Taroudant, Morocco- After the success of Moroccan Resource Centers of English Network (MoRCE-Net) first national conference held in Agadir, April 16-19, 2013, and the second conference in Marrakech, November 16-18, 2013 under the theme “Promoting Lifelong Learning through Enhancement Activities and Project Work”, the Network honored its commitment and promise. Its ambitious dream of creating 100 resources centers around Morocco has finally become a reality.
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100 resource centres across Morocco[/caption]
Even though it is newly created and thanks to its thoughtful vision and the commitment of its founders, MoRCE-Net managed to create 100 resource centers in middle and high schools scattered all over the regions of the kingdom providing them with useful pedagogical resources.
In collaboration with the Ministry of National Education, the British Council and the US Regional English Language Office (RELO), MoRCE-Net has succeeded since its creation in providing educational resources to many English resource centers around Morocco.
Yet, the 100 resource centres’ project has been a unique one in that the following resources were donated to all the 100 centers that were set up in different middle and high schools in Morocco: 150 Readers, 10 dictionaries, 12 markers, 2 mobile loud speakers, 1 CD player, 3 packets of flipcharts, and 5 packets of paper. The British Council promised to fund all those resources.
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Mr Nick Cherkas, English Language Projects Manager at the British Council, showing a sample of the materials donated to English resource centres.[/caption]
“I would like to confirm that I have received the materials for our resource center. We are grateful to MoRCE-Net for the efforts they invest to create more resource centers around the country,” said Mr Lahsen Ahmam, a member of MoRCE-Net board and teacher of English at Ibn Elhaitam technical high school in Ouarzazate.
“The initiative was warmly welcomed by all students and teachers in my school,” said Ms Mouna Marbou, teacher of English at Khadija Oum Elmouminine middle school in Casablanca.
“Being a member of MoRCE-Net board makes me feel prouder and more confident that the 100 resource centres initiative is a successful project for the teaching and learning of English nationwide," said Mr Mohamed Bakkas, teacher of English at Ibn Soulaiman Roudani high school in Taroudant.
As stated in its website (www.morce.net), “MoRCE-Net is a network whose main interests revolve around implementing learner-centered activities and creating professional collaboration and development opportunities. It is a platform for joining efforts among teachers, educational professionals and institutions interested in creating resource centers and English clubs.”
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Mr Mohammed Loutfi, teacher of English and English resource centre coordinater at Al Mohammadia High School, Ksar El Kebir, in a meeting with students, teachers and administrators exhibiting the materials received from MoRCE-Net.[/caption]
“MoRCE-Net,” as explained by its president, Mr. Abdellatif Zoubair, “is a qualitative addition to the rest of the associations and centers that operate in the field of teaching and learning English in Morocco. Its main purpose is to provide spaces within educational institutions all over the kingdom to engage students in various activities and provide resources for learners in order to help them refine their talents and develop their linguistic, communicative and creative competencies.”
“The resource center”, states Mr. Mohammed Hassim, MoRCE-Net secretary general, “is more than a library or collection of materials. It’s a space where students and teachers gain skills and competencies that would help them get engaged in project work and extra-curricular activities in better and more efficient ways. The role of the Network is to provide not only materials but, more importantly, a structured framework conducive to the acquisition of qualitative educational products and professional expertise.”
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Ibn Maja high school English Resource Centre, Agadir, Morocco, was visited on Thursday, 29 May 2014 by Mr Martin Rose and Mr John Mitchell, two British Council directors together with some English teachers, inspectors and MoRCE-Net board members.[/caption]
According to MoRCE-Net’s president, “in its initial phase, the 100 English Resource Centers Program will benefit about 300 teachers and over 15000 students in Moroccan public middle and high schools in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. More accurate data will be collected starting this fall to determine the potential impact of the program on the quality of English language learning and instruction in the targeted schools”.
To ensure the productive and professional orientation of the resource centers’ programme, each resource center is required to prepare a Portfolio of Evidence.
The Network shares through its website, a well structured and easy to use template of the portfolio that the centers have to complete and send to a MoRCE-Net committee for evaluation.The centers’ coordinators will then meet to showcase their portfolios and products in a national gathering that will be held by the end of January 2015. The centres will be classified according to the quality of their achievement and will be granted bronze, silver, or gold tags.
Mr. Abdellatif Zoubair and Mr. Mohamed Hassim edited and contributed to this article
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