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TESOL English Teaching TESOL ellipsis stands for Teaching English to speakers of other languages. Of late, the English teaching industry has developed this acronym which is associated to learning, teaching and examination and also certification of the English language. Presently, the world studies two major branches of English; British English and American English. Since the English language is the world language there has been creation of different acronyms all over the globe by trainers and educators in this field.

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IELTS Writing Task 2 Using Idea Development Techniques To Extend Ideas

STUDENT’S NAME : Nguyen Le Tam

COURSE NUMBER : 65

VIETNAMESE LECTURER :Nguyen Khac Tri

FOREIGNER LECTURER :Nilson Kothe

DATE :02/06/2016

Table of Contents

I Abstract 2

II Introduction 3

III Literature Review 3

1 IELTS Learners 3

2 IELTS Writing Task 2 3

3 Idea Development Techniques 4

a Providing A Reason 4

b Providing A Result 4

c Providing An Example 5

d Summary 5

IV Application Of Idea Development Techniques 5

1 Introduction To Ideas And Idea Development (20 minutes) 6

2 Idea Development Techniques (20 minutes) 6

3 Writing Practice (40 minutes) 7

4 Correction (40 minutes) 7

V Anticipated Problems 7

1 Language Difficulties 8

2 Difficulties In Thinking About Examples 8

VI Conclusion 8

VII References 9

I Abstract

Writing is considered to be the most difficult skill by many IELTS learners There are two tasks in IELTS writing, and students usually struggle with task two of the exam, because task two is more difficult than task one Some students find it challenging to explain their ideas in depth, while others face difficulties in finding relevant examples to support their ideas Therefore, this paper will focus on task 2 of the writing test, and it will analyse some techniques that students can apply to developing their ideas in an essay The paper also provides students with some ways of thinking about relevant examples

to support their view

II Introduction

This essay consists of three main parts Firstly, there will be a literature review This part will discuss who IELTS leaners are and what their level of English is Then, the IELTS writing skill will be discussed briefly, and after that three techniques in extending ideas are described Secondly, the three techniques will be applied to the preparation of a writing lesson plan The benefits of applying these techniques will also be discussed Finally, some expected problems will be provided, and there will also

be a number of solutions to these problems

III Literature Review

1 IELTS Learners

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is a test used to assess the English proficiency of non-native English speakers who want to study or work in environments where English is used as a language of communication (IELTS n.d) There are two types of IELTS The first one is IELTS General Training, which is appropriate for those who want to come and live in English-speaking countries The other type is IELTS Academic, which is for people who want to pursue further education

in English-speaking countries

Currently, due to an increasing demand for studying abroad, more people are studying and preparing for IELTS Academic Teaching IELTS to these people is therefore very important As people mainly take IELTS for study purposes, the vast majority of IELTS learners are adults According to Gardner (1985), there are three main learning styles, which are visual learners, auditory learners and tactile/kinesthetic learners Since IELTS is a kind of English for adults, students usually learn by following the teacher’s instructions Therefore, most IELTS learners are auditory

The English levels of IELTS students vary greatly Some may have some background knowledge of English before they prepare for IELTS, while others only have basic understandings of the language Since these people are mature enough, they clearly understand their needs They usually want to improve every aspect of their English proficiency, including reading, listening, writing, speaking and grammar (Yang 2005) Therefore, their motivation to study English is their desire for improvements

2 IELTS Writing Task 2

In IELTS Writing Task 2, the candidate is required to write an essay of 250 words or above, and there are a wide range of topics to be asked in task 2, such as environment, education and work

Writing is marked in four categories The first one is task response, which assesses the way in which the question is answered The examiner analyses whether the response is on topic at all times, whether the

candidate to use a range of grammar with flexibility and accuracy

While vocabulary and grammar are crucial in writing, students will not be able to get a high writing score if they fail to explain and support their ideas This is because the scores of all criteria count equally (DCIELTS n.d) Some students possess a rich source of vocabulary and strong control of grammar, but they still struggle with writing because they do not know what to write or how to extend their ideas Because of this, these students do not need much focus on vocabulary and grammar, but instead they need to improve the ability to extend ideas Based on this analysis, students’ needs have been identified The learner-centered approach suggests that the teacher should try to meet students’ needs and expectations According to Sysoyev (2000), when taking into account information about the students, goals, and objectives, teachers need to determine which aspects of ESP (English for Specific Purposes) learning will be included, emphasized, integrated, and used as a core of the course to address students' needs and expectations

3 Idea Development Techniques

a Providing A Reason

Whenever students give an idea, they should be able to explain the reason why they give that idea, because an idea may be considered to be unclear or weak if the reader does not know why the writer thinks so In other words, the writer should ask themselves ‘why’ after they express their idea or opinion For example, the idea is ‘studying in English-speaking countries is the opportunity for us to improve our English’ The reader in this case may wonder why studying in English-speaking countries helps improve English, so the writer needs to clarify this point by providing an explanation Their explanation could be ‘this is because we can chat with native English speakers everyday whereby we will improve our listening and speaking skills’ By adding this piece of information, the idea becomes clearer, so providing a reason for an idea is an effective way to strengthen it

b Providing A Result

Another way to discuss an idea in depth is to explain the result of that idea If the writer gives an idea without stating the result of that, the idea will become meaningless to the reader Therefore, whenever the writer gives an idea, they should be able to ask themselves ‘so what? what does this lead to?’ In this way, they can communicate what they mean to the reader, and the idea will become more meaningful For example, the writer states that ‘children nowadays play video games too much’ After reading this sentence, the reader may wonder what the effects of children play games are The writer should therefore ask themselves ‘so what’ and answer the question by saying something like ‘Therefore, they may be addicted to games, and in turn they will have less time to spend on their studies’

c Providing An Example

Sometimes the idea is unclear or the reader is not convinced In these cases, examples are used to strengthen the idea Giving examples is a very important technique in IELTS writing, because it helps our ideas become more evident Although every learner knows that, many of them find it difficult to give good examples, or they cannot think of any example while they are taking the exam

A good way to think about examples is to think about a country An example of an over-crowded population would be China, and an example of a busy lifestyle would be Japan

Another point to remember is that our example does not need to be very specific, meaning that it is fine

to give a general example such as ‘developed countries’, ‘children who play games excessively’,

‘students who study finance’ and so on Therefore, if students are unable to give a specific example, they can think about a more general one

d Summary

In summary, there are three different techniques that students can apply to developing their ideas The method of developing ideas may benefit students in many ways Firstly, if students force themselves to follow the method, this will create a direction for them By applying the techniques, their ideas will always move forward and new information is provided, which is what the examiner expects to see Secondly, by discussing each idea in depth, students will not need many ideas but can still reach the required length of an essay (250 words or above)

IV Application Of Idea Development Techniques

In this section, a two-hour lesson plan is designed with the aim of applying the techniques described above to teaching students

1 Introduction To Ideas And Idea Development (20 minutes)

Yang (2002) suggested a process in which the teaching of reading and writing can be integrated This teaching process is applicable to teaching students how to develop ideas in IELTS writing task 2

 Objectives

- Understanding the difference between controlling ideas and supporting ideas

- Understanding the importance of idea development

 Materials

- A paragraph extracted from an essay is provided by the teacher

- A set of questions related to the paragraph is provided The questions are about topic sentences,

main ideas and specific information

 Activities

- Ask students to work in groups of three and answer the questions

- Ask one student of each group to present a brief summary of the paragraph

 Teacher’s explanations

- After finishing the activities, the teacher will explain to students the concepts of controlling ideas

and supporting ideas

- The teacher will analyse how the ideas in the paragraph are developed and explain the

importance of extending ideas

2 Idea Development Techniques (20 minutes)

 Objectives

- Providing students with insights into how an idea is developed

 Activities

- The teacher will explain each technique in depth and then show students an example of how each technique works

3 Writing Practice (40 minutes)

 Objectives

- Giving students the opportunity to apply what they learn about idea development

- Supporting students in areas where they are weak

 Activities

- Give students a topic and then let them give their opinion For example, the teacher may ask

students to say whether playing video games too much is good or bad for teenagers

- After students give their opinion, the teacher will ask them to write about why they think so This

allows students to apply a development technique to explaining their opinion

- After students explain their reason, the teacher will ask them to write about a result of children

playing videos game too much This allows students to apply another development technique

- Finally, the teacher asks students to provide an example to illustrate their view

4 Correction (40 minutes)

 Objectives

- Giving students the opportunity to proofread their own work

- Giving students the opportunity to learn from their peers’ mistakes

- Helping students overcome any difficulty that they face

 Activities

- At the first level of correction, the teacher will use correction codes to mark the areas where students make mistakes After that, students will be asked to check their own work and try to

correct the mistakes

- At the second level of correction, the teacher will ask students to pass their paper to their peers

Students will then correct the mistakes for each other

- At the final level of correction, the teacher will correct the mistakes for students and give them

some comments

V Anticipated Problems

In this section, some possible problems that the teacher and students may face will be predicted, and then a number of solutions will be provided

When students try to explain their ideas in depth, it is possible that they do not have a sufficient range of language to communicate their meanings There may be difficulties in terms of both vocabulary and grammar With respect to grammar, the teacher may support students by providing them a number of structures used to express a reason for or result of something, such as conditional and relative clauses When it comes to vocabulary, the teacher may provide students with a range of vocabulary related to the given topic

2 Difficulties In Thinking About Examples

It is common that while students understand the importance of giving examples, many of them find it extremely difficult to think of relevant instances to support their view, especially when they are under examination conditions To solve this problem, the teacher may offer students some techniques to think about instances In IELTS writing task 2, it is acceptable to give personal examples Therefore, students can think about their friends or their family members when they look for examples

VI Conclusion

In conclusion, IELTS writing task 2 is considered a difficult task for many IELTS learners Some students have sound knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, but they still struggle with writing because they cannot explain their ideas in depth Based on the learner-based approach, the teacher should design

a lesson plan to help students overcome their difficulties in developing ideas By applying the three idea development techniques, students can more easily explain their ideas When teaching idea development, problems such as language difficulties and difficulties in thinking about examples may arise, but the teacher can solve these issues by providing appropriate resources for students

VII References

 DC IELTS n.d, ‘IELTS Writing – Band Scores Explained’, viewed 26 May 2016,

<http://www.dcielts.com/ielts-writing/band-scores-explained/>

 Gardner, H 1985, ‘Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences’, New York: Basic Books Inc

 IELTS n.d, ‘IELTS Introduction’, viewed 25 May 2016, < https://www.ielts.org/what-is-ielts/ielts-introduction>

 Sysoyev, PV 2000, ‘Developing an English for Specific Purposes Course Using a Learner Centered Approach: A Russian Experience’, viewed 26 May 2016,

<http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Sysoyev-ESP>

 Yang, S 2002, ‘Integrating Writing with Reading’, viewed 27 May 2016,

<http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Yang-Writing>

 Yang, Y 2005, ‘Teaching Adult ESL Learners’, viewed 25 May 2016,

<http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Yang-AdultLearners>