Methods of teaching writing

1. Bottom-up approach (Demonstrative, Audio-lingual, Practical ) is based on skill billding - teaching penmanship and accuracy (spelling).

Teaching penmanship and spelling has some stages:

1. The teacher shows the learners a letter or both a capital and a small letter, for example, B b. He can use special cards. On one side of the card the letters are written. On the other side there is a word with this letter.

2. The teacher shows learners how to write the letter. He can use the blackboard. For example, V and W are made with one continuous zigzag movement. Then the teacher writes a word in which the new letter occurs. For example, W w, word.

When the teacher writes on the blackboard he should always give some explanations how the letter is made, and then how the word is written. His learners should try to imitate them; they should make similar movements with their pens in the air, looking at the blackboard.

The teacher should pay much attention to the words whose spelling does not follow the rules, for example, daughter, busy, sure, usual, colonel, clerk, soldier, etc. Learners master the spelling of such words by repetitions in writing them.

The teacher shows his learners how to rely on grammar in spelling the words. For example, the learners have learned the plural of nouns in the English language. Now they know that the ending s is added, though it sounds either [s] as in maps or [z] as in pens; in both cases they must write s.

In the words famous, continuous it is necessary to write ous, as it is an adjective-forming suffix. In the words dislike, disadvantage it is necessary to write i and not e as the negative prefix is dis.

The teacher should use copying in the work (especially for two years) to help learners to remember how to write words, phrases and sentences. Every new word, phrase or sentence pattern, after it has been thoroughly learnt, should be practiced by copying.

In copying at home the learners must be given some additional task so that they don’t do the work mechanically. The following tasks may be suggested:

(a) underline a given letter or letter combination for a certain sound;

(b) underline a certain grammar item;

(c) underline certain words, for example, the names of school things.

2. Top-down approach (Communicative method) is based on the teaching of making composition (text). Teaching writing starts here with the topic and works down to grammatical and semantic units. In communicative method each learner completes writing in a group, exchanging ideas with others and getting help in various stages of composition. Writing process here is an example of cooperative learning through communication (communicative writing).

Writing compositions have three stages:

1. Pre-writing stage: the teacher sets the task, learners prepare for what they will write. They can:

• Think about the audience or reader.

• Brainstorm – learners can make notes, brainstorm vocabulary.

• Gather information (making questionnaire, reading something, using pictures, title).

• Practice specific writing skills – using punctuation, linking words.

• Practice language forms.

• Decide on the content - what to include or nor include.

• Look at a model text – the punctuation, use of paragraphs, layout, etc.

• Write an outline or a plan.

2. Writing stage: Learners can:

• Write first draft

• Edit content for meaning

• Write second draft

• Edit language and spelling (proof-reading)

• Write final draft