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Elsa Andrew Hilarion

930120-12-5598
PISMP TESL SK(1)
Teaching Grammar
Task 4: Academic Writing

The teaching of writing has long been a central element in all educational
system, and there are many, often conflicting, views of the best ways of going about it
(Tribble, 1996). For as long as languages have been taught, over the years it seemed
that writing is only a support system for learning grammar and vocabulary, rather than
as a skill in its own right. Therefore, the ways and approaches on teaching writing
should be put forward and acknowledge its importance. Based on the experience and
knowledge gained in completing Tasks 1, 2 and 3, this essay will discuss to what extend
can the knowledge on various approaches and techniques in teaching writing help
teachers in Malaysian Primary ESL classroom enhance the writing skills of their
students.

In task 1, we were exposed to three approaches to teach writing which are


product, process and genre. Teachers are often asked to modify instruction to
accommodate the needs of the students their level of proficiency, developmental
stages of writing and other factors in order for them to master writing skills. In teaching
writing, teachers have oscillated between focusing on the written product that students
are meant to produce, and focusing on the creative processes of writing, the role of the
individual in the act of writing, and the social aspects of writing, including students
identities, disciplinary conventions, and the larger social context (Galbraith and
Rijlaarsdam, 1999). Whether students write in response to a set assignment or are
asked to develop their own topics, many students are daunted by the act of writing itself.
Hence, it enables teachers to realize that not all writers move through the stages
included in an approach. Therefore, with this knowledge teachers can help clarify
students misconceptions about writing by explicitly teaching the stages of the writing
process.

The knowledge of these approaches also enlightens teachers on the problems


that may arise and how to tackle them. For example, much of the value of process
writing has derived from its invigorating effect on classroom writing practices and from
its recognition of the importance of the experiences that learners bring with them to the
Elsa Andrew Hilarion
930120-12-5598
PISMP TESL SK(1)
Teaching Grammar
Task 4: Academic Writing

classroom. However, it has its limitations and cannot be seen as answering the needs
of all types of student. Therefore, teachers may come out with a new solution or
introduce them with other suitable approach that would be able to cater their needs.

Task 2 on the other hand gives us the opportunity to plan a writing lesson plan.
Writing lessons vary according to the phase, approach and specific aims of the lesson.
In order to plan a lesson on writing, the teacher has to determine the approach that will
be used; whether it is suitable for the learners. There are two approaches to the lesson
in vogue. One takes a controlled and guided writing or product approach. The other
takes a process approach with three basic phases which are pre-writing, writing product
and publishing (Chitravelu, 1995). Upon choosing the approach, a teacher has to
consider the pedagogical principles that are intended to be applied in the lesson. For
example, if a teacher has chosen the product approach, she may uses controlled writing
in the lesson whereby tasks provided are practice in writing error-free sentences or
paragraphs on a given topic mainly for learners with relatively little knowledge of English
to gain mastery of sentence patterns as it is the first step towards writing composition.
There are a few techniques for controlled writing namely using substitution tables,
parallel writing, question and answer, filling in blanks and dictation. Hence, it is very
important to understand the different approaches in teaching writing as each of the
approaches has different way of conducting it; depending on the objectives of the
lesson.

An opportunity to do a micro teaching was given while conducting task 3.


Microteaching is a scaled-down, simulated teaching encounter designed for the training
of both pre service and in-service teachers. Its purpose is to provide teachers with the
opportunity for the safe practice of an enlarged cluster of teaching skills while learning
how to develop simple, single-concept lessons in any teaching subject. Microteaching
helps teachers to improve both content and methods of teaching and develop specific
teaching skills such as questioning, the use of examples and simple artifacts to make
lessons more interesting, effective reinforcement techniques, and introducing and
Elsa Andrew Hilarion
930120-12-5598
PISMP TESL SK(1)
Teaching Grammar
Task 4: Academic Writing

closing lessons effectively. Immediate, focused feedback and encouragement,


combined with the opportunity to practice the suggested improvements in the same
training session, are the foundations of the microteaching protocol.

While conducting the microteaching, I realized that ESL learners should be


taught to write for a variety of reasons in a fun and most creative way, including
recording personal experiences, expressing ideas without the pressure of face-to-face
communication and exploring a particular subject matter like My Family or Making a
Fruit Salad. Teachers may introduce techniques in using pictures, readings, controlled
writing and all language skills. Hence, in task 3 our group has chosen to use pictures to
generate whole class discussion that leads to writing. Of course, the materials chosen
should adhere to the criteria for selection and adaptations which are learners age and
maturity, learning styles, proficiency levels and exploitability of the materials. It is best
for teachers to have wide selection of materials ranging from authentic printed
materials, audio or video recordings, video clips and computer software as
supplementary resources.

In a nutshell, all of the tasks and newly gained knowledge are able to help
teachers in Malaysian Primary ESL classroom enhance the writing skills of their
students. Therefore, as future teachers the introduction to the approaches to the
teaching of writing is important in order for us to be able to put them into practice which
encourages us to think about the reasons for teaching this important skill, and look for
ideas on teaching different types of writing to improve students writing skills.
Elsa Andrew Hilarion
930120-12-5598
PISMP TESL SK(1)
Teaching Grammar
Task 4: Academic Writing

Reflection

Chitravelu, H. et. al (1995). ELT Methodology Principles and Practice. Oxford Fajar Sdn.
Bhd.: Shah Alam.

Harmer, J. (2004). How to Teach Writing. Pearson Education Limited: England.

Tribble, C. (1996). Writing. Oxford University Press: NewYork.

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