Teaching Writing

Teaching Writing Topics for discussion: The nature of writing in reality. A common approach to writing. Problems in writing tasks in existing textbooks. A process approach to writing.

Certain facts about writing: One of the elementary level teachers admits that “I love to read, but I don’t write much Reading and writing develop together. Models, collaboration, and choices promote writing. The intentional teaching of writing develops young writers.

Activity 1 Solo work Within 7 minutes: Students at the right of the class will be kindly asked to write about…………. Students at the left of the class will be kindly asked to write about……………

The nature of writing in reality Differences of teaching writing in the classroom and in reality: In ELT classroom, writing is often seen as a means to consolidate (reinforce) language that is recently studied, as “writing as language learning”, and thus is pseudo (fake)writing. In reality, most writing is for communication, i.e., to convey messages or for self creation, e.g. writing poems.

In ELT classrooms, especially in traditional pedagogy, writing often goes this way: the teacher gives a topic or a selection of topics, a set of requirements, and a time limit. Accuracy of the final product is stressed and the process is ignored. In reality, we may have some ideas long before we put them on paper. We often plan, draft, and rewrite.

If writing tasks lack authenticity, they do not motivate students. If writing tasks focus on the product rather than on the process, they do not help students to develop real writing skills. Therefore we should advocate authentic writing, and we should advocate the process approach to writing.

Writing as a process approach Stages of the writing process: Prewriting : includes planning , and outlining, collecting data and making notes. Brainstorming: initiates some sort of thinking process, students make a list of everything they can think of without evaluating it;everything and anything goes.

3. Planning: this includes 3 subprocesses: goal setting, generating, and organizing . Things such as notes , diagrams , outlines, rough drafts are also included. 4. Drafting: gathering ideas generated in planning, translating them according to audience and purpose, including and expanding relevant ideas, and discarding irrelevant ones. This stage is the actual writing of the paragraph. 5. Revising: plans to add, delete , substitute, and modify text. Actually, in this stage students turn their attention to the content.

6. Editing: rephrasing sentences that are unclear or not precise, and checking sentences to make sure they are grammatically and mechanically correct. In this stage students are concerned with form. 7. Publishing: when the article is published, the process would be over and product appears clearly. It means having and holding the product.

What constitutes ”Good” or effective writing? Good writing keeps the reader in mind. Good writing is clear writing. Good writing flows from paragraph to paragraph. Good writing has well-crafted endings. Good writing has been revised.

Activity 2: 1- Give an example for applying the stages of the writing process approach on the field of teaching and learning.

A common approach to writing To motivate students, it is necessary to engage them in some act of communication. Either writing for a specific recipient (e.g. a letter to a friend), or: Engaging in an act of creative writing where their work is intended to be read by other people.

In short students can be motivated by authentic writing tasks that have some communicative elements. However some writing activities can be between “writing for learning” and “writing for communication”.

Some examples of writing tasks: are they for consolidating language, or are they for communication?

Problems in writing tasks Deficiencies of writing tasks in existing English textbooks: They are mainly accuracy-based. They are designed to practise certain target structures. There is insufficient preparation before the writing stage.

There is no sense of audience. There is no sense of authenticity. Students are given ideas to express rather than being invited to invent their own. There is no opportunity for creative writing, particularly for expressing unusual or original ideas.

Compare the following 2 examples: E.g. 1: Writing Write about the sports which you like. Use phrases like these: I don’t like … I enjoy … My favourite sport is … I quite like … I prefer … to … I like … because …

E.g. 2: A colleague has written to you and has described the sports that he/she likes most. He/ She asked about your favourite sports. If you have something in common, you may want to talk about it or suggest that you play it together sometimes in the future. Write back to your colleague.

A process approach to writing Features of the writing process : Focus on the process of writing; Help students to understand their own composing process; Help to build strategies for prewriting, drafting, and rewriting; Give students time to write and rewrite; Place central importance on the process of revision;

Let students discover what they want to say as they write; Give students feedback throughout the composing process to consider as they attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to intention; Encourage feedback both from the instructor and peers; Include individual conferences between teacher and student during the process of composing.

An example of teaching writing: Step 1: raising a question: what problems is our city confronted with? Step 2: a brief discussion on the problems; Step 3: group discussion on solutions; Step 4: individual composing: My Solutions to the Problem of …;

Step 5: reading one’s own composition, making suggestions on how to make improvement, focusing on ideas rather than on language; Step 6: rewriting, selecting and organising ideas, keeping an eye on language;

Step 7: grouping students based on the topics, letting students read their own composition; Step 8: making a list of optimal solutions, producing a product of the whole group; Step 9: creating a Class News Letter like “Problems and Solutions in Our City”;

Activity 3 Give examples of “writing for learning” and examples of “writing for communication”. Give another name for both terms!

Conclusion Traditionally, most of writing exercises in English textbooks are designed with the purpose of “writing for learning” rather than “writing for communication”. There are two approaches to writing: the communicative approach and the process approach.

Assignment 3 Cite some of the activities which improve elementary students creative or free or independent writing!