New perspectives: New Challenges

This paper is a preliminary report on key changes in word usage within the Palestinian community over the course of the first three-and-a-half years of the second (Al-Aqsa)intifada. The data presented is drawn from a survey of 182 Palestinian university students, 69 females and 113 males. This paper includes a rationale for the project, adscription of the methods used to administer the survey and analyze the data, preliminary findings and analyses, and plans to complete and extend the research. The purposes of the present research are (a) to document and measure changes in word usage within the Palestinian community, particularly in relation to words that have significant social and political importance in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or in conflicts between Muslims (or Arabs) and Western countries; (b) to assess the kinds and degree of change among females and among males and compare them; (c) to analyze the implications of the changes found; and (d) to present findings and analysis to linguists, politicians, sociologists, educators, community leaders, diplomats, and conflict resolution practitioners, in order to promote cross-cultural understanding and productive communication among parties in conflict .

Year in and year out, exams remain the most reliable means of assessment of a student’s performance and achievement whether we are training the student to master skills or weare providing him with pure or theoretical knowledge. Although teachers are required to be faithful to the objectives set for the syllabi they deal with, they mostly design their teaching methods to serve other interests. Passing exams is crucial to the student to proceed from one level to another, graduate or start a business, and it is also essential to the instructor as one of the factors to measure his/her success at work. A major drawback of this concern in passing exams as the ultimate goal is that we focus more on a set of testing points only. We tend to ignore a more ambitious objective, developing skills and abilities essential for the student to succeed in school, college, the workplace, or in life in general. In this paper, I will contrast some aspects of the two approaches to teaching, one that focuses on exams as the end in the teaching process, and the other which stresses the importance of skills needed for passing exams and for succeeding in life after exams and college.

The role of grammar instruction in EFL has been a subject of debate and has undergone many changes over the years. Language awareness, which is defined as '' the development in learners of an enhanced consciousness of and sensitivity to the forms and functions of language ( Carter, 2003:64), can be of great help in this regard. In order to enable learners to analyze and internalize language rules, EFL teachers might devise a number of do-it-yourself strategies whose purpose is to raise learners' awareness of important features and help them construct their own grammar from personal exploration tasks. Such strategies might work well for teaching the past perfect in English, which is found to be particularly students.

This paper tries to shed light on the process of training school teachers as perceived and practiced by the supervisors who are directly involved in it. It is not a secret that numerous training courses were conducted, yet the results were not always up to expectations. The paper also traces the factors that made and still make most of the training courses, workshops and scientific days of almost no or little value. Another dimension that the paper takes is proposing a plan for future training courses, if effective learning and teaching is to take place. Finally, this paper is based on the researchers' experiences encountered during everyday supervising and teaching practices and activities.

The role of formal instruction on language proficiency has been the subject of much debate among specialists in language acquisition throughout the history of the communicative approach (Ellis, 1999). This study specifically investigates the role that formal instruction plays in the area of receptive skills, namely, reading. The study attempts to probe the impact of exposing college students to two general English courses on their reading proficiency. A group of college students from different majors were tested in reading before they had started their English courses, then they were asked to sit for the same test after finishing the courses. Results showed that exposing students to formal instruction in the form of English courses has influenced the different aspects of reading proficiency in various degrees. Several variables such as the students' majors, the specific abilities required for each aspect, and the type of questions may stand behind these results.

“Diglossia is a natural phenomenon in any language: If there is any difference between diglossia in Arabic and in other world languages like English or French, it is a quantitative difference” (Zughoul, 1980:32). This paper discusses Arabic diglossia in contrast with the diglossic situation in English with special reference to the quantitative difference. A comprehensive definition of the term “diglossia” is also provided. Besides, the paper focuses on issues related to the linguistic implications of diglossia including phonological, lexical, and syntactic differences between the standard and colloquial varieties of English and Arabic. Finally, a special section in the paper discusses whether or not diglossia is a stable language situation and how it can be a real obstacle in the communicative function in a language which is highly diglossic.

Central to this paper is the issue of the lack of any coherent recognizable context for the learning of the English language in Palestine. This is particularly true of the university required courses at An-Najah National University, whose curricula are based on textbooks of American or British origin. What happens when English is presented in the context of cultures and situations completely alien to the experiences and world-view of the Palestinian students? What meaning can this language have for them under these circumstances? How relevant is context in the language learning process, particularly in light of the manner in which the first language is acquired? How can English be made to express what matters to young Palestinians rather than what interests the writers of foreign textbooks? These are some of the questions I shall attempt to answer, with samples from our test papers and textbook vocabulary exercises, to illustrate my thesis and to demonstrate what we can do as teachers within the constraints imposed on us by the prescribed textbooks to place English in contexts familiar to our students and to work towards its more effective integration into their daily lives and concerns.

Diane Larsen-Freeman has suggested that the point of education is to accelerate the learning process-and "not to be satisfied with or try to emulate what learners can do on their own." This makes a useful starting point when thinking of the challenges and opportunities facing us as educators. Consider the new technologies of learning. They can greatly facilitate individual study (far more than we usually let it, indeed); but can they usefully add to what we do in the classroom? Yes, if we look at databases, simulations and concordances: not really, if we stick with PowerPoint. If we use technology to help us do what we want to do (for example, if we believe that learning entails hard thinking about difficult problems, and use it to help students define a problem space) it is an amazing resource; otherwise it is just a gimmick. Here, as in so many areas, form follows function.

The paper will focus on the explorations of modern technology in enhancing learning in general, English language and literature teaching, and learning in particular. It will describe some experiments in using new technologies that the researcher has been implementing in this respect. The first one is the researcher's experience in working on preparing two online courses in English language and literature teaching utilizing the Moodle platform and the virtual classes technique. The second one is the experience of running an online English literature course through the technique of video streaming. These experiences will be described. Attitudes of students towards these techniques will be surveyed. Outcomes are to be presented and challenges highlighted.

This paper reports on the perceptions of students towards the role of using different in- class activities in improving the English language learners’ communicative skills. It aims at finding out if the perceptions of students are affected by several variables such as gender, teacher’s reinforcement, students’ preparation for the class, reason for enrolling in the conversation class. To identify factors affecting students’ oral communication fluency, three instruments were used to collect data: a questionnaire, interviews and observations. The results indicated the effectiveness of using extensive in-class listening activities through listening to recorded materials in addition to participation in active listening exercises. Findings also showed the importance of the teachers’ feedback in improving oral production. Finally, the researchers recommend that the English and Methods of Teaching Departments increase the number of oral communication courses that provide students with the chance to practice and improve their oral communication skills. Moreover, further research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of developing and choosing authentic material relevant to the students’ cultural values.

The paradigm shift from teaching to learning is rapidly gaining force and credibility, thus leaving prominent international institutions of higher education worldwide with no choice but to meet the challenge by integrating on-line learning within their curriculum. This strategic move towards e-learning has been largely facilitated by the rapid expansion of information technology namely, the power of the Web and the increasing access to the Internet. On-line learning is transforming the conceptual as well as the physical dimensions of the learning equation and creating new realities within the landscape of the teaching/learning milieu. This new learning environment requires new attitudes, new terminology, new methods of delivery, and new means of assessment supported by congruent and accommodating technological infrastructure that enable e-learning to fulfilits potential in the post “chalkboard and textbooks” era. In addition to an extensive review of relevant literature, this exploratory study draws on the personal experience of its author with e-learning while teaching at one of New Zealand’s pioneer universities in the field of distance learning in order to build a case for on-line learning. It argues that the time has come to embark on a major shift in focus aimed at developing and implementing a more practical and coherent e-learning environment in our universities and institutions of higher education.

This study aims at exploring ways to improve the learners' reading skills through an examination of the most frequent errors they commit while reading. Special emphasis will be placed upon an intensive analysis of learners' production of: (a) rhythmic feet (b)pronunciation (c) stressing. To achieve the above-mentioned aim, a fixed number of subjects were involved in reading practices of texts of different length and content and taped throughout their readings. Initial results suggest that the great majority of learners lack knowledge of dynamic features of English particularly rhythm and stress where most students show tremendous weakness in identifying rhythmic feet in their speech which contributed to their inability to pause at proper place. Consequently, their reading sounded confusing and intelligible. The study has also revealed that learners lack proper guidance concerning how sounds should be properly pronounced in connected speech. In the light of these findings, the researchers strongly recommended the implementation of a linguistic component within their study plans of the school and university levels which should take into account offering the above-mentioned problems with the teaching material combined with proposals and remedies.

Integrating critical thinking in the curricula and culture of schools and universities has been a hot topic that most educators advocate in Palestine; however, there are no indications that certain measures has been taken to support this move. This paper aims at highlighting the importance of taking the first step in this challenging area due to the fact that students and teachers need to develop their cognitive skills to catch up with the rapidly changing and technologically advancing world. The issue at hand is that both students and teachers need to learn to analyze and evaluate information logically, think creatively, and apply problem-solving skills. They need also to adopt new attitudes of thinking such as becoming open-minded, flexible, and persistent in addition to enhancing interpersonal sensitivity and intellectual sensitivity. To that end, long-term program plans encouraging critical thinking should be fostered. In addition, teachers should attend training workshops that introduce teaching methods used to incorporate critical thinking skills into the curricula of various subjects. The most important factor which will help in the integration of critical thinking into the curricula is the provision of administrative support and the selection of instructional approach/es that match students’ needs.

Teachers can get more out of the class hour by (a) training students how to respond in a variety of classroom situations, and (b) organizing group and team tasks. Attendees will view video examples and take part in organized activities intended to demonstrate how teachers can make the best use of their classroom time.

Ongoing assessment of a language curriculum ensures its workability and sustainability and keeps the process of learning on the right track. This study aimed at assessing the congruity of the new Palestinian English Language School Curriculum, which has been recently introduced, with the requirements and aspects of the most recent language teaching method-the Communicative Approach. It aimed at investigating the teachers ‘views of the various skills embodied in the contents of this curriculum, and attempted to find out whether the requirements and aspects of the communicative curriculum are taken into consideration. The study revealed a number of encouraging results and a number of findings that need to be looked into in the process of future evaluation and amendments of the curriculum. Finally, based on these results, a number of recommendations were provided.

Teachers can be professionals if they recognize their own roles. One of the roles the teacher should play is the role of the researcher which means that teachers should be trained to conduct their own classroom research through action research. Thus, this training program is expected to help teachers improve their competences and performances regularly and continuously so as to help teachers improve their professional competencies and provide their own students with better learning opportunities. The need for this training program emerges from the necessity to involve teachers in the on-going reform projects in the field of education in Palestine. However, the training program aim sat enabling trainees to develop a sufficient understanding of their role as classroom researchers, raising the trainees' awareness of “action research", promoting the trainees ‘ability to plan, implement and evaluate different forms of action research. Another goal of the program is to provide exemplification of good "action research" practices and to motivate the trainees to initiate their own continuing professional development so as to be autonomous professionals and reflective practitioners.

This paper attempts to make a comparative study between two elegies: Tennyson's “InMemoriam” and Ahmad Shawqi's upon “Hafiz Ibrahim”. This study aims at showing how these two elegies focus on the same theme of lamenting a dear friend, yet there are many differences between the elegies in many respects, for instance, style, language and imagery. This study deals with the issue of friendship and faithfulness after death to show to what extent they are related to each other. This is due to the fact that friendship is the major element that provides relief in life.