ISLAMABAD - A three-day 29th annual Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) International Conference 2013 started here on Friday that is the largest and most representative moot of English in Pakistan.
The theme of the conference is: Surfing the ELT Wave: New Ways for a New Generation. The conference is being held with the collaboration of the Department of Humanities, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology Islamabad (CIIT).
Speakers have been participating from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Newzeland and USA and more than 400 participants are attending the conference from different cities of Pakistan including Quetta, Gujarat, Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore, Swat, Mardan, Wah, Bahawalpur, Manshera and Texila.
Fife MacDuff, Director Regional Language Office, Embassy of the USA, was the keynote speaker. Commending the initiative he said the event is indicative of unflinching commitment of SEPLT with the cause of English language (ELT) in Pakistan. It is also expressive of mission of CIIT to make its contribution to academic and intellectual development of the country.
Dr. Haroon Rasheed, Pro-Rector CIIT, Dr. Qaisar Abbas, Dean Social Sciences CIIT also addressed the gathering.
The Pro-Rector said, "The collaboration between SPELT and CIIT is a promising initiative having a long impact. This initiative will help strengthen the relationship between all stakeholders involved and will have a positive and lasting impact on the English Language Teaching community at large."
Dr. Samina and Dr. Aliya also addressed the gathering and highlighted objectives of the conference. Different sessions of the conference will be held at CIIT Islamabad campus next two days.  CIIT, Oxford University Press, Australian Education Office, SPELT, National ICT R&D Fund, Ministry of Information Technology and IELTS are the main sponsors of the event.