Writing

1
Writing

• Unit One
• Introduction
• 2005.8.31

2
Objectives of the class

• 1)     A better understanding of writing
• 2)     A better understanding of what
• the students have brought into the
• classroom
• 3)      A better understanding of what
• the teacher has brought into
• the classroom

3
Content

• Teacher led discussion about Writing
• Lecture language learning and teaching
  theories and practice
• Need analysis survey
• Preliminary plan of the term

4
1. On writing

• I Understand better about writing
• A Writing is a relatively difficult
• skill to learn and to teach
•        Different from reading and listening
•        Different from speaking

5
1. On writing

• B Writing well includes many aspects
• 1.      word expressions/sentences
• 2.      format /rhetorical patterns
• narrative/descriptive/argumentation/exposition/
  letters/reports

6
1. On writing

• But The art of writing is very much broader than
  the art of writing itself, or of the writing
  technique.

7
1. On writing

• 3.   Other aspects a good writer might possess
• Thesis original, fresh /dull plain
• (creative mind, keen perception of the world)
• Arguments persuasive/weak (rich knowledge, many
  good examples)
• Reasoning logical, competent/confused,
  incomplete(logical thinking, synthetic and
  analytic ability)
•  

8
1.On writing

• Human life almost reads like a poem.
• It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal
  cycles of growth and decay.
• It begins with innocent childhood, followed by
  awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt
  itself to mature society, with its young
  passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions
  then it reaches a manhood of intense activities,
  profiting from experience and learning more about
  society and human nature at middle age, there is
  a slight ease of tension, a mellowing of

9
1. On writing

• character like the ripping of fruit or the
  mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring
  of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same
  time ,more kindlier view of life then, in the
  sunset of our life, it is for us the age of peace
  and security and leisure and contentment
  finally, life flickers out and one goes into
  eternal sleep, never to wake up again. One should
  be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of
  life, to appreciate its main theme, its strains
  of conflict and the final resolution. The
  movement of these cycles are very much the same
  in a normal life, but the music must be provided
  by the individual himself.

10
1. On writing

• That is why Great writers are not taught. It is
  the gift , experience and knowledge
• II Why do we spend such a long time on the
  course?
• A A requirement
• In college, postgraduate test

11
1. On writing

• B A beneficial skill
• 1.      good for learning(vocabulary/reading/other
  courses )
• 2.      good for future work(foreign enterprises,
  teachers,) advantage for English majors
• 3.      good for personal development(thinking
  ability, perception ability, accuracy) e.g

12
1. On writing

• III How to learn it well?
• 1.      write a lot
• 2.  Read a lot
• 3.      Experience and think a lot

13
2.What the teacher has brought into the classroom?

• Education objectives
• Second Language Learning
• L2 Writing
• Technology-based context

14
Education objectives(cognitive)

• Blooms taxonomy (Bloom Krathwohl, 1956)

evaluation
synthesis
constructivist
analysis
application
comprehension
objectivist
knowledge
15
Epistemology

• What is knowledge?

objectivism
constructivism
16
Constructivism

• Create authentic environments that provide a
  relevant context for the learning
• Focus on developing realistic methods to solving
  real-world problems
• Stress conceptual interrelations and multiple
  perspectives
• The instructor coaches the students on strategies
• Learning should be controlled by the learner

17
The role of the tutor
objectivism
constructivism
sage on the stage
guide by the side
18
Language learning

• Krashen's comprehensible input hypothesis
• (learning and acquisition)
• Swain(1985) comprehensible output hypothesis,
  that is the opportunities to produce language
  were important for acquisition.

organic perspective
19

• Input and output are both important and form and
  meaning are inseparable.
• Writing can combine both form and meaning and
  input and output, learn many things
  simultaneously and imperfectly.

20

• So writing and speaking continuously is a very
  essential way to learn language well.
  Communicative activities may act as a
• switch that can allow the learnt language to
  pass to the acquired store. (Harmer)
• We will place increasingly greater importance on
  roughly tuned input and communicative activities
  

21
How to teach advanced writing

• 1.provide authentic situation to write
• 2.Provide meaningful and authentic tasks .
• Find out method to stimulate continuous writing.
• 3.Provide adequate input for reference
• 4.provide interactive opportunities to negotiate
  meaning.
• 5.provide various ways to respond to students
  writings.

22
Our situation and innovation

• Technology-assisted
• Virtual Learning Environment

23
The Iceberg model
face-to-face teaching
assessed tasks
directed learning
preparation reflection
independent learning
mastery
Roger Ottewill (CLT) On the Horizon 10,1 2002
24
Whats in a VLE?
25

• IV. Our beliefs
• Knowledge is mainly constructed by learners
  themselves by the interaction of their existing
  knowledge and the external knowledge
• Writing is a skill trained not taught
• Teacher is no longer a sage in the platform of
  the class but a guide to learners self
  construction of knowledge
• Technology can provide many help that a
  traditional classroom cannot do. (though more
  demanding for teachers)

26
1st Task

• Writing an article on writing