Among all aspects of designing a writing course, the syllabus, techniques to help writers, assignment format, and teacher and peer responses are most important. The course should include writing assignments that students are challenged with at the appropriate level and quantitative, useful feedback provided for these evolving students. Like any other classroom involving ESL students, taking background knowledge, proficiency, and culture is needed.
In order to create a writing course, you must know your students and their level of the new language. Content of any good writing course should include teacher planned lessons, presentation of writing assignments, student-written texts, and feedback on their writing. However, a writing course of an ESL student should consist of numerous strategies, tips, ideas for the process of writing, and mainly the approach. Unlike an L1 learner, they already know how to brainstorm, make lists, outline, etc, but L2 students may not. It is extremely important to concentrate on the course on enhancing learning strategies and process of production as well as helpful feedback. These are brainstorming, webbing, listing, clustering, free writing ideas, and so on. Reading can show ways of how to do this as well as providing examples of different writing styles, grammar, and clarify ways of developmental methods. Kroll coins this idea by calling it the “process approach” or “process classroom” (Pg. 220). L1 and L2 student mixed classes have many similarities because they center the class on writing form and on the writer. Each classroom will be different depending on circumstances of the students and the dynamics of each individual classroom criteria.
One way to differentiate students and their writing levels is to give them a placement exam. In order to do this each student will have to provide a writing sample(s) showing their skills and proficiency. Doing this is vital to the curriculum, teacher, and student because it will be able to tell how to structure the course appropriately to the student’s need. The extent of the curriculum could then consist of simple reports, research writing etc. or could become more complex with opinionated, journaling, open ended, creative writing, etc. Next would be to compose a syllabus carefully because “good writing results from a time-consuming process that cannot be reduced to formulaic rules, though many EFL students in particular, typically trained for years in classes that emphasized rigidly controlled grammatical exercises, will come to the writing class with the belief that there are rules to be learned which will yield fully conceived and problem-free essays.” (Pg. 223). Content must be clearly delineated and accessible to writers in a language that is comprehensible and focuses on the class goal.
Responding to each student’s writing should give constructive feedback they can use to improve their writing. Feedback should also consist of peer-student feedback so they can learn from one another. Evaluating will help show and keep track of each student’s improvement, weaknesses, and strengths. Feedback should be given in all kinds of ways, such as orally, writing, teacher/peer responses, because each student may not be strong in reading, listening, etc.
Therefore feedback in as many ways as possible is useful to the student. Also this will give students a goal to work towards and hopefully develop into a better writer.
Having a writing class with a mix or L1 and L2 students is very different than a class full of native English speakers. When we take a class here at MSU for writing, we are just graded on our ability to write, because the instructor assumes we have all had practice and can all speak the language well enough to be evaluated equally. In dealing with second language students, the teacher must focus on the individual student's writing level, rather than just expecting them to write essays and be graded the same way as everyone else in the course.
ReplyDeleteIn a second language writing class, I would focus a lot on the planning of an essay and the structure of an essay as well. This would help the students begin to become familiar with writing in their new language. Also, I would place emphasis on vocabulary, to expand their vocabulary, making for better writing. It is also very important for students to be aware of different writing styles they can have. Lately, giving them a lot of feedback is crucial. I would dedicate time to meeting with each student individually in order to assess their progress and allow them to meet with their peers as well. This would give the students an opportunity to learn from their peers, and practice reading their writing out loud.
I definitely would keep with Kroll’s ideas with gauging student (all students- not just ELL!) writing proficiency at the beginning of the course. However, I think it is important to take culture into account while giving this exam. Since many of the ELL students may not be completely familiar with dominant American culture, which is typically all our school system’s standardized tests consist of, I would work to create my own test that allows students to use their own cultural knowledge to use their depth of writing.
ReplyDeleteI would also integrate strategies into my general writing instruction. These strategies, as mentioned by Kroll, are certainly helpful for the development of ELL students’ writing skills; however, these skills will also be beneficial for the NES students. As I am sure many of us have noticed in our time at MSU, many students do not leave high school with the appropriate writing skills for university-level instruction. All students having a firm understanding of thinking, learning, and brainstorming skills may help combat this problem for both NES and ELL students. However, because NES students do have some background in this area, I would hold skills workshops, either before, after, or during class, depending on the availability of class time, my time, and the students’ time.
I also agree that frequent feedback is quite necessary. I like that Kroll finds it important to use multiple types of feedback; I, too, would include this in my writing course. Although different learning abilities/types are stressed, I feel that it is also important to stress personality types by offering both formal and informal feedback. In my classroom, I would include both of these (informal example: walking around the classroom, checking for understanding and providing feedback as students work; formal example: written commentary or face-to-face writing conferences).
I would also hold, as I just briefly mentioned, face-to-face writing conferences with my students. This would be another opportunity for me to follow up on the preliminary proficiency exams I gave my students. These conferences will allow for me to check on student progress, assess how I should augment my instruction and the assignments given, as well as provide an opportunity for the students to discuss their concerns.