The Team
We are a team of experienced and dedicated TAU faculty members who teach foreign languages at all levels, as well as international graduate students who have tutored in diverse global settings.
Marina Mash
Spanish, English, and Russian
Marina Mash holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Linguistics and Philology from Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (Moscow) as well as an MA in Russian as a Foreign Language, and a MA in Spanish Translation Studies. Marina also holds a specialist degree in English Translation Studies from Lomonosov Moscow State University. In addition to her experience teaching English, Spanish, and Russian, Marina has over 10 years of experience in journalism, during which she covered international agendas in Spanish and English.
Ivonne Lerner
Spanish
Dr. Ivonne Lerner has been teaching Spanish since 1987; first at the Open University (1987–1999) and then at the Cervantes Institute Tel Aviv (1988–2016). At both institutions, she worked as an Academic Coordinator and Teacher Trainer. She has also published textbooks for learning Spanish in Israel and in Spain.
Her research areas include the sociolinguistics of Spanish in Israel, immigrant language teachers, and language attrition among immigrant teachers. In 2022, she was awarded the ASELE–Routledge Prize for her PhD dissertation, which was published in 2025.
Dr. Marina Niznik
Russian
Dr. Marina Niznik is currently teaching Russian in the Division of Languages at Tel Aviv University. She is the coordinator of the Russian language program and is involved in several projects which explore the acculturation of Russian immigrants in Israel. She is an author and co-author of several textbooks of Russian as a foreign and a heritage language. She graduated in 1986 from the Faculty of Philology of the Moscow State University, and received her doctoral degree in 1999. The title of her dissertation is “Teaching Russian to Hebrew speakers”. In 2001 she completed her post-doctorate research “Acculturation of Russian adolescents in Israel” at Bar Ilan University (Advisor, Professor B. Spolsky).
Meggie Kaplan
French, Turkish, and English
Meggie Kaplan is a multilingual fluent in English, French, Turkish, and Hebrew. She has a combined experience of 20 years in teaching languages at different Israeli universities and translating material related to the geopolitics of the Middle East for the US government. Meggie holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in expressive art therapies. She has a vast array of interests including music, plastic and fiber arts, antiques, education and more.
Ilan Rubin
Arabic
Ilan Rubin received his B.A. in Arabic and Hebrew Language from Tel Aviv University, and his M.A. in Arabic from Bar Ilan University. He began teaching Arabic at Tel Aviv University in 1993 at the Middle Eastern History Department, and in 2015 at Middle Eastern Studies (MAMES) program. For five years he worked as a supervisor of Arabic teaching in the Ministry of Education.
Tania Gluzman
French
Dr. Tania Gluzman is a French instructor at Tel University in the Division of Languages. She holds a PhD in French Linguistics from Tel Aviv University, where her doctoral research
explored the grammaticalization of adjectives in French. With an extensive background in teaching French at various levels, from beginner to advanced courses, Dr. Gluzman has
also contributed to pedagogical innovations, including hybrid teaching methods. Her academic work has been featured in international conferences and publications, and focuses on
topics such as grammaticalization and French didactics.
Carmen Dimitriu
Romanian
Dr. Carmen Dimitriu has a PhD in linguistics; her research is on language and style based on the literary works of Romanian authors. Dr. Dimitriu is also a specialist in teaching Romanian as a foreign language. Her numerous publications are on the didactics of Romanian as a foreign language and also on contemporary and classical linguistic and literary aspects, as well as on aspects of Romanian culture and civilization. She has experience in the field of education management and international projects, and she promotes important educational projects including , collaboration between educational institutions in Romania and other countries. She has taught Romanian language and literature, Romanian language for foreigners, and French language and literature. She currently lectures at Tel Aviv University, as a professor in the Division of Languages, teaching Romanian language, culture and civilization.