What degree are you working on?

Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language from 2018 - 2020.

What are your research interests and/or career goals?

My research interests include Second Language Acquisition, Bilingualism, and Natural Language Processing.

What are you working on right now? 

During my MA, I worked with the ESL program both as a record instructor of ESL classes and a research assistant. During my time as an RA, I collaborated with the ITA coordinator, Dr. Franks, on integrating corpus-based approaches for pronunciation teaching and learning in ITA courses. As for my research as a student, my MA thesis centered around the role of investment in language learning among Egyptian Twitter users. 

Why should someone study Linguistics/TESL at Illinois?

The MATESL and ESL programs provide a professional working and learning environment, where faculty members, staff, and students are eager to collaborate towards personal and academic development. The ESL program stands out as one of the most organized, efficiently managed, and well-supported program I have been a part of during my time as an ESL instructor.  It offers a dynamic learning environment where even experienced ESL educators can discover new insights and methodologies, a feature I find particularly refreshing. The MATESL program is well-scaffolded, with courses that are pedagogically structured to meet the needs of the incoming students from all cultures and varying individual styles. I highly recommend this MA for those passionate about language education, not only in English but also other languages. 

Posted: 2/17/2021

Updated 12/7/2023

Contact: maimm2 AT illinois DOT edu