I came to Canada in 1997 as a high school teacher wanting to improve my English instruction. While enrolled at Carleton University I became familiar with various theories and practices of second/foreign language teaching and research methodologies and thanks to the esteemed and inspiring faculty at SLALS, I found my new passion: doing research to understand how students learn and what influences their learning process. I then subsequently enrolled in a PhD at the Faculty of Education, Integrated Studies of Education at McGill University. Since I graduated from Carleton, I have worked as a language specialist and teacher educator in various linguistic, cultural, professional environments. One of the first challenges I had was to work as a pedagogy consultant for the Foreign Language Institute of Ottawa (FLIO) that offers 43 different foreign language training programs to the Canadian diplomatic corps and Members of Parliament in Canada. I was responsible for the in-service training of teachers from varied age, cultural, educational and professional backgrounds including African, Asian, and Arabic countries. I soon realized that I was able to put what I have learned at Carleton into practice by conducting workshops on various themes such as language teaching methodology, learning styles, material development, and intercultural effectiveness. After completing my doctoral study, I taught EFL at the University of L’Aquila in Italy where I also worked as a tester of PET (Preliminary English Test) and FCE (First Certificate in English) following the Common European Framework of Reference. I was Adjunct Faculty at College of Saint Elizabeth in New Jersey teaching academic listening and speaking skills for international students. Currently, I am an Assistant Professor in MA TESOL/TFL programs at Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. I have been teaching various graduate courses covering principles and practices of language teaching, second language acquisition, applied linguistics research, and language teaching practicum. These days I often reflect on the excellent academic and professional trainings, tools, and supports I have received while I was in SLALS and try to practice with my current students and colleagues at the Monterey institute.
(Last updated: 1 March, 2012)