Second language Writing

1. Second languageWriting Wordsstrain,Crack and sometimes break, under the burden,Under the tension, slip, slide, perish,Decaywithimprecision, will not stay in place,Will not staystill. (TS Eliot : Burnt Norton)

2. Writer’s block

3. historical approaches to ESL writing instruction • Controlled composition • The rhetorical approach • The process approach • English for academic purposes

4. Controlled composition • Manipulation of fixed patterns

5. the RHETORICAL approach • the development of text organisation skills. • The paragraph was the central unit, with students learning how to arrange sentences within paragraphs according to their function (topic definition, exemplification, comparison, contrast and so on). • Individual paragraphs could then be combined into a coherent whole ensuring a logical progression through the use of appropriate discourse markers

6. sENTENCE REORDERING • Dear Sir, • a) I telephoned the council offices, but I wasmerelytoldthat in the last six months no traffic lights had been installedanywhere, and thatthiswas due to economycuts. • b) However, nothing has been done. • c) It wouldbeinteresting if someone in authoritycouldtry to explainthisstrange and dangerousorder of priorities. • d) This crossroadsis an accident black spot. • e) Now, as you know, the need for thesetraffic lights has once again been tragicallyunderlined by anotherdeath, this time of a youngchild. • f) I amwriting to drawyourreaders’ attention to the urgent need for traffic lights at the junction of Mars Road and Sale Street. • g) This replyistotallyunsatisfactorywhen, as everyoneknows, the council has recentlyspentenormousamounts of money on the installation of new flower displays in Town Hall Square. • h) After a fatal accident some six monthsago the councilpromised to installtraffic lights there. • i) I do not normallymake public protests, but thislatest incident made me act. • j) It has been the scene of dozens of bad accidents, includingseveral in which people have died.

7. the rhetorical approach • All stages from the initial planning to the final writing are carefully considered. • Sample compositions are analysed to show, for example, the ordering and connection of sentences within the paragraph and how the paragraphs are linked.

8. Textanalysis

9. The process approach • emphasises the composing processes such as brainstorming, planning, drafting and revising which enter into play when good writers are engaged in producing texts. • These stages do not necessarily occur in sequence but may recur throughout the creation of a text • Process writing is thus said to be ‘recursive’, involving multiple drafts, reformulation and reorganisation of successive versions

12. Process vs product : EAP • When writing an academic text (such as a research report) the individual’s psychological processes are largely irrelevant. • What counts is the degree to which the finished product conforms to a recognizable genre and satisfies the end-reader’s appreciation of it as meeting the standards required by the particular discourse community, or, in the case of an exam paper, the examination board.

13. Flower & Hayes model (1980) • Writing can be broken down into various components: • a rhetorical situation involving a topic and an audience • the writer’s goal in terms of persona, • the purpose of the text, • the ‘dialogue’ with the reader and • the construction of textual meaning.

14. Flower & Hayes model (1987) • Their model (1987) incorporates: • task definition, • evaluation, • strategy selection and • text modification into the whole process of reaching the rhetorical goal.

15. Good writers vs poorwriters • Good writers • are able to reassess their objectives and their text in the light of new rhetorical problems that are thrown up during the course of writing. • have a good idea before they start of what it is they wish to impart and are creative in shaping the final product.

16. GOOD WRITERS • Are concernedwithmeaning first, form second • Are concernedwithoverall planning and re-planning • Have highlydeveloped self-monitoring • Are concernedwithpurpose of writing and viewpoint • Constantlyrevise the wholeevolvingtext • Evaluate the textthrough a reader'seyes; reacting to the text as audience • Focus on discourse, seethe text as negotiationwith a reader • Re-readwhat has been writtenso far • Are readyto change direction and reformulate the problem • Spontaneously commit ideas as theyoccurto the paper/screen • Are willingto let ideasincubate • Are willingto spend time on drafting and crafting

17. Good writers vs poorwriters • Poor writers • tend to start writing without a clear goal, are more concerned with generating words rather than subordinating them to the rhetorical problem, and they tend to revise less.

18. POOR WRITERS • Pay attention mainly to whatisbeingwritten • Are concernedwithimmediate expression of thought • Desire to getitdone as quickly as possible • Edit mainlylocal errorsat the level of mechanics and surface form • Focus on textualmatters (writingispurely a linguisticproblem) • Are inflexible; adhererigidly to a preconceived plan • Have littleconcernwith planning - if at all, mainlyat the local level • Are primarilyconcernedwithform & accuracy • Possess a rudimentarysense of self-assessment

19. Bereiter and Scardamalia • reject the notion of a unitary model with writers at different points on a scale and claim that good and poor writers are qualitatively different. • Knowledgetelling vs • Knowledgetransforming

20. Knowledgetelling • A knowledge-telling model addresses the fact that novice writers plan less often than experts, revise less often and less extensively, and are primarily concerned with generating content from their internal resources.Thesemightinclude: • narratives, personal diaries or essayswith a simple rhetorical structure

21. KNOWLEDGE TRANSFORMING • A knowledge-transforming model suggests how skilled writers use the writing task to analyze problems and set goals. • These writers are able to reflect on the complexities of the task and resolve problems of content, form, audience, style, organisation, and so on within a content space and a rhetorical space, so that there is continuous interaction between developing knowledge and text. • Knowledge transforming involves actively reworking thoughts so that in the process not only text, but also ideas, may be changed. (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987).

22. Knowledgetransforming • Skilled writers perform by elaborating explicit hypotheses about audience and genre differences. • Such tasks require greater consideration of the ordering and highlighting of information, audience expectations, the construction of a sustained logical argument and an appropriate style. • As the writing progresses, new rhetorical problems may be generated, monitored and resolved by a flow of information from the content-generating and rhetorical problem spaces.

23. Process versus genre : a false dichotomy? There is no principled reason why process writing cannot be integrated with the practice of studying and even imitating written models in the classroom. In fact, modelling can be seen as a text-level written equivalent of the practice of providing learners with formulaic oral language at an early stage of development. David Nunan

24. An example of genre

26. Field, tenor and mode • Participants identity, status and attitudes of producer and actual / implied receiver(s) • Settingplace and time of production and receipt, actual social framework (church ceremony, at the bus stop …) and genre (interview, love letter, narrative, fairy tale …) • Topic subject matter • Code variety of language used (spoken / written / formal / informal / specialised) • Key ostensible purpose and desired effect of the communication

27. What makes a writing task difficult? • length and degree of organisation of target text • complexity of the message(s) to convey • unfamiliarity of genre • quantity of information to synthesise • the subtlety of the ‘tone of voice’ to adopt • availability of similar texts for adaptation

28. What micro-skills are involved in writing? • Using appropriate layout conventions • Choosing an appropriate style • Organisingtopics and points for development in an argument • Sentence construction • Organisinggeneral and supporting statements • Organisingparagraphs • Adapting the content to the anticipated audience • Explaining purposes • Using sequencers • Using logical connectors in cause and effect arguments • Using logical connectors in comparison and contrast arguments • Incorporating visual information into text • Introducing lexical variation and cohesive devices • Proofreading (during and after)

29. process writing in the classroom • Brainstorming / making notes / asking questions • Fast writing / selecting ideas / establishing a viewpoint • Rough draft • Preliminary self-evaluation • Arranging information / structuring the text • First draft • Group/peer evaluation and responding • Conference • Second draft • Self-evaluation / editing / proof-reading • Finished draft • Final response to draft

30. Writingscales for fce • content • range of vocabulary • accuracyof vocabulary • structural organization • cohesion • appropriacyof register • accuracyof spelling • punctuation • accuracyof structure • generaleffect on the targetreader

31. Band 5 • Good range of structure and vocabularywithin the task set (a) • Minimal errors of structure, vocabulary, spelling and punctuation • Pointscovered as requiredwithevidence of original output • Textsuitably set out and ideasclearlylinked (b) • Registerappropriate to task and sustained (c) • Very positive effect on the targetreader

32. Band 4 • Good range of structure and vocabularywithin the task set but text not always fluent • Errorsonlywhen more complexvocabulary/structure attemptedspelling and punctuationgenerallyaccurate • Points covered as requiredwithsufficientdetail • Textsuitably set out and ideasclearlylinked (b) • Registerappropriate to the task and sustained (c) • Positive effect on the targetreader

33. Band 3 • An adequate range of structure and vocabulary to fulfil the .requirements of the task • Someerrorswhich do not impede communication • Points covered but some non-essential detailsomitted • Textsuitably set out and ideasclearlylinked; linkingdevicesfairly simple • Register on the wholeappropriate to the task • Satisfactoryeffect on the targetreader

34. Band 2 • Errorssometimes obscure communication/distract the reader • Some omissions or large amount of lifting/irrelevantmaterial • Text not clearly laid out; linkingdevicesrarelyused • Someattemptatappropriateregister but no consistency • Message not clearlycommunicated to the targetreader

35. Band 1 • Range of structure and vocabularyverynarrow • No evidence of anysystematic control of language • Notable omissions in coverage of points needed and/or considerableirrelevance • Poor organization of text; lack of linking • No awareness of appropriacy of register • A verynegativeeffect on the targetreader

36. ASSESSING WRITINg (7 point scale) • 6/7Sait rédiger tous les textes utilisés en milieu professionnel de façon pratiquement aussi sophistiquée qu’un natif. Le message est transmis avec élégance et efficacité, et parfaitement adapté aux connaissances du lectorat visé. L’utilisation éventuelle de supports graphiques est bonne. Sait composer des documents tels que rapports longs et détaillés, déclarations de politique générale, appels d’offres, présentations de produits, dans le langage et selon les conventions de présentation qu’exigent le contexte et la finalité du document. Manie tous les éléments du langage professionnel et du vocabulaire de spécialité employés dans son secteur ainsi que dans les secteurs apparentés. De petites erreurs éventuelles (orthographe, expressions courantes) sont faciles à éliminer. • 5Sait rédiger avec confiance des textes de nature variée employés en milieu professionnel. Le message est clairement transmis dans une forme bien adaptée aux connaissances du lectorat visé. Sait composer des documents dans des styles adaptés à différents lectorats en étant sensible aux besoins de la situation. Un manque éventuel d’aisance et des hésitations quant aux expressions, au style et à la présentation appropriés, peuvent facilement être corrigés à la relecture.

37. Assessingwriting • 4 Sait composer et rédiger des documents simples (lettres, messages courriels, notes) dans une forme adaptée au milieu professionnel, malgré d’éventuelles faiblesses dans l’aisance et dans l’adaptation du style au contexte et au lectorat visé. Manie un grand nombre d’éléments du vocabulaire professionnel et de spécialité relatif à son secteur d’activité. Des erreurs dans le choix des expressions et dans l’orthographe font de temps en temps obstacle à la communication et gênent le lecteur étranger. • 3 Sait rédiger de façon assez précise des documents professionnels et techniques de routine, en éprouvant éventuellement des difficultés lorsqu’il s’agit de communiquer des idées plus complexes. L’adaptation de la manière et du style au contexte et au lectorat visés est incertaine. (Le lecteur est de temps en temps obligé de reprendre la lecture avant de comprendre une idée, une nuance ou l’articulation du message.) Sait manipuler le vocabulaire professionnel et de spécialité. Cependant des erreurs apparaissent fréquemment dans le choix des expressions, dans l’orthographe et dans la ponctuation, qui obscurcissent le message et gênent la communication.

38. Assessingwriting • 2 Sait communiquer par écrit des informations de base, par exemple dans des lettres, des notes et des instructions de routine, et adapter des phrases simples par la substitution de mots ou d’expressions-type. Manie un vocabulaire limité ne permettant pas toujours la clarté ou la précision dans le détail, ce qui peut entraver la communication. L’organisation du texte, l’adaptation du style professionnel aux besoins du contexte et du lectorat visé, sont moyens. • 1 Sait rédiger des messages courts et concrets en se limitant à des informations de base et à des phrases courtes et stéréotypées. Démontre peu d’aisance à amplifier ou à détailler l’information. L’articulation du texte est peu explicite, et celui-ci comporte surtout des affirmations. La rédaction est lente et nécessite le recours à un dictionnaire. Des défaillances fréquentes dans la grammaire, la syntaxe et le vocabulaire rendent difficile la communication. • Débutant Ne sait rédiger que des messages rudimentaires par mots ou groupes de mots isolés.