Byrne D. 1988. Teaching Writing Skills

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First published1988 Sixth impression1993 Data British Library Cataloguingin Publication Donn, 1929Bvme, -Teaching writing skiils'-Newed'handlooks for languageteachers)' fi""g*it i. Eriglishlanguage-Writing-Stud.v and teaching I. Title 808',.042',07 PE1404

rsBN 0-58e-?'1b51-5 Data Library of CongressCatalogingin Publication Bvrne.Donn. 1929Teachingwritrng skills' languageteachers) frong*i" handbooksfor and inclulesbibliographies index' , . and teaching-Foreign i. englittt language--Study c.-.Studvand tanguage-Rhetori Engiistr" t. ,p;;kd and exercises ;;;;hl;;. i. rnltitt' tanluale-c-omposition II' Title' I' --StuOy-unO teaching' !erle^s,^ 87-4238 808','042 pE1128.A28938 i988 l-5 (Pbk.) ISBN 0-582-7465 Pte Ltd Producedby Longman SingaporePublishers Printed in SingaPore

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Acknowledgements to reproduce We are gratefulto the following for permission coplrighl illustrativematerial: the FoundationSeries' CassellPLC fbr page 39 (top) (TakenAom for page24 (Taken t4tririnsI by Louise wooitj;'iollins Publishers Cripweli; and Foll gooi{' t bv Vincent' r,rsiitn rt"^?nrh, wr.iting in (Taken from page 58 PubiishersLi-it.o io. Macmillan ';;;i;;i;t for pages Limited Sons and Ne6ol Thomas Anita Pincas; bv Reprinted page 94; i4rl Functr pruii.utlo"t Limited for ;;";;; 122' and pages 2l synalcate'Inc for oitrti*i"t oi unlt.oF.aiuie

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Contents

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Preface 1 The nature and purposeof writing 1.1 What is writing? 1.2 What do we write? 1.3 Speechandwriting 1.4 Why writing is difficult 1.5 Learningto write:mothertongueandforeignlanguage situations compared 1.6 Why teachwriting? Discussion/Exercises/References

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2.1 Understandinghow the written languagefunctions 2.2 The reseurces of the writtenlanguage Discussion/Exercises/References 3

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Writing in the early stages 4.1 Somebasicconsiderations 4.2 Copyingasa writing acrivity 4.3 Reinforcement activities 4.4 Sentence linkingactivities 4.5 Communication activities 4.6 Writingfor fun Discussion/Exercises/Refere nces

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Generalprinciplesfor teachingwriting 3.1 Approaches to teaching writing 3.2 The stateof the art 3.3 The role of guidance 3.4 The needsof the learners Discussion/Exercises/Refere nces

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Learningto use the resourcesof the written language

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D e v e l o p i n gs k i l l s 5.1 The importanceof demonstrating progress 5.2 Reinforcement activities 5.3 Sentence linkingandsequencing activities 5 . 4 R e p r o d u c t i oenx e r c i s e s 5.5 Communication activities 5.6 Writingfor fun Discussion/Exercises/References iii

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C o ntextsfor wr iting: the use of texts 6 .1 The textascontext activities 6 .2 Com Pr ehension (r.3 Note- taking andsum m ar ising rences rcises/Refe DiscussioniExe

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C o ntextsfor wr iting: the use of visualm ater ial 7 .1 Somegener alconsider ations 1 .2 The role of the teacher 7 .3 The useof visualm ater ial:som eexamples Discussion/Exercises/References In tegr atedskills of integratingskills 8 .1 The im por tance t ork 8 . 2 P r o j e cw 8 .3 Skillsequences asa frameworkfor rvritingactivities 8.4 Simulations Discussion/Exercises/References Writing at the post- inter m ediatelevel 9 .1 Pr oblemar eas 9.2 Remedialwork: the valueof a functionalapproach procedures 9.3 Freewriting:somesuggested nces Discussion/Exercises/Refere

1 0 Correctingwritten work 10.L Errorsandmistakes 1,0.2Teacherand studentcorrection 10:3 CorrectionProcedures erences rcises/Ref D iscussion/Exe 1 1 Writing activitiesfor childr en wr iting for teaching 1 1 .1 Reasons I 1 . 2 W r i t i n ga c t i v i t i e s Discussion/Exercises/References

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1 2 T eachingthe Englishscr iPt 1 2.1 The needsof the lear ner s 12.2 Letter shapes L2.3 Proceduresfor teachingscript Discussion/Exercises/References

devices Appendix:Cohesive

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BibliographY I

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T H EN A T U R EA N D P U R P O SO E FW R I T I N G

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(e) Writingis oftenneededfor formaland informal.testing. Althoughin generaloral abilityshouldbe measured throughoral tests,in practicewe areoftenobligedby circumstances, suchasthe amountof time we haveat andthe numberof students our disposal thereare in the class,to usesome form of writtentest.In somecases,of course,a writtentestmay evenbe appropriate: for example,makingnoteswhilelistening.

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Theseconsiderations stronglysuggestthat, while we shouldstill concentrateon we canmakegooduseof writing,aspart of aural-oralskillsin the earlystages, an integratedskillsapproachto languagelearning.Although at this stage writing activitieswill be largelya reinforcementof languagelearnedorally* , this neednot imply that writing hasto be an unsatisfying or evenrigidly controlled aclivity(see3.3).It canalsobe taughtin sucha way that it preparesthe learnersfor more realisticformsof writing at a later stage. As the learnersprogressto the intermediate stagesof languagelearning, factorswhichwe havenotedabovestill applybut, in addition, the pedagogical we canprovidefor writtenwork on a more extensivescaleand in particular integrateit more effectivelywith other skills(seeChapter8). At this level,the written languageitselfwill alsoprovidecontextsfor learning- through maybe relatedto these.At the sametime, reading- andwritingactivities writingmay becomea goalin both hereandat the post-intermediatelevel, itself. Althoughin languageprogrammeswhichdo not havea specific orientationwe are not in a positionto predictwhichstudentsare likely to have a needfor writing asone of the outcomesof their course,moststudentswill haveto do someform of writtenexaminationand this will increasetheir motivationto learnto write well. In addition,we canidentifyand concentrate on formsof writing whichhavea procticalvalue,the relevanceof whichshould be easilyapparentto the learners.Specificneedscanalsobe met because writing practicecanto someextentbe individualised. Clearly,however,thesituationis so complexthat thereis no onesetof althoughthisappliesto the teachingof otherskillstoo. But on answers, pedagogicalgrounds aloneit rvouldseemthat writingis a skillworth in the foreignlanguage. developing Our problemis how to do thisin sucha way that the learnersseethepurposeof writingand makemeasurable progress throughthe performance of realisticandrelevanttasks.

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D i s c u s si o n

Whichof the differences betweenspeechandwriting,listedin the tableon page3, do you think areespecially importantwhenteachingwriting? From yourown experience of teaching(or learning)a foreignlanguage, do you agreethat writing is worth teachingon pedagogical groundsalone?

Exercises

It wassaidin 1.1thatrvedo not know muchaboutindividualmethodsof a text.Note dorvnsomeof the thingsyou do whenyou arewriting composing andcomparethemwith a friend.

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*This term is usedhere and elsewhereto refer to languagewhich is presentedand practisedorally ( f o r e x a m p l e .t h r o u g hd i a l o g u e sa n d r e l a t e da c t i v i t i e s )I.t d o e sn o t i m p l y t h a t t h e l e a r n e r sh a v en o t seenthe written [orm.

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SKILLS T E A C H I NW GR I T I N G

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2 Weproduce a sequenceof sentences. . ' linked togetherin certairtways'

Reiead 1.1 and make a list of someof the linking devicesused. Make a list of the thingsyou usewriting for' Arrange them as follows:

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F Compareyour list with a friend. betweenthe two speakersin 1.4.2in Write out a versionof theconversation normalwritten ProsestYle' References*

The correcteddraft on page2 comesfrom J BarzunandHF Gtaff' The (1970).The transcriptof spokenEnglishon page4 ModernResearcher Show(i985),in whichDavidFreeman comesfrom the DavidFreernan musicians' interviewsprofessional F Smith On writingseeJ Brittonin A Davies(1975):TeachingWriting; (1982),S i(rashen(198a)pages4-19 andY Zamel(1981and 1983). featuresseeD Abercrombiein J Laver and S Hutcheson bn paralinguistic (1,91 2): Paralanguage. organisethoughtpatternsin differentways bn tne waysin whichlanguages seeR B Kaplanin K Croft (1980):CulturalThoughtPatternsin InterCulturalEducation. valueof writingseeC Bratt Paulston(1972)pages33-6' On the pedagogical For a more extremeviewof the valueof teachingwritingseeM Sharwood6)pagesI'7-19. Smith(1,97

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Learning to usethe resources of the writtenlanguage

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2.1 Understanding how the written language functions

One of our major tasksis to familiarise fhe learnerswith the devicesthat are neededfor effectivecommunication throughthe mediumof writing.In extent, this is not unlikethe taskwe havein teachingthe appropriateuseof stressand intonationfor oralcommunication. In both casesan awareness of how languagefunctionsasa communicationsystemcanonly be taughtthrough adequateexposureto the languageand throughactivitieswhich leadto an whichthe language of the devices understanding employs.Of the two, exposureis themoreimportant. For this reason,readingwill play an extremelyimportantpart in the development of writingabilitybecause, althoughin itselfit will not produce goodwriters.it appears to be an essential pre-condition. Readingmayof coursebe a goalin its own right and in any caseislikely to be a more important one thanwriting.But the two skillscanandshouldbe developed in close In anycase,trueunderstanding collaboration. of a text- anytypeof text rangingfrom an informalletterto the formalexpositionof somehighlyfactual topic- dependson an appreciation of the deviceswhichthe writer has employedin orderto conveyhismeaningthroughthe mediumof writing.This is an importantsteptorvards appreciation effectivewriting. it is not enoughto focusattentionon those To developthisunderstanding bitsof informationwhichthe readercaneasilyretrievefrom the text at a levelof understanding. Thistypeof activitymay be a useful superficial for certain kinds expedient of oraipractice, but it doesnot significantlv helpthe how the rvriteris gettinghismeaningacross,and learnersto understand therefore.in the longrun, doesnot contributegreatlyto readingefficiency. We needto getthemto examinethe textat a muchdeeperlevel.In time it is hoped that theyrvillbeginto do thismoreor iessintuitively. of horvtextscanbe dealtwith for thispurposeareqiven Two examples on the nextpage.

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2.1.r Personal communicatiot-t

T h e f i r s te x a m p l eu ' e s h a l l e x a r n i nies a l e t t e r .T h e t e x t i s a p i e c eo f p e r s o n a l communication:the u'riter knou'Shis readerand u'e may assumethat he had to l-rimdirectly (for example, reasonsfor n,ritirtgto him. ratherthzrnspeaAirig on thephone).

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LEARNING TO USETHERESOURCES OFTHEWRITTENLANGUAGE

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(c) Lexicaldevices

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Almostanytextdisplaysa greatdealof cohesionon a lexicallevel. To someextentthismightbe felt to be inevitable,but nevertheless thisis anothersignificantway in whichsentences are linked together. Key words,for example,areoften repeated:erectriii| occursten timesin the textinz.r.z althoughit is alsoreplacedby ir to give grammaticalcohesion.Key itemsare alsorepeatedin differentforms: thus,in the text in2.I.2 we havenot only electricitybut alsoelectricand electrostatic. Another commondeviceis the useof a synonymousword or phrase.For instance,in the firstexamplein (a) abovewe havebooks in the first sentenceand volumesin the second.

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2.2.3 Pedagogical implications

The pedagogical problemswe arefacedwith in this areaare clearly considerable. For the mostpart, oral work will havefocusedmainiyon a masteryof sentence structure,whichin itselfis a formidablelearningtask,with little or no attentionbeingpaid to the way in whichsentences are linked or sequenced. In anycase,aswe haveseen,the natureof the mediumcallsfor a differentkind of organisation, muchmore rigorousthan in speech,so that, evenif the learnersarefamiliar with someof thesedevic"s,they will still have to learnhow to usethemin writing.The writingprogrammerequires, therefore,both an extensive understandihg oftheseresourcesand considerable practicein usingthem in appropriateformsof written expression. Analysisof textscancontributesignificantlyto the learners'understanding of thesedevices.In particular,we might note that manystudentsaresimply noT aware,for example,how the useof the pronominalforms and other substitution devices contributeto the cohesionof a text (in theirmothertongue the subjectpronominalformssuchashe,she, it,theymay evenbe optional elementsin sentencestructure).The useof adverbialwordsand phiasesin the front positionin the sentence(referredto on page1g)will probablyrequire specialteaching, sinceon the wholethis will havebeendiscourage dfoi orat production.In oralwork,it is oftena problemto get the learnersto use:There wasa book on thetable,whereas.. on thetabletherewasa book misht be the appropriate form in a writtensequence of sentences. The logicaldevicesmayalsopresentproblemson a conceptual level.The learnershaveto understandnot only the semanticdifferencesbetweenone typeof deviceandanother,but alsothe differentshadesof meaninsbetween one item andanother,sincetheyarenot allfreelyinterchangeable,-There is obviouslyconsiderable danger,therefore,in exposingthe stirdentsto too many of thesedevicesat onetime (for example,in the form of a list).Their introductioninto thewritingprogrammemustbe gradualandsystematic. At the sametime,however,sincea[ the devices - logical,grammatical and lexical- occursimultaneously in a text andsincesentenies intendedto be \ takentogethercommonlydisplaymorethanone linkingfeature,it doesnot seemfeasibleor evendesirableto try to dealwith thesedifferentkindsof linkingdevices separately. Thisprobremis rookedat asainin 3.3.

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D is c us s i o n

1 Do you agreethat readingis an importantfitctor in leachingrvriting?

) Wtry is it important to trv to get studentsto understanda writer's

? communicativePurPose to pay atteutionto spellingand Do you agreethat it is necessar)I punctuation? do you i..o- your experienceof teaching(or learning)a foreign language. (e.g. from think that the rhetoricaldeviceslisted in2.2.2 could be picked up reading)or need to be taughts1'stematicalll'r

Exercises

RepeatExercise2 on page 8, which you first attempted after reading Chapter1. of a conversationbetweenNick and Ln2.L1 (d) you havethe beginning how it mightcontinue. Mike. Suggest Readthe followingtext carefullY: is a sourceof for somepe-rople. be a pleasure S mo ki n g , Srfoking$hiclmay f ort tot@fe IIows.lFurtFe medicaI authorit i es express seri ousdi scrc-m theirconcernabouttheeffectof smokingon the healthlnotonljlof those who mustinvoluntarilyinhalethe contribution who smokelU[falsolthose of the smokersto the atmosPhere. numberof our students As you are doubtlessaware,a considerable havejoined togetherin an effortto pelsuadethe universityto ban I believethey areentirelyright in their aim' smokingin the classrooms. However,I would hopethat it is possibleto achievethis by an appealto reasonandto concernfor othersratherthanby regulation' Smokingis prohibitedby City by-lawsin theatresandin hallsused wheretheremay be a fire for showingfilmsaswell aslaboratories hazard.Elsewhere,it is up to your own goodsense. 'No Smoking'in the I am thereforeaskingyou to maintain andseminarroomswhereyou teach.This proof of auditoria,classrooms your interestfor their healthandwell-beingis very importantto a large numberof our students. hasbeenindicatedby meansof a circle backreference In the firstparagraph, havebeenboxed.Mark the restof the andan u.ro*. Otherlinkingdevices text in the samewaY.

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of a text, seeA Daviesand 1 On the importanceof teachingcomprehension H G Widdowsonin J P B Allen andS Pit Corder(1974)Readingand Writing. 2 Ontp"lling, seeJ Pealcein P Doughty,J Pearceand G Thornton(1972) SpoienondWritt,z.For spellingrules,seeR A Close(1975)andE Abbott

( 1e7e).

seeR Quirk et al (1972)andR A Close(1975). 3 On punctuation, of the writtenlanguage,seeA Tadrosin 4 On ihe rhetoricalresources D L Bouchardand L J Spaventa(1980)andV Horn (1972).The divisioninto givenby Tadros. andlexicalis basedon the description logical,grammatical seeR Quirk (1912)Sentence of cohesion. treatments For moreextensive C o n n e cri oann dM A K HallidayandR Hasan( 1916) .

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Focuson accuracy

Attemptsto teachrvriting- sincethe time whenstudentsweremerelygivena topicof somekind and askedto producea 'composition' withoutfurtherhelp - haveusuallyfocusedon someparticularproblematical aspectof thervriting situation.Somekey approaches areexaminedbelow. Mistakesshowup in rvrittenrvork(especiallv sincethisis usualli,'subject to rigorous'correction') andnot unnaturally cometo be regardedasa major

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GK I L L S T E A C H I NW GR I T I N S

p r o b l e m .I t w a s a s s u m e dt h a t s t u d e n t sm a d em i s t a k e sb e c a u s et h c y w e r e approachcsherve allowedto rvriterl'hatr/ro,u'anted.and accuracy-oriented thereforestressedthe importanceof control in order to eliminatethem from w r i t t e n w o r k . S t u d e n t sa r e t a u g h th o w t o u ' r i t ea n d c o m b i n ev a r i o u ss e n t c n c e gil'e them thc like the one belorvarc usedtc-r typesand manipulationexercises experienceof u'riting connectedsentences. A ( 1 )m a n ( 2 ) w a l k e d( 3 )d o w nt h e s t r e e tA' ( 4 )g i r l ( 5 ) w a sw a i t i n gf o r sh , es m i l e d( 7 ) a n ds a i d ' h i m o u t s i d ea ( 6 )s h o p .A s h e a p p r o a c h e d ' H e l l oH . o wa r ey o u ? ' ( 1 ) t a l l ,y o u n g ,w e l l - d r e s s e d ( 2 ) w i t h a b e a r d i,n a b l a c kh a t ,w i t h s u n g l a s s e s ( 3 ) r a p i d l yh, u r r i e d l yi m , patiently ( 4 ) p r e t t y f, a i r - h a i r e dd,a r k - s k i n n e d ( 5 ) i n h i g h - l r e e l esdh o e sw , i t h a n u m b r e l l ai ,n a p i n kh a t g r o c e r ' s , (6) chemist's, bicYcle ( 7 ) p l e a s a n t l ya,t t r a c t i v e l yi n, a f r i e n d l ym a n n e r

areaskedtq Graduallythe amountof controlis reducedandthe students choice(in the exampleabovetheydo not haveto think meaningful exercise At a stilllaterstage.theyma1'begivena andtheycannotmakemistakes). andcontent.but allowedsome with larrguage gooddealof guidance for self-expression. 6pportunities wasverymucha productof the audioapproach Thiscontrolled-to-free learningandformal lingualperiod,with its emphisison step-by-step werecarefullythoughtout and.althoughno Many suchschemes correctness. theyproducedmanyusefulideason howto guidewriting. longerfashionable,

3.1.2 Focuson fluency

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encollrages stlldentsto writeasmuchaspossibleand In contrast,thisapproach The asquicklyaspossible u'ithoutworryingaboutmakingmistakes. feel way students this importantthingis to getone'sideasdownon paper.ln 'exercises' of somekind; thev that theyareactuallywritirtg.not merelydoing writingis an enjoyable to writeandconsequently write what theywant

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AlthoughthisapproachdoesnotSolVeSon}eoftheprrrblemswhich Y (see4.1),it drau's studentshaveu,henthevcometo writein a foreignlanguage write badl'v' attentionto certainpointswe needto keepin mind.Many students i G because theydo not u'riteenoughandfor the samereasontheyfeelinhibited rvhentheirpick up a pen.Mostof uswritelesswell if we areobligettto write E a b o u tso me th i n s'Afluenc1' - appr oach.per hapschannelledintos om ethi ngl i P keepinga diary.canbe a usefulantidote.

3.1.3 Focuson text

E asthe basicunit of T-hisapproachstresses of the paragraph the importance writtenexpression andis thereforemainlyconcernedtoteachstudentshow to F constructandorganiSeparagraphs.ItuSeSavarietyoftechniques,singly P combination. suih us' - formingparagraphs from jumbledsentences, F - writingparallelparagraphs; >a ---- developing (withor withoutcues) paragraphs from topicsentences *

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P R I N C I P L EFSO RT E A C H I N G GENEBAL WRITING

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3.7.4 Focuson purpose

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3.2 The state of the art

In real life, aswe haveseen,we normallyhavea reasonfor writing and we write to or for somebody . Thesearefactorswhich haveoften beenneglectedin teachingand practisingwriting. Yet it is easyto devisesituationswhich allow studentsto write purposefully:for example,they canwrite to one anotherin the classroomor usewriting in roleplaysituations. Although, like fluencywriting,this approachdoesnot solvespecific problemswhichstudentshavewhenhandlingthe rvrittenlanguage,it does motivatethem to write and showshow writins is a form of communication. Althoughsomewriting schemes andprogrammeshavetendedto rely largelyor exclusivelyon one or other of theseapproaches, in practicemost teachersand textbookwritershavedrawnon morethan one and havecombinedand modifiedthem to suit their purpose. In recentyearsclassroommethodologyhasbeenheavilyinfluencedby the communicative approach,with its emphasis on task-orientedactivitiesthat involve,wherepossible,the exchange information of and the free useof language,without undueconcernfor mistakes.Receptiveskillsare alsogiven more prominenceand studentsareexposedto a wide rangeof spokenand written language.A gooddealof recommended writing practicedirectly reflectsthe main concernsof this approach,althoughin practiceboth teachers and textbookwritersdealwith the classroomsituationpragmaticallyand thereforeretaina gooddealof controlledpractice.In general,however, attentionis paid to motivationand thereis usuallysomeroom for selfiven at the lowerlevels,asthe .*u*iI., on page24 show. expression, No lessinterestingand significantare someof the 'sideeffects'of the communicative approach.For example: - Students getmoreopportunities to read(andalsoto readmoreinteresting andnaturallywrittentexts)andthiskind of exposureto the written language is beneficialtowriting. - Both listeningandreadingmaterialhave relatedactivities(see6.3.1),many of whichleadto incidentalwritingof a naturalkind, suchasnote-taking. This in turn canleadon to furtherwriting, suchasusingthe notesto write a report.The factualnatureof muchreadingand listeningmaterialis also usefulfor relatedwritingactivities. - Learnersareencouraged to interactandthe activitiesrequiredfor thisoften involvewriting(e.g.questionnaires, quizzes, etc.).Many of theseactivities 'fun', involvean elementof sothatstudents oftenenjoywriting(without perhapsrealisingit). - Students areencouraged to work togetherin pairsandgroupsandto share writingtasks.Thisremovesthefeelingof isolationwhichbothersmany learners. In spiteof these.advances, however.rvritingskillsarestillrelativelyneglected in manycourses. Objectives arerarelyspeltout asclearlyastheyarefor oral LJ

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with whichthe studentsarefacedin learning In viewof the manydifficulties principleof guidingthemin the fundamental how to write a foreignlanguage. variouswaystowardsa mastervof writingskills,andsometimes controlling we what theywrite, is not one canlightlydismiss,evenif the principlehasto (for example,in tryingto eliminatemistakes). someextentbeenmisapplied we consider more should carefullywhat kind of guidancewe should Rather, givethem,particularlyin relationto the variousproblemstheyhavewhen w r i t i n g( s e e1. 4 ) . On a linguisticlevel,sinceour aim is to developtheir abilityto writea text, andthereforeof providingguidance, is by one way of helpingthe students. practice, evenin the early stages.While usfngthetextasour basicformotfor practice,whichmay be necessary thisdoesnot rule out somesortof sentence for the mastervof certaintypesof compoundandcomplexsentence structure, bestpractisedthroughwritingbecausethey are mostcommonlyusedin writing (see4.4),we do not needto buildinto the writingprogrammea step-by-step practiceto approachwhichwill take the learnersin easystagesfrom sentence the productionof a text. With the text asour basicformat for practice,we can - logical,grammatical all the rhetoricaldevices teachwithinits framervork and lexical- whichthe learnersneedto master.While we mustbe carefulnot at anyonetime (see2.2.3),there to overwhelmthemwith too manydifficulties justification is no apparent for attemptirlgto separatefeaturesof the written whichgo naturallytogether. language in the By usingtexts(lettersandreports,for example- evendialogues asour basicpracticeformat,ratherthansomeotherunit suchas earlystages) we canmakewritingactivitiesmuchmore or eventhe paragraph, the sentence andtherebyincrease theirmotivationto writewell. meaningfulfor the students The text providesctsettirtgvvithinwhichtheycanpractise,for example,sentence combination. paragraphconstruction, etc.in relationto completion,sentence lo-ngerstretchesof discourse.In thisway they canseenot only why they are ryritingbut alsolvrite in a mannerappropriateto thecommttnicative goal of the text. This,then.is onewavof helpingthe learners:by makingwritingtasks purposeinsteadof askingthem by relatingpracticeto a specific morerealistic, to writesimplyfor the sakeof rvriting.In orderto find our contextsfor rvritten for integrating work, we shallalsoneedto exploreopportunities it effectively activities involvinqnot only readingbut alsospeakingand with otherclassroom to the levelof exercises partlvbecause listening.Writingtendsto getrelegated to the lessonratherthanasa rvorthwhile learning it is treatedasa compendium activityin itself.Whileit is convenient, (see1.6(d)), aswe haveacknowledged to be ableto setrvrittenrvorkashomeworkandwhilewritingmay not come very highon the listof priorities.thisdoesnot meanthat it cannottakeits place of learningactivities. aspartof a naturalsequence A lvritingactil'ity,for example.canderivein a naturalrvayfrom some prior activitysuchasil conversation or somethingread.As in reallife. it canbe of a certainsituation.We seean advertisement for a job, for the consequence We talk aboutit andperhapsphoneup about example,whichinvolvesrentlirtg. andlisrening. We thendecideto applyfor the job it. rvhichinvolves.speuking w h i c hi n v o l v e sw r i t i r t gA. l t h o u g hp. e r h a p sw, e c a n n o ct o m p l e t e liyn t e g r a t e (see rvithcrut rvithotheractivities r.vriting a raclical changein materialsclesign

25

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T E A C H I N GW R I T I N GS K I L L 5

8.3), there is much \\1ecan do to relateit more effectivelyto other classrclom activities:for example.b1'extendingthe contextsu'hichwe have set up for oral work, through simplerole-playactivities,to provide a meaningfulsettingfor writing activitiesas u,ell.In this \\'aVwe can hope to overcomeSoffleof the difficultiesrvhichthe learnershaveu'ith role projectionfor writing tasks. So far we have looked at guidancein terms of u'hat kind of framework linguisticand contextual- \ /e can provide in order to make writing tasks more purposefulrather than in termsof the actualsupportwe can give the studentsin order to ensurethat thev completetheir taskswith reasonable success.Sincethe major part of this book is concernedwith an explorationof the varioustechniquesand procedureswe can use,at this stagewe shallonly stressthat we need a v,holerangeof techniques.each appropriate to specific goalsand needs.Variety is important,as in oral work. This is essentialfor the sakeof interest:the learnersget bored if they are constantlyaskedto perform the sametype of task. But anothersignificantfactor is that certaintechniques are effectivefor developingparticularwritin-eskiils.For example.texts (read or heard) provide the right sort of contextfor note-taking:they nct only lead on to meaningfulwriting tasksbut alsoprovide a model for the kind of writing expected.Visual material.on the other hand. properly used (seeChapter 7) providesa more open-endedframeworkfor writing activitiesof different kinds at different levels,but it is lesssuitedfor elementarywriting activitiesthan is often assumed.Particularkinds of visualmaterial.suchas diagramsand tables, are valuablefor developingorganisationalskills.Clearly, then, our approach shouldbe as eclecticas possible,usingthoseforms of guidancervhichare appropriate to different kinds of writing at different levelsof attainment. One thing that needsspecialemphasis,however,is that guidanceneed not - indeedshouldnot - imply tight control over what the learnerswrite. If . for example,we acceptthat errorsin speechare not only inevitablebut are also a natural part of learninga language,then we shouldacceptthat they will occur, and to some extent shouldbe allowedto occur,in writing too. Unlessthe learnersare giveri opportunitiesto write what they want to write, they will never learn this skill. As in speech,when we provide opportunitiesfor free expression,errorswill occur,but this is a situationwhich we must accept. Perhapsit is largely out attitudetowards theseerrors that is wrong: because they occur in writing, we feel that they must be corrected,whereasin speech, perhapsbecauseit is more transient,we are inclinedto be more tolerant. This is far from suggestingthat free expressionis the solution to learning to write: on the contrary,the learnershave needof guidance,as they do with oral work. They must alsobe encouragedto look criticallyat what they write and taught to draft, corlect and rewrite. But sinceno approachto teaching writing hasyet been devisedwhich will take them smoothlyfrom writing under control to free expression.it seemsreasonableto provide someopportunities for writing freely, even in the early stages,as we do for oral work. This will not only enableus to seewhetherthe studentsare making any real progress;it will also ensurethat thev become learnersrather lhan leaners.

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3.4 The needsof the learners

In this sectionsomeof the mainissuesof Chapters1-3are reviewed.They are now presentedin the form of guidelinesfor a writing programme. (a) Teachthe learnershow to write. The ability to write is all too often assumed,especiallyif the learnersare mature,canwrite reasonably well in their mothertongueand havealso acquiredsomeproficiencyin the spokenlanguage.But oral skills- both listeningand speaking- haveto be taught,throughappropriate techniquesand throughappropriateformsof practice.Sincethe spoken and written formsof the languageare not the sameand sincewriting is a different way of communicatingfrom speech,it follows that writing skills requirespecialteachingtoo. (b) Provideadequateand relevantexperienceof the writtenlanguage. We work on the principlethat oral ability requiresa firm foundationin listeningand that the lattermustbe on a broaderbasisthan speaking. Similarly,writing hasto be precededand accompanied by wide exposure to appropriatemodelsof writtenlanguage.If the learnershaveonly seen dialoguesin their textbooksand narrativeprosein their readers,they cannotbe expectedto produceother varietiesof the written language appropriate,for example,to letters,orreports. (c) Showthe learnershow thewrittenlanguagefunctions as a systemof communication. ExposuretoJhe writtenform of the languageby itselfis not sufficient.The learnersalsohaveto be madeawareof how we communicatethroughthe written mediumand how thisdiffersfrom speech.In particular,they need to be shownthat anypieceof writing, whetheror not it is addressed to a specificreader,hasa communicative purpose.They needto understand, therefore,how the resources of the written languageare usedto fulfil this purpose,by establishing andmaintainingcontactwith the readerin order to getone's'message' across. (d) Teachthe learnershow to writetexts. ' ''' W. havealreadyseenthat writing, at leastin any significantform, involves the ability to organisesentences into a coherentwholeor text. Most writing practiceshouldfrom the startaim to teachthosedevicesof the written language(asidentifiedin2.2.2)which are neededto write various typesof text. The practiceof thesedevicesshould,whereverpossible,be goal,so within the frameworkof a text whichhasa definitecommunicative that the learnersseethepurposeof what they are writing. The learners must alsobe givenopportunitiesto practiseorganisingtheir ideasto paragraphs. form acceptable (e) Teachthelearnershow to writedifferentkinds of texts. The learnerscannotbe expectedto masterall the differentvarietiesof the written form of the language.Many of them, in any case,would not be relevantto theirneeds,to theextentthat thesecanbe identifiedin a writingprogramme.At thesametime,it is not enoughto try to teachthem As in a kind of 'neutral'generalpurposeform of writtenexpression.

27

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T E A C H I N GW H I I I N ( j b K I L L S

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speech,theyhaveto someextentat leastto be ableto selectan approprlate on *'hat theyarewritingaboutand siyle,formalor informal,depending andto be ableto presentthisto the readerin an rvhomtheyareaddressing. form. suchasa letteror a report.Althoughit cannotbe said appropriate rvhichthe learnershavein thisarea ttratttrisis easy.manvof the difficulties of the natureof thewritingtasks:for example,simplybeing arisebecause out of context.Also, thiskind of taskdoesnot askedto write a paragraph Likewise,it might themto thinkof rvritingascommunication. encourage be noted,our goalshouldnot be to teachdifferentkindsof writing(suchas andsoon) but ratherto seethat these expository narrative,descriptive, withinthewidercontextof a text.For example,a lettermay arepractised wh i l ea theletterin2.I.1) or ' descr iption" i n vo l veso me 'nar r ation' ( see writing. reportmightprovidethesettingfor someexpository (f) Make writing tasksrealisticand relevant. All too oftenwritingtaskslackrealityfor the learnersbecausethey do not They are givethemthe feelingthattheyarewritingto or for somebody. for the benefitof the teacher,who reacts donesolelyasa form of exercise to themmorelike a judgethana genuinereader!The useof textsasthe basicformatfor practice(see(d)) is onlypartof the solution.We mustalso attemptto identifythoseformsof writingwhicharemostlikely to be needs,suchasvarioustypesof personal relevantto the learnerS' (formal communication (notes,letters)and'institutional' communication them (as contextsfor practising classroom letters,reports)andto establish in 4.5 and5.5).This does in 3.3.Thisaspectis furtherdeveloped suggested noi rule out the possibilityof otherkindsof writing (for example,creative writing, suchasstories,althoughof courseat a fairly low level),provided the motivationfor thiskind of work canbe established' (g) Integratewriting with other skilk. 'Cinderella'of the four skills(at leastat the lower Writing tendsto be the to the endof theteachingunit andused levels)andis oftenrelegated mainlyfor homework.Thisis unlikelyto makethe learnerswantto write. that leadnaturally we shouldintroducewritingactivities Wherepossible, onto or from the useof otherskills,sothatthe learnersseewritingasa real activity.

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andpracticeformats(h) Usea varietyof techniques the learnersgetboredwith the sametypeof Thisis importantbecause and activity(howeverworthyl).Also, aswe haveSeen,sometechniques formatsare appropriateto certainlevels.For example,letterwriting is especiallysuitablefor usein the earlystagesbecauseit permitsthe learners to makesomeuseof the spokenformsof the languagewithin a new writing that,in termsof developing framework.We mustalsorecognise is. technique any single skills,we cannotbe surehow effective (i) ProvideapproPriatesuPPort' of guidanceandhow, We havealreadynoted(in 3.3)the importance in thewritingprogrammein a varietyof broadly,it canbe interpreted

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ways.It hasbeenarguedthatguidance shouldbe temperedwith opportunities for freeexpression. we shouldremember,however,that writing tasksaregenerallyimposedand that the learnersmay not have eitherthe relevantideas,whenthisinvolvessomecontributionon their part, or be sufficientlystimulatedby the tasksto think of them. The problemis furthercompoundedby their havingto work on their own. Clearlythereare manysolutionsto this problemand they needto be exploredin a ffexibleway. In particular,however,the useof techniques and procedureswhichhaveprovedvaluablefor oral work, suchaspair and group work, needto be examinedwithin the contextof the writing programme.Thereseemsno reasonwhy, in the classroomat least,writing needbe a solitaryactivitv.

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(j) Be sympathetic! we haveconsideredat lengththe manyproblemsinvolvedin writing and theseare freelyacknowledged to prevailwhen we write in our mother tongue,not only in a foreignlanguage.Exceptin specialised programmes, heavilyweightedin favourof readingand writing skills,we cannotexpect too high a levelof proficiency.with the help of a programmewhich takes the learners'problems into account,we canhopeto makewritinga more rewardingactivityfor them,both in termsof attainmentand satisfaction. But we needto surrender our role as'judges',exceptwhenwritingis being testedor examined,andviewwhat the learnerswrite asattempts,however inadequate,to communicate. Thereis alwaysa greattemptation,perhaps a naturalinclination,to concentrate on what is wrongin a pieceof writing, mainlybecause,aswe havealreadynoted,it is therefor us to readand reread.But if we are to be truly readersratherthan judges,we should perhapslook not so muchat what the learnershave failed to achievebut ratherat what they haveactuallysucceeded in doing.

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Q What reasonsaregivenfor takingthe text asthe basicformat for practice? . Do you agreewith thisproposal? 3 From your own experience of teaching(or learning)the written form of a foreignlanguage, do you agreethatfreeexpression, aswell aswritingunder control,shouldbe a featureof thewritingprogramme,evenin the early stages? 4 In the guidelines for a writingprogrammein 3.4why arethe followingpoints emphasised? (a) The learnershaveto be exposedto differentvarietiesof the written form of the language. (b) The learnershaveto be setrealistictasks. (c) The learners'efforts needto be viewedsympathetically. Do you agreewith theseviewpoints?

29

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F.d

Exercises

Examineanytextbookof your ownchoosing to seewhatkindsof guided writingexercises areprovided.In particular,considerwhetherthe textbook F.< writertendsto relyon a limitedrangeof exercise typesandwhetherhe gives - ' ll the learnersanyopportunities for freeexpression. EH Rewritethe exercise in 3.1.1sothat a meaninsfulchoicehasto be made F.< from the itemsprovided.

References

For surveysof teachingwriting,andin particularthe useof guidedwriting, seeC Bratt Paulston(1912).Also A RaimesandM SharwoodSmithin D L BouchardandL J Spaventa(1980)andW Slagerin TheArt of TESOL (1982).Other accounts of teachingwritingmaybe foundin G Broughtonet al (1978)andA Raimes(1983).For a descriptionof the 'fluency'approach seeBriere(1966). The controlledwritingexerciseon page22 comesfrom DH SpencerGuided (Longman1967). CompositionExercises Not all the exercises in this book are manipulative. For the purposeof writingthischapter,the followingcoursesweresurveyed for writing activities:B Abbs andI FreebairnStrategies (variouslevels) , (Longman);S AxbeyJourneys(Longman);J BlundellVisa(OUP); D Bolton and L PetersonBreakaway(Nelson);J CarmichaelWayAhead (Penguin);M Ellis andP Elhs Counterpoint (Nelson);J HarmerMeridian (Longman);B HartleyandP Viney Streamline English(OUP); R O'Neill Kernel(Longman);MPalmerandD Byrne Track(Longman);M Swanand C Walters TheCambridgeEnglishCourse(CUP); M Vincent et al Timefor English(Collins)andN WhitneyCheckpoint English(OUP). The illustrativematerialon page24comesfrom M vincent et al Timefor English(CollinsELT 1984)top; M PalmerandD Byrne Track(Longman 1982)centreleft;J CarmichaelWay Ahead(Penguin1985)centreright, and J HarmerMeridian(Longman1985)bottom.

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4.1 Some basic considerations

In the earlystagesof a languagecourse,* the principalfactorwhich affectsboth the quantityandthe kind of writing that canbe doneis the smallamountof languagethat the learnershaveat their disposal- languagewhich to a large extentthey haveacquiredorally and to a lesserdegreethroughreading. The weighting,in favourof dialogueor narrative/descriptive type texts, may vary from one coursebookto another,but by and largewe may assume that at this levelpatternstypicalof the spokenlanguagehavebeenselectedand that theseare presentedin contextsdesignedto promoteoral fluency.We shouldalsorememberthat the actualinput of languageis likely to be fairly slow: the studentsarelearninghow to understandand how to makethemselves understoodthroughthe spokenmedium.This is a situationwhichwe have alreadycontrastedwith the one in the mothertongueclassroom,when the learnersfirstgo to school(see1.5). One solutionto thisproblemwouldbe to delaythe introductionof writing, at leastin any significantform, until the learnershavea muchgreatercommand of the language,in the form of a plateauon whichwritten work couldbe much more easilybased.However,if we adoptedthis solution,we shouldfail to satisfyneedswhichthe learnershavein the earlystagesand whichcanbe met th;rcughwriting: reinforcementof materiallearnedorally,varietyof activityin the classroomand increasedcontactwith the languagethroughwork that can be doneout of class(seei .6). Theseare goodreasonsfor introducingwriting and it would be wrongto ignorethem. In any case,althoughwe haveto work mainly within the limitsof languagewhichhasbeenlearnedfor oral purposes, it is possibleto introducea smallnumberof itemsneededspecificallyfor

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writtenwork. Thesewill enableusto makewritingactivities moreinteresting -J and alsopavethewayfor moreeffectivewritingpracticeat a laterstage. F

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4.1.r The main features of the rvriting programme

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Althoughmostwritingat thisstagewill be undercontrol,we canandshould --1 avoidmanipulative procedures whichdo not encourage the learnersto think : aboutwhattheywriteandwhichin anycasedo not helpthemto understand -_1 * how the writtenlanguage functions.We mustalsointroduceactivities which, --.-a howeversimple,demonstrate thatwritingcanbe usedfor the purposeof Id communication. Our objectives at thisstage,however,mustnecessarily be --1 = modest. .1 The followinggoalsaresuggested: k (a) Writingactit'itiesshould satisfyimmediateneedsby providing the learners Ld with opportunities for handling,throughthemediumof writing, language whichtheyhavelearnedorally. f.r For thispurpose.it is suggested thatwe shouldusedialoguewritingasthe I main typeof activity.Thisis a typeof textwhichthe studentsarefamiliar with; it providesa contextfor reinforcingandpractisingsentencestructurek- - 1 andto someextentaliowsthemto be creative. ,1 -

(b) Writingactivitiesshouldalsobeforward-lookingb1,beginningto familiarise ..2 tul thelearnerswithpatternsof languagetypicalof the writtenmedium:in particular,someof the devicesneededfor linking and sequencing sentences. 1 Ld For this purpose,letter-u,ritirzg offersa formatwhichhasmanyadvantages. _4 If the lettersareinformal,the languageusedcanto a largeextentbe based ffd on what the learnershavealreadylearnedorally,but at the sametime we _1 F canintroducea smallnumberof linkingandsequencing devices(see4.4). ,_1 For the mostpart,then,'exercises'to practise thesedeviceswill be LG embedded withinthe contextsof letters.An importantpoint to noteis that I the studentswill alsobe learningsomething --J newthroughwriting:for exampleitheIayoutof a letter,modesof address andcertainopeningand --1 = closingformulas. (c) Writingactivitiesshould alsogivethelearnersopportunitiesto communicatert throughwriting and, equallyimportant,simplyto enjoywriting. -a --we Although cannotaffordto neglectothertypesof writing activityin the classroom situation,in the endfor manystudents enjoymentmayproveto = be the mostmotivatingfactor. F You will needto get the nght balancebetweenthesevarioustypesof activitySo - -: F asto meetthe needsof vourparticularstudents.

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After selectingthe appropriate writingactivity(see4.3for examples):

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( c ) Decidehow thewritingtaskshouldbe carriedout. An activitymay be doneindividually,in pairsor in smallgroups. Collaborationon a task,for example,will help to reducethe feelingof isolationwhichwe notedin 1.4.1. Studentsalsotendto getmoreinvolved in an activityif they are allowedto talk aboutit togetherratherthansit in silence.Someactivitiesmay be begunin pairsor in groupsbut concluded on an individualbasis.In the earlystagesit would seemappropriateto allow manyof the tasksto be donecollaborativelyexceptwhen feedback on individualprogressis needed.

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(d) Decideon correctionprocedures.

It is not essentialor evendesirableto examineeverythingthe students write, althoughmanystudentswill want to havetheir work lookedat. However,they canbe askedto exchangetheir completedwork and to evaluateone another'sefforts.This helpsto train them to look at written work ciitically,asreaders,andwill help them to view their own work in the sameway at a later stagein the course.Work canalsoof coursebe on a classbasisand the studentsaskedto maketheir own discussed corrections.

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4.1.3 The organisation of written work

we shallbe askingthe studentsto carry In the courseof the writingpro_qramme out variouskindsof activities.Someof thesewill of coursehavemore permanentvaluethanothers,providing,for example,an indexof the iearners' progress in thisskill,whileotherthingstheywrite maybe neededfor reference purposes(see,for example,4.2.I). The question,therefore,of how their arrangetheirwrittenwork in theirbooksis an importantone. In anycase,if on their the studentsareallowedto be casual,imposingno sortof organisation writtenwork, writingis boundto seemlesspurposeful. Ideally,perhaps,writtenwork shouldbe doneon looseleafsheetsand arrangedon a file,whichhasbeendividedinto appropriatesections. booksmay be usedfor thispurpose.For Alternatively,oneor moreexercise material example,onebook or onesectionof a book mightconsistof reference anothermightcontainwork whichhas whichcanbe usedfor oral activities; combination of sentence structure,sentence a mastery beendoneto develop for piecesof whilea third onemightbe reserved sequencing, and sentence valueof writing(for example, the communicative writingwhichdemonstrate JJ

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4.2 Copyingasa writing activity

suggested in 4.5).In thisway,all the materialwhichthe copiesof the activities both for futureuseor reference. studentsproduceis accessible

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becauseit is sometimes of the valueof copyingis necessary Somediscussion presentedasthe first stagein a writingprogramme.This of coursewill be the level(thatis, if they caseif the learnershaveproblemsat the graphological haveto learnnew graphicsymbolsor how to write from left to right). This aspectis dealtwith in Chapter12. it Equallycommonly,however,copyingis heldto be valuablebecause structure.For example,we helpsto teachspellingor to reinforcesentence write wordsandsentences on the boardand askour studentsto sometimes At the the course,suchan activitymay havea beginningof copythem down. certainnoveltyvalue,andcanof courseserveto introducethe learnersto the written form of what hasbeenlearnedorally.But the noveltywill soonwearoff routine.Besides, what andcopyingwill thenbecomejustonemoreclassroom the learnerscopytendsto getlostin a jumbleof notesmadein the sameway. One maywell wonderwhetherthis activity- like readingaloud- is not often just a wayof fillingin a littletime in the lesson. activity.Most of uswouldagree,on Yet copyingneednot be a pointless new,that copying of tryingto learnsomething the basisof our own experience is an aid to retention.Furthermore,in real life, we frequentlycopythingsdown the timesof in orderto havea recordof them:for example,we copyaddresses, trains,telephonenumbersaswell asotherbitsof usefulinformationor materialfor whichwe think we mayhavea futureuse.For example,we quite often makecopiesof songsandpoems.The studentscanbe askedto make their own copiesof thistypeof materialin a specialnotebook. Copying,then,canbepresentedto the learnersasa meaningfulactivity, particularlyif we canget themto seeit asa wayof makinga recordof somethingwhichis not otherwiseavailableto them (i.e. it doesnot appearin the textbook)or is not availableto them rntheform in whichthey havecopied it (i.e. they havebroughttogethercertaindatawhichis distributedin various to them, throughsome lessonsin their textbook).We mustalsodemonstrate activityeitherat the time or later,that they havedonethe copyingto some purpose.

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4.2.1. An exampleof meaningful copying

Vocabularyis an areawhichgivesthe studentsvariouskindsof learning problems,includingspelling.It is alsoan areawhereit canbe usefulfor them to havereferencelists,in the form of lexicalsets,suchasclothes,furniture, food, etc.Let ustake one suchset- furniture- and seehow we canpresent the compilationof a list of itemsasa purposefulcopyingtask.The following stepsare suggested. (a) Ask the studentsto drawa planof a housewhichincludesthe following dining-room, bedroomandbathroom.Ask rooms:kitchen,sitting-room, them to write in the namesof the roomson their plan. (b) Ask them to dictateto you a list of items- furnitureand somesmaller objects(suchaslamps,telephone,vaseof flowers,etc.)- whichcouldbe found in anyof theserooms.Write theseon the board,askingthe students to tell you how to spellthem.

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(c) Ask the studentsto usethe list on the boardto compilefive lists,one for eachroom of their house,on a roughpieceof pup"i. Each list should containitemswhichmight be foundin that .oom. An item may of course appearin morethanonelist (e.g.chair). (d) Ask the studentsto put the itemsin eachlist in alphabeticalbrder and to copy theselistsinto their exercisebooks.Each fisl shouldappearunder its appropriate heading(e.g.kitchen,sitting-room, etc.). (e) Ask the studentsto comparetheir listswith thoseof other studentsin the class.

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Thus,what the studentshavecompiledin their exercisebooksis a small referencesectionon furniture,whichthey shouldbe encouragedto keep up to date by addingnew itemsasthey learnthem. Although the aclivitywas primarily a copyingone- we may of coursealsoallow them to includeitems which were not on the board- it alsoinvolvedthinking:they had to divide up the list on the board,decidewhichitemsto includemoie than onceand also to put them into alphabetical order. Now that the studentshavemadetheir referencelist, which might be only one of manytopic areasdealtwith in the sameor in a similarway, they should alsobe givenan opportunityto useit: eitherin a writing activity,perhaps at somelater stage,or in an oral activityfor whichreferenceto suctralist might be calledfor. For example,listsof thiskind are usefulfor certaintypesof languagegamewhichinvolvevocabularyrepetition(suchasvariationson: ^I wentto themarketand I bought. . .).

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4.2.2 Othercopying activities

Notice that someof the activitiesin 4.2.1mainlyinvolvecopying(e.g. (a)-(c)) sincethe studentsdo not actuallyhaveto contributeto the text. (a) Puttinga listof wordsin alphabericalorder

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(b) Puttinga listof wordsin their coruectsequence

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For example,daysof the week,months,numbers. For example,arranginga list of wordsunderheadinss:

(d) Doingpuzzles For example,hereare the n a m e so f 1 l c o u n t r i e s : Brazil, Egypt, England, France,Greece,India,Italy, Peru,Portugal,Spain, Turkey. Completethe crossword. Which countriesare not there?

35

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T E A C H I N GW R I T I N GS K I L L S

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(e) Playing Bingo

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This involvesselectivecopyingand is an excellentway of revising vocabularvsets(e.g. colours.occupations.clothes,etc.) through a game'

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Write,with the helPof suggestions from the class,12-16itemson the board(e.g.for clothes: iacket,hat, etc.).Ask the students shirt, socks, to copyanywordsfrom the list. Then readout the wordsfrom the list lrr anyorder.The first studentto hearall hiswordsreadout callsout BINGO!

it shouldbe clearthatcopyingneedneverbe a Fromthesesuggestions particularlydialogue boringactivity!Someof the followingactivities. do not actuallyhaveto writing,alsoinvolvecopyinglthe students contributeto the text. 4. 3 Reinforcement activities 4.3.1 Dialoguewriting

Variouswaysof reinforcinglanguagelearnedorallyin the earlystagesare below:* suggested

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(a) Writingparalleldialogueswith thehelp of keywords Readthisdialogue: e: Giveme thatbook,Please. n: Whichone? a : T h e b i g b n e- on thetable. n: Here you are! a: ThanksverYmuch Now usethesekeywordsto writesimilardiaiogues: (a) umbrellaired/behind/armchair toP of/cuPboard (b) box/small/on etc. (c) hammer/heavylnearlwindow, (b) Completinga dialogue,choosing from a listof iumbledsentences whicharenot in thecorrectorder, to completethe UsetheseSentences, dialoguebelow: At Clarkson's I've neverseenyou there Do Youlike it? I usuallytakemYcar Mine'sJennie Bob. A : Mv n a me 's B:

*Theseand all other examplesin the book are intendedto illustratetypesof actit'iry.The actual Ianguage u s e di n t h e e x a m p l e sd o e sn o t r e l a t et o a n y p a r t i c u l a cr o u r s c '

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e: Do you?Well, perhapsyou cangiveme a lift! The students mayalsobe askedto write a continuationof the dialosue.

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(c) Puttingsentences in order to form a dialogue Insteadof providinga dialogueframe,asin (b), all the sentences are jumbledup. It helpsto numberthe firstitem, however,and alsoto limit the numberof itemsto (say)eight.

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4.3.2 Parallelwriting

For this type of activitythe studentsare givena modeltext of somekind and are askedto writea similartextwith thehelpof cues.Thesemaybe verbalasin the first examplebelowor visualasin the second.The text may recycleitemsof spokenor writtenlanguageand canbe usedasan introductionto organising ideasin the form of a paragraph. (a)

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P e t e rS m i r h i s t h i r t y - n i n ey e a r so l d . H e i s a t a l l m a n w i t h b r o w n e y e sa n d b r o w n h a i r .H e i s a b u s i n e s s m a n f r o m E n g l a n db u t h e l i v e si n A m e r i c a .

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4.3.3 Dictation as a reinforcement activity

4.4 Sent e n c el i n k i n g activities

The purposeof this short sectionis to indicatewhere dictation belongsin a writing programme. Clearly it differsfrom the reinforcementactivities describedabove, becauseit involveslisteningand the ability to transform what is heard into its written form. However. sincea dictation should be basedon languagewith which the studentsare alreadyfamiliar through other contexts (that is, it is essentiallya re-presentationof known languageitems), it can be useful as an alternativereinforcementactivity. The difficultieswhich studentshavewith this type of exerciseshould not be underestimated.An alternativeapproachto the'conventional' dictation is to provide the studentswith an outline, in the form of an incompletetext, which they filIin from what they hear read aloud. This permits a more natural form of delivery, althoughlesswriting is involved. Texts ugedfor dictation may also be in the form of notesand short letters,thus adding to the realismof the activity. Our goal through this type of activity is to begin to familiarisethe studentswith the cohesivedeviceswhich are usedin composinga text. They can then begin to combine structureswhich they havelearnedorally to form an acceptable sequencein writing. For this purpose,in order to make any headway,it will be necessaryto introduce a selectednumber of linking devicesand to practise thesethrough writing. A basickil at this stagemight consistof the following:

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Co-ordinators and,but, or, so Conjunctions although,when,until, sothat (etc.) Sequencers then,afterthat,meanwhile,first,next,finally moreover,however,therefore,asa result,in fact,of Linkers course.on the otherhand.etc.

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some proceduresfor practisingtheseare suggested below.Although this shouldnormallybe donewithin the contextof a text, suchasa letter,this does not precludesomeinitial practicefor the purposeof familiarisingthe students with linkingsentences, asin the firstexamplebelow. (a)

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TYyand join theseparrsof sentencescorrectly to make one sentenceeach trmeuse hneslike thrs:

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The studentsthen haveto write four truesentences aboutthemselves. (b) Thestudentscompletea short text, rning suitablelinking wordsor phrases from a given list. For example:

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although and also because and but

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Noticethat'exercises' like these,in the form of a compiete text, alsoserveto introducethe studentto suchpointsasthe layoutof a letter,different modesof addressand salutation,etc. Examplesof theseshouldbe written up on the boardand the students askedto copytheminto their notebooksfor reference.It is important,therefore,to incorporatea rangeof such featureswhichwill be usefulto the studentswhenthey themselves are askedto write letters(ascommunication tasks,for example). i

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artdserttences (.) Thestudentscompletea text bt,insertingcluttses frorn u juntbled listof itents(see(b) page34) in the correctplaces. ' o u t l i n e ' f o rt h e s e c o n dp a r a g r a p hi n t h e l e t t e ra b o v e F o r e x a m p l e t, h e could be presentedas follows:

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Throughoutthis stage.while rvritingactivitiesare still to a largeextentserving 4. 5 C o m m u n i c a t i o n to reinforceoral work and rvhilethe foundationfor writing skillsis still being importantto showthe students Iaid (asindicatedin 4.1.2), it is nevertheless activities that writing can be usedfor the purposeof communication.The activities simplein form and limited in which we set up for this purposeare necessarily towardslearninghow to the students motivate scopebut they will serveto expressthemselvesthroughu'riting.Someexamplesare givenbelow. (a) Thestudentswrite instmctionsv,hichother studentsin the class(or the teacher!)haveto carry out.

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