thoughts on coping, or on topics that give them peace of mind would be a good way to keep students from completely losing focus on their school work or from falling too far behind to catch up. In situations where the curriculum is set and rigid, it could be possible to permit personal writings in the target language as a means of earning extra points to make up for points lost on required topics. I personally found these kinds of writing exercises to be my saving grace when I was learning Arabic. There is plenty on a university campus and even in the classroom itself to trigger intrusive thoughts. Whenever I felt that my grades and my ability to learn were slipping because of the inability to focus through the intrusions, I would write my thoughts down in Arabic. These were very simplified writings yet they facilitated teacher student discourse about word choice and grammar that I could not effectively access in the classroom either because of word choice problems or misinterpretations about my tone of voice. They also made me feel like I had a way to prove what I am capable of despite my inability to answer every question in class or participate as much as I would like.
Conclusion
One of the studies on Palestinian children ( Punaki, Qouta and El Sarraj, 2001) showed that those children who saw themselves as empowered had fewer symptoms of PTSD which faded more quickly than was shown by those who took a more passive attitude and behavior towards the traumas in their life. Children in occupied areas with many opportunities to experience highly disturbing events were shown pictures of typical scenarios they might encounter. The Palestinians in the pictures were divided into three groups based on their activities. The groups were labeled, active, moderate and passive. A typical picture would be of a demonstration where the Israeli defense forces have
