Mahmoud Al-Batal, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Arabic Flagship Program
Department of Middle Eastern Studies
College of Liberal Arts

CONTACT INFORMATION
Office: 512-471-3463
E-mail: albatal@mail.utexas.edu

WEB PAGE
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/faculty/mma377

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Al-Batal is associate professor of Arabic in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies and director of the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) at The University of Texas at Austin. CASA is a consortium of 29 American universities that provides advanced training in Arabic language and culture at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and at the University of Damascus, Syria. Al-Batal also serves as associate director and chair of the Arabic Board of the National Middle East Language Resource Center (NMELRC). Currently, he is involved in developing "Aswaat Arabiyya," a Web-based project for Arabic listening materials. He is also the coauthor of the "Al-Kitaab" Arabic textbook series (with Kristen Brustad and Abbas Al-Tonsi) and has written a number of articles on aspects of teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language. Al-Batal previously served as CASA executive director in Cairo (1985-1987), as director of the Arabic School at Middlebury College (1991-1998) and as director of the Emory College Language Center (2000-2004). He holds a B.A. in Arabic language and literature from the Lebanese University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Arabic linguistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.