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    Teaching Writing

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    Maria Victoria Padro
    The document provides guidance on teaching writing skills to students. It recommends that teachers first identify the target writing skills to develop, then choose an appropriate exercise type to facilitate learning those skills. The teacher should also select an engaging topic that involves students and promotes long-term learning. Finally, the type of feedback should match the target skills and exercise goals in order to encourage students effectively.

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    Teaching Writing

    Uploaded by

    Maria Victoria Padro
    74 views7 pages
    The document provides guidance on teaching writing skills to students. It recommends that teachers first identify the target writing skills to develop, then choose an appropriate exercise type to facilitate learning those skills. The teacher should also select an engaging topic that involves students and promotes long-term learning. Finally, the type of feedback should match the target skills and exercise goals in order to encourage students effectively.

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    The document provides guidance on teaching writing skills to students. It recommends that teachers first identify the target writing skills to develop, then choose an appropriate exercise type to facilitate learning those skills. The teacher should also select an engaging topic that involves students and promotes long-term learning. Finally, the type of feedback should match the target skills and exercise goals in order to encourage students effectively.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    74 views7 pages

    Teaching Writing

    Uploaded by

    Maria Victoria Padro
    The document provides guidance on teaching writing skills to students. It recommends that teachers first identify the target writing skills to develop, then choose an appropriate exercise type to facilitate learning those skills. The teacher should also select an engaging topic that involves students and promotes long-term learning. Finally, the type of feedback should match the target skills and exercise goals in order to encourage students effectively.

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    Teaching Writing

    I - Introduction
    Students need to be personally involved in writing exercises in order to make the
    learning experience of lasting value. Encouraging student participation in the
    exercise, while at the same time refining and expanding writing skills, requires a
    certain pragmatic approach. The teacher should be clear on what skills he/she is
    trying to develop. Next, the teacher needs to decide on which means (or type of
    exercise) can facilitate learning of the target area. Once the target skill areas and
    means of implementation are defined, the teacher can then proceed to focus on what
    topic can be employed to ensure student participation. By pragmatically combing
    these objectives, the teacher can expect both enthusiasm and effective learning.

    II Choosing a Target Area


    Choosing the target area depends on many factors; what level are the students?
    What is the average age of the students, Why are the students learning English, Are
    there any specific future intentions for the writing (i.e. school tests or job application
    letters etc.). Other important questions to ask oneself are: What should the students
    be able to produce at the end of this exercise? (a well written letter, basic
    communication of ideas, etc.) What is the focus of the exercise? (structure, tense
    usage, creative writing). Once these factors are clear in the mind of the teacher, the
    teacher can begin to focus on how to involve the students in the activity thus
    promoting a positive, long-term learning experience.

    III - Which Means?


    Having decided on the target area, the teacher can focus on the means to achieve
    this type of learning. As in correction, the teacher must choose the most appropriate
    manner for the specified writing area. If formal business letter English is required, it
    is of little use to employ a free expression type of exercise. Likewise, when working
    on descriptive language writing skills, a formal letter is equally out of place.

    IV - Planning the Class

    With both the target area and means of production clear in the teacher's mind, the
    teacher can begin to consider how to involve the students by considering what type
    of activities are interesting to the students: Are they preparing for something specific
    such as a holiday or test?, Will they need any of the skills pragmatically? What has
    been effective in the past? A good way to approach this is by class feedback, or
    brainstorming sessions. By choosing a topic that involves the students the teacher is
    providing a context within which effective learning on the target area can be
    undertaken.
    Finally, the question of which type of correction will facilitate a useful writing exercise
    is of utmost importance. Here the teacher needs to once again think about the
    overall target area of the exercise. If there is an immediate task at hand, such as
    taking a test, perhaps teacher-guided correction is the most effective solution.
    However, if the task were more general (for example developing informal letter
    writing skills), maybe the best approach would be to have the students work in
    groups thereby learning from each other. Most importantly, by choosing the correct
    means of correction the teacher can encourage rather discourage students.

    Differences Between British and American Spelling


    American - British Spellings
    Most dictionaries include both spellings and will make note of the two spellings.
    Usually the differences are noted in one of two ways:
    In many US dictionaries the difference is included in the headword with the variation
    in parentheses:
    For example colo(u)r
    In British Dictionaries, the Dictionary makes note of the difference in brackets
    immediately after the headword:
    For example watch, plural watches; glass, plural glasses
    Here is a list of the main differences between British and American spelling:

    British
    -our (honour)
    -re (centre)
    -ogue (dialogue)
    -ence (defence)
    -ise 1 (recognise)

    American
    -or (honor)
    -er (center)
    -og (dialog)
    -ense (defense)
    -ize (recognize)

    American English spelling sometimes does not double the consonant at the end of a
    word, while British English spelling does, especially when the consonant is an 'l'.
    For example travel, traveller, travelling (British) and travel, traveler, traveling
    (American)

    Differences Between American and British English


    While there are certainly many more varieties of English, American and British
    English are the two varieties that are taught in most ESL/EFL programs. Generally, it
    is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in
    use. The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. If you
    decide that you want to use American English spellings then be consistent in your
    spelling (i.e. The color of the orange is also its flavour color is American spelling
    and flavour is British), this is of course not always easy or possible. The following
    guide is meant to point out the principal differences between these two varieties of
    English.
    Use of the Present Perfect
    In British English the present perfect is used to express an action that has occurred
    in the recent past that has an effect on the present moment. For example:
    I've lost my key. Can you help me look for it?
    In American English the following is also possible:
    I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?
    In British English the above would be considered incorrect. However, both forms are
    generally accepted in standard American English. Other differences involving the use
    of the present perfect in British English and simple past in American English include
    already, just and yet.

    British English:
    I've just had lunch
    I've already seen that film
    Have you finished your homework yet?
    American English:
    I just had lunch OR I've just had lunch
    I've already seen that film OR I already saw that film.
    Have your finished your homework yet? OR Did you finish your homework yet?
    Possession
    There are two forms to express possession in English. Have or Have got
    Do you have a car?
    Have you got a car?
    He hasn't got any friends.
    He doesn't have any friends.
    She has a beautiful new home.
    She's got a beautiful new home.
    While both forms are correct (and accepted in both British and American English),
    have got (have you got, he hasn't got, etc.) is generally the preferred form in British
    English while most speakers of American English employ the have (do you have, he
    doesn't have etc.)
    The Verb Get
    The past participle of the verb get is gotten in American English. Example He's gotten
    much better at playing tennis. British English He's got much better at playing
    tennis.
    Vocabulary

    Probably the major differences between British and American English lies in the
    choice of vocabulary. Some words mean different things in the two varieties for
    example:
    Mean: (American English angry, bad humored, British English not generous, tight
    fisted)
    Rubber: (American English condom, British English tool used to erase pencil
    markings)
    There are many more examples (too many for me to list here). If there is a
    difference in usage, your dictionary will note the different meanings in its definition
    of the term. Many vocabulary items are also used in one form and not in the other.
    One of the best examples of this is the terminology used for automobiles.

    American English British English


    hood

    bonnet

    American English British English


    trunk

    boot

    American English British English


    truck

    lorry

    Once again, your dictionary should list whether the term is used in British English or
    American English.
    For a more complete list of the vocabulary differences between British and American
    English use this British vs. American English vocabulary tool.
    Prepositions
    There are also a few differences in preposition use including the following:

    American English British English at


    on the weekend

    the weekend

    American English British English in


    on a team

    a team

    American English British English


    please write me

    please write to me

    soon

    soon

    Past Simple/Past Participles


    The following verbs have two acceptable forms of the past simple/past participle in
    both American and British English, however, the irregular form is generally more
    common in British English (the first form of the two) and the regular form is more
    common to American English.

    Burn

    Burnt OR burned

    Dream

    dreamt OR dreamed

    Lean

    leant OR leaned

    Learn

    learnt OR learned

    Smell

    smelt OR smelled

    Spell

    spelt OR spelled

    Spill

    spilt OR spilled

    Spoil

    spoilt OR spoiled

    Spelling

    Here are some general differences between British and American spellings:
    Words ending in or (American) our (British) color, colour, humor, humour, flavor,
    flavour etc.
    Words ending in ize (American) ise (British) recognize, recognise, patronize, patronise
    etc.
    The best way to make sure that you are being consistent in your spelling is to use the
    spell check on your word processor (if you are using the computer of course) and choose
    which variety of English you would like. As you can see, there are really very few
    differences between standard British English and standard American English. However,

    the largest difference is probably that of the choice of vocabulary and pronunciation. For
    further information concerning these areas please refer to the following links below.

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