Native Arabic speaker and a Syrian lawyer experienced in tutoring MSA, GCSE, A level, tailored specialised classes (business, legal etc), colloquial, and all other language skills.

Find out more about Kotaiba

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I am a fluent native Arabic speaker. I was born, raised and educated in Syria.

• Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  This is not an easy question since we are talking about a language spoken by about 300 million native and non-native speakers. It is also spoken in over 20 countries located on a massive piece of land from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east, comprising a diverse pool of cultures and language representatives.
  However, I would mention some influential people who speak Arabic and impacted the Arabic language: Umru Alqais, Nizar Qabbani, Najeeb Mahfuth, and Almutanabbi.

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behavior in the language that you particularly like?

  The word: Tayyeb! Which is a common word that has many meanings depending on the context. It can mean OK, No problem, Delicious, Alive, Kind and more ... 

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Because it is my native language that allows me to communicate and engage with my family and friends. The Arabic language also enables me to interact with people from all over the Arabic world and people who speak Arabic, which means it brings me closer to those people.

• What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  The main difficulty for learners of any language is finding and maintaining motivation.
  
  Therefore, I would recommend the following tips to keep motivated and learn the Arabic language effectively:
  
  - Set realistic, achievable goals - and regularly reflect on progress and reset goals as you improve.
  
  - Remember why you started. When you first started your language learning journey, it was for a reason.
  - Reflect on what you've learned so far and the progress you've made.
  - Identify distractions.
  - Reward yourself.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  Learning a foreign language can be tricky because every language expresses things differently because of cultural differences. Therefore, we cannot always just translate from our native language to say something in another language. For example: in Arabic, when we meet a person, we tend to ask about their health. However, it might sound unusual in other languages to ask someone about their health unless they are not well!

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  Travelling helped me meet Arab people from different countries and learn about their culture and language dialects, as the Arabic language can be different from one country to another. That gave me insight into how to teach not only Standard Arabic (MSA) but also the spoken dialects in various Arab countries.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?

  I think you need three key elements to be a great teacher: (1) a genuine love for the subject, (2) a thorough knowledge of the subject and a high level of skill in teaching and (3) a commitment to continue learning/developing your knowledge and skills. I've worked hard to have all three.
  My long experience teaching students of different ages and backgrounds has given me the ability and expertise to deal with my students effectively and know their needs.