During my teaching years, I worked on educating myself, sharpening my subject-knowledge and polishing my skills as a teacher; I read many literacy and classroom management related articles, attended several reading & writing workshops, and was part of varied groups instructed by literacy coaches and mentors. All of this helped in molding my teaching identity and contributed in my professional development and growth.
However, what really inspired me and kept me going were the learners themselves! I started realizing how much our relationship and mutual trust are essential in scaffolding teaching, so I started believing in their capacity, and looking at them differently, as partners in this learning journey. I began investing more in the communicative approach and tried different sets of pedagogical tools and strategies to reach out to each and every one of them, taking into consideration their learning differences and levels. This impacted profoundly my teaching style in that my planning, curriculum development, lesson preparations and choice of activities were aimed at serving the standards and giving the learners ownership of their learning.
Based on this learner-centered approach, I was motivated to look into new teaching methods that promote the learners’ input and include them in the teaching process. I started designing my classes based on their interaction within groups and my analytical observations. Shortly after, I became more of a facilitator rather than a lecturer. This resulted in developing my lessons based on their needs and interests, in line with the curriculum and the learning outcomes.
In that respect, I am a strong believer in guiding and facilitating the learning, but also giving clear instructions, checking for understanding, assessing performance and setting goals that reflect high expectations and an understanding of the subject. I believe that collecting and analyzing data is a key for successful strategic teaching. As a teacher of language art, I always reflect on my teaching methods based on how much I was able to engage my students, through varied authentic material and tasks. I believe in setting a safe class environment in which the learner is comfortable to take risks and discover wider horizons! I believe that creating many learning opportunities and providing an enriching learning environment for the learners, spiced up with humor and excitement, constitute a successful classroom.
I am an Arabic language Instructor. I've been teaching Arabic for non-native international students from different countries, backgrounds and age-groups (K-12 plus graduate & Undergraduate students). I taught at the American University of Beirut and at the American Community School Beirut. I taught in Summer Intensive programs for many years and was the coordinator of this program for 3 years in a row. My latest success was running the first ever online Arabic Summer Program at the Center for Arab & Middle Eastern studies this passed summer (for differentiated levels: beginners, Intermediate and Advanced). I am 45 years old and a mother of 3 Australian boys.
Perfect! Although I've only been learning from Salwa for a short time I feel as if I've learned so much already. Her style of encouraging students to take measured steps outside their comfort zone combined with constant dialogue in Arabic make for an environment which promotes learning and fun. Thank you Salwa!
I was lucky enough to have Salwa as my Advanced Lebanese Arabic instructor last year (Fall 2019) at the American University of Beirut. From the first session to the last day, Salwa’s commitment to fostering her students’ learning went above and beyond all expectations, as she remained consistent in pushing us to be better in our understanding of Arabic. As an instructor, Salwa’s approach to the classroom always felt intentional, planned, and effective. I never once walked into her classroom thinking that I would be able to sit silently through the entire session - she would never let that happen. Her compassion for her students makes her an effective instructor, because she is mindful about her students’ individual progresses and is able to challenge her students relative to their capabilities. The Fall Semester of 2019 in Lebanon was uniquely challenging, particularly for the instructors who weathered unimaginable obstacles. Salwa turned these obstacles upside down by constantly seeking connections between our learning of Lebanese Arabic and the unprecedented events taking place in Lebanon, right in front of us. This adaptability made my personal learning thrive in the otherwise non-ideal circumstances. Only Salwa could achieve this, as she is an extremely dedicated and effective instructor.
I have worked with Salwa for more than 9 years. Salwa is passionate about teaching Arabic and brings a wonderful positive energy to her classes, whether online or in-person. Her sense of humour makes learning Arabic – a difficult language – so much fun, while at the same time she makes sure her students make solid progress in the language. Salwa has many years of experience in teaching Arabic to students of all ages, from preschool children to adults. She is an amazing Arabic teacher and I highly recommend her!
I had the wonderful opportunity of having Salwa as my Arabic teacher during my exchange semester in Lebanon. I have had many Arabic teachers during my time studying in uni, but Salwa was without a doubt on top! She is extremely organized, professional and on top of that a wonderful human being. She makes sure to really help one push through academically and at the same time makes sure that learning and studying hard can also be really fun! Anyone who has the opportunity of having Salwa as a teacher is extremely lucky and will see immediate changes to one’s proficiency in Arabic.
I had the pleasure to meet Salwa at the American University of Beirut this year, where she taught me Lebanese Colloquial Arabic almost from scratch for a whole semester.
Salwa is a very demanding but committed professor that teaches her language from the bottom of her heart, with passion and rigour. With her I learned more than a language, I learned to respect and appreciate the cultural context that nurtures the language itself; I learned to look at the world through the Arabic language lens.
We learned Arabic through the discussion of social, political, economic, cultural issues and real-time news and events like the pandemic, so it was useful and up to date. At the same time, she gave us the opportunity to give our personal take on those hot topics, and to squeeze and proudly show our own cultural background to the rest of the class. It was a humbling and self-enriching experience, probably the most challenging in my recent life. You will have to work very hard but it is completely worth it!
I remember how shy and insecure I was at the beginning of the course and it is impressive how confident I became by the end: I could spontaneously express my thoughts on quite complex topics. To be honest, I never learned Arabic so quickly before, which was absolutely motivating!
She also adapted very easily to the online shift of the course with the coronavirus lockdown. We kept the pace and completed the syllabus as it was originally planned despite the newness of online teaching. Overall, I enjoyed her course so much that this summer I decided to enrol the intensive summer course coordinated by her at CAMES (AUB) as well. No doubt: the best investment in foreign language learning I have ever made! Trust me, trust her! Shokran kteer ya Salwa! ;)
Salwa was my professor of Levantine Arabic at the American University of Beirut. Thanks to a brilliant combination of dynamic lessons, emphasis on speaking and language production, her motivating and energetic attitude, and her constant support to all students I could learn a lot.
We had face-to-face and online classes and both experiences were equally enriching. She proposed group activities, we worked individually but most of the time in pairs and teams, which was very useful to gain fluency.
In addition, she always offered personalised feedback and paid attention my specific characteristics.
I would recommend anyone willing to learn Arabic, either Standard or Levantine dialect, to start classes with Salwa.
Salwa was my professor of Levantine Arabic at the American University of Beirut. Thanks to a brilliant combination of dynamic lessons, emphasis on speaking and language production, her motivating and energetic attitude, and her constant support to all students I could learn a lot.
We had face-to-face and online classes and both experiences were equally enriching. She proposed group activities, we worked individually but most of the time in pairs and teams, which was very useful to gain fluency.
In addition, she always offered personalised feedback and paid attention my specific characteristics.
I would recommend anyone willing to learn Arabic, either Standard or Levantine dialect, to start classes with Salwa.
Salwa is the Arabic instructor you want at every level of your language learning experience. While some language schools focus on monotonous and frustrating memorization, Salwa makes the language feel alive. If you want to be able to converse with the real world, and be able to have great experiences speaking Arabic, there is no better teacher than Salwa. It feels like learning Arabic with a friend!
I highly recommend Salwa on Superprof. She is a professional instructor of Arabic as a foreign language both Modern Standard Arabic and Levantine colloquial at all levels of language proficiency. I have know her for as a colleague at the American University of Beirut for over 10 years now where we both teach Arabic in the Intensive Summer Program. I also had the great opportunity to co-teach with her the same level course. She is dynamic, organized, creative and energetic. She also cares about her students and keep them alert all the time. She follows up on details too. Her approach in teaching is highly interactive and lively. Salwa also had administrative duties at the Summer Program since she was its director. So, add to her teaching skills her administration skills. You would be lucky to have her as a teacher!
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