FARAH AKBAR
FARAH AKBAR
Welcome to my Website!
This website showcases my language teaching experiences.
Please feel free to look around and "Let's Chat!" (bottom right corner) if you have any questions.
BIO
Hi Everyone,
Thank you for visiting my Teaching Portfolio!
My name is Farah and I wear two hats professionally: 1) I am a language educator, a position in which I teach language teachers on how to teach languages; and 2) I am also a language instructor whereby I teach ESL/EFL, and Urdu and Dari as foreign languages.
I was born and raised in Quetta, Pakistan. I have two MA degrees (in English Literature and Linguistics) from the University of Karachi in Karachi, Pakistan, and a third MA degree in TESOL from Teachers College, Columbia University. Currently, I am a doctoral candidate (ABD) in Applied Linguistics at Teachers College.
I have more than 15 years of language teaching experience which I have tried to share in this portfolio.
Please keep exploring my site and if you have any questions or need additional information, please Let's Chat! or send me an email.
I have also shared links to my Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.
MY TEACHING EXPERIENCE
A bird's eye view
INSTRUCTOR, HYBRID LEARNING
September 2019 - Present
TESOL Certificate Program
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Course: Pedagogical English Grammar
Learning Management Systems used: Moodle and Canvas
I have taught the PEG course for eight times and Fall 2022 will be the ninth time.
I LOVE teaching this course because it's not just prescriptive and formal grammar that my students and I discuss and analyze, but also the way people grammar in everyday life! Our adventure though does not stop there - we also spend time on how grammar should be taught in English as a Second/Foreign Language classrooms.
For a glimpse of this course and the students' work and performance, please visit the 'Language Teacher Education' page under the Teaching Experience tab.
January 2012 - Present
SENIOR TEACHING MENTOR
TESOL Certificate Program
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Being a teaching mentor is easily one of my favorite teaching roles!
This role allows me to not only work with my mentees closely to develop their teaching practice but also to get to know them as individuals with dreams, hopes, families, children (grand children!) and so much more than just language teachers.
Would you like to know more about me in this role? Please visit the pages under the Teaching Experience tab.
2012 - 2020
MA in TESOL & Applied Linguistics Program
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
Dept. of Arts & Humanities
INSTRUCTOR (Adjunct)
This was my first teaching experience in which I had to teach an MA course at Teachers College. I have been super lucky and consider this a huge privilege!
The courses that I have taught multiple times are:
1) Introduction to Second Language Acquisition, and
2) TESOL Practicum I
Starting off, the Learning Management Systems (LMS) that I used for these courses until 2016 was Moodle. TC switched to Canvas as its official LMS in 2016.
I am particularly proud of my students in this teaching role and one of the reasons is that multiple students of mine are currently doing their doctorates in SLA or TESOL in prestigious schools and universities around the world!
ACADEMICS
Learning and Living
Expected Fall 2022
TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Doctorate in Education (Ed.D.) Candidate in Applied Linguistics
Department of Arts and Humanities
Area of Specialization: Second Language Acquisition
​
Dissertation Title:
“Interactional Feedback in Text-based and Voice-based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication”
​
Committee: Prof. Lalitha Vasudevan, Dr. Howard Williams, Dr. Sarah C. Creider
September 2009 - May 2011
TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Master of Arts (MA) in TESOL
MA Project Title:
"Corrective Feedback in Computer Mediated Communication: A Meta-Analysis"
January 2006 - October 2006
UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI,
PAKISTAN
Master of Arts (MA) in Applied Linguistics
MA Thesis title:
"Teaching-Learning English in Balochistan: A Case Study"
January 2004 - October 2006
UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI,
PAKISTAN
Master of Arts in (MA) English Literature
MA Thesis title:
"Experience and Innocence in William Blake: A Deconstructive Study"
ANNETTE SCATTONI
TESOL Certificate Program
(Summer 2021)
"Spending time in Farah's class in the TCP program this summer was one of the most enriching academic experiences ever. Her presentation of grammar topics were works of diligence and thoroughness. She is well-informed on most every topic of grammar and knows how to tailor it to the pedagogue. Her workshop on language teaching with technology is proof of that showing she keeps abreast with the times and highlighting her multifaceted intelligence. The wealth and breadth of education that I received is indelible and and I will remain impressed with her immensity of knowledge."
MENGXI TIAN
MA Applied Linguistics
Course: Introduction to SLA
(Spring 2020)
"Dr. Akbar was a wonderful and incredibly supportive professor. Her vivid excitement helped me to engage in her course, despite it being a difficult subject for me. Her feedback was diligent and thoughtful. She was kind and strong when, half way through the course, the pandemic reached New York and our world was turned upside down. I will always remember her as a fantastic professor and a paramount example of the kind of academic professional I'd like to be."
KITTI FARKAS
Online Workshop: Language Teaching with Technology
(Spring 2022)
"I participated in Farah’s Language Teaching with Technology workshop in the spring of 2022 which was offered online. I was a student in the TCP program, and this extracurricular workshop was offered to us to enhance and expand our learning.
Farah is an excellent presenter, her presentation of the material is always clear, concise and easy to follow. The workshop format allowed for hands-on exercises and interaction both between the participant and the instructor. Her knowledge about the different digital tools and interfaces currently available in language teaching is outstanding, and also reflects the use of these tools in her own teaching practice. Her workshop has inspired me to incorporate more and more digital tools in my own teaching practice in order to become a well-rounded, tech savvy 21st century language teacher."