Teaching writing

The role of writing is significant, it helps pupils to practice other skills and subskills and put their ideas in a logical order.

Which aspects are taught:

- handwriting: at the very beginning pupils are taught to write letters/letter combinations/words correctly; focus on graphical peculiarities of letters; differentiate between letter combinations which is connected with spelling and reading rules. Tasks: underline words with the target letter; group words with the target letter/with target letter combination; copy words spelt / pronounced in the same way / spelt according to rule; complete sentences; rewrite sentences using target structure; reorder words in a sentence

- spelling: correct writing of words, based on spelling rules and analogies

- punctuation: capitalization and punctuation

- sentence construction: correct order of words in a sentence; mastering structural patterns and their combining

- paragraphing: division of a text into paragraphs, introduction and conclusion

- text cohesion: use of linking devices to make a text logical and clear for the reader

- style: appropriate language

The teacher shows in the air how to write a letter, then writes it on the blackboard. The pupils repeat it in the air and then write 5 lines of this letter in their copy-books. Letters are organized into groups according to the shape they have to make their learning easier: i, u, e; v, w, b; m, n, h; j, y; l, t.

Moreover, letters can be divided into:

- those which are the same as in the native language: Aa, Оо, Xx, Ее, Mm, Kk, Pp;

- those similar to the letters in the native language: Tt, Hh, Uu, Bb;

- those different from th letters in the native language: Ss, Ff, Rr, Qq, Ww, Jj, Zz.

Firstly, pupils learn to write in block letters (printed version).

Exercises:

- are aimed at recognizing the letter: underline the target letter

- then pupils are taught to write elements of letters and only after that separate letters

- copying letters/letter combinations/words: copy out the words with the given letter; make words in groups

- then pupils not only copy letters but change something (e.g. add –s/-es for the 3d person singular)

- match questions and answers, gap filling, unjumble words, sentence completion, dictations

Types of dictations:

- auditory: the teacher dictates, pupils write (the text is read 3 times: 1^st – at a normal speed when pupils just listen to it, 2d – sentence by sentence when pupils write it, 3d – slower when pupils check)

- visual: a text is written on the blackboard, pupils read it for 1-2 minutes, then the teacher covers it and the pupils write the text from memory

- self-dictation: pupils learn the text by heart and then write it from their memory

- explanatory (audiovisual): the teacher dictates the text, one pupil writes on the blackboard and explains

- running/wall dictation: there are 2 teams, one pupil from each team runs to the dictation, reads the sentences and then runs to dictate it to the other pupils in his team

For intermediate and advanced students we give guided and communicative activities.

Guided: complete the dialogue/passage/story/letter, write questions you want to ask your friend going to other country, write a plan for…

Communicative: letter/essay/composition writing, summary