Icelt distance unit teaching and responding to writing

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ICELT DISTANCE UNIT 
TEACHING AND RESPONDING TO 
WRITING 
ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Teaching 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) 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Part 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? 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
The 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? 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Commentary 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. 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Some 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? 
Guillermo, Venezuela 
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 
 Miguel, Colombia 
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. 
 Eduardo, Chile 
 Juan José, Colombia 
Blanca, Perú 
 Paola, Bolivia 
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. 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Commentary 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. 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Writing 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 
writingcan'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? 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
First 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. 
2 Types of writing activities 
Task 2 
1 What types of writing do you ask your students to do? 
2 How often to you do writing activities: 
ΠIn the classroom? 
 ΠAs homework? 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Commentary 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: 
ƒ 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). 
ƒ 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 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
type 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). 
ƒ 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 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Writing activity B 
A friend is coming to stay with you. Write a letter a suggest some things to do 
Dear. 
I'm really glad that you are coming to stay at my house for a few days. I'm sure you will like it 
here. I've got lots of ideas for things to do. First of all why don't we ..[Explain why this is 
interesting] Then we could.And how about? Or perhaps you'd. 
Anyway, we can decide all this later. I'll be at the airport at 11.30 to meet you. 
See you soon 
[Your name] 
Commentary 
Aim: to make some suggestions 
Audience: a friend coming to stay 
Genre: a letter to a friend 
Level: pre intermediate 
Writing activity C 
Design and write an information leaflet about your town/city for tourists. 
Commentary 
Aim: to give information 
Audience: tourists 
Genre: leaflet/brochure 
Level: low-intermediate 
Writing activity D 
Work in groups of three to five. As a group, you are going to write a story of a dream by 
completing the text below. Before you begin, each student choose 2 pictures from a set of 
pictures (they can be any small pictures, but one idea is to use Reward Pre-Intermediate 
Resource Pack (31) ) in an envelope. You must include these pictures in your dream. 
I was sitting in front of the television late one evening, when I fell asleep and had a strange 
dream. 
In the dream I was (Where were you? What were you doing?) 
Suddenly (What happened?) 
To my surprise (What happened next? 
Unfortunately (What happened?) 
Finally (What happened in the end?) 
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ICELT distance unit: teaching and responding to writing 
Commentary 
Aim: to describe a dream (imaginary) 
Audience: classmates 
Genre: a story of a dream 
Level: pre - intermediate and above 
Writing activity E 
Write a recipe for an interesting dish. First list the ingredients you need. Then 
describe how to make the dish. 
This recipe is for shepherd’s pie. For this dish you need minced beef or lamb, onions, 
First you chop up the onions, and then fry them lightly in oil 
Exchange recipes and read them. Is there a recipe you would like to try? 
Commentary 
Aim: to give instructions 
Audience: classmates 
Genre: a recipe 
Level: pre intermediate 
Lesson Planning 
What do writing lessons look like? 
Writing is a productive skill like speaking. Like speaking, writing activities do not occur in 
isolation. It is important to think what comes before it - pre-writing, and what comes after it - 
post-writing. 
Task 1 
Describe what might happen during the pre-, while- and post- stages of a writing 
activity. What does the teacher do? What are the learners doing? 
Comm