Born to Bostonian parents in Pennsylvania Dutch country, I headed abroad at my first opportunity and spent the second 16 years of my life bouncing between continents. I was a Peace Corps educator in Jordan, 2004–2006, and a CASA I Fellow studying in Cairo during the 2011 Arab Spring.
These days, I assuage my itchy feet with weekend hikes in and around New Jersey featuring floral and foliage photography, birdwatching and the occasional kayak. I’m also finishing an essay collection and a memoir.
In the New York metro area for a decade now, I work in fundraising for refugee resettlement by day, teach Arabic by night, and have experience with translating, copyediting, project management and curriculum development for a variety of organizations. In all, I have over 14 years of experience teaching Arabic and English as a Second Language to adults and children in a range of contexts, including refugee service organizations, academia and private language schools in Jordan, Indiana, Cairo, New York and New Jersey.
I hold a Certificate of English Language Teaching for Adults (CELTA), a Bachelor’s in English Literature with a German minor from Goucher College, and a Master’s in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from Indiana University with a focus on Arabic language and linguistics.
As the son of Lebanese parents, I was searching for an Arabic teacher who could help me move from heritage listener to heritage speaker. After several failed attempts of finding a teacher with the right mix of grammatical knowledge and understanding of the Beiruti dialect, I was connected to Maryah. After over 20 hours of […]
She provides engaging activities, Quizlet flashcards and a positive classroom environment.
Maryah is great – we’re progressing at a great pace within the class. I love using Quizlet.
Maryah is really great and also really understands what new students find difficult, which can be rare in language instructors.
Conversant 