Fewer. For this reason the conventions of writing tend to be less flexible than those of conversation, and the language which is
used tends to be standardised. In the educational setting, if the goal of the English teacher is to enable students to produce fluent,
accurate and appropriate written English, there are a number of aspects which need to be considered. These are:
1 Mechanical problems with the script of English;
2 Problems of accuracy of English grammar and lexis;
3 Problems of relating the style of writing to the
demands of a particular situation; 4
Problems of developing ease and comfort in expressing what needs to be said.
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The mechanical problem refers to the common mistake in composing English whether the purpose to express formal or non
formal writing like diary, memo or formal letter. Problem the accuracy is refers to the appropriate structure used in the writing,
for instance when the learner wanted to write a narrative text, that is commonly dominated by the use of past simple form. The
problem related of style of writing is dealt with the specific situation that has to be fit with the writing expression. For
instance, writing to reply a short message will be strictly different when writing a poem. The last problem should be considered is
laid on the appropriateness of word choice and the writing style as well.
7. A Writing Programme
Ideally, there should be a programme to develop writing skills which works all the way through the educational system. Such a
programme would list the main types of writing which it felt students should be able to master by the end of their education,
and would offer guidelines to teachers on ways of achieving success with each of these. It is fairly easy to draft the main
points which would need to be included in such a programme, but too little is known about exactly how human beings learn to write
effectively to be able to relate these points to a satisfactory
36
Geoffrey Broughton et al., Teaching English as a Foreign language New York: Routledge, 2003, p. 116.
learning theory. None the less, it is possible to structure the development of writing skills in the foreign language situation,
and there are a number of strong reasons for this being desirable.
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It seems convenient, then, to structure a writing course through three main stages. These will be: i controlled writing,
ii guided writing, and iii free writing. A paragraph with blanks to be filled may be a legitimate early part of a writing
programme, and can be considered a controlled composition, as is one in which, for example, picture prompts, or memory of a
model presented by the teacher, leads to the students reproducing more or less exactly the same final product as each other. On the
other hand a composition in which the teacher provides the situation and helps the class to prepare the written work, either
through written or oral assistance, is a guided composition, because each piece of work is different in the language used, even
if the content and organisation are basically the same throughout the class. A free composition usually means a composition in
which only the title is provided, and everything else is done by the student.
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8. Goals of the Writing Programme
