EDUCATION:
· 2021-2023: Master’s Degree in Contemporary Arabic Studies – Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain
o A master´s in Arabic studies taught in Arabic which includes language, dialects (Moroccan & Levantine), modern Arabic literature, Arab philosophy-thought, Arab society, religious minorities in the Arab world, Arab music, Arab media, etc. I have finished the courses and I am working on my research paper in the area of medieval Arabic linguistics.
o One of the subjects in the master’s consisted of a series of seminars on teaching Arabic as a foreign language – TAFL. During this course we had a series of teachers who discussed their strategies when teaching Arabic. Some included Arabic dialects according to the region they lived in along with MSA, while others focused on MSA or Classical Arabic otherwise known as اللُّغَةُ العربيّة الفصحى /al-lughatu al-arabiyyatu al-fushaa/.
· 2008: A Four-Year Bachelor’s Degree in Translation & Interpreting – Universidad de Granada, Spain
o A unique specialized bachelor's degree in Arabic, Spanish and English translation and interpreting. Topics included legal, economic, scientific, religious, and general translations as well as the techniques of interpreting and simultaneous interpreting.
· 2000: A Three-Year University Diploma from the Arabic Language Institute for Foreign Speakers – Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
o A unique specialized three-year university diploma in Arabic language and Islamic studies.Specialized subjects are taught completely in Arabic, and include language (grammar and morphology), Arabic literature (prose and verse), and Islamic sciences (Quran, hadith, jurisprudence, commentary of the Quran, and Islamic theology).
· 1992 - 1998: A Five-Year Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Language & Literature – Universidad de Granada, Spain
o A unique specialized five-year bachelor's degree in Spanish language and literature. Topics included Spanish phonetics – phonology, grammar, linguistics, semantics, dialectology, literature from the medieval period until the 20th century.
My extensive stay in Spain has provided me with a linguistic, literary, historic, and social understanding that is not so common among Spanish language teachers and translators.
Traditional Study under Arabic Language Scholars
I have read and consulted several traditional sources that deal with Arabic language, literature, and Islamic studies under scholars. These books include:
o Al – Ajurrumiyah, a centuries old grammatical manual which explains the most important chapters of Arabic grammar, and morphology, in Arabic. At its inception, it was originally meant for children from ten years of age onward. Now it is used in religious institutes for adults as well.
o Qatru – al – Nadaa wa Ballu – al – Sadaa, a more elaborated manual in Arabic grammar – and written in Arabic – which covers even more chapters of grammar and morphology. It is a manual used in the colleges of Shariah and traditional madrasahs of the Arab world.
o Al – Alfiyyah, a poem of one thousand verses written in Arabic which goes through all of the chapters of grammar and morphology. It has a commentary by the Arabic Grammarian, Ibn Aqeel, which leaves no stone unturned in grammar and morphology.
Other books include Al – Balaghah al – Wadihah in rhetoric, commentaries of the Holy Quran and the Noble Hadeeth, in addition to basic Islamic Jurisprudence.
I have studied these subjects under traditional scholars from the Arabic and Islamic world gaining a deep understanding of traditional knowledge in the Islamic world.
Skills
· Computer Skills
o Microsoft Office Suite
o Adobe Acrobat
o Internet Research Skills
· Languages
o English: Native Fluency
o Arabic: Full Proficiency Fluency
o Spanish: Full Proficiency Fluency
Member since May '06
Portfolio