Session 7: Writing. Mind the gap...

Session 7 objectives: Writing. Mind the gap!

By the end of this session you will be able to:  list common problems non-native English speaking learners face when writing in English; suggest practical ways teachers can develop lessons to include writing skills development;  identify features of different approaches to building learners’ writing skills; evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches to developing writing skills according to task; detail where to get further support when developing learners’ writing skills.

Download handouts to help you take notes and complete the session.

Understanding our learners’ problems

In session 1 we looked at the problems learners have when using a script / letters that aren't the same as those in their first language. Using correct grammar, spelling and collocation (as discussed in Session 2) is part of the problem but not everything.

Task 1: What problems do these learners have when writing in English?

Mustafa


Khalid


Task 2: Look at the list below. Which to you do to help your learners with their writing skills?

Writing support

Write new words on the board to help spelling.

Give glossaries at the start of new units.

Model accurate spelling and punctuation on the board and in slides.

Indicate common collocations in board work, on slides and in glossaries.

Give examples of texts for learners to adapt

Identify common features of texts for learners to use in their own texts (e.g. identifying common chunks of language).

Give feedback on accuracy of language as well as content.

Give feedback on structure (e.g. logical progression, paragraphing).

Give feedback on formatting (is the spacing suitable and / or the address in the right place if used in a letter).

Get learners to collaborate together and peer-review / peer-assess writing work before submission.

Ask learners to draft writing before writing a ‘final’ version to hand in.

Encourage learners to make a very brief plan of what they’re going to write before they do.

Give learners checklists of key points to make sure they haven’t omitted important sections in the text.

Supply writing frames to help guide learners’ writing (see an example used for science teaching)

What do we look for when helping learners’ writing?

If we’re going to support our learners effectively, it will help if we have some criteria to help assess their difficulties. Noticing incorrect spelling and grammar is one thing, but what about other areas?

Task 3: Look at this piece of writing about a learner’s domestic situation to a landlord. Evaluate the following points and, having done that, download the commentary.

• structure, formatting and paragraphing

• accurate grammar/punctuation

• accurate spelling

• appropriacy of language

• task completion

In-class support

We can help learners with their writing even by doing small things, like providing glossaries and writing subject-specific language on the board. As suggested in Task 2, we can also show examples of the kind of thing we want learners to produce – something they find very helpful. To look at how we can do this, we can briefly look at three main approaches to writing in education:

1. Product approach: This is where you are asked to write something for assessment or display. There is no, or very little, guidance given and learners are assessed on the final version of what they submit, e.g. the teacher asks a learner to write 200 words on ‘x’ or write a story starting with the line “In my holiday I...”

2. Process approach: This is where class time is spent generating ideas about what to write, planning writing, reviewing it, redrafting it, etc. The diagram below (adapted from: White, R & Arndt, V, Process Writing Longman 1991) shows the stages that could happen in class. It is unlikely all of these stages would be repeated, though, owing to the time involved in carrying them out. However, if we were to follow even a few of these processes, there is a very strong likelihood of our learners’ writing being improved.

3. Genre approach: In this approach there is a focus on typical features of the type of text being produced. Learners will look at one or more examples of the text they need to produce and look for patterns they can copy. This could be layout (e.g. putting the sender’s address in the top-right hand corner of a letter), language (e.g. using trade abbreviations in invoices) or structure (e.g. having an introduction, paragraph ‘for’, paragraph ‘against’ and conclusion in a short ‘for and against’ essay).

Task 4a: Help raise your awareness of features of product and process writing by matching the points in the two columns. The answers can be found on the second page of the Task 3 commentary handout.

Example: 1-J

Task 4b: Listen to Yasmin talk about her product writing task. Think about the problems and anxieties she may have encountered and think about what elements of a process of genre approach would have helped her. Discuss your thoughts with a peer or someone from your institution’s support team.

Task 4c: Look at the following situations. For each one, choose whether you think a product, process, genre or mix of two or three of these approaches would be suitable. Answers can be found on the third page of the Task 3 commentaryhandout.

Task 4d: Look at these stages of a process/genre lesson. Put them in an order that would be helpful for supporting learners’ writing skills. Answers can be found on the fourth page of the Task 3 commentary handout.

Top tips for helping learners with their writing / literacy skills

Task 5: Look at the top tips for working with ESOL learners or learners with other learning needs. Which do you routinely do?

Session 1: Top tips!
1	Allow plenty of time for writing exercises – it takes much longer than a speaking task.
2	Integrate some element of writing into as many sessions as you can. ‘Little and often’ will help give your learners valuable practice and help develop essential skills – they won’t get developed if they’re not practiced.
3	Provide writing frames or [lined] writing boxes for learners to write in. This will really help their focus.
4	Make sure learners know how to structure their work – writing frames, clear stages for completion or check lists can all help here.
5	Unless you’re deliberately testing ability, always give learners an example text so they can see what’s expected of them and / or identify important features that they need to replicate.

Now over to you:

Task 6: Think about some writing that you get your learners to do, especially if it follows a traditional ‘product’ approach to writing. Now write a section of a lesson plan that clearly shows the stages of what you would do to help develop writing skills using a part genre or part process approach to the text. Creating materials to go with the plan would be even better and would also benefit learners.

Give the handout to a peer or someone in your institution’s support team for feedback on the section of lesson plan you’ve prepared.

Further reading:

·    McGraw-Hill have some great free-access resources. This one is for children but the ideas in this linked publication about structure writing frames can easily be adapted for any subject and level.

http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/kingscourt/downloads/writingframeslevels9-12.pdf.

·     Downloadable, lined [and other] writing paper is available for free with ‘Keep & Share’.

http://www.keepandshare.com/htm/printable/paper/handwriting_paper/free_printable_handwriting_paper.php

·     White, R. and Arndt, V. (1991) Process Writing. Essex: Addison Wesley Longman Ltd. has some really good ideas about ways you can develop process writing with your learners and lots of further suggestions for further reading.

·     A very interesting paper on using a genre/process approach to developing writing skills by Badger and White is also available for free download.

http://203.72.145.166/ELT/files/54-2-6.pdf

·     The Government Skills for Life materials have some excellent exemplars and commentary of learners’ writing at different levels. This is really helpful if you’re trying to peg a learners’ writing level and need some kind of benchmark.

http://tinyurl.com/ESOL-lit7-exemplars