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As new English-medium universities open their doors in the Arabian Gulf andsome Arabic-medium universities switch to using English as the language ofinstruction, instructors in all disciplines face the challenge of teaching theircourses in English to students who have learned (and who are continuing tolearn) English as a foreign language. This article reviews theories and practicesfrom the field of Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a SecondLanguage (TESOL) which can help content-area instructors understand andreach these learners.

Second language acquisition research has produced several concepts ofinterest to content-area instructors. Krashen’s theory of comprehensible inputfocuses on the language used by the instructor, while Swain’s of comprehensibleoutput emphasizes providing opportunities for students to produce language. Cummins differentiates between two types of language proficiency: BasicInterpersonal Communication Skills (BICS), which are needed for dailyinteractions, and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP), which isrequired for academic tasks. Interlanguage and first language interference mayalso influence students’ second language production in classroom settings.

Specific classroom practices for improving students’ language comprehensionand facilitating content learning are recommended. These include modifyingspeech, using visual aids, utilizing a variety of questioning techniques, andextending the time instructors wait for students to respond. Instructors canemploy strategies, such as mind-mapping and quickwriting, to activate students’linguistic and conceptual schemata at the beginning of a lesson. Scaffoldingprovides structure and support for students to complete tasks until they are ableto realize them on their own. Collaborative/cooperative learning lowers students’affective filters and offers opportunities for participation and language practice. Graphics illustrate some of the suggested practices.

This corpus-based study provides a descriptive account of the distribution of the polysemous noun nafs in two Arabic varieties, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Classical Arabic (CA). The research objective is to survey the use of nafs as a reflexive marker in local binding domains and as a self-intensifier in NP-adjoined positions.

The consulted corpora are Timespamped JSI Web corpus for MSA and Quran corpus for CA. While attending to corpora size differences, MSA and CA exhibit a pattern of difference and similarity in nafs diffusion.

In the modern variety, nafs is pervasively used as reflexive marker in canonical binding domains, along with a less frequent, yet notable, intensifier user, and these uses are partially and cautiously attributed to the specific genre in which they occur. In CA, nafs is mainly recurrent as a polysemous noun, along with extensive use as a reflexive marker in local binding settings. As an intensifier, nafs is totally non-existent in the CA corpus, in the same way as it is in absentia in VP-constituent extraction in MSA.

Examining whether nafs, as a reflexive marker, deviates from canonical binding in Arabic the way English reflexive pronouns do. Building a general account of this distribution is relevant in understanding the explicit (syntactic) and implicit (discourse-based) dimensions of reflexive marker and self-intensifier processing and interpretation in Arabic as a first and second language.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the decision made last year, by the Caledonian College of Engineering in Oman, to introduce compulsory modules in Personal Development Planning (PDP) at each level of study in the UK-awarded diploma and degree programmes. The primary objective of PDP is to improve the capacity of individuals to understand what and how they are learning, and to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning. This paper describes how the main topic areas covered in PDP have been introduced to Omani engineering students; the learning/teaching methodology; how these modules are assessed and evaluated and how these areas relate to the needs of current and future employers. The challenges that have been faced during the implementation of these modules in terms of contextualisation (UK modules imported into an Omani environment) and external assessment are also discussed.

With global migration, the number of ethnic minority and migrant women receiving maternity health care in dominantly Anglo-European societies has increased significantly but they consistently have among the worst pregnancy and maternal outcomes. This paper aims to analyse gaps in structural (migration-related inequalities) and cultural (responsiveness to ethno-cultural practices) competencies among maternal health practitioners in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).

Using a semi-structured interview guide, in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 maternal health practitioners in NZ. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis framework.

The results highlight significant barriers around language and communication, cultural stereotyping by professionals, ethnic women’s own constraints around family and cultural expectations and their lack of knowledge about reproductive health. In addition, practitioners’ own ethnic differences are inseparable from their approach to structural and cultural competencies; there were instances of ‘over-’ or ‘under-’ reading of culture, practitioner constructions of ideal pregnancies and anti-racism concerns that shaped maternal care practices that were sensitive to, but also marginalised, ethnic migrant women who attended maternity services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study in NZ that examines the impact of complex dynamics of migration and culture on knowledge, beliefs and values of practitioners, in context of their own personal biographies. Identifying strategies to improve the way diversity is practiced in hospital settings can be transformational in improving maternal outcomes for ethnic migrant women in NZ.