Students' Testimonies

When I was in the high school, I was a pretty lucky girl, because I had the best teacher ever, not just as an English teacher, but as a great example of teachers' environment. She was – and still is - my inspiration, my model of working hard and never giving up, in so many ways in my life, first as a student, then as a wife and mother, and last –not least- as a teacher, yes, as she was.

Why she has this impact on me?

It's not easy to summarize why someone has a special place in our hearts through years of a great relationship, but I'll try to mention her deep effects on me as a teacher:

· She was an unassuming and kindly teacher with her students, never been aggressive, never been boastful.

· She was so patient with us, whatever some of students say or do. She was able to find the wiser reflection on their behaviors.

· She was never afraid to admit her fault – when it happens - , and that was a clear message to us to not be afraid of failure and admit it.

· Through the class, she was treating us as her little friends, without losing the respect between her and us.

· She never shy of the truth that she's still a learner, and taught us that learning never stop in a specific age or grade. That's why she is now has a PhD degree.

· And, she was the teacher who listens to her students' private problems, as a mother and a sister, with no judgments.

It was honor to me to keep in touch with her even after she left the school to do her master, and then her PhD. I kept learning from her journey, much as I learnt the English Language subject from her in the high school.

And now, as I am a high school teacher, she is my role model and I'm trying to follow her steps.

Kawther S. Eljehmi

Dr. Entisar was my teacher at the University of Tripoli, Libya. I was a student in two of her academic writing classes. As a teacher, Dr. Entisar was a compassionate and caring mentor. She went above and beyond her duties as a teacher to acknowledge the different learning styles in her class and tailor her teaching to each and every one of us. This diligent care touched me personally as a student.

As a student, I was very fond of writing English poetry and short stories. Accordingly, the assignments I submitted to Dr. Entisar did not exactly follow the norms of the academic genre. Instead of essays and thesis statements, I gave her short stories and poetry lines. Any other teacher would have put an end to this passion in creative writing as it does not relate in any way to the course requirements. However, Dr. Entisar was not a regular teacher. She kept reading my writing and giving me feedback on my grammar while delicately showing me the difference between academic and creative writing. Beyond that, she encouraged me to pursue an MFA in creative writing to further explore my passion in creativity. Although an MA was not one of my plans in college, I am currently three months away from getting my Masters in TESOL with a thesis that investigated collaborative creative writing in the ESL classroom.

Even though Dr. Entisar is no longer my teacher, she continues to be my mentor. Every now and then, she forwards emails about conferences and opportunities for publications. It is a life-long support that Dr. Entisar is willing to offer her students.

Dr. Entisar's role in my life has been substantial. Every time I write a line of poetry, I know that I have her to thank for nourishing my talent with love and care

Rima El abdali

I am writing this to share my wonderful practical contact with Entisar as a teacher. I am attending Main street school house in Hamilton, Ohio (a language school). Dr Elsherif taught my IELTS and academic writing courses. I truly enjoyed every lesson with her. I will be honest and say that every session at the school before this teacher came, was quite monotonous and simply repetitive. She came and seemed so professional from the first day. Everyone thought that she is a bit strict yet a very good lecturer who knows her job. Very intelligent and confident.

Entisar showed us what a proper academic essay is; how to structure our phrases in a paragraph and how to organize paragraphs correctly. Also, we all enjoyed the way she made us laugh and spend our learning in an entertaining way. We had discussion lessons where Entisar would listen to every student carefully and ask for opinions making every student get involved. This is very important to me. She respected every student and in a short time she also became our friend – always motivating and challenging.

I am lucky for meeting her as a teacher and as a person too because she is very kind and encouraging to people around her which is so crucial for this profession.

I wish her good luck in life with anything she is about to achieve. I wish I could have her as a teacher for a little bit longer.

Diana Gheorghita