Dr. Najwa S. Fares is a Full-time Professor and Academic Coordinator of the Languages and Liberal Arts Unit in the College of Arts and Sciences. She coordinates all courses in the Unit: Intensive English, English Communication, Arabic Communication, Social Sciences, and Humanities Courses.

Dr. Fares has a BA in English Language, a teaching Diploma in TEFL, as well as an MA in TEFL from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and a Doctorate of Education (EdD) from the University of Sussex, England. She has quite a long experience teaching English as a foreign language (EFL). Besides teaching English and linguistics courses, she has taught elective courses, namely Intercultural Communication and Public Speaking.

Moreover, Dr. Fares has published and presented in national and international conferences on empowering students’ leadership with AI, academic integrity, flipped learning, intercultural communication, student motivation, collaborative learning in ESP courses, as well as EFL teachers’ conceptions of teaching and their practice. She is interested in teacher training and development, ESP, intercultural communication, and the preparation of professional communicators.

Dr. Fares is also a reviewer in refereed journals. She is a senior reviewer in IAFOR Journal for Education. Dr. Fares has served as an editor for Sage Open, a senior reviewer of abstracts in The IAFOR International Conference on Education –2017, 2018, and 2024, and an article reviewer for Scientific Publishing Research. Dr. Fares was recognized for her teaching strategies; in fact, she received the university’s Teaching Effectiveness Award in 2016.

EDUCATION

• 2013: Doctorate of Education (EdD) (University of Sussex, UK)
• 1993: Master’s Degree in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) (American University of Beirut)
• 1988: Bachelor of Arts in English Language (American University of Beirut)
• 1988: Teaching Diploma in TEFL (American University of Beirut)

PROFESSIONAL INTEREST

• English for Specific Purposes (ESP),
• Intercultural Communication,
• Teacher Education, Practice, and Professional Development,
• Using technology in classrooms
• Blended/Flipped learning

MEMBERSHIP

• TESOL Organization
• ALIC (International Association for Languages and Intercultural Communication)
• Cultnet

AWARDS

• Recipient of the Teaching Excellence Award, Rafik Hariri University (2016).

PUBLICATIONS

• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2025). How to Optimize Résumés with AI tools. In Proceedings of the 6th Barcelona Conference on Education (BCE2025). ISSN:2435-9467 (pp. 225-236). https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-9467.2025.19
• Saba ‘Ayon, N., Sabbah, F., & Alameddine, M. M. (2024). Intercultural Communication: The Perceptions of Lebanese High School Directors. IAFOR Journal of Education, 12(1), 123-148. https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.12.1.05
• Sabbah, F., Saba 'Ayon, N., & Arkadan, H. (2024). The Construction of Lebanon’s Concurrent Crises in Opinion Articles. Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines (CADAAD Journal), 15 (2), 22-41.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N., & Harb, G. (2022). Intercultural Communicators: The Case of Lebanese University Students. Creative Education, 13, 3346-3363.https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2022.1310214
• Saba ‘Ayon N., & Harb G. (2022) To What Extent Lebanese University Students Consider Themselves as Intercultural Communicators ISSN: 2758-0962 The Paris Conference on Education 2022: Official Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2758-0962.2022.18
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. & Harb, G. (2021). Authentic Project-Based Learning in Times of Crisis. International Journal of Business and Applied Social Sciences, 7 (12), 1-11, DOI: 10.33642/ijbass.v7n12p1 
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2020). Impact of Turnitin in Deterring Plagiarism: A Follow-up Study. In B. Montoneri (Ed.), Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism: Case Studies from Universities around the World (Chapter 10). USA: Lexington Books. 978-1-7936-1995-2 (eBook); 978-1-7936-1994-5 (Hardback). 318 pages. Available at https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793619945/Academic-Misconduct-and-Plagiarism-Case-Studies-from-Universities-around-the-World.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N, Abu Adla, Y., & Zarafa, R. (2019). To What Extent the Educational Engineering Program at a Private Lebanese University Prepares Students for the Workplace. Creative Education, 10 (7), 1635-1652. DOI: 10.4236/CE.2019.107117
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2017). Students’ and Instructors’ Perceptions of Turnitin: A Plagiarism Deterrent? Creative Education, 8, 2091-2108. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2017.813141
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2017). Flipped learning: The case of Professional English Writing Course. In Proceedings of The IAFOR International Conference on Language Learning Dubai 2017. ISSN: 2189-1044
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2017). Students’ and Instructors’ Perceptions of Turnitin: A Plagiarism Deterrent? Creative Education (In press)
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2017). Flipped learning: The case of Professional English Writing Course. In Proceedings of The IAFOR International Conference on Language Learning Dubai 2017. ISSN: 2189-1044
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2016). Telecollaboration and Intercultural Communicative Competence. International Journal of Language & Applied Linguistics, 2, 96-122.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2015). Academic Advising: Perceptions of Students in a Lebanese
• University. In Proceedings of SocioInt 2015 International Conference on Education, Social Sciences and Humanities. ISBN: 978-605-64453-3-0.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2015).The Impact of Globalization on English Language Teaching. In
• Proceedings of Portalingua Conference Selection. ISSN: 2410-8081.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2014). How to prepare professional communicators for the workplace. In Proceedings of Prague Conference Selection, edited by IATEFL BESIG Editorial Team. ISBN: 978-1-901095-62-3.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2013).How to Incorporate Collaborative Learning in ESP Courses. In Proceedingsof the First International ELT Symposium. Istanbul, Turkey: Istanbul Sabahattin University, pp. 197-212.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2013). Teachers’ Conceptions of Teaching and Their Classroom Practice: The Case of English as a Foreign Language Teachers in Lebanese Public High Schools. Germany: LAMPERT Academic Publishing.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2013). Collaborative Learning in English for Specific Purposes Courses: Effectiveness and Students’ Attitudes towards it (2). International Journal of Business & Economic Development (IJBED), 1(3), pp. 95-107.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2013). Collaborative Learning in English for Specific Purposes Courses: Effectiveness and Students’ Attitudes towards it. American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal, 5, 3, pp. 62-75.
• Saba ‘Ayon, N. (2011). How Motivated Students are to Learn English as a Foreign Language in the Intensive English Programme, Career Educator Quarterly, 1, pp. 49-81.

CONFERENCES

• October, 2025 presented a paper entitled “How to Optimize your Resumes with AI” at the 6^th Barcelona Conference on Education (BCE2025).
• November, 2023 presented a study entitled “Intercultural Communication and Interculturality: The Perceptions of Lebanese Educators” at the EUREDIE Congress 2023: The International Congress on Interculturality and Equity in Language Education in Istanbul, Turkey.
• June, 2023 presented a paper entitled “Exploring the Linguistic Identity of Lebanese Undergraduates: Experiences and Perceptions of Lingua Franca Speakers” at the IAFOR The Paris Conference on Arts & Humanities (PCAH2023).
• June, 2022 presented a paper entitled “To What Extent Lebanese University Students Perceive Themselves as Intercultural Communicators” at the IAFOR The Paris Conference on Education (PCE2022).
• September, 2021 presented a paper, in collaboration with Dr. Harb, entitled “Authentic Project-Based Learning in Times of Crisis” at the 9th International Conference on New Trends in English Language Teaching and Testing Online.
• April, 2019 chaired a session in the conference entitled Higher Education Systems in the Arab World: Between Diagnosis and Development held at Rafik Hariri University.
• April, 2019 organized, in collaboration with AUB, The Sixth Symposium on the Teaching of Writing in Lebanon at Rafik Hariri University.
• April, 2019 facilitated three sessions in The Sixth Symposium on the Teaching of Writing in Lebanon, entitled “Team or Collaborative Writing”, “Assessment and Research Writing”, and “Feedback and Research Writing” at Rafik Hariri University. The second and the third sessions were presented in collaboration with Dr. Mira Alameddine and Ms. Fatima Shamddine respectively.
• February, 2019 chaired a session & presented a paper on entitled “Impact of Turnitin in Deterring Plagiarism: A Follow-up Study” at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
• April, 2018 chaired a scientific session, Education II, at LAAS Conference in Balamand University
• May, 2018 conducted a workshop entitled “Hands-On Tips on How to Teach Research Reports" at IATEFL Poland Business English Conference in Collaboration with IATEFL BESIG in Warsaw, Poland
• February, 2018 presented a paper on “Metacognitive Awareness of the Writing Process Contributes to Better Essays “ at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
• February, 2017 presented a paper on “Flipped Classroom: The case of Professional English Writing Course” at IAFOR International Conference on Language Learning (Dubai, UAE).
• March, 2016 presented a paper “Turnitin: Does it Deter Students’ Plagiarism?” in the 10th annual International Technology, Education & Development Conference in Valencia, Spain.
• February, 2016 presented a paper on “Turnitin in the Eyes of Students and Faculty” in the 6th International Conference on Effective Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB)
• June, 2015 virtual presentation in the SocioInt 2015 IN Instanbul, Turkey. The title of the paper is “Academic Advising: Perceptions of Students in a Lebanese University”.
• March, 2015 served as a panelist in the SIG Panel entitled “Orientation, Collaboration, and Adjustment: Facilitating Multicultural Interactions around the World” in the TESOL 2015 International Convention & English Language Expo (Toronto, Canada).
• February, 2015 Presented a paper in the Fifth International Conference on Effective Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB). The Title of the paper is “Telecollaboration and Intercultural Communicative Competence”.
• December, 2014 Presented a paper in the Portalingua Conference at Saint Joseph University, Beirut. The title of the paper is “The Impact of Globalization on English Language Teaching
• July, 2014 Presented a Paper at IAFOR European Conference Series in Brighton, England. The title of the paper is "Factors Affecting Teachers' Implementation of Curricular Reforms in EFL Classrooms in Lebanese Public High Schools".
• February, 2014 Presented a paper in the Fourth International Conference on Effective Teaching and Learning in Higher Education at the American University of Beirut (AUB). The Title of the paper is “Collaborative Learning in ESP Courses: Effectiveness and Students’ Attitudes towards it (2)”.
• November, 2013 Presented a paper in International Association of English Language Teachers (IATEFL) Business English Special Interest Group (BESIG) in Prague, CZEK Republic. The Title of the paper is “How to Prepare Professional Communicators for the Workplace”.
• September, 2013 Presented a paper in British Educational Research Association (BERA) in Brighton, UK. The Title of the paper is “Collaborative Learning in ESP Courses: Effectiveness and Students’ Attitudes towards it”.
• March, 2013 Presented a paper on Collaborative Learning in the 5th AASRC international conference “Information Systems and Technology Management for Innovation and Regional Development” in Amman, Jordan.
• April, 2013 Presented a paper on how to implement Collaborative Learning in ESP courses in the 1ST International ELT Symposium at Istanbul Sabahattin University, Turkey.
• May, 2012 Presented a paper on Lebanese EFLteachers in “ELF 5 Conference” in Istanbul, Turkey.
• July, 2011 Presented Lebanese EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Teaching and Their Classroom Practice, in an international Conference "Communities, Research and Practice" Social Sciences matter!" University of Sussex, UK.
• March, 2011 Presented a paper on Students’ Motivation at the Conference, “Multiple Perceptual Frames on English Language Teaching and Research”- Arab Open University, Lebanon.
• May, 2010 One day teacher- training Workshop at City Learning Centre (CLC), Sidon, Lebanon.
• Summer, 1993 A teacher- training Workshop for Iman School teachers, (LAU) Sidon, Lebanon