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Yerevan State University
Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology
Tel: 3741 55-5061
1 Alec Manoogian, Yerevan
e-mail M. Apresyan: apresyanm@yahoo.com
PRESS RELEASE
First International Conference on Romance and Germanic Philology and Foreign Language Methodology at YSU (2002)
October 31-November 2, 2002 -- "Romance and Germanic Philology
and Foreign Language Methodology" was the topic of the conference
held at the Yerevan State University (YSU), October 31 through
November 2. It was organized by Dora Sakayan, Professor of German
Studies, McGill University, Montreal. The conference was dedicated
to the memory of Alina Tonoyan, head of the Department of German
Philology at the Yerevan State University from 1988 to 1999, who
passed away in June 1999 following a long battle with cancer. The
conference brought together 30 specialists in foreign languages
from a variety of universities and institutes in Armenia,
including the Yerevan State University, the Bryusov Institute for
Foreign Languages in Yerevan, the American University of Armenia,
and the Armenian Pedagogical University. The opening ceremony
was held in the Charents Assembly Hall of YSU, which was filled
to capacity with foreign guests, university and faculty members
and students.
The Opening Session was chaired by Karo Karapetian, Dean of
the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology, and the opening
speech was delivered by the Rector of YSU, Academician Radik
Martirossian. The next speaker was the Hon. Hans-Wulf Bartels,
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Federal
Republic of Germany in Armenia, who greeted the audience and
wished the participants a successful conference.
The welcoming speeches were followed by the launching of a
book edited by Dora Sakayan, "Semiotics and Language Teaching:
Theoretical Principles and Practical Applications," Ann Arbor:
Caravan Books, 2001. The speakers for the launching ceremony were
Dora Sakayan, McGill University, Montreal; Svetlana Vardanian,
YSU Dept. of English Philology; and Rima Soghomonian, YSU Dept. of
German Philology.
In an emotional speech, Dora Sakayan paid tribute to Alina
Tonoyan, originally her exceptionally gifted student, later
her colleague and also a friend who, after the mentor had
moved to Canada, helped her for many years stay in touch with
the Armenian academic community. Svetlana Vardanian presented
the contents of "Semiotics and Language Teaching" in Armenian
and in English. She told the audience that it is in fact the
proceedings of a conference held in 1996 at YSU and organized by
Alina Tonoyan in honor of Dora Sakayan on the occasion of her
65th birthday. Sadly enough, the book now opens with a note by
Dora Sakayan IN MEMORIAM: ALINA TONOYAN. "Semiotics and Language
Teaching," which is graced with a preface written by the late
Academician Edward Atayan, contains 32 refereed papers in English
translation. Dr. Vardanian expressed the hope that the practice
of presenting Armenian scholarly work in English and other foreign
languages will become a tradition. Rima Soghomonian, who had been
a student of the late Alina Tonoyan, gave an eloquent speech
both in German and in Armenian. She paid homage to her late
teacher and colleague from whom she acquired not only a wealth
of knowledge but also high moral values and direction for life.
After the launching of the book, Dora Sakayan gave the
keynote address, "On Intercultural Foreign Language Teaching:
Incorporating Proverbs into the Curriculum," which had the
unusual feature of discussing Armenian as a Foreign Language. The
paper dealt with the linguistic and cultural subtleties of
Armenian phraseology and the ways they could be utilized with
English-speaking students to facilitate the transition to
a different set of mind. The paper was well received by the
audience.
The opening ceremony was concluded with a short video-film showing
Alina Tonoyan at work (as a scholar, interpreter, teacher,
and examiner) and at home (as a hostess). It was prepared by
Magda Babikyan, the head of the YSU Film-Photo-Center, with Dora
Sakayan serving as her consultant.
After this inspiring and, at times, moving opening session, the
conference proceeded with its three-day program, which included
the presentation of as many as 30 papers given in one of the
following three sections:
1) Romance and Germanic Philology
2) Contrastive Linguistics
3) Foreign Language Methodology
On Monday, November 2, the results of the conference were
summed up and appraised. While the overall high quality of
the presentations was unstintingly acknowledged, increased
co-operation was urged between the foreign language departments
across the universities and pedagogical institutions of
Armenia. It was decided to convene workshops on Foreign Language
Methodology on an annual basis and to organize conferences of this
caliber more frequently. Professor Sakayan closed the conference
thanking the local members of the organizing committee for their
work and invited the participants to the closing buffet dinner,
generously offered by the Rector of the University.