Muna Bruce arrived in the United States in 1988 after completing her undergraduate studies in English Literature at Baghdad University. She went on to complete her MA in Applied Linguistics at UMass/Boston and pursued doctoral studies in the School of Education at Boston University. From 2009 to 2011, she was a full time associate professor of Arabic language and taught both standard Arabic and her local Iraqi dialect at the Monterey Institute for International Studies in Monterey, California. Her goal is to empower students, through the Arabic language, to express themselves in ways they never have before—and perhaps even to develop a passion for Arabic literature. Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm, and by appointment
Caroline Gates has been teaching French for over 14 years. She holds a PhD in French literature from the University of Virginia. She has lived in France and Turkey, among other places, and in Boston for seven years. Office hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 12:00pm to 1:00pm, and by appointment
Sigalit Davis holds a dual degree in Education and Hebrew Language from Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is an expert in the history and linguistic development of the Hebrew language and has developed numerous curricula and approaches to the instruction of Hebrew. She was born in Tel Aviv and is a native Hebrew speaker; she has taught Hebrew and Jewish studies using diverse frameworks within various educational settings over the past 28 years. Office hours: Wednesdays 8:00am to 9:00am, Thursdays 1:15pm to 2:15pm, and by appointment
Eiko Takeichi Hodes was born and raised in Tokushima, Japan. After graduating from Nihon University (BA in Education), she taught English at a high school in Tokyo. She came to the United States to pursue her graduate degree and received a Master’s degree in teaching English (TESOL) from the Teacher’s College (TC), Columbia University. While at TC, she worked as a TA for Japanese language courses. After graduating from TC, she returned to Tokyo for 6 years to teach high school students again. She moved to Dublin, Ireland in 2007 and returned to the US in 2008. Since then, she has taught the Japanese language at the beginning and intermediate levels at various places in the Boston area including JLS Boston, Brandeis University and Harvard University. She began teaching at Northeastern University in 2013 and, after a hiatus, returned in 2016. Her research interests include Japanese language pedagogy and second language acquisition efficacy. Office hours: Wednesdays 12:00pm to 1:00pm and by appointment
Daniel Cuenca graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in English and Spanish Language Teaching, holds a Master’s in Hispanic Studies from Boston College, and is currently a PhD candidate in Hispanic Literatures at Boston University. He has taught Spanish and Portuguese language and literatures for many years at several universities across Massachusetts. His area of doctoral specialization lies at the intersection of cultural studies, film theory, anthropology and political philosophy, and focuses specifically on the (de-)construction of the fictions of First and Third Worlds as textual functions of mass media. Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:15am to 10:15am, and by appointment
Ekaterina Burvikova was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. She received her MA degree and PhD in Teaching Russian as a Foreign Language from the State Pushkin University of Russian Language (Moscow, Russia). She has worked as a Russian Instructor and examiner at the State Pushkin Institute of Russian Language, Russia. In the United States, she has worked at the University of New Hampshire and University of Southern Maine where she has taught Russian language courses and led culturally oriented trips to Russia. She has also worked for an online language teaching company. She has authored several articles on the Russian Silver Age poetry, the methodology of language teaching, and gender-based language differences in Russian. Office hours: Mondays and Thursdays, 8:00am to 9:00am, 6:30pm to 7:30pm by Skype, and by appointment
Maria Andrianova was born and raised in the city Ivanovo, in the central part of Russia. After receiving her BA in Linguistics at Ivanovo State University, she moved to the United States to pursue further studies. She earned a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from University of Massachusetts Boston, and joined Northeastern University in 2015. She enjoys interacting with her students in various activities outside the traditional classroom to broaden their language and culture experience. She organizes visits to local Russian restaurants and supermarkets, tea parties, movie nights and trivia games. Office hours: Tuesdays 2:00pm to 3:00pm, Thursdays 11:40am to 12:40pm, and by appointment