Report
Teaching English Through the Living Craft Learning Approach
Written by Bayan Shamasneh
Introduction
The cultural, linguistic, social, and economic context in Palestine has a long history. The Palestinian context is known for its long-standing richness and its large linguistic diversity, starting from Classical Arabic to the different local dialects across cities, villages, and even tribes. For a long time, education in Palestine has been crucial and a powerful tool for building an informed and educated society that fosters the country's economic and social development.
Teaching English as a foreign language in schools is not a new thing either. English has been taught to children from a young age along with their mother tongue, Arabic. It is considered a basic subject in the Palestinian curriculum so that students develop from a young age to integrate in the future with Western culture, whether in education or in other areas that will shape their future and professional and personal life. But despite all these things, learning English in Palestinian schools faces many social and economic challenges that strongly affect how children are prepared from a young age to learn this language in the best way possible. The continuous Israeli occupation until today, and what it does to interrupt the education system by destroying infrastructure, stealing and violating Palestinian lands, blocking students' movement, constantly scaring them with killing and arrests, lack of resources, the huge increase in the number of students in Palestinian classrooms, and the lack of training for teachers in creating learning environments that encourage English, all of these things and more play a big role in negatively affecting students' learning of English.
In addition to students not interacting with English outside of the school environment, this leads to a lack of interaction with the terms they learn inside the school, and this makes these terms stay locked in their minds without remembering how to use them in basic skills like writing and speaking. This harms the development of students’ English language skills. But despite all these challenges, there are still many teachers and students who try hard to learn English interactively and effectively because of its great importance in the future, whether in personal or academic life. Also, in the Palestinian community, universities have started to teach students strategies and modern, diverse methods that fit the Palestinian situation in schools for learning English.
So, despite the difficult conditions, there are still ways that can encourage students to learn English and develop their skills in a big way, both inside and outside school, to achieve successful and effective learning that stands up to the challenges they face.
Literature Review
Strengths and Weaknesses of Task-Based Learning and Drama-Based Instruction in Palestinian Schools
Karaki and Farrah (2019) argue that Task-Based Learning (TBL) plays a key role in promoting student interaction in Palestinian classrooms. Their research revealed that teachers in Palestine have positive views of TBL, recognizing it as a powerful approach for motivating students and enhancing various language skills, such as speaking, writing, listening, and reading. They also highlighted how TBL allows students to practice language in meaningful, real-life contexts, which supports the development of their communication abilities.
Moreover, they found that group tasks foster collaboration among students and give them the chance to share their ideas openly. This points to a clear need for teaching methods in Palestine that encourage active participation and interaction. However, Karaki and Farrah (2019) also pointed out many important challenges that prevent TBL from fully meeting the needs of Palestinian learners. One major challenge is the large class sizes, which make it difficult to apply tasks effectively. Other challenges include the long content, limited time, lack of technological resources, and insufficient teacher training for using TBL in the Palestinian context. Their study also showed that some teachers tend to use traditional methods such as translation and grammar even when implementing tasks, which takes away from the core of TBL and reduces its effectiveness.
Additionally, some teachers noted that using the mother tongue (L1) during tasks limits real opportunities to practice English. They also mentioned that students sometimes refuse to participate because tasks are too difficult or not suitable for their language levels, which leads to frustration for both students and teachers. As for Drama-Based Instruction (DBI), Farrah et al. (2021) provided an in-depth discussion of the strengths that make drama an effective method to meet the needs of Palestinian students, especially in building self-confidence and encouraging them to express themselves freely.
The researchers explained that drama activities help Palestinian students use English in real-life situations. These activities also encourage critical thinking and develop students' ability to communicate both verbally and non-verbally through role-playing, which helps improve their overall language skills, especially speaking. Farrah et al. (2021) found that teachers view drama as an effective way to create a fun and engaging classroom atmosphere that motivates students to take part and helps them overcome the anxiety of speaking publicly, particularly within the Palestinian setting, where students often experience social and psychological challenges. The researchers also noted that drama gives students a chance to voice their social and political concerns, making it a valuable method for addressing issues connected to their identity and Palestinian culture, an advantage that many conventional teaching methods lack.
Despite these advantages, the study by Farrah et al. (2021) did not overlook key weaknesses in using drama in Palestinian classrooms. They pointed out that drama activities are rarely officially included in the curriculum, and using drama often depends on the individual efforts of teachers rather than being supported by systematic plans from the Ministry or educational policies. They also noted that the lack of specialized training makes teachers unable to use drama effectively, which limits its potential to improve students' skills. In addition, Farrah et al. (2021) showed that the Palestinian classroom environment, with its overcrowding and large number of students, creates a major barrier to using drama activities. Teachers find it difficult to manage the class during role-playing, which sometimes leads to chaos and reduces the focus on learning goals.
They also noted that some students feel shy or embarrassed to participate in drama activities, especially in conservative communities, which may lead some students to avoid participating, and as a result, they miss out on the benefits of these activities. In a direct comparison between the two methods, Karaki and Farrah (2019) argue that TBL provides practical opportunities for students to use language in real-life situations, thereby strengthening their ability to handle everyday situations.
Meanwhile, Farrah et al. (2021) argue that drama gives students the chance to express themselves in creative and personal ways, encouraging critical thinking and emotional engagement in learning. However, both teams agree that these theoretical benefits cannot be fully achieved unless shared challenges are addressed, such as a lack of resources, limited training, tight schedules, and the mismatch between curricula and classroom environments with the needs of both approaches.
Method Proposal
The new method is called Living Craft Learning. This method combines language learning with learning Palestinian crafts and community practices inside the classroom. The class becomes a place for creating real products like embroidery, pottery, farming, soap making, fabric dolls, etc. At the same time, students learn English through hands-on practice, dialogue, describing steps, and giving explanations in a live and real way. This method does not treat language as just text. It makes language a real tool for both physical and knowledge production. Learning the language becomes a hands-on activity, not just a task, drama, or technology. The Palestinian classroom turns into an active workshop, where each student makes something by hand and learns how to explain and document it in English. Technology is not just a digital tool, but a way to record and show the products globally. For example, making videos that show the students’ handmade work with their voice explanations in English.
The gaps in the reality of Palestinian schools are addressed as follows:
First, due to pressure from time and large class sizes, the class is divided into small workshops, such as the embroidery workshop, pottery workshop, and farming workshop, so students are distributed into practical activities and work in parallel, with roles exchanged weekly. This allows focus and reduces chaos. Second, lack of training: there is no need for complex training; local community members, such as craftsmen, farmers, or folk artists, are used as learning partners. The teacher cooperates with the community to provide live experiences. Third, the absence of integration between language and culture: language here is organically linked to Palestinian heritage and culture. The student learns to describe embroidery, talk about clothing, and explain traditional farming methods, and all of this is within a living Palestinian cultural context. Fourth, enhancing motivation: learning becomes a fun and tangible experience, where the student sees the result of their work in front of them and feels proud because they made something with their hands and expressed it in their second language.
The new principles are:
First, learning by creating: each lesson results in a real, useful product that can be shown or used.
Second, using hands-on skills to develop language: students use language to explain, describe, present, and talk about the craft. Third, learning together with the community: inviting community members to class or visiting places like farms, small factories, or women’s workshops, then coming back to class to share the experience in English. Fourth, ongoing documentation: making videos or audio recordings of students as they explain how they do their work, for example, making soap or embroidering traditional Palestinian clothes. Fifth, evaluating through the product: students are judged not only on language skills but also on how well they work together, create, and present their projects.
The suggested activities that the approach is based on are:
First, making a workshop: students work in groups to create a product (an embroidered bag, a piece of pottery, a straw basket, olive oil soap…).
Second, presentation in English: each group gives a practical explanation in English about how they made their product. Third, user guide: writing a step-by-step guide in English explaining how to make the craft. Fourth, story podcast: recording a short story in English about the craft or the experience of a community craftsman. Fifth, live exhibition: organizing a class or school exhibition of the products with English name cards, and presenting the work to visitors.
The justification for how this method aligns with Palestinian cultural values, language, and educational goals is:
Culturally, this method revives Palestinian heritage as part of education and connects students to their cultural roots in a practical way.
Linguistically, English becomes a practical tool for communication, not just a separate goal, which helps reduce stress and anxiety about using the language.
Educationally, this method integrates Palestinian educational goals by developing life skills, critical thinking, cooperation, and creativity. It also strengthens students’ ability to express their culture in multiple languages, enhancing cultural awareness and national identity.
Assessment Methods in the Living Craft Learning Approach
For the assessment methods in this approach, starting with diagnostic assessment, which happens at the beginning of the lesson. Its purpose is to understand students’ cultural, cognitive, and language backgrounds. For example, asking students questions that encourage brainstorming and help them discover concepts related to traditional crafts in Palestinian culture. Also, asking about their cultural background, such as: Do you know anyone in your family who makes embroidery?
Have you ever participated in making a traditional craft in your community? What English words do you know that are connected to these topics? In addition, using mind maps helps students organize their knowledge about crafts and guides them to focus on a specific aspect of the topic. Additionally, formative assessment is used during the lesson or the learning process. For example, observing students when they start working on the activities. Notice how they explain the craft we are learning about. Do they use the new vocabulary in their explanation? Also, preparing simple worksheets helps students evaluate their work. In these worksheets, I will include specific criteria they should follow. This helps them understand how to apply everything they have learned to gain the most benefit from the activity. Furthermore, A portfolio can also be used with students from the beginning of the year. This allows students to collect their work and see their progress in the tasks they complete over a longer time. The teacher can also use the portfolio to assess students’ development through this strategy by evaluating its success, identifying weaknesses, and making improvements for future lessons. A summative assessment can also be used, such as oral presentations at the end of the term about a specific project. For example, students can visit a place that supports Palestinian traditional crafts, conduct an interview, and present their findings. This allows for the assessment of their presentation skills, language use, and overall enjoyment of the experience. This type of activity also supports the promotion of local cultural sites, which are often neglected in Palestine. A rubric will be designed for each assessment task, with clear and specific criteria to ensure fair and consistent evaluation for all students across different activities. For example, in the final presentation task mentioned earlier, the rubric will include criteria such as correct use of vocabulary and grammar structures, creativity, ability to express ideas, connection to Palestinian culture, and teamwork (if the project is done in groups), among others.
Conclusion
The daily challenges facing English language education in Palestine are clear. The Living Craft Learning strategy offers a practical and highly relevant solution for the Palestinian context. By combining Palestinian traditional crafts with English learning, the process becomes more enjoyable and more meaningful, especially because it connects students with Palestinian cultural topics and supports places that keep these crafts alive today. Through this method, students will develop a stronger connection to their Palestinian culture and become more confident in sharing their knowledge and perspectives when speaking with others, helping to preserve and communicate Palestinian traditions in an authentic and respectful way. By engaging in simple, hands-on activities and participating in the local community, English learning becomes a space for creativity, learning, and pride in the Palestinian identity.
References
Farrah, Mohammed, et al. “Using Drama in the Palestinian EFL Classroom: Teachers’ Attitudes, Advantages, Problems, and Teaching Techniques.” Journal on English as a Foreign Language, vol. 11, no. 1, 7 Mar. 2021, pp. 85–103, Microsoft Word - 5. JEFL Vol. 11, No. 1, March 2021, pages 85-
Karaki, Rasha Sameer, and Mohammed Abdul Hakim Farrah. “TASK-BASED LEARNING in the TEXTBOOK ENGLISH for PALESTINE.” English Review: Journal of English Education, vol. 8, no. 1, 27 Dec. 2019, p. 19, Task-based learning in the textbook English for Palestine.pdf