Ruba Khamam

Ruba Khamam is an Associate Professor of Arabic Language & Linguistics and Translation at the University of Leeds, within the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies. She holds key leadership roles including Director of Arabic, Islamic, Middle Eastern and North African Studies and Arabic Year Abroad Coordinator. She is also the School Employability Lead and oversees core Arabic language modules and the year abroad program for undergraduate students.

Her research spans several interconnected areas in linguistics and language education. These include:

• Cross-cultural and intercultural pragmatics
• Linguistic politeness and impoliteness across languages
• Speech acts and forms of address
• Translation of (im)politeness in Arabic-English contexts
• Second language learning and teaching, particularly Arabic as a second language
• Curriculum design and the integration of blended learning and digital technologies in language instruction
• Gender and language, critical discourse analysis, and sociolinguistic variation

Ruba Khamam has been recognized for her excellence in teaching, most notably through the prestigious Leeds Institute for Teaching Excellence Fellowship (2020–2022), which focused on civic partnership and employability within the language curriculum. Her commitment to pedagogical innovation and community impact underscores her leadership in modern language education.

She actively contributes to the academic community through multiple professional memberships:

• Executive Committee, University Council for Foreign Languages (UCFL)
• Steering Committee, European Network of Teachers of Arabic
• British Association for the Teachers of Arabic
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy
• Associate Member, Association for Learning Technology (ALT)
• Member, International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication (IALIC)
• Member, Linguistic Association of Great Britain
• Member, Linguistic Politeness Research Group

Ruba Khamam leads postgraduate research opportunities and welcomes PhD enquiries in her areas of expertise. She is deeply involved in shaping Arabic language education at Leeds, both in curriculum development and in fostering student employability and global engagement through international study experiences.