, both our colleagues from CML. September was filled with exciting activities as we had our Safety and Occupational Health Week. During that week, CML was occupied with OSH sharing sessions, morning aerobics, safety movement, workplace inspections and a hazard hunt. CML also successfully launched the Engliscape event on September 28, 2022. And can you believe we also survived an internal audit during this time? Yeay, CML!

October – December 2022
Towards the end of the year, we had yet another convocation celebration on Nov 5 until Nov 8. CML also successfully organised the second WeLLT: Webinar on Language Learning & Teaching Practices in the Era of Post COVID-19. The event was moderated by Dr. Abdullah Adnan, featuring panellists Prof. Ts. Dr. Zaidatun, Dr. Azwin Arif, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Harwati. Over the mid-semester break, CML got to unwind by joining the Escape Room Gamification Training on Dec 8. Finally, the year wrapped up with a successful event - the Language and Cultural Carnival jointly organised with the Centre for International Relations. The climax of the carnival was the lucky draw in which the grand prizes included cash prizes, gold rings and a brand-new bicycle.

Additionally, we have added the following series of events to our 2022 planner:

Research Discourse Series

Siri Refleksi Jiwa @ PBM

Guest Speaker Series

External Guest Speaker Series 1/2022:

Global Classroom Initiatives

Knowledge Sharing Sessions

Snippets of the Year

Congratulations, CML, for your hard work organising delightful events throughout the year. This year was truly memorable for many of us. We received a lot of good news as well. Some of the happy news rounded up this year include:

• The adorable wedding of our Arabic language teacher, Ms. Farah Hanan
• Hamizah’s confirmation
• Alia Najaa, Ms. Nur Sabrina Zafiran and Ms. Wan Farah: contract-to-permanent post
• Welcoming new CML members: Ms. Neo Xiu Jie, Dr. Umi Kalsom, Ms. Nur Sabrina Zafiran, Ms. Wan Noor Farah, Ms. Aisyah Khaleeda, Ms. Intan Fitri and Mr. Shahanor Firdaus
• APC Award ceremony for 2020 and 2021 recipients
• Congratulations to the AAU 2021 Winner, Mr. Mohd Shafierul Zaman
• The first CML Micro-credential Course - Technical Product Presentation made available at ILMU
• Wan Jumani for getting the FRGS Grant with her research on ‘Development of a Process Model for CEFR-informed English Syllabus for Age 4 for Malaysian Preschools’
• Completion of studies: Dr. Ezihaslinda (PhD), Nor Ashikin Sulaiman (MBA) and Ms. Kang Mei Feng (M. Ed)
• Jamilah Bebe for winning the Sayembara research poster competition organised by the Minister of Higher Education

Alas, there were also some days of sad and grim news.

• This year, we bid farewell to a few staff members: Dr. Chiam Kee Swan, Muhammad Helmie, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ainol Haryati, Ms. Normala, Ms. Anna Vasylyshyn & Ms. Intan Fitri Aisyah
• Some CML members contracted COVID-19; hence the PBM Care team kindly sent some care packages to them.

It’s been an exciting 2022, with its fair share of ups and downs. With the year ending, let’s take a step back to reflect before we welcome the new year with good spirits and many more exciting news! See you next year! (Yup, we’re making that joke. lol)

Prepared by: Hanisah Bon (Kasbon), Wan Noor Farah Wan Shamsuddin, Dr. Nor Yazi Khamis & Farah Liyana Ahmad A’azmey