ESP Biography

ANNALISE PFORR, Grad student: focus in Semitic Languages/Theology

Major: Masters of Theological Studies

College/Employer: Hellenic College Holy Cross

Year of Graduation: 2019

Brief Biographical Sketch:

I'm a first year grad student in the MTS program at Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in Brookline, MA. I graduated with my BA in Middle Eastern Studies from UMass Amherst back in 2015. In previous years, I've taught Arabic language for the SPLASH and SPARK programs, and am very excited to be back at MIT this spring.
Aside from my major, I'm also an expert on botching student visas while abroad, dank memes, and tea.

Past Classes

(Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

B11668: The Persian Writing System 101 in Splash 2017 (Nov. 18 - 19, 2017)

We will be tackling the Persian/Farsi alphabet in 50 minutes! Join in to learn about Persian pronunciation (it's mostly phonetic!), the beauty and technicalities of conjoined letters, and some Persian calligraphy basics-- how to write your name, ect.. We'll also be analyzing examples of the script and letter combinations as they appear in ancient and modern art. Absolutely no prior knowledge of Persian is necessary, although those who can already read Arabic or Urdu will have an upper hand.

H11214: Arabic 101 in Spark 2017 (Mar. 11 - 12, 2017)

Tired of the French/Spanish/ you're learning in school? Let's switch over to some Semitic languages y'all. We'll learn the Arabic alphabet, some pronunciation (it's all super phonetic!!), practice conjoining letters to write our names, and learn basic colloquial phrases. No foreign language experience necessary.

H8796: Palestine vs. Fox News in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)

We've all heard of Palestine. The West Bank. Gaza. But mostly from the perspective of our own American media. This class is going to eat some popcorn, watch some American news, some international broadcasts, and enlighten ourselves to what the media really does to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict. It's going to be a party! After 50 minutes of SPLASH-certified training, every one of you smart people will sound better informed than the average American news anchor. Why not, right?

H9089: Arabic 101 in Splash 2014 (Nov. 22 - 23, 2014)

Learn to speak and write Arabic in 50 minutes! Seriously. No experience necessary. We'll learn the alphabet, how to write your name, and some useful phrases.

H8246: Arabic 101- The SPARK Edition in Spark 2014 (Mar. 15 - 16, 2014)

Tired of the French/Spanish/Latin you're learning everyday in school? Want to impress friends, parents, and your arch-nemesis with a new foreign language? Learn how to write your name in pretty Arabic script? We'll cover all of that in Arabic 101, the SPARK edition. No foreign language experience necessary.

H6718: Conversational Arabic 101 in Splash! 2012 (Nov. 17 - 18, 2012)

Learn to speak Arabic in 50 minutes! Seriously. No experience necessary. We'll use Arabic news stations, music, film, and other media to give you a crash course introduction to spoken Modern Standard Arabic. By the end of class, students will be able to talk a little bit about themselves, their family, friends, and general interests.