Grace González

Professor: Jamile Adames

Practical teaching of composition of the English Language
November 11th,2021

The Application of Language Awareness in College English Writing

Teaching

While reading this article a common expression came to my mind: ¨Think before you
speak¨, but what about when writing?
When writing we need to be conscious of many factors, especially if it is in a foreign
language. And this article talks about the lack of language awareness that not just college
students have but teachers, and this influences the deficiency that English students have
when writing. It seems to be that teachers are not aware of the importance of language
awareness so they do not implement daily activities in their lessons that help students not
only learn new vocabulary and grammar but understand the grammar rules of the
language and know how they are used. In other words, students need to master the use
of English to learn the language properly.
Teachers play an important role in the teaching and learning process, and while I was
reading, I asked myself ¨Is it possible that students learn the language and feel motivated
if the teachers do not have the proper level of English and pay attention to the different
ways that students learn? I can say that college teachers should have a high level of
English to teach the language and also should pay close attention to all students’ needs.
Not all students learn in the same way and at the same pace, when students have
teachers that don’t take into account their needs this can influence the students’
motivation. But also, we need to keep in mind that students need to have an active role
in the learning process, if students do not show interest and cooperation, college English
teachers need to find ways to make students understand the importance of language
awareness.
There’s an important factor that influences the learning enthusiasm in students and it is
the environment, it’s not a secret that most college students don’t see English as an
important subject, and they do not understand the real importance of learning the
language, that’s why many students don’t like to take English classes, if they were aware
of how important English is these days, the attitude towards the subject would be different.
But is it everything students’ fault? Most college teachers keep teaching traditionally, they
do not implement new methods and strategies that spark students’ interests which affects
students’ motivation. There’s an important point that has to be mentioned, according to
the author college students have a wide range of vocabulary, the problem is that they do
not know how to implement them in a daily life situation, and when it comes to writing they
don’t know how to use them, the main reason for this issue is the lack of practice and
language awareness. To solve this problem, college teachers shouldn’t just teach
vocabulary, they should also, teach the vocabulary in context, there’s no use in knowing
the proper pronunciation and definition of a word if in the end, students don’t have the
chance to apply them on their own experiences, that’s why it’s important to cultivate their
English language awareness that can have a big impact in the learning process of writing.
For students to be aware of the application of English in writing, according to the author,
there are three main aspects that college teachers should improve, and while I was
reading the article I couldn’t agree more, teachers should improve their professional
knowledge, education is a never-ending process, it is important to constantly improve
their skills and become more efficient in their roles as college educators. As English
teachers they are not just called to know grammar and rules, they also need to know the
culture, in this way they can improve their teaching practices. Second, teachers should
constantly improve their English communication skills. When teaching writing, college
teachers should be able to communicate effectively, students need to understand what
the teacher is saying and what is being required. College English teachers should not just
know the language; they should have the ability to transmit what they know
understandably. Third, raise the consciousness of improving the teaching methods. In
plain words, college teachers should innovate and change the traditional way of teaching
in college, there should be an effective interaction between teachers and students, and
there should be student’s-centered lessons, where the protagonists of the classes are the
students, and they can become more autonomous and independent. When teachers
improve their self’s language awareness, it has a positive impact on students and they
can also provide more support on the English writing teaching.
To conclude, it’s crucial to mention that English writing is a process that takes time to be
mastered, but first, students need to understand the possible challenges that language
presents to learning which require students to practice more, and more. Teachers should
encourage their students to practice and make that practice of language to be a habit in
their lives, college English teachers should also encourage students to show and feel
interest in the English culture. It depends on the teachers’ abilities the implementation of
language awareness in the classroom by providing instructions that engage and support
students in their language learning and writing process.
 Bibliography
Wang, Z. (2018). The Application of Language Awareness in College English Writing Teaching.

Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 08(03), 54–60.

https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation.aspx?paperid=85537

van den Broek, E. W. R., Oolbekkink-Marchand, H. W., van Kemenade, A. M. C., Meijer, P. C.,

& Unsworth, S. (2019). Stimulating language awareness in the foreign language

classroom: exploring EFL teaching practices. The Language Learning Journal, 1–15.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2019.1688857