Teaching language in context

2. Rivers: “Many who know how to “write things down” in
their native language avoid expressing themselves in
writing almost completely, even in personal letters. To write
so that one is really communicating a message, isolated in
place and time, is an art which requires consciously directed
effort and deliberate choice of language. The old saying, “If
you can say it, you can write it,” is simplistic in its concept
of the communicative aspect of writing.”

3. Composing:
- reflection about the topic;
- gathering information, taking of notes;
- working on a series of drafts;
- revising.
Writing:
- transcription of the material
itself.
In order to capture the complexity of the writing process, various
scholars have suggested the use of more precise terminology to
clarify the distinction between the mechanical aspects of writing
and the more sophisticated processes involved in written
communication.

4. Skill- getting Skill- using
activities: activities:
- writing down
- writing in the language
- flexibility measures
- expressive writing
(the understanding of the
way the language
operates)
(the use of code for
expressive writing and
purposeful
communication).

5. Written practice in the skill- getting phase includes 2
categories of activities:
 writing down, or exercises involving copying or
reproduction of learned material, concentrating on the
conventions of spelling, punctuation, grammatical
agreements;
 writing in the language, in which students engage in a
variety of grammar- practice activities of a controlled
nature in order to reinforce their growing knowledge of
the linguistic system.

6. Set of activities under skill- using that take students
beyond linguistic manipulation. Such activities are
designed to develop flexibility and creative language use
and include:
 flexibility measures, in which students begin writing
within a framework;
 expressive writing, which includes guided and free
compositions that fulfill the normal purposes (letter
writing, getting and giving information) for which we
write in the real world.

8. Content: objects in the room.
Functions: identifying and listening, simple description.
Students’ task: students who have just learned vocabulary for the rooms of the
house and some of the furnishing describe a simple picture in their text.
Simple description with visuals

9. Content: personality traits/ physical description.
Functions: describing a person, talking about likes/ dislikes.
Students’ task: students are asked to draw a picture of someone they know.
Then they write one sentence telling whether they like or dislike this person,
followed by a number of sentences using the target grammatical feature to
describe the person.
Guided description with student- generated visual

10. Content: Foods.
Functions: Naming and listing.
Students’ task: Students are provided with the incomplete menu. They are told
that they have just opened a restaurant and that it is up to them to decide what
dishes they would like to offer. Categories of foods are given, but no specific
foods are named. Students are also asked to make up a name for their
restaurant.
Filling in forms

11. Content: A short message of several sentences based on familiar
themes/topics.
Functions: Writing a postcard, using connected discourse.
Students’ task: Students are also asked to write a brief message to their
instructor using a target-language site that offers free electronic greeting cards
or postcards.
Sending an electronic postcard

13. Content: Summer leisure activities.
Function: Simple narration in the present.
Students’ task: This activity directs students to write a short narrative from the
sentence cues given. The story is about the LeBlanc’ s summer activities.
A summer in the Country. Make complete sentences according to the model.
Model: The LeBlancs/to spend/ summer in the country
The LeBlancs spend the summer in the country.
1) In the morning/ all/ family/ to get up/ around/ 8 o’clock
2) Mr. LeBlanc/ to go downstairs/ the kitchen/ to prepare/ coffee
3) His/ wife/ to make/ breakfast/ then/ to go outside/ in/ the garden
4) Mr. LeBlanc/ and/ his/ son/ to go/ fishing
5) Natalie/ to take a walk/ in/ hills/ near/ house…etc.
Follow- up Task: (Preparing for Advanced level)
Students directed to write the paragraph in the past, talking about the way this
family used to spend summer vacations. They are asked to embellish the story,
adding details about the surroundings, weather, etc. The exercise focuses on
practicing past- tense narration and adding some elaborative detail, preparing
students for writing at the Advanced level.
Slash Sentences
Sample(Intermediate)

14. Content: Current events.
Function: Reporting facts of a story.
Purpose: Telegraph sentences also provide the essential elements to be
incorporated into a story, but the format of the stimulus material looks more like a
set of notes than a grammatical exercise, thus more closely simulating an authentic
task. As an Intermediate- level task, students are asked to describe the events using
the present tense. As a preparation for advanced- level writing, students narrate the
events as a reporter would, using appropriate past tenses as they tell the story
presented in the telegraphic cues.
Students’ task: You are a journalist who has just interviewed a witness to a UFO
incident. The notes you made during the interview are given below. Write out your
report in as much detail as you can, recounting the events in the past.
Notes: Henry Stewart, in field, working, about 10 a.m., June 13. Hears strange
noise, looks up. Sees blinding light. Distinguishes three objects. Gets frightened.
Drops everything and runs for farmhouse. Calls wife to come see. Objects
disappear as quickly as they came. Wife doesn’t believe story.
Telegraphic sentences
Sample (Intermediate;
preparing for advanced level)

15. Content: A visit to Spain as an exchange student.
Functions: Writing a thank- you letter.
Purpose: this activity encourage students to use recently learned vocabulary and
grammatical structures in a context that is appropriate to the Intermediate level- writing
a letter to family, friends.
Students’ task: Patrick has just returned from studying abroad in Granada, Spain, and
is writing a thank- you letter to the family with whom he stayed. Complete the letter on
Spanish, using the translation that follows it as a guide to the missing words.
Partial translation
Sample (Preparing for Advanced level)

16. Content: Story in a film.
Function: Narrating a story.
Purpose: To help students link simple prepositions into more complex sentences.
In set-combining activities, a set of simple sentences or prepositions are
consolidated through the embedding of words, phrases and clauses, so that the
meaning of the whole set is conveyed in one sentence. E.g. the following set of
simple propositions is combined below:
1) The man is tall.
2) The man has dark hair.
3) The man is standing by the counter.
4) The man looks suspicious.
Combination: The tall, dark- haired man standing by the counter looks
suspicious.
Students can be asked to produce a story several paragraphs in length. E.g. a
description of a film or other narrative could be broken down into simple
propositions. Students then try to combine those propositions into more complex
sentences. This technique can be used to teach principles of sentence and
paragraph construction and to help students recognize the importance of
connectors, qualifiers, and other discourse features.
Paragraph completion
Sample (Intermediate)

17. Content: Personal appearance
Function: Description
Purpose: This task is designed to aid writers at the Intermediate level in
improving their ability to describe someone in detail.
Student task: Students use their imagination to complete the description of the
person in the photograph.
Mr. Duval was a ___, ___ man with ___, ___ hair. He had ___ eyes and wore a ___,
___ beard. He was a very ___ man who thought a lot about ___. That morning, he
seemed ___ because he ___ . …

18. Scanlan(1980) suggests that
compositions might be based on
the analysis of a photograph, where
students practice extensive
description and narration and react
personally to the elements in the
picture. He advises the students be
asked not only to describe the
picture in detail but also to imagine
what might have happened before
or after it was taken or visualize
themselves in the scene interacting
in some way with the people
depicted.

19. Raimes(1983) also suggests developing a sequence of writing tasks around a
culturally authentic picture, such as a wedding photo, with each task selected to
move students to a slightly higher level of difficulty as they add vocabulary,
structural sophistication, and organizational skills. In the series of tasks given
below, a number of these ideas are put into practice, using the picture as a point of
departure and a stimulus for creativity.
Ann Raimes

20. Task 1. Prewriting (Intermediate)
Students in small groups look at the picture and write as many words and expressions that
come to mind as they can. In addition, students can write down words and expressions
depicting feelings that the picture evokes.
Task 2. Prewriting (Intermediate)
Task 3. Description (Intermediate)
An alternate task involves small groups writing down questions that the picture evokes in their
minds. Each group then shares its list of questions with the rest of the class to provide a further
stimulus for writing.
Using the voc. generated from Task 1, students write a brief composition describing the
photograph in as much detail as they can. After they share their notes with 1- 2 students
they can be asked to write a second more complete draft.
Task 4. Narration (Intermediate)
Using the question sets generated from Task 2, one group of the class write a narration about
the man in the picture, answering the questions given to them by another group. Afterwards
stories can be read aloud, shared or compared with others
Task 5. Narration in the Past(Preparing for Advanced l.)
Students are asked to imagine that the man in the photograph
is thinking about the first time he visited Paris as a young
man. In small groups, they develop a list of possible events,
places visited, and people he might have met in his travels.
After discussion various possibilities, students create a story,
individually or in groups, and recount events in the past, with
as much imaginative detail as possible.

21. Content: A trip to Paris.
Function: Narration and description.
Purpose: Students learn to write fuller descriptions and narrations through the use
of cues supplied by the teacher on their first draft. E.g. the teacher might take a
student’ s composition and insert an asterisk at every point in the narration where an
elaboration could be made. Elaboration might include the addition of adjectives,
adverbs, relative clauses, or whole sentences.
Student task: The student has written an imaginary description of the trip to Paris.
The teacher asks students to rewrite the opening paragraph in the second draft as
follows:
Using the cues in the paragraph below, write a new paragraph that is more detailed
and interesting than the original.
My first trip to Paris was very interesting. I went with my roommate. We rented a
car, but it was very difficult to drive in Paris…
Notes: - add a few details about when you took this trip. Also try to use another
word for the word “interesting”, because it doesn't’ t give us much information.
- Describe you roommate and tell why did he want to go with you.
- Add some adj. to your description of a car.
- Instead of telling that it was difficult to drive, try to describe the traffic, and let the
reader conclude that it was difficult from your description.
Elaboration
Sample (Intermediate)

22. Content: Varied topics relating to personal life and preferences.
Function: Narration and description in past, present and future time.
Purpose: To encourage students to practice skills needed at the Advanced level, both orally
and in writing.
Student task: Students are asked to interview a partner by choosing one topic from each of
several categories, such as those listed below:
Present:
- Talk about yourself and your family.
- Talk about why you are at this University and why you are taking this course.
- Talk about what you like and dislike about life at the University.
- Talk about things that bore you (interest you, make you happy/angry).
Past:
- Describe a recent Christmas (summer/ spring) vacation.
- Describe what your life was like last year.
- Talk about a memorable event in your life.
Future:
- Describe your career goals and plans.
- Talk about what you’ d like to do with the French(Spanish, etc.) language you know now.
- Talk about your plans for the end of the semester.
- Describe your plans for the coming weekend.
Sample (Preparing for Advanced Level)
Guide Composition
Based on oral
Interview

23. Teachers might expect short essays of 2- 3 paragraphs on themes with which they are
familiar. Most appropriate for these students are topics that elicit personal information
and simple statements about preferences, concrete experiences, such as following:
Intermediate level
Guided and free Composition: Writing
letters and notes
1) Imagine you are on vacation at your favorite resort. Write a
postcard explaining what are you doing, what you like about the
place, who you are meeting, etc.
2) You are writing a letter home to your parents about college
life. Give them a description of your typical day at school.
Include a short paragraph about your roommate and some other
details.
3) Write a description of your friend/a member of your
family/teacher you like or dislike/ or your roommate. Give as
many details as you can
4) Your best friend at another school has a new roommate who
comes from France (Spain, etc.) Write a letter to your friend,
including a list of questions you would like him to ask this
exchange student about life in his country.

24. Here are few topics that indicate the type of composition that might be
assigned when learners are in the Intermediate range but need to develop
skills to progress to the Advanced level:
Preparing for Advanced level
1) Write a Christmas card to your teacher telling
her what you plan to do during vacation.
2) Write a page in your personal diary describing
your activities during the last semester.
3) You are planning on getting married(getting a
new job, etc.) and anticipate some major
changes in your life. Describe what will be
different after you do it an how you think you
will feel about these changes.
4) You just had a very exciting weekend, and you
can’ t wait to write to your friend in
France(Spain, etc.) to tell about it. Recount the
evens and give as much detail as possible.

25. Is one form of free composition that seems particularly appropriate for
beginning and intermediate students.
Peyton and Reed(1990) recognize the importance of responding to this
concern and suggest that teachers talk to students about the purposes of the
journal as opposed to the purposes of other writing tasks where corrective
feedback is given more systematically.
Leki(1991) adds that “… we do well at least to become aware of student’ s
perceptions of their needs and their sense of what helps them progress”.
Perhaps best solution is to offer students options and teach them different
perspectives or strategies for approaching a writing task, but ultimately
respect their right to choose the kind of feedback they believe will enhance
their learning most effectively and try to provide it for them.

26. In the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the number of
conference presentations and publications advocating the use of the computer
to support the teaching of various language skills, from Novice to Advanced
levels. Different language texts also have associated Web pages that offer
students links to Internet sources that can be explored in connection with
chapter themes. Many of these computerized materials can support the goal of
learning to write in the target language.

27. Pen and paper writing Synchronous conferencing
- Formal accuracy
- Global coherence
- Reinforcement of canonical
written discourse conventions
- Uninterrupted exploration of one’ s
own personal voice.
- Fluency of self- expression
- Interactive responsiveness
- Blend of “orate” and “literate”
forms of communication
- Juxtaposition of multiple voices,
perspectives
The use of new technologies, such as e-mail and computer- mediated
communication can be particularly helpful, not only as a way to practice writing,
but also as a support skill for speaking. With the advent of local area networks
(LANs), students can more comfortably interact and discuss various issues among
themselves an with their instructor. Kern(1998) points out the different features of
more traditional forms of written communication on the one hand and synchronous
conferencing on the other.
Both types of writing fall under two of the three communicative modes-
interpersonal and presentational.
S. c. is the written equivalent of interpersonal communication in which the interlocutors
Can negotiate meaning since they are in personal contact, although not face- to-face.

28. Smith(1990) describes an experiment in which fourth- semester Spanish
students were given an opportunities to us 2 types of computer- based writing
tools for the writing component of the course:
A computer- conferencing system A word- processing program.
- Enabled students to engage in
discussions and collaborative writing
activities with others in the course.
- Each new message that was added
to a particular discussion became
automatically available to all
participants.
- Students using this system engaged
in lively debates and creative self-
expression, devoting an average of
three hours per week for computer-
meditated conversational writing.
They paid more attention to meaning
than to accuracy, since the computer-
conferencing was not used for editing
or revision in this study.
- Students who used this program as
a composition tool, worked primarily
on composing and rewriting
compositions with a view to
producing more accurate writing
samples.
- They averaged 90 minutes per week
on computer- assisted composition
work, brainstorming or peer editing
one another’ s work.
A third group of students in the study
had no computer- assisted writing
opportunities but did write
compositions at home.

29. Kern(1998) also recommends that synchronous conferencing be used as one of a
number of tools in the teaching of writing.
He also compares pen and paper writing with writing via e-mail.
Pen and paper writing Electronic mail
- Normally limited audience(teacher)
- Often limited communicative
purpose(display of competence)
- Tends to be perceived as relatively
permanent and “on record”
- Intensive, recursive process that fosters
elaboration and development of ideas.
- Adherence to formal norms(language,
genre, style) generally pays more important
role.
- Contact with real people outside the
classroom
- Wide range of communicative
purposes(informing, persuading, etc.)
- Tends to be perceived as relatively
ephemeral and disposable.
- Emphasis on speed and succinctness of
expression
- Adherence to formal norms tends to be
relaxed(e.g., mixed of oral/ written genres,
grammar/spelling mistakes)
Advantages of using e-mail: 1) its relative simplicity in bringing a language learner into
contact with native speakers;
2) Its dialogic structure that helps learners predict meaning through the normal give-
and- take statements, questions, responses.
3) Its contribution to the learners’ metacognitive awareness.(participants have recourse
to a written record that can help locate the source of misunderstanding)
4) Its direct support of cultural learning by providing new and alternative perspectives.

30. He also mentions 3 major challenges associated with the use of e- mail in
foreign language instruction:
1) Finding a partner class that has internet access;
2) Meeting technical requirements for those languages using non- roman
scripts or that use accents and diacritical marks;
3) Recognizing that e- mail can obscure important sociocultural differences,
such as the emphasis in each culture on social distance, perceptions of
the appropriateness of topics and registers, and the like.

31. The use of word- processing programs in teaching composition can provide a
number of benefits to both students and teachers.
Writers at the Novice and Intermediate levels can also profit from using word-
processing programs, particularly if they asked to prepare multiple drafts of their
work.
In addition, writing assistant programs, such as systeme-D, Atajo, and Quelle are
designed to facilitate the writing process in another language, so that students and
teachers “can interact with a written text in new and useful ways”. These
programs offer:
1) A bilingual dictionary that includes reference notes, examples.
2) Three references- a vocabulary index that contains topical vocabulary lists, a
grammar index that contains fundamental explanations of grammar points, and a
phrase index that is essentially a listing with examples of language functions.
According to Scott and Terry(1992) writing assistant programs are unique writing
tools that lend themselves to a systematic developmental writing program:
1) They provide resources for students at all levels of language study
2) They help students develop critical thinking skills through reading, analyzing
and choosing appropriate items from information screens.
3) They build a bridge between skill-getting and skill- using when students
request information and then use it in their writing task.

32. Scott(1992) and Scott and Terry(1992) advocate using task- oriented writing,
especially for students in beginning- and intermediate level language courses.
In this type of writing activity, students are given:
1) A general situation or context that describes the function and the purpose
of the writing exercise;
2) Several specific tasks that describe explicitly the steps the students must
take to achieve the purpose of the assignment;
3) A specific directive for each task asking students to find the functional,
lexical, and grammatical information necessary to carry out the task.
These guidelines provide an organizational framework that allows the
students to communicate a comprehensible message without being distracted
by trying to express their more sophisticated ideas with limited ability in
target language.

33. Kroll(1990) suggests that writing in a second language is more complex,
given that the problem native speakers have with composing are compounded
in the foreign language context by difficulties with the new code.
Within the context of second language writing, Novice and Intermediate
writers may approach tasks and use feedback far differently than Advanced
writers, with whom most of the research in second- language writing has been
done.
An additional consideration is that most of the research on second- language
writing has been done, to date, on writing in English as a second or foreign
language rather than on writing by English- speaking learners in a foreign
language.

34. Reichelt examined the 81 articles published in the Journal of Second
Language Writing, which first appeared in 1992, and found only 3 articles
dealing with writing in a language other than English. Her review of research
and theoretical literature in second- language writing revealed the same
imbalance between English and foreign language writing, although she does
point out that there has been an increase in articles on writing in FL other than
English since the early 1990s.
Her point is well taken when she maintains that differences between ESL and
FL writing instruction are understandable and appropriate, given these
different purposes and levels of instruction:
While FL writing may do well to borrow some concepts and
practices from English-language writing instruction, it is
important for FL writing to forge its own identity by delineating its
own research agenda and pedagogical practices

36. “Good writing in any language involves knowledge of the conventions of
written discourse in that culture as well as the abilities to choose from near
synonyms the precise word that conveys one’ s meaning, select from variety
of syntactic structures those that transmit one’ s message most precisely, and
adopt a style that will have the most positive rhetorical effect”.
Rivers(1975)

37. In landmark study of the composing process of high school students
Emig(1971) found that the twelve seniors she interviewed, most of whom had
been identified as “good” writers by their teachers, did not typically follow
the process that the composition manuals were suggesting. Most of them did
have a kind of plan for the writing in mind before beginning to write,
although it usually wasn’t down on paper. Emig’ s study further revealed that
student writing was evaluated most often on criteria that emphasized “the
accidents rather than the essences of discourse-that is, spelling, punctuation,
penmanship, the length rather than thematic development, rhetorical and
syntactic sophistication, and fulfillment of intent”.

38. Krashen(1984) reviewed research on the composing process in the native
language and concluded that good writers differ from poor writers in at least
three ways:
1) Planning. Good writers seem to plan more than poor writers do. That does
not mean that they use an outline in the prewriting stage, but they do show
some evidence of planning or organizing before they sit down to write the
first draft. They also tend to take more time before beginning to write and
tend to have flexible plans.
2) Rescanning. Good writers stop rather frequently to reread what they have
already written before continuing to compose. Krashen maintains that
rescanning helps good writers maintain a sense of the whole composition and
that by rereading, planning what to write next, and then rescanning to see if
the plan fits, writers invariably end up with better products.
3) Revising. Good writers tend to revise more than poor writers do, and they
revise somewhat differently. Whereas poor writers tend to pay attention more
often to surface form in their revisions, good writers make more changes in
content and try to ascertain the logic of their argument in the finished draft in
order to see if revisions are necessary.

39. Krashen adds that highly proficient writers often write
recursively- that is, many use a nonlinear approach to the
composing process. While writing a draft, for example,
good writers may interrupt their writing because they have
made some discovery that sends them back to reformulate
their original idea. Less experiences writers, on the other
hand, often feels that they are not allowed to do this and try
to follow some fixed set of rules they learned in
composition class instead. While the good writer
understands that composition is a “messy process that leads
to clarify, the poor writer often does not have a clear idea of
the value of revision

40. In reviewing a wide variety of studies done on the composing process of
native language writers, Hillocks(1986) identified various findings that are of
potential interest to teachers:
1) Teaching Grammar in Isolation. None of the studies reviewed supported
the notion that teaching grammatical concepts in isolation had any
positive effect on writing among native speakers. Hillocks speculates that
this might be so because grammatical instruction in sentence- level
frames only touches the surface of discourse an does not address the
other aspects of the composing process that are measured in empirical
studies.
2) Sentence- Combining Practice. Research shows positive results for
sentence- combining practice, although the effect of this practice might
slowly disappear if the practice is not reinforced.
3) Using Models of Good Writing. Hillocks maintains that the use of
models of good writing, especially “to illustrate a singe characteristic of
effective writing, such as the use of concrete detail” can be beneficial at
all grade levels.
.

41. 4) Using Criteria/ Checklists for Peer Evaluation. Strong positive effects have
been found in studies where students used a set of criteria or a checklist of
questions supplied by their teachers when engaging in peer editing and
review of compositions.
5) Free Writing Practice. The research reviewed, much of which was done
with young children, showed very few positive effects for the use of free
writing activities as the main focus of instruction, although these activities
might be useful in generating ideas for subsequent writing in a different
mode.
6) Teacher Comments. Most of the studies reviewed showed no significant
effects of teacher comments of any kind on the quality of writing, although
positive feedback seemed to be preferred in some studies to negative
feedback or no feedback. These results seem more conclusive than results in
second-language studies, which tend to be more contradictory.
Hillocks concludes from these results that some combination of treatments
(studying examples of writing, using checklists in peer evaluation and
correction, and engaging in revision) seems to be indicated if we hope to
improve writing instruction in the native language. It is wise to exercise
caution in extrapolating from research studies on writing and keep their
limitations in mind. This is especially true when extrapolating from native-
language research studies in designing foreign- and second-language
instructional programs.