No. 1 Chair of the English language

Since the 1930s, the Chair of Foreign Languages in the Faculty of Philology has been divided into two departments: Romano-Germanic Philology and Foreign Languages. The latter was considered all-university one because it organized the teaching of foreign languages in all faculties of the university.

Distinguished scientists such as Professor S. Manukyan, Ph.Ds, Associate Professors D. Sakayan, M. Harutyunyan, and K. Karapetyan, headed the Chair during its history, thanks to whose efforts the foundation of the educational methodical activity of the Chair was laid.

In 1991, departments of foreign languages were separated from the Faculty of Philology, based on which the Faculty of Romano-Germanic Philology was formed as an independent academic unit of the university. The Chair of Foreign Languages was included in that faculty, being renamed the Chair of English Language No. 1. Since 2001, the head of the Chair has been Ph.D., Professor M. Apresyan.

With the support of the specialists invited from abroad (Clackamas University, USA), the Chair has developed the basics of teaching English according to the features of the new three-level educational system. To organize Undergraduate and Master's degree education in non-linguistic faculties at the necessary level, the Chair has also developed a number of modern English teaching programs.

The Chair regularly revises and improves its educational programs, which are based on the modern methodology used in Western universities: FLSP (Foreign Languages for Special Purposes), after which the international scientific periodical "FLSP" was created. The editorial board of the periodical includes the best specialists in RA and abroad. The articles published in the periodical present the international experience and achievements of professional teaching in a foreign language (English), and teaching methodology according to the changing needs and demands of the learners. Over the years, the periodical has become one of the main achievements of the Chair.

Today, the Chair actively implements large-scale and multi-level educational programs in various faculties, which are aimed at serving the teaching of English for professional purposes.

The Chair cooperates with foreign universities (USA, UK), successfully localizing the experience and scientific-methodical resources of their employees. Invited specialists give lectures, and hold seminars accompanied by active discussions. As a result, it becomes possible to renew the educational process, to develop new methods of teaching English by international standards, preserving the teaching traditions.

The professors of the Chair are the authors of a number of textbooks, training manuals, and technical dictionaries, which are intended for scientific and precise, as well as various fields of humanities.

Some Professors of the Chair were involved in the development and editorial work of test tasks (databases) of the RA state unified exams.

Scientific and methodological work is an important part of the working and educational activities of the Chair due to the challenges of scientific and technical progress, development of international and market relations, and globalization. In this regard, the training of personnel who are proficient in professional English is one of the most important educational goals of the English Chair No. 1.

The educational policy of the Chair derives from the demands placed on specialists in various fields in the current conditions of the development of international and market relations.

The goal of the Chair is to provide reliable professional English knowledge and skills to future scientists specializing in various fields, which will help them to represent the scientific potential of Armenia in the international arena.

Today, the Chair of English No. 1 has become an official international testing center that successfully conducts TOEFL (ibt) (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and ITEP (International Test of English Proficiency) courses and English proficiency exams with international certificates.

A Language Teaching and Testing Center operates adjacent to the Chair, the programs of which meet international standards. Specialists with high professional qualifications and rich national and international experience in language teaching are involved in the Center, who use modern teaching methods and the latest technologies.

The center implements:

• Language courses with preliminary testing of language knowledge at all levels (A1-C2) of the pan-European scale of language proficiency (CEFR),

• Language acquisition courses in General, Spoken, Business, Law, Tourism and other fields,

• Professional foreign language training (for diplomats, political scientists, lawyers, and others) to fill the labor market with specialists with knowledge of foreign languages,

• Online and distance learning of languages, testing, issuance of certificates,

• Phased preparation of international tests (TOEFL iBT, IELTS, iTEP, TOEIC, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, SAT, ACT, TestDaf, TCF, etc.),

• Business Communication, Public Speaking, and Rhetoric training for political scientists, lawyers, diplomats, and other individuals, as well as Employee Motivation, Interpersonal Skills, Team Building, Time Management, decision-making, Building Self-confidence, Stress Management, Leadership Skills, etc.