The Power of Writing:The Importance of

Writing in EFLDr. JoAnn (Jodi) Crandall

University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)

crandall@umbc.eduTESOL Arabia 2006

Writing:The Neglected Skill in EFL

“My classes are too large.”

“I don’t have enough time for writing.”

“What can beginners write about?”

“I’m not a good writer. How can I teach writing?”

Why Include Writing?

Writing is:

a form of output

a means of building fluency

a way of developing accuracy

(in grammar, vocabulary, etc.)

Why Include Writing?

Writing is:

thinking made evident

external memory

a critical skill for academic or professional success

a source of input - reading materials at the learners’ proficiency level

Reading and Writing:Complementary Skills and

Practices

We learn to read by reading, and

We learn to write by writing.

But

We also learn to read by writing, and

We learn to write by reading.

Some Guiding Principles

Writing:is a way to demonstrate proficiencyhelps us discover what we do or do not knowis a process (not everything needs to be graded)is more than a paragraph or essayconventions differ cross-culturallycan be collaborative

Writing as a Thinking Process

Writing is thinking made evident.

Writing allows us to analyze and expand on what we know.

Writing promotes meta-cognition.

Writing as Output

Demonstration of what we know, implicitly or explicitly

Opportunity for negotiation of meaning through peer interaction – at every stage of the writing process

Writing to Build Fluency

Low-risk way to draw upon implicit knowledge

Journals or Logs

Pen or Key Pals

Free-writing or Quickwrites

Informal Writing: emails, blogs, discussion boards

Writing to Promote AccuracyGrammar, Vocabulary, Mechanics

Writing & grammar

Reading & vocabulary

Opportunity for:

Monitoring/Need for appropriate form

Focus on form/Noticing gaps

Contextualized instruction

Targeted feedback

Fluency or Accuracy: Not Both

Important to focus on EITHER

Fluency OR Accuracy

Fluency: focus on meaning, use of implicit learning, risk-taking

Accuracy: focus on form, use of explicit (monitored) learning, care

Focus on Fluency AND Accuracy

only after practice with both.

Collaborative Writing

Writing does NOT need to be a solitary act.

Any stage in the writing process can be collaborative (pre-writing, drafting, reviewing, revising, editing, publishing)

Collaboration:

Provides opportunity for meaningful communication

Promotes meta-cognition and meta-discussion of writing (and language)

Getting Started: Writing with Beginners

Using pictures that surprise, startle, etc.

Labeling/Describing

Captioning and headlining

Narrating a story What led to picture? What happens next?

Creating dialogue

Explaining cause, comparing, etc.

A Photo-Autobiography

Learner-generated autobiography

Based on pictures learner takes

Can be powerful source of reading material for other students

With digital cameras and web pages, can be published electronically

Other Writing Activities for Beginners

Language experience “stories”

Document literacy – practical writing

Simple emails, letters, etc.

Completion of frames (e.g. “About me”)

Moving to More Complex Academic Writing

Focus is on final product(s)

Group projects

Homelessness project

Task-based writing

Letter to editor, academic poster, etc.

Paragraphs, essays, reports

Academic Writing: External Memory

Note-taking

Organizing information

Completing Learning Logs

Responding to readings

Summarizing texts

Writing as External Memory

“When I speak and I’m making a lot of mistakes … they’re gone. I can’t see it.

But when I am writing and somebody corrects me, I can see my mistakes and I can learn from them.

Usually, if I have a problem in grammar, I can learn from my mistakes. So that’s the moment to learn grammar, through the context.”

(Jaime C.)

CREATING EFFECTIVE WRITING TASKS: FAT-P

Any writing assignment needs to have:

F – Form (letter, email, summary, report, etc.)

A – Audience

T – Topic

P – Purpose (describe, explain, persuade, etc.)

Adapting WritingAdapting any part of FAT-P

Can decrease or increase language level/ complexity by changing any part of FAT-P:

Audience: Romeo and Juliet for “our little brothers and sisters”Purpose: Cliff Notes version of a summaryForm: E-mail directions for an assignmentTopic: Give one reason why …

Making Writing More Creative and Fun

Poetry

Learner English as “poetic”

Creative violation of language expectations

Poetry Frames

Haiku, Cinquain, Diamantes

Shape Poems

Creative Learner Poetry

Many animals

Are suffering by the man

I think don’t do that

The Role of Literature

Stimulus for discussion and writing

Model for writing

Source of interesting and meaningful input/Reading-writing link

Focus for meaningful output

“Window” to culture

Cultural Considerations

Intercultural differences in writing expectations

Intercultural/contrastive rhetoric

Reader- or writer-responsible prose

Direct or indirect?

Explicit or implied?

Writing: Too Powerful to Ignore

Even with large classes, limited time, students with limited language proficiency, insecurity about one’s own writing:

It is still possible and critically important to include writing in EFL