4 Problem Solving Teachers can describe a problem to the students, or give them a written
description and situation. The teachers then get the students, in groups, to decide what the best course of action is Davies, 2000: 86.
2. Writing Skill
There will be three aspects discussed in this part. They are the nature of writing, the principles of teaching writing, and types of writing activities using
task-based learning.
a. The Nature of Writing
Unlike speaking which seems come naturally to human, writing is a skill that needs much practice. At the most basic level, writing is the physical act of
committing words or ideas to some medium. Bailey 1994 in Nunan’s book 2003, p.88 wrote that writing is the mental work of inventing ideas, thinking
about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader. A good writing is produced by a consideration of
subject, purpose, and audience. Knowing ‘what’ we want to say, ‘why’ we want to say it, and to ‘whom’ we want to say it are crucial first step to successful writing
Ellis Reed, 2003: p. 9. There are four common purposes of writing. People do writing to express an idea or share feelings, to teach someone how to do
something, to persuade someone to agree with their point of view or to do something, and to explain or clarify a position or topic.
b. The Principles of Teaching Writing
Writing skill is not easy to achieve. This skill can only be achieved by doing much practice. However, being able to write well has far-reaching real
world as well as academic applications. Ellis and Reed 2003 stated that a classroom could be the place to learn and practice writing skill that students need
not only in their school years, but also there after p. 1. Therefore, teachers are required to understand principles for teaching this skill in order to be able to teach
the students well. Sokolik as cited by Nunan 2003, p. 92-95 provided four principles for
teaching writing. The principles are: 1 Understand your students’ reasons for writing
The greatest dissatisfaction with writing instruction comes when the teacher’s goals do not match the student’s goals. It is important to understand the
goals and to convey goals to students in ways that make sense to them. 2 Provide many opportunities for students to write
Since writing is in part of a physical activity, it is like other physical activities – it requires practice, and lots of it. When teachers plan practice writing
as a regular activity, the students will be accustomed to and become more comfortable with this activity. It is better for teachers to provide different types of
writing to be practiced by the students. 3 Make feedback helpful and meaningful
