Sophie has mastered the art of being both a teacher and a student. She spends eight hours a day teaching German, then heads to WALI—not to teach, but to learn. After a full day in front of a class, she looks forward to sitting in one herself.
“I was feeling quite overwhelmed by my work, so whenever I could come to WALI and study, it was so relieving,” Sophie says. “I like languages, so studying Arabic while teaching German has been fulfilling for me.”
Sophie has been a student at WALI for over one year now. Thinking back, she recalls that WALI’s flexible schedules initially made the institute stand out. Additionally, WALI offered to start her classes online before coming to Tunis, so she landed with some basics already under her belt.
Once she arrived, Sophie found an energetic and welcoming team of teachers to receive her. She began her classes with Hassine, who she describes as lighthearted and sympathetic.
“When I came to class tired, he would make jokes or just talk more to lighten the mood,” she says. “He was always adapting to how I was feeling.”
In addition to their professional relationship, Sophie feels that Hassine went above and beyond to help her get acquainted with Tunis and build a personal rapport with her. For example, he gave her many recommendations for restaurants, weekend trips, and monuments to visit. She also appreciated his eagerness to help her dig deep into Tunisian culture.
“We became friends, and we were always joking a lot,” she says. “We exchanged our experiences of Tunis, and it was helpful to see things about Tunisian culture from his perspective.”
WALI’s teaching materials also kept Sophie challenged and engaged. She especially liked that the practice texts offered plenty of repetition with new words and felt relevant to her daily life.
“The exercises we did, the repetition of conjugations in the book, all helped to solidify the grammar,” she says. “And the texts are interesting, so it’s not boring to read the books here.”
Since learning Tunsi, Sophie says she is more confident navigating her daily life. For instance, while tourists are sometimes overcharged for goods, Sophie can bargain for better deals for food and artisan crafts.
Sophie also emphasizes that progress with new languages is not linear—but that doesn’t mean you aren’t learning. For instance, even after an especially challenging week in the classroom, Sophie sometimes surprises herself with her level of Arabic.
“Some things take a long time to learn, and you don’t immediately feel the effort that you put in. But then, all of a sudden, something will click in a small situation and you feel like, ‘Wow, I really did that.’”
For Sophie, learning Arabic isn’t about where you end up: it’s the baby steps along the way.
“I would say that it doesn’t matter how far you get with Arabic,” she says. “As long as you’re having fun and seeing progress along the way, then it’s enjoyable and it’s worth it.”
While some people are intimidated by the differences between Arabic and their own language, Sophie sees those differences as an opportunity to be curious. This mindset has allowed her to study the language from a place of genuine personal interest, rather than rushing to an end goal.
“Arabic is a completely different language, so if you’re curious, there’s a lot to discover,” she says.
“It’s not easy, but I think every step is worth it.”
Sophie came to Tunis as a teacher, but at WALI, she found a second home as a student. Her instructors helped channel her curiosity, incorporating cultural insights into the curriculum and building lasting personal connections with her. After over a year in Tunis, Sophie is building a long-term future here—both as a teacher and a student.