It is important to think about what you (as the teacher) are going to do with the learners writing. For example, use the wall space in the classroom to display letters, ideas, jokes, p[r]
Trang 1ICELT DISTANCE UNIT
TEACHING AND RESPONDING TO
WRITING
Trang 2Teaching Writing and Responding to Written work
Aims
In this module, we will explore the issues involved in teaching writing and will look at how to teach writing at various levels In addition, we examine how to mark written work
Aims
By the end of this unit you should
• Have developed awareness of what is involved in the skill of writing
• Have a better understanding of the purpose and value of writing in the English
language classroom
• Be able to prepare effective and meaningful writing activities at the appropriate level for your learners
• have developed clearer understanding of how to give effective and appropriate
feedback to your learners about their written work
Coursework in this unit:
Language Task 3: Focus on the Learners’ Written language (page 46)
Trang 3Part 1: Developing writing skills in the EL classroom (teaching writing)
Reflection
It is very important to consider your own feelings about writing in English This will effect how you teach writing in the English language classroom
1 Do you believe writing is a skill in its own right, which can be taught in the
classroom through a range of tasks and activities or is it just a way of practising language structures?
2 Why do your students write in their English classes? Make a list of all the
reasons why you think that writing is important in English lessons
3 Do your students have to pass examinations in English? What types of
writing are required by these examinations?
4 What type of 'texts' do students write in their English classes? Make a list
of typical writing tasks How much time do they spend on:
a) writing sentences?
b) writing whole 'texts' e.g narratives and descriptions etc
5 Do you think that writing in English is a language problem or writing problem?
6 Do you work with your students when they are writing, encouraging them to
revise and edit their work as they go along?
7 Do your students ever collaborate on writing tasks?
8 Do your students ever mark their own or each other's work?
9 Does writing take place in separate 'writing' lessons or is it integrated with
other work?
Trang 4The purpose of writing and teaching writing
What is writing?
Task 1
What is the purpose of writing?
Think about how you use writing in your everyday life in your first language
Commentary
The purpose of most writing is to communicate with one or more readers (a friend, a relative,
a colleague, an institution, a teacher etc.) Of course, we sometimes write for ourselves but even then, we read this material at a later date
As the main purpose is to communicate, the writer needs to send a clear message This
will depend on:
• Knowledge of skills and strategies necessary to produce an effective piece of
writing, i.e how to start, how to take notes, how to plan
• Awareness of how to use language according to situation
• Knowledge of how to sequence and organise written language
• Ability to use grammar correctly to convey precise meaning
• Awareness of the importance of presentation
Task 2
a) Think about the last 48 hours Make a list of the things you wrote in your own
language?
b) Look at the list and answer the following questions:
* What was the aim? (i.e to remind, to apologise, to inform)
* What was the audience? (the person who reads the text)
* What was the genre, or text type? (i.e, shopping list, a telephone message)
c) What implications does this list have for the English language classroom?
Trang 5Commentary 2
Nowadays we do very little writing in our everyday life Most of it is short, for example, taking telephone messages, writing brief notes to friends or colleagues, writing emails etc But in all cases it is important to know the aim (a purpose), the audience and the text type This
should be reflected as far as possible in the classroom
However you may ask, as there is not such a great real-life need for formal written work, 'why
do we need to teach writing?' This leads us to our next point
What is the purpose of teaching writing?
Task 3
Why do your students write in their English classes? Make a list of all the reasons why you think that writing is important in English lessons
Trang 6Some teachers in South America were asked 'What is the purpose of asking students to write? Here is what they said
Which views are similar to yours?
Isabel, Perú Luz Stella, México
Writing is a useful follow-up It
helps to consolidate what has
been learned
The main purpose of writing is accurate use of language - especially grammatical structures
I see writing as an end
in itself Just as my learners want to be able
to speak English, so they need to write too
Maria, Ecuador
I think one of the most important reasons for having students write is
to be able to assess their formal knowledge
I use writing both to
practise language and
to encourage my
learners to be creative
Writing is just another form of communication My learners expect to be given writing practice
to improve their all-round English
That's why I do it
Blanca, Perú
Richard, Colombia
I make my students
write things down
They need it as a
reference
Writing is more reflective that speaking I think it gives learners more time and they can be more accurate in what they write I think they expect to do quite a lot of writing
The purpose of writing is
simply to practise writing
If you really think you know English, then you really need to be able to write fluently in English I believe you can only get that through constant practice My aim is to increase their confidence when writing and to improve their written fluency
Trang 7Commentary 3
There are a number of very good reasons why it is useful to include work on writing in English language classroom:
To consolidate and reinforce language work done in class: - most students find it useful
to see language written down and to practice a new structure at sentence level after they have studied it Writing is often used to help students remember new items of language
To develop writing skills - like reading, speaking and listening, writing is a basic language
skill Students need to know some of writing's special conventions (punctuation, paragraph construction etc) just as they need to know how to pronounce spoken English appropriately
To prepare them for exams - Many students have specific needs which require them to
develop their writing skills, for example examination preparation, expectation in schools of essay writing, project writing, poems etc
To assess - writing allows students to see how they are progressing and to get feedback
from the teacher As teachers we often use writing as a way to monitor and diagnose problems
To develop accuracy - using writing to develop ability in producing grammatically correct
sentences as well as following writing conventions of different text types (for example writing
a formal letter compared to a postcard to a close friend), correct spelling, punctuation etc
To encourage the development of fluency - developing the students' ability to
communicate ideas and experiences creatively and confidently in a written form
For classroom management and to change the pace of the lesson - writing can give the
teacher a break It can quieten down a noisy class Although with collaborative writing it may even liven up the class
To encourage students to work together and share their ideas and experiences - writing
requires a different type of mental process - unlike speaking there is more time to think, reflect, prepare, make mistakes, find alternative and better ways of expression an idea or opinion Writing in class allows students to work together in the process of writing, through a process of generating and sharing ideas, making decisions on what to include in the writing, how to express ideas and revising what has been written
For enjoyment – there are many students who, with the proper support and guidance, can
grow to enjoy the process of writing
Trang 8Writing in the English language classroom
Attitudes to writing
Task 1
♦ How do you feel about teaching writing?
♦ How do your students feel about writing?
Commentary
Writing often receives less attention by teachers because it is at the bottom of the list of
teachers' priorities: classroom time is limited and writing is time-consuming In addition, it is one of the most difficult things to tackle on the syllabus and students often do not respond in the way that teachers want them to Some feel that writing 'takes care of itself', a less
important issue that is best taken care of in the form of an occasional homework task
The situation is not helped by the negative feeling students often have about writing Do your recognise these:
(When they have only written 2 lines.) Finished!
I don't know what to write about…
Why do we have
to do writing, it's
so boring!
Oh no not writing…can't we just talk?
Many see it as hard work, boring, unrewarding and, perhaps because writing is often associated with homework and/or exams, not a lot of fun Motivation can be a huge problem for the teacher
This is not helped by teacher over-reliance on writing in the classroom for ‘speaking’ practice activities, which is generally not appropriate practise, and also connects writing to boring activities
Writing can be one of the most enjoyable and satisfying activities for teachers and students to
do together But how can we encourage our learners to write and enjoy writing?
Trang 9First we need to consider a number of factors:
– to motivate our students to write we need to provide a reason, especially a fun
reason or a personally important reason If I asked you to write about your holidays, the probability is that you might give me a quick summary If I asked you more specific questions and gave you a reason for writing (for a wall display, for a short book recommending different holiday activities), you would probably produce a much more interesting piece of work Having a clear sense of 'audience' (who is going to read this) is also motivating This doesn't have to be the teacher, it could be the rest of the class for instance
– students respond better if they are given guidance Learners need more guidance
than just a title to write successfully They may need help in how to approach their writing, in generating ideas, how to make notes, how to organise ideas etc
– allow your students to work together on writing As a group they can generate lots of
ideas, select the content and organise their ideas The teacher can move around from group to group monitoring the work and helping with the process of writing Encourage your learners to ask you for advice By giving them the right to choose when they want your help, you are helping to develop their sense of responsibility in their own learning – The key to motivation is the choice and variety of activities Give learners plenty of
opportunities to try out different kinds of writing (letters, reports, articles, posters, and public notices for example) as well as 'the composition' Remember that form can be interesting as well as content Similarly give them activities that you know they will find fund
– As a teacher, be positive about writing, be supportive and flexible, and allow them
to be creative with their ideas
Let's look at the types of writing activities done in the classroom
Task 2
1 What types of writing do you ask your students to do?
2 How often to you do writing activities:
In the classroom?
As homework?
Trang 10Commentary 1
Q1 Most writing in the classroom falls on a continuum from copying to free writing:
Focus A - types of writing B - definitions and example activities
Copying Students copy from the board or from books
They generally copy grammatical structures, grammatical rules and items of vocabulary This provides the students with a written record of the language presented and practised in class
Written Exercises These exercises practise grammatical
structures For example, writing sentences from prompts following a particular structural pattern, answering questions using a particular structural pattern, completing sentences, matching halves of sentences and writing out a complete sentences, gap-filling using the correct tense or word
Guided writing Students are involved in a process of writing
and the teacher gives help during this process (thinking through ideas, ordering them, co-operatively preparing notes, writing draft copies, editing and writing final versions)
Controll
ed
(accuracy
focus)
Freer
(fluency
focus)
Free writing Students come up with a topic and title for a
composition themselves and do not receive any help from the teacher
Writing should be practised in the classroom everyday Even very short pieces of writing, with drawings to illustrate points should be encouraged and discussed If your learners are only writing at home, this means that they are always writing without support Of course writing tasks as homework are often essential because of pressures of time and curriculum, but make sure you prepare for them in class (See more discussion on guided writing)
What kinds of writing should students do?
Of course it will depend on the age, interests and level of the students but there are some very important factors to consider:
Students need time in the classroom for writing It is the teacher's task to select or design activities which support them through the process of producing a piece of writing (guided writing)
Students need to be given a context for writing In order to know exactly what to write they need to know why they are writing (THE AIM), who the reader is (THE AUDIENCE -
this needs to vary and should not just be the teacher) They also need to be aware of the
Trang 11type of text (THE GENRE), for example a formal letter compared to an e-mail message
to a close friend (different type of language and different layouts)
It is important to think about what you (as the teacher) are going to do with the learners writing For example, use the wall space in the classroom to display letters, ideas, jokes, poems, stories, recipes etc that have been written by learners This public display of work
is highly motivating and encourages learners to take pride in their finished product Furthermore, the written work can be extended to other members of the school For example your classes can write to other classes at the same level Projects can be displayed in a public space for all in the school This motivates learners to concentrate on presentation The learners should be encouraged to decide for themselves which work should be displayed and how- as a hand-written text, retyped text, in book form or poster form and with what kind of illustrations Try to keep a collection of old magazine pictures
for learners to use to brighten up their work, or download images from the Internet
4 Analysing writing activities
Task 1
Look at the six example of writing activities taken mainly from coursebooks Identify the following characteristics for each writing activity:
a) aim
b) audience
c) genre
d) level (elementary, pre-intermediate, etc)
For some there may be some missing elements Here’s an example:
Write a one-page magazine advertisement for a new style of trainers (sneakers) that your company produces
a) aim: not specified (implied aim is to sell a pair of trainers to a prospective customer)
b) audience: a potential customer
c) genre: a one page advertisement
d) level: pre-intermediate to advance (suitable for a range of levels)
Writing activity A
You are a famous singer Make a poster for your concert
Commentary
Aim: to give information about a concert/to persuade
Audience: music fans
Genre: poster
Level: beginners/elementary