Native Arabic speaker from Syria, with 5 years teaching experience. Focusing on helping students hone their conversational Arabic skills.

Find out more about Fahed

• 1) Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I speak Arabic because of my origin, but in terms of English and football coaching, I do both out of love and passion!

• 2) Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  Al-Mutanabbi - one of the greatest Arabic poets!

• 3) Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?

  The greeting phrase: ''Assalamu Alaikum" which means: Peace be upon you!

• 4) Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Because it's very rich in vocabulary, poetic, and brings back childhood memories.

• 5) What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  One of the main difficulties for learners is the writing side, as it contains so many different shapes including dots and other symbols - What I do to help learners is: a. Simplifying the words by splitting each word into separate letters and working on these letters individually, as well as asking students to write down each letter a number of times and not proceeding to the next letter until we master the previous one/s!

• 6) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  I remember at primary school, getting asked a question at one of the classes, and my answer was in poetry which made the teacher get amused!

• 7) How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Travelling to England and starting to teach Arabic has opened my eyes to how beautiful the language is and how much enjoyment I am getting from teaching it. Which has made me read more and learn more about it!

• 8) What makes you a Superprof in language?

  My ability to simplify it to new learners and identifying the needs of the learners, as well as knowing how to make them fall in love with it!