Rula Diab

Dr. Rula Diab was appointed Assistant Provost in September 2018. In her capacity, she assists the Provost in duties related to accreditation, academic programs, student academic affairs, policies and procedures, and other academic activities and initiatives. She is also an Associate Professor of English/Applied Linguistics at LAU’s English Department.

Prior to her role at the Provost’s Office, she served as founding director of the LAU Writing Center and was also chair of her department. She teaches courses in linguistics and advanced academic writing and is the recipient of the LAU Teaching Excellence Award for the academic year 2016-2017.

Her research interests include individual difference variables in second-language acquisition, particularly language learners’ beliefs, preferences and attitudes toward language learning, in addition to the area of writing in a second language, including writing in the disciplines and writing across the curriculum. She also investigates socio-cultural and political factors in second/foreign language acquisition.

In spring 2005, her research project investigating university students’ and teachers’ preferences for error correction and feedback in the EFL writing classroom received the TOEFL Board Award for International Participation in TESOL. Her research has appeared in international refereed journals such as The International Journal of English Linguistics, System, The Linguistics Journal, TESL-EJ, and TESL Canada Journal.

She is member of several professional organizations, including TESOL, American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), International Writing Centers Association (IWCA), and the Middle-East North Africa Writing Centers Alliance.

Dr. Diab holds a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Education with an emphasis in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)/Applied Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an M.A. in TEFL and a B.A. in English from the American University of Beirut.