 With her bright eyes, dimples and easy smile, one might not immediately expect her to have the dry, witty sense of humor that she has. Peals of laughter can be heard coming from Rehab’s classroom, leaving other people to ask “Is that really an Arabic class going on in there or one of your Travel Italian classes?” Other smart alecks will notice the sign on the door, “Arabic Rehab”, and ask us if we are offering some kind of more challenging twelve-step program. Not the case, of course, it’s just a typical class with Rehab.
One of Rehab’s advanced students, Shafik Yaghmour (an ABC student of Arabic for over a year) describes Rehab as a fun, yet challenging teacher: “Rehab knows how to make the class fun. It’s never dull; She wants us to enjoy class, but don’t get me wrong it’s challenging.”
Rehab is a linguist at heart, having taught French, English and Arabic over the course of her career. She knows how to give her students a perspective on the Arabic language and show them the most effective way to learn.
Her carefree spirit belies the strong, independent nature she possesses. She came to the United States alone leaving behind her brother, sister and parents all still living in Alexandria. By looking on the internet, when still living in Alexandria, she found an organization called The Institute of International Education located in the U.S. At that point she already had a graduate degree in Education and had taught English and French for six years. The institute helped her obtain a scholar’s visa to come to the United States and teach Arabic at Lincoln University in Lincoln, Pennsylvania.
It was a challenging move that Rehab met with a brave attitude and positive outlook. Leaving her home and family was not easy, and Rehab had to prepare her family for this new and unknown segment of her life. “I was so scared, but I thought it was something like a dream. I have this great chance. This is my life and if I can do this, I can go anywhere,” she recounts. Saying goodbye to her father was difficult, but with an apparent similar sense of humor he said “Now Rehab when I said to go away and do something, I didn’t mean GO AWAY.”
Starting her first job in the U.S. meant getting used to American customs. Rehab has developed an ease and comfort with Americans, yet also remains faithful to the customs and beliefs of her country. She knows how to engage Americans, while letting them know her boundaries. Teaching at Lincoln University she first encountered the American tradition of celebrating with a party at the end of a semester. Her warm and enthusiastic students thanked her for all her good work and some offered a hug to show their gratitude. That’s when she threw up her hand in halt position to the male students and said “You’re welcome, but no hug.”
Rehab says coming to ABC Language Exchange is like “going on a fun outing. I really love working here and when I love the place, I give it my whole heart.” We hope she will stay with us for years and keep bringing her unique style of teaching. |
ABC Language Exchange teachers are among the highest quality professionals to be found. We only employ language teachers with the experience and pedagogical training to provide the most effective language program possible. ABC teachers focus on real results. Our goal is to have the students use the target language in class the whole time so they are best prepared to use the language in real-life situations. We have found this dynamic approach to language learning, coupled with our solid curricula, leads to proficiency and eventual fluency in a foreign language.