Writing has always been seen as the most troublesome and challenging area of language learning for all students without exception especially if it is to be done in a foreign language. Most of these students fail to meet the expectations of instructors both communicatively and linguistically. Those students are, in fact of varied backgrounds, different learning methodologies, varied levels of language skills and experience, let alone different insights, attitudes and conceptions about the writing skill. Consequently, it is significant to exhibit what these students think of writing and how they approach it. This study was meant to serve a two-fold purpose. Firstly, it aimed at examining what the Palestinian EFL students' attitudes towards writing in general are; and secondly, whether the Palestinian EFL students feel any difference between expressing ideas while writing in English and Arabic. The participant of this study were (102) EFL students enrolled in four writing courses offered by the English Department in the Faculty of Humanities at An-Najah National University in the Spring Semester 2016/2017. A 28-item questionnaire modified from Daly-Miller Writing Apprehension Questionnaire and an open-ended question to help respondents freely express their attitudes towards writing were used to answer the questions. The study findings showed that students had positive attitudes toward writing, the various writing courses offered by the university, the textbooks and teaching methods used, and their writing skills and strategies.

Background The rapid adoption of modern technology has changed many aspects of our life and communication; it has the power to influence and change the way we teach, learn and practice different types of professions mainly teaching and health care providing. Smartphone applications are increasingly becoming popular and widespread. Generally, these applications are likely to play a significant role in supporting education, in general, and medical education, in particular. This study aims at investigating how medical faculty members are using smartphones in medical education and practice, and how they perceive them as an educational tool at university level. Methods The researchers have distributed an online questionnaire - including three parts: a demographic part with five variables; a 15-item part of various applications of the smartphones; and a 14-item part measuring attitudes towards using these smartphones - among medical faculty members at two Palestinian universities. Setting and participants Medical faculty members working at two Palestinian universities. Data have been collected from 30 participants out of 72 representing a response rate of 41.6%. Results The average skills score with smartphones usage is (3.18) which tells that faculty members use smartphones to support their teaching practices. In general, faculty members are positive towards smartphones as a prospective teaching tool since the average attitude towards using smartphones is (3.60). The study results show no significant differences among faculty members based on the five demographic variables, i.e. university, title, department affiliation, gender, and years of experience. Conclusion It seems that the majority of faculty members believe that smartphones would be a significant instrument as well as addition to their teaching practices. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-019-1697-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The current study is motivated by Tory Higgins’s self-discrepancy theory and the objectification theory. It aimed to investigate university staff members’ perspectives towards zoom dysmorphia while involved in e-teaching during the Covid-19 Pandemic in terms of its popularity, causes, and instructors’ experiences with the healing or eliminating mechanisms. Put simply, the researchers meant to identify the impact of the pandemic on body image and the long-term repercussions of e-teaching on instructors’ quality. A descriptive online questionnaire was compiled to explore the way (630) university staff members having academic and academic/administrative positions evaluate, perceive, and handle zoom dysmorphia while teaching online. The study results showed several associations between the variables studied. Gender was significant because females proved to have more features of dysmorphia; faculty members who serve in scientific faculties also proved to expect more features of dysmorphia as they tended not to turn on their cameras. The study results also showed that sufferers of zoom dysmorphia warranted that their appearances occasionally made them feel insecure and occupationally unstable. Therefore, they tried different healing mechanisms to eliminate or, at least, reduce its traits. The study concluded that the prevalence of zoom dysmorphia may result in shifting the value from good, effective attributes (e.g., professionalism, adaptability, collaboration, empathy, and patience) of instructors to merely outside physical appearances. The researchers recommend that educators should elicit the presence of zoom dysmorphia at an early stage. They should prepare courses to improve instructors’ self-confidence, and provide them with proper technical experience.

This empirical study aims at identifying the English consonant sounds that are mispronounced by native speakers of Palestinian Arabic. It also aims to explore the pattern of errors that Palestinian speakers follow in speaking English. Two main questions have been explored in the study: 1) what are the most common mispronounced English consonants produced by Palestinian students? and 2) what patterns do these students follow in so doing? 20 undergraduate students from the English Department at An-Najah National University are observed and their English is recorded to identify the problematic consonant sounds. The study results show that the most problematic sounds include /p/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ɹ/, and /ŋ/. In the light of the findings, the researchers recommend that the best way to learn the pronunciation of a second language is by listening to native speakers of that language and by practicing it regularly.

This mixed-method account explores the medical students’ perceptions and attitudes regarding online assessment in two Palestinian universities. The researchers aimed at identifying the way medical students look at online assessment, as well as the pitfalls and the drawbacks of such an atypical evaluation method at the university level. Of the large number of medical students enrolled in the two universities, 302 completed and returned the survey, and 61 students were selected to interpret their open responses qualitatively. The study findings suggest that the evaluation of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem was better and higher than that of the An-Najah National University in Nablus. Statistically significant differences were found, when some demographic variables, i.e., gender and year of study interaction were selected. Finally, the study respondents highlighted a number of drawbacks for online assessment, which the researchers sorted into eight main categories that varied in percentages. The medical students showed their dissatisfaction with this type of assessment, for many considerations, including, but not limited to, technical and administrative matters in nature.