Unit 12 Teaching Writing
Teaching objectives
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know how to motive students to write
design writing tasks
 A communicative
approach and a process
approach to writing
Teaching contents
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What, why and how do we write?
A communicative approach to
writing
Problems in writing tasks
A process approach to writing
Motivating students to write
Designing writing tasks
Using the Internet to promote
process of writing
1. What, why and how do
we write?
There is a great variety of things we write in reality,
e.g., letters, journals, notes,, instruction, posters,
essays, reports, menus.
 We write for various reasons, such as to convey
messages or just to keep a record of what is in our
mind. Writing can be less threatening for anxious
students and can raise awareness of how
language works.
 As to the way we write, writing can be both
collaborative and solitary.
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2. A communicative approach to
writing
To motivate students, it is necessary to
engage them in some act of
communication. This means either
writing for a specific recipient, or
engaging in an act of creative writing
where their work is intended to be read
by other people, in other words, an
intended audience be motivated by
authentic writing tasks that have some
communicative elements.
3. Problems in writing tasks
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1. They are mainly accuracy-based.
2. They are designed to practice certain target
structure
3. There is insufficient preparation before the writing
stage.
4. There is no sense of audience.
5. There is no sense of authenticity.
6. Students are given ideas to express rather than
being invited to invent their own.
7. There is no opportunity for creative writing,
particularly for expressing unusual or original ideas.
4. A process approach to writing
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The product-oriented method of teaching writing
pays great attention to the accuracy of the final
product but ignores the process, which the
students go through to reach the final goal. What
really matters or makes a difference is the help
that the teacher provides to guide the students
through the process that they undergo when they
are writing. This is called the process approach to
writing.
4.1 Features of process writing
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Focus on the process of writing that leads to the final
written product
Help student writers to understand their own composing
process;
Help them to build repertoires of strategies for prewriting,
drafting, and rewriting;
Give students time to write and rewrite;
Place central importance on the process of revision;
Let students discover what they want to say as they write;
Give students feedback throughout the composing
process (not just on the final product) to consider as they
attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to
intention;
Encourage feedback both from the instructor and peers;
Include individual conferences between teacher and
student during the process of composition.
4.2 Procedures of process writing
Creating a motivation to write
 Brainstorming
 Mapping
 Free writing
 Outlining
 Drafting
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Editing
Revising
Proofreading
Conferencing
5 Motivating students to write
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Make the topic of writing as close as possible to
students’ life.
Leave students enough room for creativity and
imagination.
Prepare students well before writing.
Encourage collaborative group writing as well as
individual writing
Provide opportunities for students to share their
writings.
Provide constructive and positive feedback.
Treat students’ errors strategically.
Give students a sense of achievement from time to
time.
6. Writing through e-mail
E-mail provides a perfect mechanism for
students to submit drafts and for teachers to
look them over at their convenience and send
them back with comments. New ideas are
shared promptly and can be responded to
quickly. Another advantage is that the teacher
can easily store all the drafts of a document
for later review and analysis of the revision
process.
The end!