Instructors' Bios

Please note that this information is for this year's past SILMW in summer 2011, but this information is left for your convenience to understand more about our instructors. For 2012, many of our instructors will be returning, but we will have new instructors as well. Check back soon for more information.

Dr. Balci, Ercan, is a native of Turkey, is the coordinator of the Turkish language and Culture program at UIUC. He has been holding this position for 5 years. He has a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Bosphorus University, Istanbul. He has been teaching English and Turkish for the last 12 years. His research interests include: SLA, Turkish morphology and phonology, Turkish culture and Less Commonly Taught Languages. He published a book called "Turkish Consonants: A Government Phonology Analysis" in 2008. Dr. Balci will be teaching Elementary Turkish for SILMW-2011.

Mr. Bidaoui, Abdulaadim, is currently a graduate student of Linguistics and a TA of Arabic. He holds a Master degree in Linguistics from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and a BA degree in English Literature from Ibn Tofail University in Morocco. He has been teaching Arabic at the university level for many years now. During those years, he has assumed a variety of teaching responsibilities that gave him valuable experience in the field. He has taught Arabic courses at different levels and in various formats. As a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, he has taught elementary, intermediate as well as advanced level courses. For the last two years he has been teaching Arabic at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign including SILMW-2010. He has also taught Arabic, French and English in Morocco for a period of 9 years. He will be teaching Intermediate Arabic for SILMW-2011.

Dr. Bokamba, Eyamba G, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in Central Africa, is Professor of Linguistics and African languages, and Director of the Program in African Languages in the Department of Linguistics at UIUC where he has served since 1974. Prior to his current position, he held a number of administrative positions at UIUC, including Director of the Division of English as an International Language (1991-95), and Associate Head in the Department of Linguistics (1999-2004). Prof. Bokamba’s research and teaching interests focus on the syntax of Bantu languages on which he earned his Ph.D. at Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1976, sociolinguistics, and African language teaching/learning. His research in sociolinguistics addresses mainly issues of multilingualism, including particularly language policies in public domains in Africa, language variation, and code-switching. He has published extensively in these areas, and on African language pedagogical materials, with his latest publication, co-authored with his spouse, being Tósolola na Lingála: A Multidimensional Approach to the Teaching and Learning of Lingála as a Foreign Language (NALRC Press, 2004). He is currently working on a sociolinguistic book manuscript entitled Multilingualism in Sub-Saharan Africa that will represent the culmination of his research in this area. Dr. Bokamba will be directing SILMW-2011.

Dr. Gasim, Gamal, is assistant Professor of Middle East Studies and Political Science at Grand Valley State University. He earned his doctoral degree in political science from Texas Tech University. He holds a B.S. (Honors) degree in Political Science from the University of Khartoum, Sudan, an M.A. in Islamic Civilization from the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and a second M.A. in Political Science from Kansas State University. He is also the recipient of a Graduate Certificate in International Service from Kansas University. Dr. Gasim will be teaching Elementary Arabic at SILMW-2011.

Ms. Kiramba, Lydiah, is a native of Kenya. She is currently a TA of Swahili in the department of Linguistics at UIUC and hopes to begin doctoral studies in Curriculum & Instruction; Bilingual Education and Linguistic Diversity in the fall of 2011. She holds an MA degree in Swahili linguistics from Moi University, Kenya, a second MA degree in African Studies from UIUC and a Bachelors degree in Education Arts, Swahili language and literature from Moi University , Kenya. Lydiah has been teaching Swahili courses at different levels. In Kenya she taught Swahili at a teachers training college where her duties included teaching Swahili language, literature and linguistics, coordinating teaching practice and assessing Swahili language teaching by the student teachers. In UIUC, Lydiah taught intermediate and advanced level Swahili courses for two academic years. Lydiah’s research interests include the morphosyntax of Bantu languages with specific focus on Swahili and Kimeru, SLA and language policy in education domain in Kenya. Lydiah will be teaching intermediate Swahili for SILMW 2011.

Ms. Lutomia, Anne, a native of Kenya. Currently she is a Ph.D. Student in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership with a minor in Gender and International Development. Her current research is on the integration and socialization of African Nurses in the US healthcare workspace. She holds a B.Ed in Education, French and Secretarial Studies from Kenyatta University, Kenya. A Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management from Catholic University of East Africa, Kenya and a Masters Degree in Management of Nonprofit Organization from Hamline University in Minnesota. Anne has worked as an Administrative Assistant with international organizations in Kenya and nonprofit organizations in the US. She speaks English, Swahili, Luhya and French. During the last academic year she taught Elementary Swahili. Together with her students they translated Lion King into Swahili see http://ci-pro.com/movies/movie/lkswahili/. She will be serving as an Administrative Aide and Office Manager for SILMW-2011

Ms. Moshref,Ola A,a native of Egypt, is currently a Ph.D. student and a Teaching/Research Assistant in the Department of Linguistics at UIUC. She holds several degrees in a variety of fields: a B.Sc. in Physics an M.A in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language from the American University in Cairo (AUC), a B.A in Arabic Language and Literature, and M.Sc. in Physics from Ain Shams University in Egypt. She taught Physics at AUC and the Higher Institute of Optics in Cairo, as well as all levels of English, and Standard and Egyptian Arabic for 15 years. She was an instructor of Arabic at Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates from 2002-2005, where she was appointed by the ministry of Education as a member of the Committee for Teacher Preparation and Training. She was also an instructor at Middlebury summer school in 2009. Mr. Moshref will be teaching Advanced Arabic for SILMW-2011.

Mr. Muhati, Peter, a native of Kenya, is a PhD candidate in Curriculum and Instruction in the college of education at UIUC. His research interests include issues of accountability and assessment in schools in Africa. He holds a B.Ed from Kenyatta University, Nairobi, and an M.A in Linguistics and African Languages from the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He has taught Swahili at various high schools in Kenya, and also worked as a Bible translator with the United Bible societies in Nairobi. Mr. Muhati will be teaching Elementary Swahili for SILMW-2011.

Dr. Nojoumian, Peyman, is a visiting instructor of Persian at UIUC. His research interests include: Teaching Persian as a Foreign Language with special emphasis on TBLT & instructional materials development, and Persian Computational Linguistics. He has been teaching Persian as a foreign language for several years in different US higher education institutions, the latest of which is the University of Maryland. He will be teaching Elementary Persian for SILMW-2011 and is the Associate Director of the institute.

Dr. Saadah, Eman, has a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she has served as a visiting instructor of Arabic for AY 2010/2011. Her research focuses on second language acquisition issues and its interplay with Phonetics, phonology, and sociolinguistics specifically in bilingual settings. Her interests lie in experimental research that tests the latest theoretical models in the field. Her current research projects involve investigating and comparing the vowel systems of second language learners of Arabic and heritage speakers of Arabic. She has been teaching Arabic for the past six years, and has been on the incomplete list of teachers ranked excellent by students for the past four years. Dr. Saadah will be teaching Topics in Standard Arabic Language and Literature (4th year Arabic) for SILMW-2011. Dr. Saadah will be teaching Topics in Standard Arabic Language and Literature (4th Year Arabic) for SILMW-2011.

Ms. Sevinc, Nilay, a native of Turkey and has been coordinating and supervising thirteen languages at the Yamada Language Center, University of Oregon. She has also been teaching Turkish language and culture in the self-study language program for three years. Nilay has an M.S degree in Education Methodology, Policy, and Leadership and an M.A degree in Linguistics with a Language Teaching Specialization. She is interested in materials development in teaching languages, diversity and equality in education, and educational leadership. Nilay will be teaching Elementary Turkish at SILMW-2011.

Dr. Some-Guiebre, Esther, a native of Burkina Faso, holds a Ph.D from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. She holds an MA in African studies and a Master certificate in gender and international development. Her research was in multicultural education, teacher education, English language learners particularly African immigrant children in the U.S., and gender related issues. Her current research focuses on the challenges faced by African immigrant students in schools and the inclusive/exclusive instructional strategies implemented by their teachers who are mostly White middle class women. She has been teaching Bamana at the University of Illinois since 2006. She will be teaching Elementary Bamana at SILMW-2011.

Ms. Wane-Seck, Hapsatou, hails from Senegal, West Africa, and is currently a graduate student at the Department of Comparative World Literature, UIUC. She is a native speaker of Wolof, and fluent speaker of French, English and Fulani. Mrs. Wane-Seck is a recipient of a Baccalaureate Diploma from Maison d’Education Mariama Ba, Dakar, Senegal, of an MA degree in English Studies from Université Gaston Berger, Saint-Louis, Senegal and of an MA degree in African Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She was an exchange student of that university to the Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the 2003-04 academic year. Mrs. Wane-Seck works as a Teaching Assistant for Wolof in the Department of Linguistics at the UIUC and as a graduate Assistant in the Department of Geography and the Center for African Studies. She will be teaching Intermediate Wolof for SILMW-2011.

Mr. Zito, Alex, is currently a Wolof instructor at Boston University’s African Language Program since Fall 2009, where he has gained experience teaching at Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. He has developed the Final Cultural Presentation as a student-centered cornerstone of my curriculum, designed, co-authored, tested and taught the first workbook intended to teach an Ajami script to learners in the United States – a critical endeavor in aiding our understanding of Muslim cultures of Africa. He is a PhD Candidate (ABD). His dissertation is on Wolofal Literature and Murid Wolof Discourses. He studied History with concentrations in African Studies and Islamic Studies at the University of Boston. He holds a B.A/M.A in History and Language from Boston University. He speaks Wolof, Bamanankan, French, Spanish, Italian and Arabic. Mr. Zito, Alexis will be teaching Elementary Wolof at SILMW-2011.