Adbul Haffoudhe left his home in south Tunisia after high school. He arrived at Marshall University soon after, where his biggest struggle has been learning the English language.
Haffoudhe has been at Marshall for five years and is a tutor in the Higher Education for Learning Problems, or H.E.L.P program. H.E.L.P. traditionally receives more international student applicants than Americans for its tutors.
“In my experience, international students are top notch students, go-getters and very hard workers,” said Lynn Weston, director of H.E.L.P.
“When he came to apply for a job, I was very impressed with his manners and his demeanor,” Weston said. “As I talked to him more I realized how bright he was, and that he has a real passion for teaching other students.”
Haffoudhe is known as an outstanding tutor in H.E.L.P. because of his hard work.
“When I first came here I could read and write English very well,” Haffoudhe said. “They call me ‘the grammar nut.’ My speech was bad, but once I started talking more I got the hang of it.”
When Haffoudhe came to America five years ago, he did not know how to speak English.
“It was the only difficult thing for me as far as transitional problems, really,” he said.
Haffoudhe said he came to Marshall as a full abroad scholar from another university in Tunisia and has been in Huntington ever since.
“I was chosen from about 500 people,” he said. “There were about seventeen finalists, and that list was sent to the American embassy in Tunisia, and they choose 14 of us.”
After that step, each available American university had its choice to pick the student that best fit that university’s needs, requirement and general specific categories.
Haffoudhe was chosen to come to Marshall to teach Arabic and French in the modern language department from 2004-2005.
“As I have gotten to know him I have never known anyone that has such a quest to inspire learning in his students,” Weston said.
Since being at Marshall, Haffoudhe has received his master’s degree in English and tutors English, composition and writing.
“I don’t teach how to speak English, I teach how to write it,” he said. “People always look at me funny when they hear me speak for the first time, then they get their paper back from me and they’re like, ‘oh you’re good.’”
Along with his native language, which is Tunisian Arabic, he also speaks French. He said knowing the French language made it easier for him to learn English so quickly.
“I believe language is the greatest weapon to carry with you if you want to successfully assimilate and exceed in cultures,” Haffoudhe said.
Members of H.E.L.P. has been so impressed with him, they said they have taken on at least three other tutors from Tunisia.
haffoudhe said he doubts he will return to his native country other than a holiday visit. Although it’s hard for him to be away from his family, he said he has been away for so long the distance does not bother him anymore.
“The major differences from here and home definitely is the food,” he said. “It’s a lot less healthy, which makes me have to cook a lot and I play a lot less soccer than I’d like to. It’s hard to find good soccer here, but I really like it here and plan on staying for a while.”
Breanna Jones can be contacted at jones435@marshall.edu.
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