About Dr. Sonia Shiri:
Before taking up her position at UC Berkeley in 2000, Dr. Shiri taught Arabic for four years at Oxford University at St Antony’s College and the Oriental Institute, then spent 1999-2000 as a Research Fellow at the Center for Women and Gender at Stanford University. In addition to teaching Arabic and serving as the Arabic Program Coordinator at UC Berkeley, Dr. Shiri was also appointed during 2002-2005 as the Academic and Outreach Coordinator for the Berkeley Language Center that serves over 65 languages on campus. She has also directed Arabic summer intensive programs at Berkeley and abroad.
Research, Service and Awards
Dr. Sonia Shiri’s teaching and research interests are in the field of Arabic language, applied linguistics and sociolinguistics. Specifically, she works on Second Language Acquisition, Heritage Language Acquisition and maintenance, computer and other technology mediated language learning and teaching, language pedagogy, Language Accommodation Theory, language contact and conflict and language and gender. Dr. Shiri authored the award-winning online program Arabic Without Walls (http://arabicwithoutwalls.ucdavis.edu) funded by a large grant from the US Department of Education to the University of California and Brigham Young University. She also co-authored a number of other programs including Aktub (http://www.aktub.com). Dr. Shiri’s upcoming publication “Arabic in the United States: Shift or maintenance?” will appear in Kim Potowski’s Exploring Linguistic Diversity in the United States, Cambridge University Press.
In 2007 Dr. Sonia Shiri received UC Berkeley’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of Graduate Student Instructors” then CALICO’s “Access to Language Education Award” in 2008. In 2005 and 2009, she served on the advisory board for EAP, the study abroad program for the University of California, in addition to serving as reader and advisor to various organizations dedicated to second and heritage language acquisition.
Courses taught at NES
Elementary Arabic 1A and 1B
Intermediate Arabic 20A and 20B
Teaching Arabic in College 301 A and 301B
Advanced Arabic 100A and 100B
Advanced Media Arabic I (NES190E)
Advanced Media Arabic II (NES 190E)
Arabic Sociolinguistics (NES 190E)
Online Distance Arabic 1AW and ABW (Arabic Without Walls)
Readings in Modern Middle Eastern Texts (R2B)