Teaching experience

2019-present	​	​Associate Professor of Linguistics
	​	​	​​ENGL3329 Syntax and Semantics
	​	​	​​ENGL2327 Phonology and Morphology
	​	​	​​ENGL2320 Introduction to the Study of Language and Phonetics  
	​	​	​​ENGL2134 Critical Reading

2010-2018	​​​	​Assistant Professor of Linguistics
			​​ENGL3329 Syntax and Semantics
			​​ENGL2327 Phonology and Morphology
			​​ENGL4580 Special Topic in Linguistics 
			​​ENGL2108 Modern English Grammar
			ENGL2134 Critical Reading
			​​ARTS1001 Research Skills 

2003-2006	​	​​Language Lecturer
	​	​	​​ENGL2121 Language Development I           
			​ENGL2122 Language Development II
			​ENGL2123 Advanced Reading and Vocabulary
			​ENGL2124 Advanced Writing and Grammar
			​ENGL2129 English Language Proficiency I
			​ENGL2131 English Language Proficiency II 
			​ENGL4573 Special Topic in Linguistics
			​ENGL4576 Aspects of Language Proficiency

2000-2001	​	​​​ESL Instructor
			​Intensive courses in reading, writing, and grammar at the SQU 
			​Language Centre.

Teaching philosophy

I believe that students, especially university students, are capable of learning on their own, not just because whatever task they may be assigned is largely within their capacity, having reached their respective educational stages (“God does not burden any soul beyond its capacity” HQ. 2:286), but also because they were able to learn, on their own, what is harder than anything that could ever be taught at schools or universities, which is language, which our Forefather, Adam pbuh, learnt from Allah (“And He taught Adam the names, all of them” HQ. 2:31), and which we successfully learn without schools and teachers. Language is a complex and creative system that includes many components and elements that require computations and arrangement in particular orders. Furthermore, the stages of the language acquisition process (which children go through) are not different from the stages of the scientific research process (which scholars perform). This indicates that we were assigned the task of independently acquiring language, as a 5-year training program for our intellectual faculties and God-given learning skills, in preparation for us to be independent learners. The ultimate goal of this training program is to make us capable of using the evidence in our own selves and that in the universe to reach the conclusion about the Creator and the truth about this whole universe (“We will show them Our proofs on the horizons, and in their very souls, until it becomes clear to them that it [Islam] is the truth” HQ. 41:53). This leads to the conclusion that human beings are created to be researchers, that is, independent learners, creatures capable of learning from raw data, through the Scientific Method, and essentially without teachers.
  This means that the teacher should not summarize the course material and simplify it for the students, whose role becomes listening to lectures, copying material from slides, and memorizing information for tests. Rather, the teacher’s role should be that of a guide, a facilitator of learning, someone whose role is to create the relevant environment that makes learning happen by the students, through problematizing the course content and leading class discussions. True learning happens through the application of the relevant active learning approaches, not active teaching practices, but rather effective teaching practices, ones which require active student involvement in the learning task, and ultimately seek to develop the students’ problem-solving skills. Adopting the relevant active learning approaches ensures the creation of life-long learners who view any experience as a learning opportunity, who view any learning opportunity as a research endeavor, and who view any research endeavor as a unique occasion for creating new knowledge and insight; educationists call this aspect of pedagogy “the cognitive domain”. The teacher’s role also includes providing students with the necessary reassurance that though they are sailing on their own, the teacher is there to provide guidance and make sure that they sail effectively and fruitfully, and that they reach their destinations successfully. Besides, at times, teachers may be required to show care, pay a bit more attention to some students, be considerate, and reward outstanding performance; educationists call this aspect of pedagogy “the affective domain”.
​  Besides this professional obligation, the teacher has a moral obligation to humanity. This includes discovering rare and prodigious talent, nurturing it, and informing the promising students about their potentials, as well as making it clear to the other students that they are created equally capable, but that they have to discover their abilities and use them, as well as demonstrating them to teachers to receive necessary advice and guidance. The teacher’s main duty, being entrusted with the minds and potentials of the new generations (which is the real wealth of any nation), is to raise a generation of thinkers, people who are better prepared for the competitiveness of the new world, who are highly motivated to succeed and firmly determined to accomplish, ones with ambitious goals and ingenious plans, ones who are both ready and willing to travel new paths, even alone (knowing that Allah is their Companion if their goal is the welfare of humanity), ones who know that life is not just about grades, success, and material acquisition, but also about values and principles, people who are willing to invest their resources to learn and invent knowledge (even if that is not going to make them wealthy), ones who understand that ‘thinking’ is the true actualization of humanness, ones who love life so much that they want to stay alive even after their hearts stop beating, through their intellectual production and through the minds and souls that they have influenced, ones who are so noble as to make sacrifices for the new generations, ones who are aware of their potentials as well as of their responsibility towards humanity, which is improving the quality of life on this planet; I call this aspect of the profession “the teacher’s mission”.