18
2. Teaching Writing to English as Foreign Language
EFL Students
Learning a foreign language demands people to be able to communicate with other people, including how to understand them, talk to them, read what they have
written and write to them. Today, a new culture of communicating has been developing among people. They learn how to communicate to people while the
other person is not in front of them; even without directly listening what is said and looking the gestures and facial expressions. It becomes the reasons why
teaching writing is important. Another reason why writing should be taught to learners is that writing helps
students to learn. Writing reinforces students to learn grammatical structures, idioms, and also vocabulary. In writing, students are able to express their ideas. A
writer tries to put their ideas on paper with the appropriate way especially in choosing the words. They may often discover something new to write and how to
express their ideas while trying to find the right word and sentence. Writing has a close relationship with thinking. And it makes writing becomes valuable in any
language course.
a. Approaches
in Teaching Writing to EFL Students
In writing, a writer has to deal with some aspects such as the grammar, diction, content, etc. Since there are so many aspects in writing which should be
taught, a teacher may use a different approach, depending on what aspect which is being emphasized. Below is a diagram showing what writers have to deal with as
they produce a piece of writing Ralmes, 1983: 6:
19
Figure 2.3 Producing a Piece of Writing
Based on those features, a teacher should be able to choose the appropriate approach considering what feature is taught. The following are some of the
approaches used in teaching writing.
1 The Free-Writing Approach
Ralmes 1983: 7 says that Free-Writing Approach emphasizes the writing composition on the quantity of content and fluency; not to worry about form.
When students are able to write their idea on paper, the grammatical accuracy or organization will follow. The teacher may ask students to write on any topic in the
beginning of class without worrying about grammar and spelling. In the beginning, students sometimes find it very difficult. However after several
exercises, some find that putting ideas on a piece of paper is not so frightening.
Clear, fluent, and
effective communication
of ideas
CONTENT
Relevant, clarity,
originality, Logic,
etc.
SYNTAX
Sentence structure,
Sentence boundaries,
Stylistic choices,
GRAMMAR
Rules for verbs,
agreement, articles,
pronouns, etc
MECHANICS
Handwriting, spelling,
punctuation, etc
WORD CHOICE
Vocabulary, idiom,
tone
PURPOSE
The reason for
writing
THE WRITER’S
PROCESS
Getting ideas,
Getting started,
Writing drafts,
revising
ORGANIZATION
Paragraphs, topic
and support,
cohesion, unity
AUDIENCE
The readers
20
They are able to write fluently. Therefore, the focus of this approach is to make students comfortable with the act of writing and less afraid to make errors and
experiment with ideas. Ralmes also adds that in this approach, the teacher does not pay attention
on the correction of the writing. But the teacher will simply read it and give comment on the content of the writing.
2 The Communicative Approach
In his book, Ralmes 1983: 8 states that the Communicative Approach emphasizes the purpose of a piece of writing and the audience for it. In this
approach, students act like they are a truly writer in real life. They have considered about why they are writing this and who will read it. Traditionally, the
audience of the students’ piece of writing is the teacher itself. But this approach suggests that students will be able to do their best when the writing is truly a
communicative act, with a writer writing for a real reader. Therefore, teachers using Communicative Approach extend the readership. In this approach, the
students can be seen as the real reader. They do not only read the piece but also do something with it, such as respond, summarize or make comments.
3 The Process Approach
Ralmes 1983; 10 says that the teaching of writing moves from a concentration on a written product to an emphasis on the process of writing.
Students are not only prepared to answer the questions about purpose and audience, but also how to write it and how to start the writing. The concept of
21
writing here is that what the students firstly put down on a paper is not the final product of their writing, but only the beginning. They should not think that every
word they write on the paper will be perfect instantly. During the process of writing, students will find a new idea, words, sentences, writing first draft, and
revising second draft. In the Process-Based Approach, teachers do not ask student to write in a given topic and restricted time. They explore the topic through
writing.
4 Genre-Based Approach
In his book entitled “Written Genre in the Secondary School”, Hardy and Klarwein 1990: 2 state that a genre is a social activity, which has a purpose or
goal, a recognizable structure of pattern and is a product of the culture .
In line with this statement, Knapp and Watkins 2005: 16 argue Genre Approach
proposes that while language is produced by individuals, the shape and structure of the language is to a large degree socially determined. It means that in Genre-
based Approach, there is a social interaction between teacher and students to have such discussion about the structure of the language. In this case, the students are
given a text model to be discussed with the teacher before they begin to write. Knapp and Watkins 2005: 16 also state that the aim of Genre Approach is to
provide the students with the ability to use codes of writing the genre and grammar effectively and efficiently. Without these codes, writing can be
frustrating and unproductive process for students.
22
These are some stages in Genre-Based Approach according to Hardy and Klarwein 1990; 8. They are:
a Immerse
the students in texts which are exemplars of the genre. Students read with the teacher and discuss the social context of purpose, subject
matter, roles and relationships of the writer and the readers.
b Guided reading
of a text model of the genre. The model should be of a high level of achievement. Each student receives a photocopy of the text model
and the teacher displays it on an overhead transparency to focus on during the lesson. The teacher and students read the text together, discussing its textual
features. In this step, students are expected to discover the generic structure of
the text model themselves. The teacher can ask the students to take a note. c
Modeled writing by the teacher of this new genre. Teacher “thinks aloud”
while composing the writing on a different topic, but in the same genre as the text model. As the teacher thinks aloud, the students become aware of the
cognitive processes involved while composing this form of writing. d
Joint construction of the genre- the Shared Writing of a text by the teacher
and students. The teacher contributes the students to the composing by
discussing and negotiating meanings and language. e
Guided writing of the new genre by the students. Tentative students could
compose their writing with a partner or in a small group, before being requested to compose individually. In this step, the students follow the
23
scaffolding used in the previous demonstrations to compose a text in the new
genre. f
Response – The teacher accepts the students’ approximation and gives
positive feedback to them. g
Independent writing
of the genre by individual students. Students’ approximations will improve to meet the teacher’s high expectations.
Students should also have high expectations of achievement, as they have
been taught how to write this new genre. h
The Writing Process is used by the students when composing. Writers need
to plan, write drafts, revise if necessary, edit, proofread and publish and
illustrate their writing. 5
Contextual Teaching and Learning
According to Musclish 2007: 40, Contextual Teaching and Learning is an approach which is based on real world learning. Many students are not able to
connect what they have learnt in class to the application in the real world. Contextual Teaching and Learning helps the students to have experience in
learning. Musclish also argues that the basic philosophy of Contextual Teaching and Learning is constructivism. This means that learning is not only a matter of
reminding something but it is more on reconstructing the students’ knowledge and through their life. The process of learning gives the students opportunity to have
meaningful learning.
24
There are some principles in Contextual Teaching and Learning which the teacher should consider. They are:
a Constructivism
Students with the help of the teacher construct their previous knowledge which is related to the materials. Here, the process of learning is more
valuable than the result of the learning. Students get more opportunities to find and improve their own idea.
b Inquiry
It is important for students to find the idea which is based on their experience. In other words, the students really experience the idea of what they are
writing. The students will have longer memory of it.
c Modeling
Contextual Teaching and Learning suggests that the learning activity should have a model which the students could imitate. The model is just for example
to make the students’ writing.
d Reflection
It is done to reflect the knowledge which has been learnt by the students. It is important because it becomes a response towards the knowledge which they
got. It can be in form of making simple notes, having discussion, or having performance.
25
e Authentic Assessment
One component which is also important in Contextual Teaching and Learning is authentic assessment. It is done by observing and analyzing the data which
are collected during the process of learning; not only based on the final product.
The writer used the Process-Based Approach as the main approach in designing the materials. It emphasizes the process of producing a piece of writing.
Students would learn more about process rather than finish it quickly. Since the writer designs the materials for SMP students, it would be better to put a writing
model in the designed materials. It is stated in the Genre-Based Approach that modeling step is very important because the students can have guidance while
composing their writing. This step is also included in the Contextual Teaching and Learning. Without modeling, students of SMP may face difficulties in composing
their writing. Based on those considerations, the writer will add the step of modeling. The writer will put it before the steps of Process-Based Approach in
every unit in the designed material. The purpose is to give the students example before they write and think about the generic structure of the text.
There are some terms which refer to Process Approach. Some of references use the term Process-Based Approach. In his book of Communicative Language
Teaching Today, Richards 2006: 27 uses term Process-Based Approach. It
implies the same understanding as Process Approach which emphasizes the process of producing a piece of writing rather than product. There are also
26
references which use term Process Approach. In his book entitled Practical English Language Teaching
, Nunan uses the term Process Approach. He says that the activities in the Process Approach encourage the students to learn writing
which is more than creating final product. It is more on learning of series of skills leading to the product Nunan, 2003: 96. In this study, the writer used the term
Process-Based Approach.
b. Techniques in Teaching Writing to EFL Students Using Process-Based
Kategori