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Jumana Ghannam

Jumana Ghannam

Senior Lecturer

School of Arts & Humanities

Staff Group(s)
Nottingham Institute of Languages and Intercultural Communication

Role

Dr Jumana Ghannam is a Senior Lecturer in the Nottingham Institute of Languages and Intercultural Communication in the School of Arts and Humanities.

Jumana is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a UNILANG certified Examiner and Assessor. As well as a subject leader, she also leads the University Language Programme (ULP), teaches on a range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules  English Language and Linguistics BA (Hons),  MA TESOL and on a range of modules at the University Language Programme. Jumana also supervises BA and MA dissertation projects on aspects of TESOL and language acquisition.

Jumana is a member of the Language, Identities and Institutions Research Group within the School's Centre for Research in Literature Linguistics and Culture.

Her teaching and research largely focus on language acquisition, learning strategies, materials design and teaching practice. In her teaching she draws on a combination of linguistic and psychological theories to explain various aspects of language learning and teaching. Her aim across all of her teaching is to equip students with the core subject knowledge and strategies, and to empower students to develop a critical approach towards learning.

Career overview

Jumana has BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature, Diploma in English Language Teaching of Adults, CELTA from the University of Cambridge, an MA in ELTD from The University of Nottingham, and a PhD from Nottingham Trent University. Jumana has an extensive working experience as a teacher and educator in the higher education for over twenty-five years.

Jumana’s previous roles include those of Director of the MA programme in English Language Teaching in the Middle East. She developed modules to be taught at postgraduate levels. Jumana has been a consultant, a trainer and a leader for several courses in different universities and educational institutions in the Middle East and the UK. She is also a qualified teacher trainer for teaching Business from the University of South Carolina in the USA.

Research areas

Jumana’s current work and research span any and all aspects of language acquisition and applied linguistics, with a particular focus on learning strategies and their roles within the broad domine of language acquisition and in promoting learning and teaching, their impacts on learners’ autonomy and motivation. Additionally, Jumana’s interests and work expand to intercultural communication, diglossia and language variation, methods of grammar teaching, language teacher education, the application of the Common European Framework of Reference to the teaching of Arabic as a Second/ Foreign Language.

Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil/PhD exist in the School of Arts and Humanities and further information may be obtained from the NTU Graduate School.

External activity

Jumana’s external roles include:

  • Member of the Editorial Board of TESOL International Journal
  • Occasional reviewer for leading international journals (e.g., Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Elsevier)
  • Member of the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network
  • Member of the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)
  • Member of the Association of University Language Centres (AULC)
  • Member of the British Association of Lectures in English for Academic Purposes (BALEAP)
  • Member of the British Association of Teachers of Arabic (BATA)
  • Fellowship Reviewer of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
  • External examiner for a number of UK universities

Sponsors and collaborators

2024-2026: Co-Investigator – The British Academy. ‘Promoting Publication and Academic Writing towards Gender Equality in Academia for Sustainable Development’.

2019- 2020: Free University Nottingham (FUN) project. Worked with external partners and advisors included Nottingham City Council (with co-funding) and over 20 academic volunteers. The project contributed to NTU’s vision of Creating Opportunity, Enriching Society and Empowering People. The project won the NTU Vice-Chancellor’s Outstanding Collaboration and Partnership NTU Team Award.

Publications

Jumana has presented papers regularly in the conferences and published in the international journals.

Selected Conference Presentations:

Ghannam, J. (2024). ‘Autonomous Learning and Grammar Learning Strategies’. The British Association of Teachers of Arabic Conference, Al-Maktoum College in Scotland, June 2024

Ghannam, J. (2024). ‘Time for a Change: Personal Development Portfolio Assessment- Diverse, Inclusive and Personalised Assessment’. Arabic Language Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference, The University of Cambridge, April 2024

Leahy, C. and Ghannam, J. (2019). ‘Mapping Arabic language progression to CEFR’s illustrative scale – the experience at NTU’. Arabic Language Teaching and Learning in UK Higher Education Conference, King’s College London, April 2019

Ghannam, J. (2018). ‘Investigating the Role of Grammar Language Strategies in Promoting Better Grammar Learning’.  Professional Competencies in Language Learning and Teaching Conference, The University of Nottingham, July 2018

Ghannam, J. (2014). ‘Motivation among International Learners of English as a Second Language’. International Conference on Motivational Dynamics and Second Language Acquisition, The University of Nottingham, August 2014

Ghannam, J. (2014). ‘The Role of Grammar Strategies in Promoting Better Learning’. Research and the Researchers- Breaking the Boundaries, Nottingham Trent University, May 2014

Recent publications include the following:

Ghannam, J. and Nazari, A. (2022). Grammar Learning Strategies: A Study of Adult Foreign Language Learners with Low-Level Language Proficiency, Journal of Applied Languages and Linguistics, 6 (1), (69-85)

Ghannam, J. (2019). Enhancing independent learning competence and grammar language learning strategies. In C. Goria, L. Guetta, N. Hughes, S. Reisenleutner and O. Speicher (Eds.), Professional competencies in language learning and teaching (31-40). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.34.912

See all of Jumana Ghannam's publications...

Course(s) I teach on