Educational Context (Observing the Classroom)

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Learners

Context Implementation of Goals

Educational Setting

Syllabus Construction

Materials, Classroom Methods, Lessons, etc.

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CONTEXTUAL FACTORS FOR PLANNING

Learner factors:

 Interests
 Level of Proficiency in English
 Aptitude (a specific talent which shows a tendency to learn a language )
 Mother Tongue (may affect errors, syllabus, etc.)
 Academic and Educational Level(affects the breadth of topic and depth, etc.)
 Attitudes to Learning
 Motivation
 Reasons for Learning
 Preferred Learning Styles (methods, activities, materials)
 Personality (can be willing to study alone, choices)

Educational Setting Factors (Learning Environment):

 The role of English in the country (just a school subject or a way of communication)
 The role of English in the school
 The teachers (status, nationality, mother tongue, experience, etc.)
 Management and administration (responsible for the decision, budget, staff, etc.)
 Resources available (books, videos, etc.)
 Support Personnel (secretaries, technicians, etc.)
 The number of pupils and the size of classes
 Time (the hours, weekly or yearly, in terms)
 Physical environment (building, noise, tables, chairs, heat, etc.)
 Socio-cultural environment (suitability of both materials and methods)
 Types of tests (formal, informal, external/internal)
 Procedures (for monitoring and evaluating)
The Syllabus
Coursebook and Syllabus

Coursebook production requires:

 researching the demands of an international range of curriculum authorities,

 the setting out of a syllabus,
 the construction of the students' book, the teacher's book, a set of audio / video
materials, a website and, often, a test book and set of supplementary materials.
 all this material has to be writing, editing, re-writing and assembling by a team of
dedicated, professional and qualified people
 professional graphics designers and other in- and out-of-house experts
 repetition of this cycle

Implications of Coursebook Design

 Breadth of Content
 Cultural Neutrality
 Social Neutrality
 Methodological Neutrality / Coverage
 Aim Neutrality / Coverage
 Learner Appeal
 Teacher Appeal
 Formulaic Procedures and Activities

Curriculum and Syllabus

The curriculum is concerned with making general statements about language learning,
learning purpose, experience, evaluation, and the role and relationships of teachers and
learners.

Syllabuses, on the other hand, are more localized and are based on accounts and records of
what happens at the classroom level as teachers and learners apply a given curriculum to
their own situation. (narrower definition)

“Curriculum” is concerned with the planning, implementation, evaluation, management, and

administration of education programs. “Syllabus”, on the other hand, focuses more narrowly
on the selection and grading of content.

Purposes of the Syllabus

 to break language down into manageable units and provide a practical basis for
textbooks and instructional blocks
 to thus provide teachers and learners with moral support
  to reassure students and/or sponsors that a course has been well planned: its
cosmetic role
 to give both students and teachers an idea of where the course is going
 to act as an implicit statement of the views held by the course designers
 regarding language and language learning—telling students not only what they are to
learn but why
 to guide the selection of materials, texts and exercises
 to ensure an element of uniformity across a school or educational system
 to assess how successful a student has been during a course by providing a basis for
testing

Necessary Components of a Language Syllabus:

1. the situations in which the foreign language will be used, including the topics which
will be dealt with;
2. the language activities in which the learner will engage;
3. the language functions which the learner will fulfil;
4. what the learner will be able to do with respect to each topic;
5. the general notions which the learner will be able to handle;
6. the specific (topic-related) notions which the learner will be able to handle;
7. the language forms which the learner will be able to use;
8. the degree of skill with which the learner will be able to perform

We can examine a syllabus in 3 distinct ways:

 Approach: Views and Beliefs of Language Learning

 Design: Principles are Converted into Practical Aspects and Arrangement of Content
 Procedure: Techniques and Class Management

How to Examine the Types of Content Page:

 some can be organized according to a list of grammatical structures,

o The Simple Past Tense, The Passive Voice, etc.

 some can be based on communicative and interpersonal uses (referred to as

functional syllabus )
o Making Suggestions, Asking for Directions, etc.

 some can present everyday situations or settings,

o In the Restaurant, at the Hotel, etc.

 some can focus on language skills,

 o Reading for Information, Using a Dictionary, etc.

 some use topics or themes as a starting point,

o Space Travel, Smoking, etc.

 some deal with the tasks,

o Interviews, etc.

 some deal with the language focus

o Question Forms, etc.

 some deal with the skills

o Speaking, Listening, etc.

Product Syllabus vs. Process Syllabus

The product syllabus focuses on what linguistic content is to be learned. It is very clear and
formal—such as a list of grammar points, or vocabulary words. The product syllabus and the
standardized test have a reciprocal relationship; they tend to inform each other and can
create their own microcosm. This can be dangerous. Since they can (and do) exist within
their own universe, they can exist without real-world applicability. Teaching for the test.

The process syllabus does not work off a list of words of bullet points, but a set of learning
processes. It short, it defines the skills that are to be acquired—but not the content.

Broad Types of Syllabus:

 Product-Oriented
o Grammatical / Structural
 A traditional syllabus
 Lists formal language items (gerunds, comparatives, etc.)
 The items usually ordered by their complexity
o Situational
 Covers the settings with appropriate language (at the doctor’s, in the
post office, etc.)
o Lexical
 Focuses on lexical patterns (adjective + noun + adverb + verb, etc.)
o Functional / Communicative
 focuses on learning the language to perform certain functions (asking
for advice, greeting, etc.)
o Notional
  Focuses on universal abstract concepts (adequacy, frequency, etc.)
 Process-Oriented
o Skills Based
 Targets language abilities (4 skills, etc.)
 Sometimes called a process syllabus
 Often combined with procedural or topic-based syllabus
o Topic Based
 Organized around topics rather than structures (lifestyles, sports, etc.)
 Often designed with a specific age group or ESP
o Task-Based / Procedural
 Focuses on using tasks to use language (writing a review of a film, etc.)
 It is important to use real-world language tasks
 Often combined with a skills-based or process syllabus
 Multi-Mixed
o Most common syllabus type
o Focuses on combining elements of other syllabus types
o Positive Side: Provision of an all-round approach that is engaging and useful
for all learners.
o Negative Side: Possibility of loss of focus and the inappropriate insertion of
some elements into a syllabus.

Who determines the syllabus?

Curriculums are often decided nationally or regionally and even in the private sector,
may well be determined by powers somewhat distant from the classroom such as sponsors,
agents and head office managers.

Curriculum designers are often not concerned with the significant aspects of
classroom content but with setting targets in terms of competencies that the learners will
attain by the end of the process.

The Elements of Syllabus Design

 Needs Analysis
o what the students want, what they actually need, what any sponsors want
and what demands will be placed on the learners
o two categories of the needs:
 essential: core needs
 desirable: peripheral needs
 Objectives
o communicative competence, linguistic accuracy, and the skills we are aiming
to teach, develop, or improve
 Means
 o what is possible given the staffing, the institute's resource base and time
availability etc.
o re-visiting the objectives
 Syllabus Types
o the fourth step involves a hard look at the possible syllabus types we might
use or a mix of them according to the prioritized needs
 Methodology
o how the syllabus will be delivered and that involves looking at three
elements:
 Approach: What principles of language analysis and language learning
theories are we applying?
 Design: How are lessons to be constructed?
 Techniques and Procedure: What will we expect to see happening in
the classroom and elsewhere?
 Assessment
o We need to assess:
 How well the learners mastered the course content: summative,
formative & self-assessment.
 How well the syllabus worked: questionnaires for teachers.
 How motivating, enjoyable and useful the learners found the course:
questionnaires, focus groups, one-to-one interviews etc.

Communicative Approach
CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) is an approach that determines the goal of
language teaching as acquiring communicative competence. Communicative competence is
being able to communicate which is required more than linguistic competence, knowing how
to say what to whom. It is the “real-world” use of language.

CLT appeared in 1960s and it changed many aspects of language teaching in 1970s and early
1980s and evolved over the years and passed different phases. According to Richards and
Rogers (2001;172) there are three stages in its development:

1. Communicative competence was in the first place, so instead of grammatical

structures, notions and functions were organized.
2. Second phase consisted of the procedures for identifying needs, which ended up with
making needs analysis an essential component of communicative methodology.
3. Using different kinds of classroom activities (such as group work, task-work, and
information gap activities) as the basis of communicative methodology was the third
phase.
Wilkins (1976) proposed two categories of communicative meaning:

 Notional (or Semantico-Grammatical)

 Functional

Notions are abstract concepts like frequency, duration, dimension, location, quantity etc.
They are closely related to the grammatical categories.

Functions, on the other hand, refer to practical use of language, most usually in interaction
with other people. Functional categories can be generalized as:

 Making Requests
 Greeting
 Making Suggestions
 Asking for Directions
 Giving Advice

Real-world language in use does not operate in a vacuum, and this is the second implication
of the communicative approach. When we give advice, we do so to someone, about
something, for a particular reason. If we are invited, it is by someone to do something, or to
attend something. So in addition to talking about language function and language form,
there are other dimensions of communication to be considered if we are to be offered a
more complete picture. These are,

 Topics, for example, health, transport, work, leisure activities, politics and so on.
 Context or setting, which may refer to both physical and social settings, and may
therefore include personal conversation and business discussion as well as the more
traditional ‘situations’ such as travel or medical or leisure-time settings.
 Roles of people involved: whether, for example, stranger/stranger, friend/friend,
employee/boss, colleague/colleague, customer/person supplying a service.

Authenticity
Authentic materials should meet this set of criteria:

 Provenance and authorship of the text

 Original communicative and socio-cultural purpose of the text
 Original context of the text
 Learners’ perception of and attitudes to the text and activity pertaining to it.
Evaluating ELT Materials
The External Evaluation

 The Blurb Section

 The Intended Audience
 The Proficiency Level
 The Context
 Organization of Units / Lessons
 The Author’s View of Language and Methodology
 Main Coursebook or Supplementary
 Teacher’s Book Locally Available
 Vocabulary List
 Visual Materials
 Layout
 Material Culturally Biased
 Minority Groups
 Cost of Digital Materials
 Inclusion of Testing

The Internal Evaluation

 Skills
 Grading or Sequencing
 Reading / Comprehending Materials’ Purpose (Skills Development or Info-Giving)
 Authenticity of Listening Materials
 Speaking Materials Serves as Realistic Interaction
 Learner Needs
 Different Learning Styles
 Engagement

The Overall Evaluation

 The Usability Factor

o How far the materials could be integrated into a particular syllabus as ‘core’
or supplementary.
 The Generalizability Factor
o Is there a restricted use of ‘core’ features that make the materials more
generally useful?
 The Adaptability Factor
o Can parts be added/extracted/used in another context/modiied for local
circumstances?
  The Flexibility Factor
o How rigid is the sequencing and grading? Can the materials be entered at
different points or used in different ways?

Adapting Materials
Adaptation vs. Adoption

Adaptation involves modifying or adjusting existing materials.

Adoption involves selecting and using external materials and resources in their original form.

Reasons for Adapting

 Not enough grammar coverage in general.

 Not enough practice of grammar points of particular difficulty to these learners.
 The communicative focus means that grammar is presented unsystematically.
 Reading passages contain too much unknown vocabulary.
 Comprehension questions are too easy because the answers can be lifted directly
from the text with no real understanding.
 Listening passages are inauthentic because they sound too much like written material
being read out.
 Not enough guidance on pronunciation.
 The subject matter is inappropriate for learners of this age and intellectual level.
 Photographs and other illustrative material are not culturally acceptable.
 Amount of material too much or too little to cover in the time allocated to lessons.
 No guidance for teachers on handling group work and role-play activities with a large
class.
 Dialogues too formal and not representative of everyday speech.
 Audio material is difficult to use because of problems to do with room size and
technical equipment.
 Too much or too little variety in the activities.
 Vocabulary list and a key to the exercises would be helpful.
 Accompanying tests needed.
How to Adapt

Principles

 Personalizing
o Increasing the relevance of content to learners.
 Individualizing
o Addressing the learning styles of learners.
 Localizing
o Taking into account the international geography of ELT
 Modernizing
o Transforming materials to current English usage

Procedures

 Adding
o Extending
 To supply more of the same. (Quantitive)
o Expanding
 To add more aspects to same topic. (Qualitative)
 Deleting
o Subtracting
 The loss of example amount. (Quantitive)
o Abridging
 To lose details. (Qualitative)
 Modifying
o Rewriting
 Changing the content directly. (Qualitative)
o Restructuring
 Changing the process of the exercise. (Qualitative)
 Simplifying
 Reducing the complexity of structures or content. (Qualitative)
 Re-ordering
 Putting the parts of the coursebook in a different order. (Qualitative)

Teaching Language Skills

Reading
Reasons for Reading (according to Williams (1984))

 Getting general information from a text.

 Getting specific information from a text.
  Reading for pleasure or interest.

Types of Reading Skills

 Efficient readers can adjust reading speed, select significant information, skim, infer
meaning, predict outcomes, use background knowledge, are motivated by challenge,
and switch strategies based on text type.
 Reading has evolved from a passive 'text as object' view to a more interactive 'text as
process' approach.
 Reading types include reading for general information, specific information, and for
pleasure or interest.
 Reading skill development involves understanding literal meaning, reorganizing
information, inferring, personal response, and evaluating a writer's effectiveness.
 Reading materials can be designed to develop skills through activities like
information gaps, text scrambling, and encouraging personal and emotional
responses to texts.

Schema Theory

Schema theory explains how knowledge is organized into patterns based on previous
experience, allowing for prediction and comprehension.

 Knowledge is organized into interrelated patterns or 'schemata'.

 Schemata are based on prior knowledge and experience.
 They help predict what may happen and aid in understanding texts.
 Efficient readers relate texts to their background knowledge.
 Formal and Content Schemata are types of knowledge structures used in reading.
 The theory is seen as a metaphor for the notion of prior knowledge.

Vocabulary
What to Teach?

 Teach individual words learners are expected to acquire.

 Go beyond basic grammar to complex multi-word verbs and idioms.
 Include teaching of prepositions, modal verbs, and delexical verbs.
 Introduce a 'mini-syllabus' of vocabulary items like collocations.
 Use dictionaries and corpus data to inform teaching.
 Consider lexical fields in specific subject areas and neologisms.
 Address differences in vocabulary between varieties of English, such as British and
American English.
Listening
Reasons for Listening

 Listening serves multiple purposes such as obtaining information, socializing, and

entertainment.
 The degree of attention and strategies used can differ based on the purpose and the
listening situation.
 Listening can be participatory and reciprocal or it can be a situation where one is only
a listener.
 The listening context can be affected by factors such as whether it is face-to-face or
through another medium, and interference or background noise.
 The context of listening also includes the number of people involved, their roles, the
listener's relationship with them, and any visual elements that may provide
additional clues.

Examples for Listening Practises

 Listening to the radio: news, a play, Parliament, a comedy programme (sometimes on

a car radio).
 Conversations with neighbours, colleagues, friends.
 Answering the telephone at home and at work.
 Overhearing other people talking to each other: on a bus, in the ofice.
 Attending a lecture.
 Listening to arrival and departure announcements at the railway station.
 Watching TV.
 Listening to a list of names being read out at a prize-giving.
 While working in the library, trying not to listen to other people talking.

The Relationship between Listening and Reading

Listening and reading, while distinct skills, share several underlying characteristics. Both
require active engagement and involve complex mental processes.

 Listening and reading are both active skills involving guessing, anticipating, checking,
interpreting, interacting, and organizing.
 The listening process consists of decoding, comprehension, and interpretation, which
are simultaneous and parallel phases.
 Listening and reading utilize a general processing capacity that deals with written and
spoken input.
 Listening can sometimes be participatory, where the listener co-authors the
discourse.
  The difference between listening and reading can be exemplified by the distinction
between hearing and listening, as well as seeing and reading.

The Nature of Listening Comprehension

Listening comprehension involves more than just hearing words; it's about understanding
the meaning of those words within a given context. It's a complex process that includes both
the product of comprehension and the cognitive processes involved in making sense of
spoken language.

 Product and Process: There's a distinction between the product (the understanding
of what is heard) and the process (the cognitive activities involved in interpreting
spoken language).
 Contextual and Knowledge Factors: Listening comprehension is influenced by the
context in which language is used and the prior knowledge that the listener brings to
the situation.
 Subskills: A range of subskills are involved in listening, including perception skills,
language skills, and knowledge of the world.
 Challenges for Learners: Language learners face a complex set of challenges when
developing listening skills, which include understanding natural speech with its
hesitations, repetitions, and corrections.
 Pedagogic Implications: Effective teaching materials and strategies for listening
comprehension should take into account these complexities and aim to engage
learners actively in the process.

The Listening Skills

Listening skills are multifaceted and involve a complex interplay of various sub-skills and
contextual factors. The process of listening is not merely about hearing words but also about
understanding, interpreting, and responding to spoken language in a meaningful way.

 Sub-skills of Listening: These include the ability to recognize speech sounds,

understand intonation and stress, and process meaning by organizing speech into
coherent units.
 Contextual Understanding: Listeners use their knowledge of the context, including
the physical setting and social dynamics, to interpret spoken language appropriately.
 Pragmatic Context: This refers to how listeners are active participants in
communication, shaping the interaction with their responses based on their
interpretation.
 Knowledge Activation: Listeners draw on their knowledge of the world and pre-
existing frames of reference to make sense of what they hear.
 Pedagogic Implications: Teaching materials for listening should account for these
components to help learners listen more effectively.
Listening Comprehension: Teaching and Learning

Listening comprehension in language learning involves a complex set of micro-skills that a

competent listener engages automatically. These skills are crucial for processing spoken
language effectively and can vary depending on the context and the listener's purpose.

 Micro-skills Integration: Good listeners use a combination of sub-skills simultaneously

for processing spoken language.
 Listener's Prior Knowledge: Listeners often have preconceived ideas of what they will
hear, which aids in understanding.
 Variety of Listening Reasons: People listen for different reasons, which influences
how they interpret spoken language.
 Speech Characteristics: Important words in speech are typically stressed, and natural
speech includes hesitations, repetitions, and corrections.
 Non-verbal Cues: In face-to-face interactions, gestures and facial expressions are
significant alongside spoken words.
 Teaching Materials: Teaching materials for listening should acknowledge these points
and incorporate a range of micro-skills, listener roles, topics, and text types.
 Challenges for Language Learners: Learners must navigate a complex medium with a
rich array of skills in a foreign language.
 Classroom Practice: Traditional classroom practice often involved reading texts aloud
and asking comprehension questions, which did not focus on the skill of listening
itself.
 Pre-, While-, and Post-Listening Activities: Modern teaching materials typically
include activities before, during, and after listening to aid comprehension and engage
learners.
 Extensive vs. Intensive Listening: There is a distinction between promoting overall
understanding (extensive listening) and focusing on specific details (intensive
listening).

Materials for Teaching Listening Comprehension

Materials for teaching listening comprehension vary and are often integrated into language
learning curriculums to enhance the development of listening skills. These materials are
designed to account for a range of micro-skills, listener roles, topics, and text types, moving
away from traditional methods of simply reading texts aloud and asking comprehension
questions.

 Traditional Methods: In the past, listening practice involved the teacher reading a
text aloud followed by comprehension questions, without much focus on the skill of
listening or the characteristics of natural spoken English.
  Current Materials: Modern materials manipulate both language and tasks,
considering a range of micro-skills and listener roles. They are not directly transferred
to teaching sequences but are used depending on course objectives and levels.
 Activity Types: Activities are commonly divided into pre-listening, while-listening, and
post-listening, each with specific functions such as establishing a framework for
listening, promoting global comprehension, and focusing on specific language details.
 Extensive vs. Intensive Listening: Extensive listening aims at overall understanding
without stressing every word, while intensive listening focuses on specific language
elements within the established meaning framework.
 Grading and Sequencing: Tasks are graded not only by linguistic complexity but also
by task complexity, the amount of language to be processed, and the use of
authentic versus specially written materials.
 Use of Technology: The use of ICT, such as the Internet and email, is suggested for
creating authentic language learning materials, and there is consideration of whether
audio equipment alone is sufficient or if video/TV might be necessary for capturing
non-linguistic information.

Speaking
Reasons for Speaking

The reasons for speaking are rooted in the desire and purpose to communicate something
specific. Speaking allows individuals to express ideas, wishes, solve problems, and maintain
social relationships.

 Speaking is driven by a genuine desire to communicate to achieve a particular end.

 It involves expressing ideas, opinions, wishes, negotiating problems, and fostering
social connections.
 To speak effectively, a range of appropriate expressions must be used.
 Examples of speaking purposes include asking for assistance, making appointments,
and socializing.
 Speaking skills contribute significantly to communicative competence in any
language.
 Speaking is an interactive skill, often closely associated with listening.

Speaking Skills and CLT

Speaking skills and communicative language theory are intertwined, with the latter providing
a theoretical foundation for the former. Communicative language theory emphasizes the use
of language as a tool for interaction and communication, rather than just a system of
grammatical rules.
  Language is primarily a system for expressing meaning and is used for interaction and
communication.
 The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses, not just
grammatical and structural features.
 The primary units of language are categories of functional and communicative
meaning as seen in discourse.
 Speaking skills in the classroom require students to engage in communicative
processes that go beyond mere knowledge of linguistic forms.

Characteristics of Spoken Language

Spoken language has distinct characteristics that differentiate it from written language. It is
dynamic and interactive, often involving a real-time exchange between speakers and
listeners, which requires a mastery of various subskills for effective communication.

 Motor-receptive speaking skills: These include pronunciation, vocabulary, and chunks

of language such as fixed expressions and structures.
 Social and interactional skills: These relate to knowing what to say and how to say it
effectively in specific communicative situations.
 Features of spoken interactions: These may include ellipsis, use of conjunctions for
continuity, minimal use of passives and explicit logical connectors, topic heads or
tails, replacing or refining expressions, vague language, repetition, and the use of
pauses and fillers.
 Pronunciation: This can be taught in various ways and for different reasons, with
some approaches focusing on drilling correct pronunciation and others on developing
comprehensibility within fluency.
 Intelligibility in English as a Lingua Franca (ELF): Features that contribute to
intelligibility across world Englishes include avoiding dental fricatives, using full
vowels in function words, and a syllable-based rhythm.

Teaching Pronunciation

Teaching pronunciation involves different methods and aims to help learners of English
improve their speaking skills. The focus can range from the production and perception of
individual sounds to the rhythm and intonation of sentences. The approach to teaching
pronunciation has evolved, especially with the recognition of English as a Lingua Franca
(ELF), where native-speaker norms are less relevant.

 Traditional teaching often aimed for a native-speaker model, but this is now seen as
less relevant due to the global use of English as a contact language among non-native
speakers.
 Pronunciation teaching should establish models for guidance rather than norms for
imitation, aiming for intelligibility over 'perfection'.
  Key aspects of pronunciation include individual sounds, word stress, sentence stress
and rhythm, intonation, and the relationship between sound and spelling.
 Research on ELF has identified features of pronunciation essential for successful
international communication, such as the avoidance of dental fricatives and the use
of full vowels in unstressed syllables.
 Teachers are encouraged to consider current research findings on ELF to make
informed decisions about pronunciation teaching in their specific contexts.
 Materials and resources are available for teachers to enhance pronunciation
teaching, including coursebooks and academic literature.

Conversation Analysis

Conversation Analysis (CA) is a method used to study the structure and patterns of
interaction in spoken discourse. It examines the ways in which participants produce and
interpret conversational turns, manage topics, and perform actions through talk.

 CA focuses on the detailed organization of talk in natural settings, such as how turns
at talk are constructed and exchanged.
 It considers the norms of spoken language and how they differ from written language
norms, which historically have been treated as the benchmark for grammar and
structure.
 CA reveals features of spoken language like ellipsis, use of conjunctions, minimal use
of passive voice, and scarcity of explicit logical connectors.
 It also looks at how speakers use language to maintain interpersonal relationships,
using strategies such as back-channelling and affective responses.
 The analysis can inform teaching practices by highlighting the importance of exposing
learners to natural speech patterns and conversational strategies.

Types of Activity to Promote Speaking Skills

The document discusses various activities designed to enhance speaking skills in language
learners, emphasizing the importance of meaningful, communicative tasks that motivate
students and foster a supportive environment for language practice.

 Activities such as games and problem-solving tasks are used to encourage students to
speak and interact meaningfully.
 The British Council and BBC's 'Something in Common' game and systematic
questionnaire games are examples of activities that promote speaking skills.
 'Describe and draw' activities give learners practice in conveying non-verbal data
through spoken language.
 Pre-communicative materials with guided dialogues were once used but have
evolved into more communicative approaches.
  The document stresses the need for activities that are engaging and provide
opportunities for genuine language use and negotiation of meaning.

Writing Skills
Reasons for Writing

Writing is a complex skill that serves various purposes both in academic settings and in
everyday life. The reasons for writing differ along several dimensions, including language,
topic, and audience.

 Diversity of Writing Styles: Writing can range from simple lists to complex discursive
writing. It includes various functions such as narrative, persuasion, and setting out
arguments.
 Initiation and Response: At times, individuals initiate writing for their own needs, like
making shopping lists or writing diaries. Other times, writing is in response to others,
like replying to invitations or emails.
 Frequency of Writing: Generally, people write less frequently than they speak or
listen. However, the use of computers and email has increased the amount of writing
for many.
 Types of Writing: Writing can be categorized into personal, social, public, study,
institutional, and creative writing, each with its own contexts and purposes.
 Audience Consideration: Writing is an encoding process that is done with a reader in
mind. The organization and style of writing are influenced by the intended audience
and purpose.
 Educational Context: In educational settings, writing is often done primarily for
teachers or examiners, but creating 'plausible contexts' for writing can enhance its
relevance and authenticity.

Writing Materials in the Language Class

The section discusses the role of writing in language classes, noting its more limited role
outside of educational settings. It examines trends in traditional writing instruction and how
current practices have evolved.

 Traditional writing instruction emphasized accuracy and focused on the finished

product, with the teacher acting as a judge.
 Writing often served a consolidating function, reinforcing other language skills.
 In the 1970s, English L2 writing classes were essentially grammar courses, stemming
from the audiolingual method.
 There is a distinction between 'learning to write' and 'writing to learn', with the
former focusing on developing writing skills for social roles and the latter using
writing to practice language or demonstrate knowledge.
  Earlier writing materials did not reflect real-world writing, and the writing process
was not explicitly addressed.
 Writing activities in the classroom should consider both instrumental and educational
functions, integrating language practice into a broader perspective.

The Written Product

The text discusses traditional approaches to teaching writing, emphasizing the final written
product's accuracy and form. It describes how earlier writing instruction was product-
oriented, focusing on the end result rather than the writing process.

 Traditional writing teaching stressed accuracy and treated the teacher as a judge of
the final work.
 Writing was often used for consolidation of learning, with less attention to the
process.
 Early writing exercises were akin to grammar courses, emphasizing practice with
structures to prevent errors and achieve accuracy.
 The 'product' in earlier materials did not reflect real-world writing, and the 'process'
was not explicitly addressed.
 Writing tasks ranged from controlled sentence construction to free composition,
often with a progression from one to the other within teaching schemes.
 The chapter suggests that while traditional methods focused on the product, there is
a growing interest in the writing process from both writer and classroom
perspectives.

Correcting Written Work

Correcting written work is a significant aspect of language teaching that involves various
approaches influenced by the educational context and the teacher's philosophy.
Traditionally, teachers have acted as judges, marking errors with the iconic red pen.
However, the effectiveness of this method is debated within second language acquisition
research. Proponents like Ferris highlight the importance of feedback, while critics like
Truscott argue against its efficacy. The discussion extends to consider the impact of feedback
on long-term learning and the development of autonomous writing skills.

 Traditional roles of teachers in writing classes involve being critical evaluators, with a
focus on the finished product and the use of the red pen to indicate mistakes.
 The debate on the effectiveness of error correction in language teaching is ongoing,
with conflicting views presented by researchers such as Truscott, who sees it as
harmful, and Ferris, who defends its benefits.
 Feedback effectiveness is influenced by factors such as learner proficiency, feedback
manner, types of errors, and timing of feedback.
  The shift from product-oriented to process-oriented teaching has led to a more
varied view of the teacher's role, emphasizing the importance of intervention at all
stages of writing.
 Process-oriented feedback is developmental and involves multiple levels of writing,
not just grammar, taking into account the writing's purpose, audience, and content.
 Peer editing and revision are encouraged as part of a cooperative classroom
environment, promoting student involvement in each other's writing process.
 The notion of intercultural rhetoric suggests that writing styles can be influenced by
cultural thought patterns, which can affect L2 writing and should be considered in
teaching.
 Principled feedback guidelines encourage teachers to prioritize, treat students
individually, be encouraging, clear, and avoid imposing their ideas on student writers.

Hugging to Sena Skills

It’s easy. Just pet her and call for sitting on side. And hug.