Writing Approaches:
There is no one answer to the question of how to teach writing in EFL classes. There are many answers as there are teachers and learning styles, or learners and learning styles. Writers have developed a variety of approaches to the teaching of writing.
1- The Controlled-to-Free Approach focuses on grammar and syntactic forms.
2- The Free-Writing Approach stresses the quantity of writing rather than the quality to emphasize fluency.
3- The Paragraph-Pattern Approach stresses on organization.
4- The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach stresses the need to work on more than one task at a time. It focuses on grammar and syntax together with organization.
5- The Communicative Approach stresses the purpose of a piece of writing and the audience for it. Instead of having the teacher as the only audience for student writing, this approach encourages students to extend it to other students in the class or maybe to readers outside the classroom.
6- The Process Approach moves away from the concentration on the written product to an emphasis on the process of writing. The crucial question is: How do I write this? How do I get started? It starts with prewriting techniques such as brainstorming, mapping, clustering, or listing and moves to writing techniques and then to potwriting techniques such as revising and editing.
The previously mentioned approaches overlap and teachers are not usually devoted to one approach only. The process of writing is a valuable learning tool for all of our students.
Although I agree that we usually use more than one approach as we teach and learn writing, yet I believe that a lot of teachers focus a lot on the process approach. They focus more on teaching students about the process of pre-, during, and after writing; and as they assess students' work, they focus on this process rather than on the ideas and creativity students have put into their writing
ReplyDeleteWriting is a very important skill that all teachers focus on in their classrooms, but I still feel like its is one of those skills that people usually have a huge problem with. Teachers should think of different activities that will improve this skill, and move from a 2 body paragraph essay to something more interesting like keeping a diary, or writing a journal.
ReplyDeleteWriting an essay can be challenging, but Many students struggle with insecurities about their writing abilities, whether they just don't like to write or have had negative experiences in the past, they may be self conscious about expressing themselves.so there should be new ways that improve their skills and encourage them for keeping writing. Also,move from the process to the creativity in writing and the ideas that will be mentioned.
ReplyDeleteWriting is really a very significant skill that all teachers should work on.When students write, they reveal their own feelings, thoughts, ideas and the level of skill they have in grammar (as how to use different types of tenses and when), the vocabulary they use, as it reveals their view of creativity and thinking!
ReplyDeleteI believe that writers should be eclectic and not be restrain themselves to one method of writing. The problem in most writing teachers is that they focus on errors in grammar and structure and forget about fluency and creativity. Generating ideas is more important than grammar because grammar can be acquired with time but the techniques of generating ideas, such as mapping, listing, brainstorming etc require a lot of practice.
ReplyDeleteAs teachers and future teachers, I believe that once our students master writing, other skills will be easier for them to be mastered. Writing enables them to write down what they think and their creativity will always grow deeper. And for that we must use different approaches and always focusing on encouraging students to write and express what's in their minds without worrying about the grade or the mistakes.
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