Teaching writing

Step 5. Performance

When your scene is ready, perform it.

Conclusion

Teaching students to produce a successful written text is a complex task which requires simultaneous control over a number of language systems as well as an ability to factor in considerations of the ways the discourse must be shaped for a particular audience and a particular purpose. Teaching students to become successful writers is no less a complex task. But it can be a tremendously rewarding one as well.

In this research work we have presented some of the issues involved in applying writing activities in teaching the writing class. As the ability to write well in English language is no doubt even more difficult to achieve than the ability to read, speak, or understand the language, it is not surprising that many students take several years to achieve even a modicum of success. What must be emphasized to teachers in training is the importance of designing activities and shaping classes with a clear understanding of how the acquisition of written skills can be fostered. Our real goal is to gradually wean our students away from us, providing them with strategies and tools for their continued growth as writers and for the successful fulfillment of future writing tasks they might face once they have completed their last writing course with us. Earlier hopes to find the best method "were based on the faulty assumptions that there was a best method and one just had to find it, that teaching writing was a matter of prescribing a logically ordered set of written tasks and exercises, and that good writing conformed to a predetermined and ideal model" (Zamel, 1987, p. 697). There can be no "best" method when students' learning styles are so different; our hope now is rather to find methodologies which empower students rather than restrict them, and to create courses which arise from principled decisions derived from thorough research investigations.

The growth of composition studies as a discipline with its own independent body of research (apart from, say, literary studies or linguistic studies) has enormously influenced the formal training of English. For EFL teachers to be able to provide courses which assist their students in learning to produce academic prose, their training should be no less than other skills.

It has been the major aim of our research work to emphasize the fact that teaching writing skills is particularly important at the initial stage of language learning since it helps students establish a good basis in learning other skills such as reading, speaking and listening. We worked out a series of activities for improving students' writing skills and combined them with the tasks given in the textbooks. When we analyzed the textbook activities, we found that most of them teach writing in phrases or sentences. The activities which we applied teach students mostly creative writing and make them be more motivated in writing.

We tried to vary writing tasks, make them more creative and we came to a conclusion that students love writing because of interesting tasks . We both benefit : students because learning to write is enjoyable for them , teachers benefit because they feel the need to improvise , to make writing more attractive to students and think of and look for more creative tasks. In order to be able to select and use appropriate procedures and materials, as well as assess their learners needs and progress, teachers need to be clear regarding the desirable outcomes of a writing programme and the processes involved in good writing.

In order to help EFL learners become more effective writers, we need to make a crucial distinction between language accuracy and writing skills. That is, a learner may be able to write sentences which are satisfactory for his/her level in terms of grammar, syntax and vocabulary and still be unable to produce an effective text. Of course, in most cases learners will have problems in both areas (language and writing skills). Therefore, it is crucial for us to be able to look beneath the layer of language problems to discover writing problems. This leads us to another important distinction, the one between grammar/vocabulary development and writing skills development. We need to remember that language input/practice alone cannot result in the development of writing skills. Special activities in writing lessons are necessary, in which learners are guided to become aware of all the elements of good writing, supported with information and examples, provided with opportunities for practice, and given focused feedback on their performance. We can also plan lessons which integrate work on language with work on writing skills. In such cases, it is important for us to be clear about the aims/focus of different stages in the lesson. In order to be able to select and use appropriate procedures and materials, as well as assess their learners needs and progress, teachers need to be clear regarding the desirable outcomes of a writing programme and the processes involved in good writing.

In conclusion, if teachers are eager to be more creative and innovative, they can find various activities to improve writing skills but they should take into consideration the following facts:

1) to create tasks in accordance with students level of English and interest

2) to teach writing starting from skill building exercises to process based

3) to get started form pre-writing techniques to proof reading

4) to let students do peer checking

5) to combine reading and writing tasks

6) to use techniques mentioned above

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