Telephone number:	+31 (0)71 527 4184
E-Mail:	m.f.m.attwa@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department:	Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Leiden Institute for Area Studies, SMES APT
Office Address:	Witte Singel-complex Witte Singel 25/M. de Vrieshof 4 2311 BZ Leiden Room number 0.16a

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Fields of interest

My fields of interest include English and Arabic language, linguistics as well as translation. My actual research is linked with my experience in the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. I am namely looking into the phenomenon of writing Arabic in Romanized characters (Arabizi) via computer mediated communication (CMC). I try to analyze this phenomenon from different angels: the social space in which native speakers use Arabizi, its impact on learners of Arabic as a foreign language, and its relation with Arab identity. Part of my research deals also with language varieties used on social networks (Facebook, twitter, SMSs, and chat). Other interests include finding ways to present Arabic as a lively easy language, releasing it from the stereotypical confinement that sees it as a highly classical language unfit to cope with new approaches of different fields in life.

CV

Education 

2008 – Present   MA in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language, The American University in Cairo (on-going).

2002 – 2007       The Professional Certificate in Translation, School of Continuing Education, The American University in Cairo.

1997 – 2001       BA in English Language and Literature, Faculty of Al-Alsun (Languages), Ain Shams University.

Employment

2007 – 2011       Translation Instructor, School of Continuing Education, The American University in Cairo.

2009– 2011        Fellow Teacher, The Arabic Language Institute, The American University in Cairo.

2007 – 2009       Executive Manager, Foreign Publishing Division, Nahdet Misr for Publishing and Printing.

2005 – 2007       Publishing Executive Assistant, Children Publishing Division, Nahdet Misr for Publishing and Printing.

2001 – 2005       Senior Linguist, Machine Translation Department, Sakhr Software.

Key publications

• Do you want to learn Arabizi? An Exploratory Study of the way learners of Arabic look at Arabizi. To be presented at MESA (Middle East Studies Association) conference, Washington DC (1-4 December, 2011). (on-going)
• Abdelghafar, N. et al (2011). Arabizi or Romanization: the dilemma of writing Arabic texts. Presented at Jil Jadid Conference held at University of Texas, Austen (18-19 February 2011) (collective).

Teaching

• Grammatica Arabisch 1
• Grammatica Arabisch 2
• Conversatie Arabisch 1
• Conversatie Arabisch 2: Levantijns Arabisch

Grants & Awards

Spring 2010 – Spring 2011
A Merit MA Fellowship in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language (TAFL), The American University in Cairo.

Fall 2009
A TAFL Fellowship in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language, The American University in Cairo. 

Summer 2001
Scholarship of the Spanish Cultural Center, Summer School, University of Complutense, Madrid.