CAC Arabic School Teachers

We Have an Excellent Team of Highly Educated, Passionate and Experienced Arabic Teachers!

 

Mahasen Khamaisi

Palestinian from Haifa. Mahasen has B.Sc. in Civil Engineering. M.Ed. in Education Math. She has long experience in teaching Arabic in a class and private lesson settings. Mahasen is currently teaching Modern Standard Arabic and colloquial Arabic classes at the CAC.

 

Rania Nasser 

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I come from Lebanon. I have 2 Bachelor degrees obtained from the American University of Beirut: one in Electrical Engineering and the other in Physics. Inspite of my scientific background, yet I store an innate passion for Arabic. I’ve been in love with the language ever since I started learning it in elementary school. Being born to a father who was an Arabic literature teacher has furthermore boosted my energy to dig in the deep mines of the language. The person he was, together with the rich resources he provided, were enough of an inspiration that my passion for Arabic grew deeper and stronger. It is the same passion that drives me to try passing it to as many people as I can. And that’s how my story with CAC started.

 

Nidal Al-Azraq
Nidal is a Palestinian refugee who was born and raised in Aida Refugee Camp in Bethlehem, the West Bank, Palestine. Nidal volunteered at Lajee Center, a youth organization in Aida camp, from 2001-2003, where he co-directed a youth play, and acted in the title role of a play performed in three cities in the West Bank. He went on to be the administrative director of Lajee Center, from 2003-2006.  Since then, he has continued to work with Lajee in return trips, coordinating international summer camps that bring together international volunteers and Palestinian youth, teaching human rights, and leading a delegation of Palestinian youth to Belgium for a cultural exchange program. In the United States since 2005, he has taught Arabic to children in the Chicago and Boston areas, done translation work, and conducted academic research. He also worked on a documentary, Degrees of Incarceration, and published “A Refugee’s Childhood in the West Bank,” co-authored with Amahl Bishara, in The Child:  An Encyclopedic Companion (University of Chicago Press 2009). He also co-wrote with Bishara The Boy and the Wall (2005), a bilingual children’s book produced with Lajee Center, published in the West Bank. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree with Honors from Harvard Extension School, Dean’s List Academic Achievement Award, and Derek Bok Public Service Prize. He is currently working with Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights as a mobilization organizer in the U.S. He teaches Modern Standard Arabic with Center for Arabic Culture in the Boston area.  He works as interpreter with Greater Boston Legal Services. Nidal is the executive director of 1for3.org, an NGO human rights organization that works on water and environmental projects in Palestine.
Majd Khairallah
Majd was born in Amman, Jordan. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Applied Sciences University in Jordan. Majd worked as a teacher in Amman teaching Information Systems for grades one to ten. She moved to Boston ten years ago. She is an experienced Arabic language teacher and she taught Arabic in different schools in the Greater Boston Area. Majd is currently teaching Beginners 1 and Level 4 classes at the CAC Sunday Arabic School.

Rachel Antonsen

Rachel is passionate about Arabic language, music, and education. She is currently pursuing an M.A. in Teaching Arabic K-12 at Boston University. She taught Arabic at the Middlebury Arabic School and Stanford University, where she earned her B.A. in Middle East History in 2012. In 2007, she first fell in love with Arabic, and has since lived and studied in Egypt and Jordan. This is her second year with the CAC. Last year, she was a Development and Programming intern with the Center for Arabic Culture, and still regularly accompanies the CAC Children’s Choir on violin. She also teaches violin privately.

Razek Siriani

Razek Siriani is born in Aleppo – Syria 1959. He is graduated from the University of Aleppo with a degree of B.A in English Literature, pursued his post-graduate studies in Dublin- Ireland for two Diplomas: Religious Studies and Development Studies. He obtained his Master Degree in Adult Education (M.Ed.) from the University of Manchester-UK. Since 1985, he started working with Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) coordinating the Youth Program in Syria. He later was selected by the MECC Executive Committee to be the Director of the Unit on Education and Renewal. In 2003, he was appointed to direct the MECC Department of International & Ecumenical Relations. During his work at MECC he was a member at the World Council of Churches – Commission on Education and Scholarship for seven years. In 2007, he coordinated the relief and development programs for Iraqi refugees in the northern part of Syria in affiliation with Department of the Ecumenical Relations & Development at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Syria. In 2011, he coordinated the relief and humanitarian office at the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of Aleppo – Syria in service of the Syrian displace and vulnerable people in cooperation with the UNDP, Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and other local humanitarian NGOs. In 2013, he moved with his family to Boston – USA fleeing the war and seeking safety. Mr Siriani participated in many international ecumenical gatherings and encounters such as the General Assemblies of the World Council of Churches, Peacemaking programs for leaders organized by the United Church of Christ – USA. He has written, published and translated many articles and research paper.

Gracia Sakf
Alma Richeh

3 Comments

  1. I have sent you 3 emails with questions regarding learning Arabic in your center. It’s been 2 weeks and I have not received a single response (excerpt of automatic reply that staff will “contact me shortly”…). Is it a serious and existing organization?

    • Dear Jan,
      Thank you for your comment and sorry that you did not receive any of my replies. We received two emails from you and I replied to you. Probably my reply went to your junk mail. Please check there. In any ways, yes, this is a serious and existing program and Center. We teach the Arabic Language and promote the Arabic Culture through Arts, literary events and music instruction.
      concerning the Arabic Language classes, at our Arabic school which is located in Newton, we teach modern standard Arabic, which is the language you read in books, hear in newspapers and use allover the Arab world. We have an excellent team of teachers and all levels for kids and adults classes. We also teach the colloquial Arabic which is the spoken Arabic in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. The colloquial Arabic classes take place in our headquarter in Somerville. If a class of colloquial is not open we offer a private tutoring too at the Center.
      If you would like to register, please send an email to info@cacboston or arichech@cacboston.org and add them to your safe list so you guarantee receiving my reply. I will send this reply any way to your email which I received few days earlier.
      Looking forward to hear from you.

      • Dear CAC, I thought I should not leave your comment without a proper reply.
        After few lessons at CAC, I can only say that I am very very happy I have found your school. I was very positively surprised by a great welcome and a very high quality of the lessons. It is a trully great place with a wonderful atmosphere!

        Jan

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