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The process approach to writing, which emerged in the 1970s and has had a positive impact on teaching writing as a form of expression. The paper discusses the differences between the process approach and traditional product approach, presents six writing samples from students, and suggests process approach activities to help students overcome their writing difficulties.
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Collect a small number of samples of your students’ writing (5-6 short pieces, preferably of different types). Discuss the difficulties they appear to have writing in English, and discuss how a process approach to writing might help them.
Introduction Learning how to write has often been a complex and challenging task for students. Over time different approaches have been introduced in the language classroom, however it is the process approach that emerged in the 1970s that has had the most positive impact (Macarthur, Graham and Fitzgerald 2006:277). This paper will show how the process approach is applied to specific writing difficulties. For this study: first, a review of the literature will define will define the process approach and clarify the differences between a process approach and traditional approaches to teaching writing. Second, there will be a study of six different writing samples written by students; this part of the study will present the writing difficulties the students have. Third, process approach activities will be presented as ways of helping students over come their writing difficulties. There will be a summary of how a process approach specifically addresses common problems that English language students have, and the benefits of the process approach in writing studies will be made clear. 2.0 Literature Review: How writing has been taught When discussing how to teach writing, it is important to understand that the teaching of writing has often been overlooked by language teachers. From White and Arndt’s Process writing ‘it has tended to be a much neglected part of the language programme’ (White and Arndt 1991:1). Therefore, while writing to directly relay intent or to reproduce writing has been taught, the usage of writing as form of expression has not. This is largely due to the usage of the product approach ; the product approach is a traditional approach to teaching writing that is based on the reproduction of models (Nunan1991:96). I believe the usage of the product approach has often been based on certain factors: (1) it is very easy to implement, (2) it often enforces a minimal level of writing, (3) it has been widely used, and is often how parents and teachers were taught; therefore, it is easily accepted by teachers and parents. Though there is some reasoning
1985: 229 ). Indeed, the process approach relies heavily on the “recursive nature” of writing mentioned by Smith in Writing and the Writer , ‘writing is a recursive process and text is often moved around, modified, cut and expanded’ (Smith 1982:17). Therefore, the activities that are used with the process approach must also reflect this “recursive process”. Figure 1 – The process of writing (from Writing p 51 by T. Hedge) 3.0 The writing samples for study In this section I will introduce the six writing samples for this study. The writing samples include: two business email letters, a personal email, a short story, and two essays from students who have been taught with the process approach. Each writing sample will be discussed with the difficulties the students have in their writing being amplified. Moreover, process approach activities will be suggested to remediate the student’s writing difficulties. 3.1: Writing sample one: Personal email Writing sample one is from a thirty one year old female student has who studied English in the Taiwanese education system. She has been taught with traditional approaches and has spent two summer vacations living in the United States. She is now learning English three times a week; three lessons a day, with one hour per lesson. This student has also said that she has primarily been taught how to write by reproducing a writing model.
Figure 2 : Writing sample one, Personal Email Writing sample one 1 Thanks for correcting my poor english. 2 I really appreciate that! 3 I went to an english class that church missionaries taught in Kenting. 4 I found out that my english is not good enough to have the normal communication with.I 5 mean I wish that my english could be just like the native english speaker.I 6 want that I can make joke in english or I can chat with people just like the native english speakers! 7 That is still difficult to me!!I 8 was thought that my english is good in this small town which its enough have basic communicate with native english speakers but I guess that is not enough after I joined the english class today. 9 I think i need to read more and practice more.I 10 am kind of upset now actually. 11 The reason I am upset is because I know that I have to work on that but sometimes i just dont know how to start and mad myself that why I am so lazy and not work not that!! 12 Anyway, I dont want to bring the unhappy things to you in the email. I am sorry for that! 13 You asked me what did I brought last weekend with my mom?! 14 Well, we went to Costo in Kaoshiung to do some groceries shopping.My 15 mom and I usually drink fruits smoothies for our breakfast so we brought some froze blueberries and some fruits.Also 16 we brought some cooked Japanese food to take out. 17 Since you knew that I will go to Chicago in a month so we didn't buy a lots of things. I 18 need to go on a diet before my trip to Chicago because you know when you on the vacation or holiday you would always eat too much! 19 That is why I need to watch my diet or maybe lose some weights before that.That 20 way I won't become too big after I back from my vacation!Hope 21 it makes sense to you. 22 This week at work is crazy busy because I am trying to finish most of late year jobs before I leave for my vacation. 23 I wish I can finish all of them before next early of month. 24 I think I can do it! I actually like to be busy at work because that way when I back home I could feel that I was productive! 25 I also tried to sleep early before 10: pm and get up around 5 am to do the exercise. 26 I can go to bed around 10:30pm but I haven't been able to wake up at 5 am because bed is too comfortable to get more sleep in every morning. 27 I wish I can do that tomorrow so I bet go now. 28 Thanks for helping my bad english and correcting it again. 29 oh and I do love to hear anythings from you neither good or bad! 30 Please feel free to tell me or ask me anything you know to know or want to share. 31 hope you have a nice day at work tomorrow Summer :D Summer
R - repetitive Sp – spelling Sv – subject verb agreement Vf – verb form ? – unclear meaning CM – cultural meaning (CM must be capitalised, or highlighted)
3.1.3: Activity one analysis For each submission do not correct the students work. You may suggest alternatives but the teacher’s role is to discuss and clarify the writing difficulties the students seem to be having. By allowing the students to correct their own work, the students are more likely to not make the same mistake again, and create a more unique composition that does not just reproduce a corrected model (Bridgeman, Morgan and Wang 1996). When the students examine their fellow student’s papers, some may identify errors that are not actually errors, or some errors may not be identified. However, this is less likely to be a concern because each student will have two fellow students checking their composition. There is also a learning opportunity for students; this occurs when they observe how other students have constructed their compositions. Furthermore, with teacher participation, in steps 5 and 10, it is unlikely that the students will learn incorrect grammar rules. Furthermore, in my own experience I have seen student writing significantly improve with each submission.
3. 2 : Writing samples three and four: Business emails Both students have been taught English in their native countries. The student who wrote business email one is a thirty two year old Taiwanese female who has learned English through the Taiwan education system and now works for an international business. The student also studied English five days a week from ages 5 through 15 in a private English school and is currently studying three lessons a week for one hour per lesson. The student who wrote business email two is a thirty seven year old Korean female who has learned English through the Korean education system. The student has also studied in America, in two English summer camps, and is currently studying four lessons a week: forty five minutes per lesson.
3.2.2: Business email letter one The student seems to have a difficulty with clarity. In sentences one and two it is unclear whether the sender is blaming the product failure on the recipient or notifying them about the problem. There is also some confusion regarding the parts themselves. Consider that the M702- 5 product was faulty but the request is for a model HP10004 to be shipped faster; the reasoning behind the different model numbers is not explained. There may be an error in the model numbers, or the company may be trying to speed up delivery of one product to make up for the other faulty product; regardless, the writer assumes the reader understands while in fact they may or may not. 3.2.3: Business email letter two In this writing sample there seems to be a serious possibility of misrepresentation. The student is careful to thank the reader in sentence one and wish them a happy weekend in sentence nine but there are instances that seem to suggest a condescending or snippy attitude to the reader. Consider the following excerpts from sentences one, two, and five: 1 First of all , I would … 2 As you might know, … 5 , we know that !! The use of “ First of all ” to open an email seems to be confrontational and is not a suitable greeting or opening to the email. There is also a condescending implication, or perhaps a suggestive insult, with the student stating “As you might know”; the inference on the recipient’s knowledge could be considered insulting. Similarly, The usage of the double exclamation points in sentence five with “ we know that !! ” also has a very aggressive tone. These types of errors are common with students in second language writing and there is a high possibility that the student does not realize the insulting or
aggressive nature of their composition. When a student has been taught with a product approach, and there is no model present that they can follow, they rely on their native language skills to convey their meaning. To elaborate, when language learner writes a composition they often write how they would in their native language and are unaware of differences that may lead to misinterpretation (Culler 1997 :55). 3.2.4: Activities to address proper business and personal mail format The first part of the activity is to give students an understanding of the stylistic conventions required in English business letters by giving them consciousness – raising activities such as found in The Song of Myself , summarized below. Activity 2: Summarised From “The Song of Myself” pages 120- 123 Activity 2, Part 1 The activity begins by labelling the pertinent parts of an email: the greeting/closing, placement of date, margins … then comparing how different conventions are used in formal business email and personal emails. For example: the different opening/closing, the use of addresses… after the students have an understanding of the different conventions. Activity 2, part 2 The activity involves presenting the students with a list of possible openings to a mail, and having the students sort the list for: those suitable for personal letters, those for business letters those that are inappropriate or incorrect: The activity is repeated with proper closings
The writer is a 22 year old Korean female who has studied English through the Korean education system as well as 10 years in a private English school. She has been studying English for six months in Canada, where she studies four days a week, three lessons per day with one hour per lesson. The student has studied primarily grammar, and test preparation type classes. Figure 4 : Writing sample four , Short story Writing sample four 1 It was such a sunny day and everyone loves to go to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. However, peter had to work until 2 pm. 2 He wanted to hang out with his girlfriend in downtown at 2:30. 3 Unfortunately, his car had some problems and it couldn’t move anymore. 4 In order to be on time. 5 Peter decided to walk there. 6 He blamed his stupid car while walking on the road. 7 Suddenly he heard something blowing up. 8 He looked back and realized that is car was on fire. 9 What can I say about this tragedy? 10 On the other hand, he was lucky that he wasn’t there when the car blowed up. Belle level 5 Vanwest student 3.4.1: Student difficulties in writing sample four The content of the writing sample is quite underdeveloped. There are two characters mentioned in the story with no character development or dialogue. The story consists of a car that blows up and an unclear moral lesson. The weakness of the conclusion and the casual insertion of ‘what else can I say?’ seem to suggest that the student was not motivated in her writing. There are only a few grammar or spelling errors but the story itself is very short. Moreover, the purpose of the activity is to develop writing skills; this development seems to be hindered by the student writing about something she is not interested in. I believe the best way to address her difficulties is with a brainstorming activity; to clarify: ‘brainstorming is effective in igniting student motivations and teacher participation in the writing process’ (Brown 2001:349). A second possible activity would be a mind map.
3.4.2 Activities for creating content The activity may require some motivation, it is not uncommon for students to “develop a blank” or “freeze up” when they do not have a writing model to follow. Activity 5: Brainstorming Ask the students to write roughly 50 words for a writing topic of their choice. Direct the students to:
recursive (Raimes 1985:229), students often need to refer to their notes to make sure their writing retains a sharp focus and does not confuse the audience Until the writer creates notes or begins the writing process it is very difficult to see how underdeveloped their writing may be. From Process writing, by White and Arndt, ‘writers rarely know at the outset exactly what it is they are going to write about because many ideas are only revealed during the act of writing itself’ (White and Arndt 1991:3. Therefore, until the content is actually written down, the writer cannot assume that more supportive material is not needed or that the current material has clarity. Moreover, the writer must also consider the “relevant knowledge” of the reader. ‘The writer must often make inferences on the relevant knowledge of the readers and therefore decide what information should be included and what information should be omitted’ (Nunan 1991:86). In other words, writers must consider what information needs to be included or omitted due to the reader’s knowledge of the topic (ibid). This writing difficulty is often addressed in the prewriting stage, by a brainstorming or mind map type activity. 3.5 Writing samples five and six: personal essays Both writing samples five and six are from students who have been taught with the process approach to writing. Writing sample five was written by a twenty two year old Japanese male who studied English in the Japanese education system and at a Canadian language school for six months. Sample six was written by a 24 year old Korean female who studied in the Korean education system and at the same Canadian language school but for eight months. In Canada, both students have classes four days a week with three, one hour lessons, per day. Both students have worked through activities similar to those that have been presented in this paper, and have studied writing extensively since coming to Canada. The writing samples the students submitted for this paper are for a level test: the students had only a two hour period to write their essays, were able to choose from a list of topics, and not allowed to speak or consult others. Both students used brainstorming activities, and made notes; for writing sample six, the student went through an editing process before submitting their work.
Figure 7 : Writing samples 5 and 6 , Personal essays Writing sample 5 Writing sample 6 My ideal woman Now I will tell you about my ideal woman. Some men say “I like hot women” or “I love beautiful women” However, ideal woman has four big qualities. First, the woman doesn’t drink beer. I don’t like drinking people because they usually make noise and make a mess. Sometimes they are harmful. Some people say to me, “you must drink beer!” but I hate alcohol. I prefer eating a meal with the woman without beer. Second, the woman has the same opinions and mind as me. For example, I don’t like the noisy places discos, casinos, and karaoke. If the woman loves that place, I can’t stand it. Another example, if woman’s mind is completely different from mine it’s difficult to live together. Third, the woman must be an optimist. In fact, I’m a pessimist. If the woman is a pessimist, we will always be sad. I need an optimist. My ideal woman must be an optimist! Fourth, the woman should like motorcycles. Many Japanese don’t like motorcycles because 20 years ago in Japan, there were many motorcycle gangs. Since then, Japanese school have taught that motorcycles are bad. That is the reason why many Japanese don’t like motorcycles. However, I love motorcycles. I have to be allowed to ride. If the woman sits on the tandem seat, it’s very nice! If I lose my motorcycle, I’ll have no energy to live. In conclusion, my ideal woman doesn’t drink beer, thinks the same as me, is an optimist and likes motorcycles. I know it’s so hard to find someone like this but I have to do it. I wonder if I will find this woman. If I find the woman, Ill marry with her as soon as possible. Ideal man Usually, I am not the kind of woman who is really demanding about men. I don’t prefer physical caracteristics in particular and I don’t think that the perfect man exists. Nobody is perfect. However, some values are really important for me in a relationship. For example, respect and freedom are important for me. In our society, a lot of people are not respectful toward each other. Sometimes I’m shocked to see how some guys behave with their girlfriends I always look for a man that is respectful. Sometime this kind of person is difficult to find but if you observe carefully you will realize which persons are good for you and which persons are not. If somebody makes you feel bad, runaway. I look also for freedom and independence. I will never give up my dreams like a scholarship and job for a man. Spending time together is important in a relationship but I think that everybody needs time for themselves and having their own activities without their partner. Never stop seeing your friends because you have a boyfriend. What would happen if you broke up? Finally, quality time is another thing that I look for in a relationship. Quality is more important than quantity this is why I think that people need time for themselves. It is useless to always be together if people fight or are bored. Respect may also affect quality time. Maybe the man who you are dating has good physical caracteristics. Maybe he has a nice tan and he pays for many things for you, but how do you really feel when you are with him? Does he make you feel like you are important? Does he listen when you are talking? In conclusion, money and physical caracterstics are not the most important things if I have to describe ideal man, respect, freedom and quality time are what I care the
There are indeed significant difficulties that are apparent when students have learned with a product approach. The problems of misrepresentation or cultural misunderstandings, that occurred in writing samples one two and three, requires special attention and like grammar, cannot be corrected easily. Grammar difficulties were apparent on every writing sample; there were however, a lower frequency of grammar mistakes in samples five and six. The proper format and general construction of these essays suggest that specific activities with a process approach, significantly improve student writing skills. Conclusion The process approach to writing is very efficient in addressing specific writing difficulties. By comparing the writing samples of students who were taught with specific activities in the process approach to those who were taught with more traditional approaches, it seems that the process approach has a very significant impact. The main benefit of the process approach seems to be that it treats specific writing difficulties. Furthermore, the process approach seems to address all of the writing difficulties that were presented in this paper. It is important to note that the process approach is something that has been developed and redefined over time; further study is necessary to create new methods that are more beneficial than those that are presently used. Indeed, at one time, many educators undoubtedly felt that traditional approaches like the product approach were ideal; then there was the process approach.
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