Teaching W riting 1 Types of W riting Performances
xvi Est ablish a lim it ed num ber of rules and m ake sure t hey are clear, as w ell as t he
reasons for having t hem .
-
Rout ines Classroom rout ines m ake it clear t o everyone w hat is expect ed of t hem and w hat
t hey should do.
-
Right s and responsibilit ies Alt hough t hese m ay not be st at ed explicit ly w it h very young learners, t eachers can
m odel t hrough t heir ow n act ions w hich of t hese t hey value
-
Respect St udent s w ho are t reat ed respect fully by t he t eacher w ill respond in a sim ilar w ay t o
t he t eacher.
-
Rew ard Rew ards syst em s can be effect ive w ay of reinforcing appropriat e behavior e.g. using
st ars, st ickers, point s, sm iley faces, raffle t icket or m ar bles in a jar.
B. Teaching W riting B.1 Types of W riting Performances
According t o Brow n in his book ent itled Teaching by Principles : An int eract ive approach t o Language Pedagogy
, t here are a number of w rit ing perform ances in t he classroom Brow n, 2001: 343-346 :
1. Im it at ive or w rit ing dow n
xvii At t he beginning level of learning t o w rit e, st udent s w ill sim ply “ w rit e dow n” English
let t ers, w ords, and possibly sent ences in order t o learn t he convent ions of t he ort hographic code. Dict at ion falls int o t his cat egory, alt hough dict at ions can serve t o
t each and t est high-order processing as w ell. 2.
Int ensive or cont rolled Writ ing is som etim es used as a product ion m ode for learning, reinforcing, or t est ing
gram m at ical concept s. This int ensive w rit ing t ypically appears in cont rolled, w rit t en gram m ar exercises. A com m on form of cont rolled w rit ing is t o present a paragraph
t o st udent s in w hich t hey have t o alt er a given st ruct ur e t hroughout . 3.
Self-w rit ing A significant proport ion of classroom w rit ing m ay be devot ed t o self-w rit ing. The
m ost silent inst ance of t his cat egory in classroom s is not e-t aking, w here st udent s t ake not es during a lect ure for t he purpose of lat er recall. Diary or journal w riting
also falls int o t his cat egory. 4.
Display w riting Writ ing w it hin t he school curricular cont ext is a w ay of life. For all language
st udent s, short answ er exercises, essay exam inat ion, and even research report s will involve an elem ent of display.
5. Real w rit ing
The t w o cat egories of real and display w rit ing are act ually t w o ends of a cont inuum , and in bet w een t he t w o ext rem es lay some com binat ion of display and real w rit ing.
Three subcat egories illust rat e how realit y can be inject ed: academ ic, vocat ional t echnical and personal.
B.2 The Guideline for W riting Programme
Byrne 1988: 27-29 in Teaching Writ ing Skills gives as several guidelines for a t eacher in a w rit ing program m e, as follow s:
a. Teach t he learners how t o w rit e
xviii b.
Provide adequat e and relevant experience of t he w rit t en language c.
Show t he learners how t he w rit t en language funct ions as a syst em of com m unicat ion d.
Teach t he learners how t o w rit e t ext s e.
Teach t he learners how t o w rit e different kinds of t ext s f.
M ake w rit ing t asks realist ic and relevant g.
Int egrat e w rit ing wit h ot her skills h.
Use a variet y of t echniques and pract ice f orm at s i.
Provide appropriat e support j.
Be sym pat het ic
B.3 The Tasks of The Teacher in W riting
Based on Harm er’s st at em ent in How t o Teach Writ ing, t eachers have a num ber of crucial t asks t o perform w hen helping st udent s in w rit ing act ivit y 2004: 41-42 such as:
1. Dem onst rat ing
St udent s need t o be aw are of w rit ing convent ions and genre const raint s in specific t ypes of w rit ing, t eachers have t o be able t o draw t hese feat ures t o t heir at t ent ion.
2. M ot ivat ing and provoking
St udent w rit ers oft en find t hem selves ‘lost for w ords’, especially in creat ing w rit ing t asks. This is w here t he t eacher can help, provoking the st udent s int o having ideas,
ent husing t hem w it h t he value of t he t ask, and persuading t hem w hat fun it can be. 3.
Support ing Closely allied t o t he t eacher ’s role as m ot ivat or and provoker is t hat of support ing,
st udent s need a lot of help and reassurance once t hey got going, bot h w it h ideas and w it h t he m eans t o carry t hem out . Teachers need t o be ext rem ely support ive
w hen st udent s are w rit ing in class and prepared t o help st udent s overcom e difficult ies.
4. Responding
When responding, w e react t o t he cont ent and const r uct ion of a piece support ively and oft en m ake suggest ions for it s im provem ent .
5. Evaluat ing
xix There are m any occasions, how ever, w hen w e do w ant t o evaluat e st udent ’s w ork,
t elling bot h t hem and us how w ell t hey have done.
B.4 Student’s Need in W riting Activity
Harm er 2004: 62-63 ident ifies w hat st udent s need in w rit ing act ivit y. They are: 1.
Inform at ion and t ask inform at ion St udent s need t o have t he necessary inform at ion t o com plet e t he t ask. This m eans
t hat t hey need t o underst and clearly w hat w e w ant t hem t o do and t hey need, also, t o be absolut ely clear about any of t he t opic det ail t hat w e give t hem .
2. Language
If st udent s need specific language t o com plet e a w rit ing t ask w e need t o give it t o t hem or help t hem t o find it . This m ay involve offering t hem phrases, part s of
sent ence, or w ords. 3.
Ideas Teachers need t o be able t o suggest ideas t o help st udent s w hen t hey get st uck. For
som e t his m ay be just a w ord or t w o. For ot hers w e m ay need t o dict at e a half sent ence or even som et hing m ore subst ant ial.
4. Pat t erns and schem es
One w ay of helping st udent s t o w rit e, even w hen t hey m ay t hink t hey do not have m any ideas, is t o give t hem a pat t ern or a schem e t o follow .