Modul Ppg Pkb3105 Topic 5

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Synopsis

This topic explains the definition and concept of writing. Factors

affecting writing competency is also discussed. Also covered

here is language awareness, language skills , techniques for

teaching writing and the teaching of grammar.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module, learners will be able to

1. Give the definition and explain the concept of writing.

2. Identify the factors affecting writing competency

3. Explain about language awareness and language skills

4. Identify and use techniques for teaching writing

5. Describe the teaching of grammar.:

Topic Framework

Definition and concept of writing Factors Affecting Writing Competency

Fine Motor Skill Visual-motor Coordination Perception

Language Awareness Sentence Types (simple,compound and complex

sentences Language Skills

Mechanics of writing Sentence construction Paragraph writing Write different types of texts

Techniques for Teaching Writing

TOPIC 5WRITING SKILLS

2HRS

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Cloze Spelling Simple sentence construction, etc

Teaching of Grammar

5.0 Introduction

When we talk about writing, we are actually referring to a few different

skills that go into the production of written language. There is the skill

involved in the forming of letters that make up the words. The term for this

particular skill is handwriting. Then there is the ability to arrange the letters

of a word in the correct order. The name for this skill is spelling. Then there

is the skill of organizing and expressing whatever you are planning to

inform using the English language. Generally, we call this written

expression. This is a complex skill comprising a number of sub-skills. First

of all, if a learner wants to write about something, he will need to have

knowledge of the subject area. This is known as ideation. Then he will

need to be able to formulate sentences to express this knowledge and

information that he has. The ideas will need to be planned and arranged in

a connected way to enable the reader to understand clearly what is being

written.

If we stop to think for a moment about all the skills involved in written

expressions, we will realize that the learner needs to have mastered to a

certain degree all the various components of language that we discussed

in the first topic, especially semantics or knowledge of the meanings of

words and phrases and syntax or knowledge of the rules governing the

ordering of words in sentences. In addition, the learner will need to have

mastered the conventions of writing, that is, he must be familiar with the

rules of punctuation and capitalization, and be able to generate ideas, and

subsequently organize his ideas into paragraphs.

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If we take the time to study the English syllabus for pupils with learning

difficulties, we will find that there is very little empasis placed on written

expression, especially in organizing ideas into a connected whole through

writing. Emphasis is placed more on helping the pupils acquire knowledge

of the English language in order to use it for daily communicational and

functional purposes. This is because language mastery is a huge problem

for most of them. Therefore, teachers should not aim for mastery of the

English language. However, these pupils will be sitting for the national

examination. As such, teachers will need to teach them the basic writing

skills which will enable them to do so.

5.1 Factors Affecting Writing Competency

5.1.1 Fine motor skill

Fine motor skills involve the small muscles of the body that enable such

functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. They

involve strength, fine motor control and dexterity.

These skills are important in most school activities as well as in life in

general. Weaknesses in fine motor skills can affect a child's ability to eat,

write legibly, use a computer, turn pages in a book, and perform personal

care tasks such as dressing and grooming.

If your pupil has fine motor weaknesses that may affect his education, you

should discuss your concerns with his parents. Evaluation by a physical

and/or occupational therapist can determine if his fine motor skills are a

concern and if therapy can improve them. An Individual Educational Plan

(IEP) team will use therapists' assessments and other evaluation data to

determine if the child needs regular therapy as a related service. If he

needs therapy to benefit from specially designed instruction, these

services will be written into the individual education program.

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Many toys, like the ones below, can develop fine motor skills:

• For school aged children, board games with pieces and parts to pick

up and move are ideal for developing these skills.

• Jenga is a strategy game using fine motor skills that focuses on the

pincher grip, which is used in writing.

• Remote control cars are great for preschool and elementary kids.

• Video games can help, but watch out for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Be sure to check the video game ratings to ensure they are

appropriate for your child.

Teachers can also develop fine motor skills by drawing with the child using

markers, crayons, colored pencils, and chalk. Drawings needn't be perfect,

and scribbling is just fine for developing fine motor skills. Teachers can

also make something different by coloring paper with multiple colors and

shapes and then covering the sheet in black crayon. Scratch off with an

orange stick or safety scissors.

Origami is a paper folding art that builds skills and is a fun craft. You can

use construction, wrapping, or other decorative papers to make these fine

motor skill building origami shapes. Paper cutting activities also build fine

motor skills and control and can be as simple or complex as you need.

Beginners can start with cutting out paper chains and progress to more

complex projects. Fine motor skills are important for writing. Children

initially grab a pencil with their whole hand in what is known as a "fist grip."

Some children keep their fist upright, with their pinkie finger towards the

paper. Other children turn their fist over with their thumb closest to the

page. Either variation of this fist grip is not correct. Children need to be

deliberately taught how to hold a pencil correctly. This is generally not a

skill children develop on their own or through play.

First, demonstrate the correct pencil position by holding the pencil between

your thumb and pointer finger in a pincer grip. Allow the pencil to rest on

the area of the hand between the finger and the thumb. Finally, bring the

second finger under the pencil for support. After the child observes the

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correct pencil position, take a small pencil (the most suitable one is the

size of golf pencils) and place it correctly in the child's hand.

Finally, supervise your child as he practices with the pencil (or crayon or

marker). Children often slip into old, incorrect habits if they are not watched

while they are learning the correct grip.

5.1.2 Visual-motor Coordination

Visual-motor coordination is the ability to coordinate vision with the

movements of the body or parts of the body.

5.1.3 Perception

Psychologists say perception is someone's view. Everyone is said to have

different perceptions on political, religious, and personal subjects.

Perception is what makes the human race so unique.

Auditory perception refers to the ability of the brain to interpret and create

a clear impression of sounds. Good auditory skills enable children to

distinguish between different pitches, volumes, rhythms and sources of

sounds and words, which has amongst others, significant benefits for

learning reading.

Auditory perception includes:

• Auditory closure – the ability to complete indistinct or inaudible

words to create a clear auditory image

• Auditory conceptualizing – the ability to interpret and form a clear

impression of a sound or combination of sounds

• Auditory discrimination – the ability to interpret information relating

to the differences between sounds, which facilitates understanding

spoken wordsand spelling skills

• Auditory localization – the ability to determine the sourceof a sound

using only the sense of hearing

• Auditory memory – the ability to store and later recall the impression

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perceived by the ears

• Auditory sequential memory – the ability to store a series of

information in the order it was heard and later recall it, to facilitate

following instructions and memorization of rhymes, songs and so

on.

Teachers can carry out some of the activities below to develop auditory

perception among their pupils:

• Reciting nursery rhymes offer children opportunities to practice

auditory perception

• Listening to a wide range of different types of music and developing

music appreciation.

• Playing and singing action songs and rhymes.• Talking to the child and letting her talk back to you in different

intensities of voice: softer, louder and with different intonations.

• Teaching the child the sounds associated with familiar animals and

objects for example, a clock ticks, a sheep says b-a-a and so on.

• Blindfolding the child outside,then call to her from different positions

nearby and let her turn towards you.

• Reading or telling the child a story and asking her afterwards a few

pertinent questions about the story.

• Speaking or singing in a high pitched voice and then a low pitched

voice and asking the child to imitate you.

• Clapping a rhythm and asking the child to imitate it. Repeat with your

backs to each other so that she cannot see you clap.

5.1.4 Writing Problems of Students with Learning Difficulties

One of the simplest ways to study the writing problems of learners with

learning difficulties is to analyze their writing samples. These samples will

reveal the problems they have with handwriting, spelling and written

expression.

1. Handwriting Problems. Some of the problems are:

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Handwritting Features Problems Shape Letters are slanted.

Shape varies from standard.Size Too large.

Too small.

Not uniform,Space Letters within a word are too crowded.

Too much space in between letters.Alignment Letters are not sitting on lines in the

book.

Height of letters are not consistent.Line Quality Letters are written too heavily or too

lightly.

2. Spelling errors. Some of these are:

Errors Primarily Due to Auditory Deficits1. Substitutes t for d, f for v , sh for ch

2. Omits vowels in two-syllable words because of inability to

discriminate between sounds, for example, pish for polish

3. Spells beginning or ending of the word correctly but middle of the

word may be missing or spelled wrongly, for examle hd for hand.

4. Confuses vowel. For example, spells bit as bet

5. Omits the second letter in blends. For examp[le spells fled as fed.

6. Uses a synonym. For example, Spells house for home.

7. Omits word endings. For example omits ed, s and ing.

8. Spell word that has little or no relationship with the word dictated. For

example. Spells cat for home.Errors Primarily Due to Visual Deficits

1. Spells correctly the beginning or ending of the word but omits the

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middle. Example, Spells hapy for happy.

2. Gives the correct letters but in the wrong sequence. Example : teh

for the.

3. Reverses letters. For example: Writes b for d, on for no, or was for

saw.

4. Inverts letters. For example: Writes u for n, m for w.

5. Mixes up capital and small letters. For example: cAT.

6. Spelling words phonetically that are non-phonetic in configuration.

For example: tuff for tough

3. Written Language Problems

If a learner is able to compose an essay, it is easy to find out his

problems with written expression. When we talk of problems with written

expression, we will generally discuss these in terms of the vocabulary he

possesses (semantics), his ability to formulate sentences to convey his

ideas (syntax), the sufficiency of the contents of his essay (ideation), and

his ability to organize his ideas (organization). The following are diagnostic

questions that could bring out the problems faced by the students in the

skills just mentioned.

1. Was there a good variety of words used? Were the words

appropriate? What can you say about the student’s use of verbs,

adjectives, nouns, pronouns and conjunctions?

2. What kinds of grammatical erors were made?

3. What was the average word length of sentences?

4. Was there a good mixture of simple, compound and complex

sentences?

5. Were the paragraphs appropriate in organization and content?

6. Were the contents well selected and organized?

7. Were the contents accurate?

8. Was the purpose clear?

9. What were the errors of punctuation and capitalization?

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5.2 Language Awareness

Language Awareness can be defined as explicit knowledge

about language, and conscious perception and sensitivity

in language learning, language teaching and language use.

It covers a wide spectrum of fields. For example, Language

Awareness issues include exploring the benefits that can be

derived from developing a good knowledge about language, a

conscious understanding of how languages work, of how people

learn them and use them.

Can we become better language users or learners or teachers if

we develop a better understanding? And can we gain other

advantages: for example in our relations with other people

and/or cultures, and in our ability to see through language that

manipulates or discriminates? Language Awareness interests

also include learning more about what sorts of ideas about

language people normally operate with, and what effects these

have on how they conduct their everyday affairs: e.g. their

professional dealings.

5.2.1 Sentence Types (simple, compound and complex sentences)

In developing knowledge of sentence structure, the grammar of the

sentence will be discussed later. Here, the focus is on the sentence

as a component of text-building. We interpret a sentence differently

according to its role in the text in which it occurs.the same idea can

be expressed in more than one way. Therefore, another skillthat is

important to a writer is an ability to choose a sentence pattern that is

mostappropriate for his purpose in the context of a specific piece of

writing. Another feature of sentences in texts is that there are

situations where one or two sentences is all that is required for an

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act of communication. Read further and types more example on

sentences can be found below.

5.3 Language Skills

5.3.1 Mechanics of writing

Mechanics is the term we use to describe the technical aspects of

writing, such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Many

fiction writers would say that mechanics are not the most important

part of writing. They come second to other elements such as a

good storyline, well-developed characters, and so on. However,

mechanics are still very important. If your story is not mechanically

well-written, many educated readers will not even bother to read it,

either because it’s too hard for them to figure out what you’re trying

to say, or they just assume the story won’t be good because it

doesn’t appear to be well-written. Despite the phrase “Don’t judge a

book by its cover,” appearance matters. If your story doesn’t look

worth reading, people may not read it. Good mechanics make a

story easy to read, and that will attract more readers.

5.3.2 Sentence construction

Let’s start with the basics. To put it simply, a sentence is a

complete thought or idea. As an example, ‘I write fanfic’ is a

sentence. Like all complete sentences, it has two main parts, a

subject and an action. I is the subject, or noun. Write is the action,

or verb. ‘I am a fanfic write’] is another sentence with the same

meaning. In this case, I is still the subject, and am is the verb,

though it does not really describe an action. It is called a linking

verb, linking I to fanfic writer, which are one in the same.

Some sentences contain more than one thought or idea. These

are called compound sentences. An example of compound

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sentence is: ‘I am a fanfic writer, and I write mostly drama.’ The

two main ideas are : ‘I am a fanfic writer.’ and ‘I write mostly

drama.’ Each of these could be sentences on their own, since they

both form complete thoughts, but I chose to combine them together

into one sentence. Notice that I did this by putting a comma and

and between them. Words like and, or, and but are called

conjunctions and are used to join simple sentences into compound

sentences this way.

A run-on sentence is a sentence with multiple thoughts or ideas

that are not joined together in the correct way, using commas and

conjunctions or semi-colons. For example, the sentence, ‘I am a

fanfic writer I write mostly drama’, would be a run-on sentence

because there is no punctuation to separate the two thoughts.

Punctuation are marks such as periods (.), question marks (?),

exclamation points (!), commas (,), apostrophes (‘), quotation

marks (“”), semi-colons (;), and colons (:). When used correctly,

they make writing look more organized and easier to read and

understand. They tell you how to read a line and where to pause

or breathe. Even if you’re not reading out loud, punctuation is

important to the meaning of text.

Most people understand how to use periods, question marks, and

exclamation points, which are all used at the ends of sentences.

Many people struggle with commas and quotations.

Commas

Commas are one of the most important punctuation marks, yet

they are often ignored or misused. They have many different uses.

Usually, they are used to separate words or phrases, such as

clauses in a sentence, items in a list, transition words, names, parts

of a date or address, and more.

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In the sentence above, several commas are used. Usually is a

transition word and should be followed by a comma. Such as

clauses in a sentence is a clause, or phrase, itself and should be

separated from the other phrases in the sentence for clarity. The

ways in which commas can be used formed a list in this sentence,

and so they are separated by commas as well.

If you are writing a compound sentence, as described above, you

can use a comma and a conjunction to separate the two or more

ideas in that sentence. Remember, though, to always use a

conjunction along with your comma. Writing a sentence like ‘I am

a fanfic writer, I write mostly drama.’ is wrong. Technically, that is a

run-on. To make it not a run-on, you would need the and in there

after the comma.

You could also use a semi-colon. Instead of writing ‘I am a fanfic

writer, and I write mostly drama.’, you could shorten it up by writing,

‘I am a fanfic writer; I write mostly drama.’ The semi-colon takes

the place of the comma and conjunction and is correct. This may

seem picky, but this is what the rules of English dictate.

Quotations

In fiction, quotations are used mainly for writing dialogue, or your

characters’ speech. A lot of people struggle with the correct way to

write dialogue, especially at first, but once you get the hang of it,

it’s easy. Here are the basics:

First, every time one of your characters is saying something, all of

their dialogue should be contained inside quotation marks. For

example, if you had Brian saying, “I’m going to school,” you would

write his line exactly as is written here – within quotation marks.

[“I’m going to school.”]

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If your line of dialogue stands by itself, like at the end of the above

paragraph, you should end it with a period, question mark, or

exclamation point. The punctuation always goes INSIDE the

quotation marks, NOT outside. [“I’m going to school.” ]ß the right

way [“I’m going to school”.] ß the wrong way

If your line of dialogue is followed by a clause like he said, you

should use a comma instead of a period. For example: [“I’m going

to school,” he said.]

However, if the dialogue would normally have a question mark or

exclamation point instead of a period, you can keep the question

mark or exclamation point. For example: [“Are you going to

school?” he asked.] The punctuation still stays inside the quotation

marks.

If you’re writing a characters thoughts, something they’re just

thinking and not actually saying, you don’t need to use quotation

marks. For example, if Brian’s just thinking, I need to go to school,

you could write it like this: [I need to go to school, Brian thought.]

Some authors choose to put thoughts in italics to differentiate them.

For example: [I need to go to school, Brian thought.] That is all a

matter of the author’s preference though.

5.3.3 Paragraph writing

A paragraph is a group of sentences that all revolve around the

same topic or idea. In fiction, paragraphs can be as short as one or

two sentences or much longer, depending on how much you have

to write about one certain thing and your own preference. In

general, a good-sized paragraph is about 5-7 sentences. If your

paragraphs are consistently longer than that, you might need to

break up your story into more paragraphs.

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Many beginning writers write all in one big paragraph; a whole

chapter may be all in one or two paragraphs. Huge paragraphs are

hard to follow. It is easier to read, both from a comprehension and

a physical standpoint, when text is broken up into smaller

paragraphs with empty spaces in between. Notice that the

paragraphs here are fairly short. This makes it easier for you to

follow the text.

The general rule is, you should start a new paragraph every time

you start talking about something new. Going along with our last

examples, if you started a paragraph with Brian saying, “I’m going to

sxhool,” you might continue that paragraph with a few sentences

about Brian leaving. You could describe him putting on his shoes,

getting his keys, going out to his car, etc. Once he gets to the

school, or maybe even once he starts driving away, you should start

a new paragraph because you’re now describing something new.

When writing dialogue, you should also start a new paragraph

every time there is a new speaker. This is a big one!! If Brian

says “I’m going to school,” and then Kevin replies, “Okay, see ya

later,” these two lines of dialogue should be in different paragraphs.

The example of writing is shown below:

“I’m going to sxhool,” said Brian, grabbing his keys.

Kevin looked up. “Okay, see ya later,” he replied.

Even though the paragraph about Brian was only one sentence, we

had to start a new paragraph when we got to Kevin because we

knew he was going to start talking, too. Whenever the speaker

changes, change paragraphs. This makes it less confusing and

prevents you from having to say [Brian said…] or [Kevin said…]

before or after each line of dialogue. If you change paragraphs

each time, the readers can usually figure out who’s talking.

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5.3.4 Different types of texts

The following are some of the different types of texts:

1. Narrative

Narative is the telling of a story or an account of a sequence of

events. One of the four traditional forms of composition (along

with description, exposition, and persuasion). Narration differs

from exposition, which can also relate a sequence of events, in

that narration need not be factual and may be written from the

perspective of a character in the text.

2. Description

Description is a text or speech that is meant to give a verbal

picture of an object, character, location, or event. Description is

considered one of the four traditional forms of composition

(along with exposition, narration, and persuasion).

3. Expository/exposition

Expository or exposition is a text or speech that is meant to set

forth or explain a concept or procedure. Considered one of the

four traditional forms of composition (along with description,

narration, and persuasion), exposition may contain elements of

the other three forms in order to achieve its purpose.

4. Argumentative

In this kind of essay, we not only give information but also

present an argument with the PROS (supporting ideas) and

CONS (opposing ideas) of an argumentative issue. We should

clearly take our stand and write as if we are trying to persuade

an opposing audience to adopt new beliefs or behavior. The

primary objective is to persuade people to change beliefs that

many of them do not want to change.

5. Summary

Summary is a shortened version of a text that highlights its key

points. It is an overview of content that provides a reader with

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the overarching theme, but does not expand on specific details.

A summary describes a larger work (such as an entire book,

speech, or research project), and should include noticeably less

content then the original work. Summaries can save a reader

time because it prevents the reader from having to actually go

through and filter the important information from the unimportant.

6. Report

A report is a document containing information organized in a

narrative,graphic, or tabular form, prepared on ad hoc, periodic,

recurring, regular, or as required basis. Reports may refer to

specific periodsn events, occurrences or subjects, and may be

communicated or presented in oral or written form.

7. Letter

A letter is a written or printed communication addressed to a

person or organization and usually transmitted by mail. It can be

formal or informal.

5.3.5 Writing in English for Different Purposes

The English language syllabus for pupils with learning disabilities is

organised in such a way that we teach them to write for different

purposes. As such, teachers have to plan the lessons in such a way

that they can relate the purposes of writing to instructional planning.

1. Daily application of writing

a. Forms and applications – learniers are taught to fill in

different forms like application forms, forms asking for

personal details, bank forms and so on.

b. Arrangements and records – learners should know how to

write notes and notices about arrangements for travel,

meetings, weekend excursions or contests. They should also

be able to write short reports or accounts of activitiesfor the

class or school newspaper.

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c. Orders and complaints – learners should know how to order

goods and services, or how to write letters of complaints.

2. Social contact

Learners shouldbe able to send messages of congratulations

and greetings to others, and to inform others of events or

change of circumstances. Such greetings and announcements

could be sent or be displayed on bulletin boards.

3. Getting and giving information.

When learners have gatheredinformation for projects, they would

need to organize the information and then report it to others in

written form. The information could later be presented as oral

reports, be published in class newspapers bedistributed to other

classes.

4. Study purposes

Learnersneed to have practice in taking notes, writing abstracts,

reports,essays, analysis and term papers.

5. Entertainment

Learners can write with the intention of entertaining. For this,

they can write stories, skits, scripts or one-act plays. They may

also prepare the programmes for an event such as a fashion

parade, or write captions for pictures andphotographs.

6. Self-expression

Learners can express themselves creatively through stories,

poems, nonsense rhymes, nursery rhymes, sketches and

autobiographical narratives. They can also keep personal

journals and diaries of their thoughts and experiences.

From the discussion just now, it is shown that writing can be used for many

purposes. If we study the English syllabus used for students with learning

difficulties, we find that it focuses more on the use of writing for daily

application. Many learners will be exposed to the English language for the

first time, so the syllabus is relevant to the needs of these learners. A lot of

emphasis is placed on vocabulary development based on different themes

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and communicational situations. Writing is taught as a tool to achieve daily,

functional activities like filling in forms. Sisnce there are also students who

are taught the English language to pass the national examinations,

teachers should also be able to teach the learners to organize their

thoughts and ideas and convey these through sentences that follow the

rules of syntax.

5.4 Techniques for Teaching Writing

5.4.1 Cloze

Based on or being a test of reading comprehension in which the test

taker is asked to supply words that have been systematically

deleted from a text. Cloze procedure is a technique in which words

are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or

various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who

insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from

the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading

assessment technique.

It is used:

• to identify learners' knowledge and understanding of the

reading process

• to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ

to construct meaning from print

• to assess the extent of students' vocabularies and knowledge of

a subject

• to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading

• to encourage students to think critically and analytically about

text and content

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To prepare materials for Cloze exercises, any of the following

techniques may be used:

1. Select a self-contained passage of a length appropriate for the

grade level of the students being assessed. Use materials

easily read by the students.

2. Leave the first and last sentences and all punctuation intact.

3. Carefully select the words for omission using a word-count

formula, such as every fifth word or other criteria. To assess

students' knowledge of the topic or their abilities to use

semantic cues, delete content words which carry meaning, such

as nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs. To assess

students' use of syntactic cues, delete some conjunctions,

prepositions and auxiliary words.

4. When preparing the final draft of the passage, make all blanks

of equal length to avoid including visual clues about the lengths

of omitted words.

5. Have the students read the entire passage before they fill in the

blanks.

6. Encourage the students to fill each blank if possible.

7. Although there should be no time limit for this exercise, the time

necessary for completion should be noted.

8. Suggest that students reread the completed passage.

This is how you can adapt it:

Examples:

1. Supply choices for the blanks.

Just as ____________have fur, birds have ____________.

(coats, animals) (feathers, wings)

2. When learners have used the technique described above and can

replace the appropriate words from the choices supplied, provide

passages in which every fifth word or every tenth word is arbitrarily

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deleted and only a letter or two of the correct word is available,

perhaps a beginning consonant or consonant blend:

With the price of f______ going up all the t______, more people are

trying t___ raise some of their f_____ in their own back y______.

3. When the learners do well with this task, indicate only the blank with

no additional clues. Accept any word that seems a reasonable fit:

Example:

Instead of grass, you _______ rows of lettuce, tomatoes,

________ beans lining the fences _______ in the biggest city.

5.4.2 Spelling

Incorrect spellling may often give the reader the impression that the

writer is careless and lacks education. One should try and

remember that spelling is often very difficult for learners studying

English because of the lack of correlation between the sound of a

word and how it is actually spelt. A single sound or phoneme may

often have a variety of differrent spellings (eg saw, door, sore, four).

Furthermore, the same spelling may also have a variety of different

sounds (or word).

A good way of getting your pupils to improve their spelling is by

giving them a table of the words that they are having problems with.

Now get the learners to copy the word in the next column. The

learners then cover the first two columns with a piece of paper or a

book. They must then attempt to write the word from memory in the

covered column. Learners then uncover the columns and check

their spelling by placing a tick or cross in the ’check’ column.

Another great way of getting your learners to take responsinility for

their own learning and to improve their spelling is to create a

personal spelling tabe for your pupils. Every time you give pupils

back a piece of writing work that has been marked, get the pupils to

take note of their spelling mistakes. Pupils then add the words with

the correct spelling to their table. Now, get students in the class to

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test each other once a week on their personal spelling tables. Every

time a pupil gets the spelling correct, place a tick in the block where

the word appears. Once three ticks appear in the block, color that

block. The objective is to color the entire table.

5.4.3 Developing a Written Vocabulary

For the pupil who has just been taught English, the starting point for

teaching writing would be just copying. The English syllabus

requires that the learner learn theme-related words like parts of the

body or types of transportation. Obviously, when these words are

taught, it is also necessary for the learners to write down the words

in the learning process,as when an exercise is given for the learners

to label the various parts of the body correctly. When the learner

has learned some words, he can be encouraged to make picture

dictionaries, or the words learned could be filed in a word box so

that they can be referred to later on. Some suggested simple

copying activities which can be carried out:

1. Prepare worksheets of some words that can be traced, that is

words written in dotted outline. For example, fruits -apple,

orange, pineapple; colour – red, yellow, white, blue; vegetables

– lettuce, cabbage, water cress

2. Prepare exercises where learners write out the plural form of the

words. For example, cat-cats; cow-cows; pencil-pencils

3. Let learners write all the words they have written on their word

cards for a specified category. For example, Furniture: chair,

table, sofa

4. Let learners write out pairs of rhyming words they have written

on their word cards. For example: cat, hat; eat.meat; boy, toy.

5. Write a spelling pattern, let the learner write all the words of that

pattern, that is the word family. For example, at: cat, bat, hat,

mat

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5.4.4 Simple sentence construction

One of the most recommended methods of teaching learners to

read written sentences is the Language Experience Approach. In

this approach, the learner tells the teacher a story or anything at all

about himself. The teacher then writes down what the learner has

told him. When this is done, the learner will realize that written

language actually represents oral language. The written experience

story can then be used as a reading text. The learner can then copy

the text into his own book. Some modification which can be done to

this approach include:

Writing a sentence on a word card illustrating a picture

Writing a sentence under a learner’s drawing

Retelling of stories previously read to the learner

Writing class poems,jokes and group stories based on a

shared experience

Writing stories about pets

Writing class science experiments

The following are more structured ways of teaching sentence

formulation:

1. Sentence completion

a. The learner copies from a model

For example, The dog is ...... (big, small)

b. The learner uses vocabulary cards to complete a sentence

For example, The dog is .....

c. The learner writes original sentences

For example . The............................

2. Have the learner start with a short sentence and add words to

make longer and longer sentences

For example, I saw a dog.

I saw a brown dog.

I saw a little, brown dog.

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I saw a little, old, brown dog.

3. Write words that the learners have been taught on separate index

cards. The learners take turns drawing cards. They then form

sentences using the word. When all the cards have been used,

the learners read each other’s card.

4. Plan activities that require obly a few sentences

For exmple ,

a. Greeting card messages

b. Post card messages

c. Descrtiption of pictures of things and persons

d. Captions for pictures on bulleting boards

e. Small books about a subject, like ’Birds”

f. Dialogue for comic strips

g. Steps in an experiment

5. Sentence combining.

The learner can be taught to use compound and complex

sentences by structured drills. A sentence pattern is provided and

the learner combines two given sentences following the modeled

pattern.

For example,

The ball is big. It is on the table.

The big ball is on the table.

The car is red. It is in the garage.

..................................................................

6. Give the learners the words of a sentence that have not been

ordered and ask him to arrange the words to form a grammatical

sentence.

For example , cat, small, the, is

The cat is small.

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7. Give the student various noun and verb phrases and ask him to

expand the sentence by adding descriptive words

Example : many, boys, swimming, river

There are many boys swimming in the river.

5.4.5 Teaching Learners to Write Texts

Once the learners are able to formulate simple sentences, the

teacher should help them use this ability to write basic texts. Other

additional activities are:

1. Give the learner a written paragraph in which the sentences are

out of sequence. Ask him to rewrite the paragraph by arranging

the sentences in a logical and meaningful order.

2. Give the learner individual pictures that make up a comic strip.

Ask the learner to put the pictures in sequence. Subsequently,

ask the learner to write sentences about each picture so that

there is a sequential story.

3. Ask the learner to cut out an interesting picture from a magazine.

Paste the picture on a large piece of paper. Then ask the learner

to write a few sentences about the picture.

4. Have the learner keep a diary or make journal entry. At the end

of each day, let him write a diary entry in which he expresses

himself by summarizing his experiences, feelings and activities

of the day.

5. Start a class newspaper and ask all learners to contribute some

form of writing. Learners can take turns serving as editors,

printers, proof readers and distributors.

6. Cloze exercises, in addition to being a good method of teaching

comprehension, are a very structured way to develop the ability

of the learner in writing connected text.

5.5 Teaching of Grammar

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During the past century or so, the focus of classroom instruction and the

practice of language teaching have shifted depending on

prevailing,customary methodologies and theoretical fooundations of

language teaching and learning, this has provided us with both interesting

and varied interpretations of how best to teach a foreign language. This

has provided us with both interesting and varied interpretations of how best

to teach a foreign language. Over the past few decades there has been a

change of focus from an emphasis on language forms to more functional

language within a communicative context. The adoption of Communicative

Language Teaching has seen a significant loss of focus on the forms of

language. This approach introduced ’real-life’ communication,

characterised by authentic materials, true-to-life simulation and meaningful

tasks. Learners are and can be taught through role plays and simulations.

Accuracy was seen as less important than fluency and successful

communication. The Communicative approach highlighted the importance

of functional language as opposed to focusing specifically on grammar and

vocabulary like in the past.

Brown (2001) states that grammatical competence is an important

component of communicative competence. He goes on to describe

organisational competence as a complex set of rules which govern both

sentences (grammar) and how we link these sentences together

(discourse). It is this organisational competence, which is seen as

necessary for communication and to ensure that the language used is not

disorganised and muddled. Diane Larsen-Freeman (1991) points out that

although grammar provides us with the form or structures of language,

these are inconsequential or meaningless without, at the same time,

considering semantics (meaning) and pragmatics (meaning assigned given

the context). These three aspects are interconnected and each is

dependent on the other. Thus grammar is important and need to be taught.

The following are some ideas and techniques for teaching Grammar in the

classroom:

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5.5.1 Troublesome Grammar

For practice with troublesome grammatical structures, have

an assortment of dittoed choice and filling the blank

exercises on the following areas:

• Verb tenses

• Prepositions

• Question formation

• Adjective placement

• Modals

Prepare an answer key for self checking.

5.5.2 Sentence Structuring

On index cards, write a sentence or question, with each word

on a separate card. On the back, number each word card in

sequence. The learners must put the cards in the correct

word order. They can check themselves by looking at the

numbers on the back. Keep each set of cards in a rubber

band or in an envelope.

5.5.3 Memory Games

In this activity, you may divide the learners into two groups.

Give each group a copy of the same picture. Tell them to

look at it but do not tell them that they are expected to

memorise the items in the picture. Give them a minute or two.

Then take the pictures away from the groups. Each group

nominates a spokeperson for their group. In this activity, the

material is utilised to work on the present continuous tense

(is/am/are + ing). The teacher reads out some true/falsi

statements about the picture, using the present continuous

tense , for example : The man is....The boys are...). after

each group has discussed the statement, their spokeperson

relays their answer to you. Points are awarded for correct

answers.

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5.5.4 Miming an Action

Create two piles of cards. One pile should consist of cards

with an adverb written on each and the other pile with the

meaning. Divide the learners into two groups. The first group

sends one of its members up to the front of the class. This

learner selects one card, which are face down, from each pile

on the teacher’s desk. The learner must then mime the action

to the other group who then have 45 seconds to guess the

action correctly. This can be used to practise a variety of

tenses. If the learners in the group guess the correct action

within the allocated time, then the group is awarded a point. It

is now the other group’s turn to send a student up to the front

of the class.

5.5.5 Creating Time Lines

A useful activity may be to encourage learners to create their

own time lines when dealing with new tenses. Write a

sentence on the board and ask the learners to either come

up to the board and create a timeline on the board or ask

them to complete a time line in their books.

5.5.6 Split Sentences

In this activity, you may wish to use the first conditional, for

example, or a variety of tenses. Once you have written a

number of sentences on a piece of paper, proceed to cut

each sentence in two. Distribute these various pieces to the

students in the class. The students must then read their half

of the sentence to the class and attempt to find the missing

half of their sentence.

5.5.7 Grammar Quiz

You could initiate a grammar quiz for two teams. Write a verb

infinitive on the board and the first team to write the correct

past participle on the board is awarded a point. You could

create a number of variations of your own,for example, ask

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each team to prepare their own questions to present to the

other team.

5.5.8 Growing Stories

Growing story activities are excellent practice for work on the

past simple tense. Learners are given the first sentence of a

story. They then have to add another sentence to the story in

order to cintinue the storyline. The learners then pass their

stories to the person next to them who in turn adds another

sentence. Alternatively, this activity may be done on a

computer. The stories can then be printed and read out to

see the variety.

5.5.9 Questionnaires

Ask learners to write a questionnaire by utilising recent

grammar items which have been covered in class.

Alternatively, you could assist the learners by presenting

them with basic structures. Once the questionnaires have

been completed, ask the learners to survey one another.

5.5.10 Objects and Things

By bringing certain objects and things (eg wallet, handbag,

money, glasses...) into your classroom, you add a hands-on

feel to your teaching. In order to teach beginning level

learners the use of the possessive form, you could

encourage the learners to bring a few items to class. Ask

them to place the items on their desks. Gather the objects

and place them on different desks around the classroom.

Learners then work on pairs. They walk around the

classroom and by using the target language (placed on the

board) and the embedded politeness forms (Excuse me) and

discourse ellipsis rules (NO it’s Fatimah”s, rather than No, it’s

Fatimah’s purse.)

5.5.11 Maps and Drawings

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Maps are practical and simple visual aids for the classroom

and can serve to illustrate certain grammatical structures

such as the use of:

• Prepositional phrases (down the street, across the

road, etc)

• Question forms (where is,how do I find, is this,....)

• Imperatives (go, walk, turn, keep an eye out for,.....)

• Appropriate discourse when asking for directions,

attracting someone’s attention, clarifying information

and ending the conversation.

Drawings are an excellent way in which to provide practice in

stating locations and giving directions (with the use of

prepositional phrases). You may wish to begin by using the

simple drawing which follows. After introducing the relevant

terms (next to, in the bottom left-hand corner, in the centre,

below..........) divide the learners into pairs. Give one learner

a copy of picture and the other learner a piece of paper and

a pencil. The learner with the picture describes what is in the

picture and where these things are (without showing the

other learner) whilst the other learner draws what is

described on their piece of paper.

5.5.12 Charts and Graphs

These are very useful when practising various patterns and

clarifying certain grammatical relationships. Learners can

practise simple understanding and interpreting of graphical

information. Learners are also introduced to the idea of

trends.

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Exercise 1 : Apply any three activities discussed in this topic to teach your studentsin the school. Note problems and the effectiveness of the activities. Write areflectivereport and share this in class or online.

Exercise 2 : the language experience approach is a very effective apporach to teaching. Usually we use it to teach reading. However, once the teacher has written down the speech of the pupils, he can copy it and the text becones the pupul’s own.Try out this method with your pupils and write a reflective report on the outcome.

You can make use of the materials in the internet to get additional information.

Exercise 3 : You have already learned how you could help your pupils develop a writing vocabulary, to write sentences and also to write simple texts. Hoever, you might be required to teach pupils to write essays for examination purposes.

To add to the knowledge you already have of teaching writing,you are required to read up on the writing process. This is an approach used to teach learners how to write compositons, and involve the various stages of prewriting, writing, revising and sharing the finished product with an audience. Write an essay onwhat yu have read and discuss in class.

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