Department of Foreign Languages to host Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant

NEW PALTZ — The Department of Foreign Languages at the State University of New York at New Paltz has announced that Abeer Mahmoud Fahmy from Cairo, Egypt, will teach Arabic language and literature as a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) starting this fall.

Sponsored by the U.S. State Department and administered through the Institute of International Education, the FLTA Program promotes educational and cultural exchanges by funding graduate assistants from around the world to teach language and serve as cultural ambassadors.

“Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants add a youthful component to foreign language instruction and enrich campus life,” said Wilma Feliciano, chair of Foreign Languages. “They host language tables, cooking sessions, cultural presentations and other co-curricular events, allowing U.S. students to work with young native speakers in various settings.”

Fahmy completed her bachelor’s degree in English Linguistics at Helwan University in Cairo in 2003. Now a graduate student in cognitive linguistics and stylistics at Helwan, she was appointed as a lecturer in English based on her position on the dean’s list. She teaches English as a second language in various faculties, such as science, engineering and tourism.

As a graduate student in American Studies at SUNY New Paltz, Fahmy will take courses in American literature, Native American and ethnic history, and American politics and government. She will teach elementary Arabic 101 and 102; Arabic literature in English will be offered in the spring 2007 semester.

Feliciano said that Fahmy would also organize cultural events such as presentations on Egyptian folklore and traditions, textiles, architecture, and calligraphy – even an Egyptian dinner with folk dances.

The Department of Foreign Languages teaches 11 languages with majors/minors in French, German, Spanish, and Latin American Studies, as well as minors in Italian and Russian. It also participates actively in the Asian Studies major.

New Paltz leads the SUNY Comprehensive Colleges in the number of students who participate in study abroad programs, and is the only four-year SUNY college to offer both Asian Studies and Latin American Studies. The Language Immersion Institute offers intensive conversational practice in many world languages.

For more information, contact Wilma Feliciano, chair of Foreign Languages at feliciaw@newpaltz.edu.