This paper highlights the context of teaching English writing skills within Palestine.  It is drawn from the researcher’s experience as a Palestinian English Language Teacher and his unpublished MA in Applied Linguistics and TEFL course assignment (University of Bedfordshire). It examines through a framework of SLA theories and external environmental factors, the process by which learners studying New English for Palestine Grade 12 are taught writing skills.  It reports on the findings of classroom research which points to the importance of using model texts when assigning writing tasks.  This area of language was chosen because while recent SLA research has shown the significance  of writing in assisting learners to acquire a second language, within the Palestinian context students find writing in English (L2) a difficult skill to acquire. The paper provides evidence of an improvement in writing skills as well as the benefits of utilising technology (social media in particular) which has become very popular in Palestine over the past few years.  The paper concludes with the researcher putting forward practical ideas to help bridge the gap between written English as used inside and outside the Palestinian classroom.

Conference Title

BAAL (2016) 12th Annual Conference: Crossing Boundaries: Language Learning and Teaching Inside and Outside the Classroom

Conference Country

United Kingdom

Conference Date

June 30, 2016 - July 1, 2016

Conference Sponsor

British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) and Lancaster University

Additional Info

Conference Website