All posts by Sarab

Cultivating Connections: A Reflection on Project-Based Language Learning

Certificates, Processional Development

In June 2025, I had the pleasure of participating in a truly insightful professional development program focused on equipping language educators with the tools and strategies to implement effective project-based learning within language acquisition contexts. This summer institute, hosted at Yale University and run by the National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC), was an invaluable … Continue reading Cultivating Connections: A Reflection on Project-Based Language Learning →

A Resounding Success: Our First Arabic Teachers’ Council Summer Institute!

Workshops and Presentations

Yesterday was a truly special day for us at the Yale Arabic Language Program. We hosted our inaugural Summer Institute titled The Power of Heritage Culture: Integrating Visual Arts into Arabic Language Teaching. This is a collaborative effort with the New York and New England Arabic Teachers’ Councils, and I’m thrilled to say, it was a … Continue reading A Resounding Success: Our First Arabic Teachers’ Council Summer Institute! →

Instructional Innovation Workshop 2025

Developing a Community-Based Learning Project for Heritage Arabic Courses.

Yale Center for Language Study, May 2025.

This project outlines efforts that focus on developing a comprehensive community-based learning project for the Elementary and Intermediate Heritage Arabic course. The “Connecting and Engaging” project will empower students to become advocates for the program, developing strategies to build a vibrant community around the course and encourage ongoing participation among fellow university students, particularly heritage speakers. This project leverages Project-Based Language Learning (PBLL) principles to create compelling messaging highlighting the unique experience of heritage language learners and fostering a sense of belonging among heritage speakers on campus. The five-day Instructional Innovation Workshop (IIW) was dedicated to the initial design and planning of this project, preparing it for implementation in the 2025-26 academic year.

AI: A New Dimension in Language Feedback 

Workshops and Presentations

Envisioning Artificial Intelligence at Yale: Interdisciplinary Symposium Panel: AI: A New Dimension in Language Feedback  This session will demonstrate how artificial intelligence can be seamlessly integrated into language classrooms to provide effective and engaging feedback, transforming it into a practical tool for immediate application within the Yale community. Beyond theoretical exploration, attendees will witness a … Continue reading AI: A New Dimension in Language Feedback  →

In Conversation with Dr. Alaa Al Aswany: A Memorable Honor

Beyond the Class

It was truly an honor to moderate a conversation with the esteemed Dr. Alaa Al Aswany at the Yale Arab Students Association’s “Arabs and the West” conference on April 12th. His eloquence and mindful approach to each question illuminated his deep thinking and remarkable literary talent as we discussed literature and the complexities of the … Continue reading In Conversation with Dr. Alaa Al Aswany: A Memorable Honor →

One Year of AI: Lessons Learned and Future Directions

Workshops and Presentations

I was truly delighted  to contribute to the virtual day by presenting “One Year of AI: Lessons Learned and Future Directions.” I was particularly honored to participate alongside a distinguished group of presenters, whose diverse perspectives enriched the discourse. We are grateful for the hard work of the numerous esteemed organizations and universities that constituted … Continue reading One Year of AI: Lessons Learned and Future Directions →

AI; New Dimensions in Language Feedback

Workshops and Presentations

I am happy to have presented at the MWALLT 2025 conference. The presentation focused on the significant impact of AI on language feedback. It argued that traditional feedback, which often focused on knowledge acquisition and error correction, fell short of fostering true language proficiency. By leveraging the power of AI, the presentation showed how we … Continue reading AI; New Dimensions in Language Feedback →

Building an OER Repository of HL Teaching and Learning Modules

Workshops and Presentations

NECTFL Conference, Feb 27 – Mar 1st, 2025. This session shares an initiative to develop an Open Educational Resource (OER) repository for heritage language (HL) teaching and learning lesson modules.  A collaborative effort by colleagues from the Yale Heritage Language Community, —Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, and Korean programs, this project aims to create four comprehensive modules … Continue reading Building an OER Repository of HL Teaching and Learning Modules →

Bringing the Real World into the Language Classroom; involving the community

Workshops and Presentations

Language teachers everywhere strive to ensure that relevance is front and center in their language classes. One of the best ways to ensure relevance is to bring the real world into the classroom (Luukkonen, 2003). Bringing the real world into the classroom might start with using authentic materials but it does not stop there. This … Continue reading Bringing the Real World into the Language Classroom; involving the community →

Sharing Open Education Resources at The 6th International Hindi Conference

Workshops and Presentations

I was honored to accept the invitation to present the Yale OER Repository of Language Teaching and Learning Modules at the prestigious 6th International Hindi Conference, held in a stunning 150-year-old New York building. Our primary goal in creating this resource has always been to share it with the language-teaching community. We understand that developing … Continue reading Sharing Open Education Resources at The 6th International Hindi Conference →

A Year of AI Intervention; Where Are We Now?

Workshops and Presentations

A Year of AI Intervention; Where Are We Now? A workshop at the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers’ Fall Conference on October 17th, 2024, at Southern Connecticut State University. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing various industries, and language education is no exception. This presentation looked into the practical applications of AI in language teaching, providing … Continue reading A Year of AI Intervention; Where Are We Now? →

HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATOR WORKSHOP SUMMER 2024

Certificates, Processional Development, Publications

To enhance my knowledge of effective Heritage Language teaching practices, I enrolled in the National Heritage Resource Center’s online summer course. The four-week course focused on key concepts and pedagogical approaches in Heritage Language teaching, understanding and meeting the language needs of Heritage Language learners, and differentiated instruction – responding to the needs of individual … Continue reading HERITAGE LANGUAGE EDUCATOR WORKSHOP SUMMER 2024 →

The Great Powers of the Blue Genie

The Great Powers of the Blue Genie is a reflective short story on the powers of AI. It tries to put in perspective that despite its novelty, the powers of AI were not the first that people were faced with. In an attempt to link the distant past with the vivacious present, the piece creates a link of similarities, poses a lot of questions, and leaves the final judgment to the reader.

AI was used in part in the process of creating the piece.

Click below to read and listen to the piece.

The great powers of the blue genie.