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Writing Matters - Doc3
Writing Matters - Doc3
By Adrian Tennant
Type: Article
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Most teachers have heard of fluency in terms of speaking, but what does it mean when applied to
writing? In this article we examine the concept of fluency in writing.
Anchor Point:0Introduction Why is written fluency important? How do I get my students to
write fluently? But what happens if they make lots of mistakes? Will developing fluency lead to
a lower level of accuracy? Can fluency lead into developing accuracy? When should we shift
our attention to accuracy? But isnt this all too time consuming? Can all activities develop
written fluency? Some practical ideas
Anchor Point:1Introduction
We often talk about the importance of fluency over accuracy when we discuss speaking activities
for the classroom. By this we mean that our students should try to say something (convey a
message) without worrying about every mistake. Fluency can be important because if we only
focus on how we say something, rather than what we say, we may fail to communicate properly.
Speed writing is one way. Choose and discuss a topic it might be a good idea to brainstorm
ideas in groups and then write these on the board. Set a time limit (e.g. 10 minutes). Your
students should now spend the time writing down their ideas without worrying about the spelling
or grammar. The aim is for them to write as much as possible (as many ideas) about the topic as
they can. During the speed-writing phase they cannot cross anything out or correct any mistakes.
If they cannot think of a word or a phrase they should leave a blank space or write it in their own
language. Once the time is up, shout stop. Students should now work in pairs or small groups
and read out what they have written. At this stage all the students should just listen. Next, as a
group (or pair) the students should work through the text, correcting mistakes, changing
punctuation, translating words or phrases into English, and filling in the blanks. This reviewing
stage is important but should be done at the end and not while the actual writing is taking place.
Another way of helping your students to write more fluently is to adjust the way you mark their
written work. Instead of focusing on their mistakes, look at the content. Respond by writing a
reply to them (as outlined in the first article on Getting started) rather than covering their piece
of work in red pen.
Its probably worth drawing a comparison here between fluency and accuracy in speaking
activities and fluency and accuracy in writing. When we focus on fluency in speaking we dont
ignore the mistakes our students make, we either note them down to deal with later or we use
unobtrusive strategies, such as asking a question, so that the student reformulates what they have
said (and hopefully corrects themselves in the process). With writing, the same techniques can be
applied. If the mistakes are impeding communication we can indicate that we dont understand
the message by writing questions to the student, such as Do you mean ? and When you say ?
The main difference between writing and speaking is that in the latter the feedback given to
speakers is often immediate, whereas in written communication there is a time delay. However,
writing does have an advantage in that it is easier to review because there is a permanent record.
and replacing them with new ones we ask them to spend time reviewing and improving what is
already there.
Dictogloss Ask your students to put their pens down. Explain that you are going to
dictate a short text (maybe a sentence or a very short paragraph) and you want them to
listen but not to write anything. As soon as youve finished dictating the text, ask the
students to write down what they can remember. For a fluency focus explain that you
want them to get the main ideas down, but not worry about grammatical accuracy. After a
few minutes, pair the students and get them to compare their ideas. Finally, ask a few
students to tell you what they wrote and as a class discuss the key content.
Phone messages Tell the students you will phone them and give them a message.
Explain that they wont be able to write down everything as it will be too fast. Tell them
to focus on the key information and just to note this down. You might want to brainstorm
what kind of information could be key, e.g. who is calling, for whom, what about, any
important times. This is similar to the dictogloss activity above in that you want students
to focus on content rather than grammatical accuracy. Of course, accuracy in terms of
having the correct information is important.
For more wise words from Adrian Tennant, visit his blog atseat13.
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