WRITING AS AN ESSENTIAL SKILL FOR TEACHING EXAM CLASSES.

1. WRITING AS AN ESSENTIAL SKILL FOR TEACHING EXAM CLASSES. Калинина Е.А., к.п.н., доцент кафедры английского языка и методики его преподаванияфакультета иностранных языков и лингводидактики СГУ им. Н. Г. Чернышевского

2. Read the statements below and tick all that apply to your students. Writing is… • Worse than a nightmare • Really hard work • A struggle to get my thoughts on paper • A chore that I hate doing • A fun way to express my thoughts and feelings

3. A natural thing I do all the time • Sometimes challenging, but really satisfying • A complete mystery to me • Ok, except for spelling and grammar • A talent you are born with

4. Tick which writing category your students belong to: • Like • Love • Hate • Indifference

5. What (if anything) do your students like about writing and why? • What (if anything) do your students hate about writing and why? • What writing tasks do they find the easiest? • What writing tasks are the most difficult for them?

6. The aim of the teacher is to make the process of writing easier and more enjoyable for students.

7. What can help the teacher to achieve this goal? A modern authentic course-book FORWARD because… • it shows different types of writing, • it trains the writing skills through a great number of various exercises, • it provides systematic work which starts in primary school and goes on until the examinations.

8. Линия преемственных УМК по английскому языку НОО 2 – 4 классы ООО 5 – 9 классы СОО 10 – 11 классы Линия УМК «FORWARD» под ред. М.В. Вербицкой

9. CULTIVATING A WRITING MIND

12. Writing in the foreign language class Make a list of the things your children usually write at the English lessons.

13. What does FORWARD suggest writing? • A personal introduction (FORWARD 8) • A formal email • A personal anecdote • Questionnaires • Opinion essays • An election campaign leaflet • Application forms • A text message • A formal letter

14. FORWARD 9 • A film review • A description of a person • A personal letter • An advert • A balanced “for and against essay” • An opinion essay • Note-taking, filling in information in the table

15. FORWARD 10 • Writing about being successful • An application form • A description of a place • Writing a story • A computer game review • An opinion essay • A letter of complaint • CV • A formal letter

16. FORWARD 11 • Profile of a famous person • Advice leaflet • Book review • Haiku (a type of Japanese poem with 3 lines consisting of 5, 7, 5 syllables) • Opinion essay • Summaries • Description of a memorable place

21. Spoken vs. written language Spoken language: • It is mostly spontaneous. • The discourse is often untidy. • A higher likelihood of an informal style or register. • The speaker is usually able to get instant feedback on the message.

22. Often made up of utterances that are not complete sentences. • Conveys meaning through stress, intonation and pauses. • The speaker can support his message using gesture and facial expression.

23. Some Characteristics of Writing • It is permanent. • It is dense. • It is time-independent. • The person being addressed is not physically present. • It is produced slowly. • It is usually neutral or formal in terms of style and register. • Writers use layout, headings to support the message.

24. Writing is more dependent on how effectively we use the linguistic resources of the language. But normally we don’t have to write quickly: we can rewrite and revise our sentences.

25. Why is writing difficult? Work in pairs and think over this question.

26. Psychological problems – you do it alone, no interaction of feedback. • Linguistic problems – the right understanding of the text depends on our choice of sentence structure

27. Cognitive problems- being at a loss for ideas

28. What is involved in successful writing? Work in groups and complete the spidergram.

29. Vocabulary • Grammar • Background knowledge • Type of writing • Linking words

30. To know the purpose • Logical structure • Stylistic devices • Speech patterns • Word order • punctuation

31. Syntax • Students should know the criteria of assessment

32. Read your way to writing! • Be a voracious reader. The first step is to get in the habit of reading whatever words come your way, no matter where you are or whatyou’re doing. This way, you build yourreading muscles day by day. Let’s begin with a simple (but not always easy) exercise. For the next week,keep a notepad and pen with you and note down every time you read a fun,snappy phrase. It doesn’t matter what it is or where you read it.

33. Use active reading checklist: • underline key points, phrases and words; • write down your thoughts, comments and questions; • record every reaction you have.

34. Active reading checklist 1.The title What is significant about the title? Why has the writer chosen it? 2. Purpose and theme What is the purpose of the article? What messages is the writer trying toconvey? 3. Structure and facts Why have the facts been put together in the way they have? Is there anything unusual about the structure of the article?

35. 4.Surprises Are there any surprises in the data, arguments, issues or story? What significance do these have for the topics being discussed? 5. Unusual words What unusual words are there? What effect do these words have? If youcome across any words you don’t understand, look them up in a dictionary andwrite out their meanings.

36. 6.Your reaction What is your opinion on the topics discussed? Do you agree or disagree with the writer? How would you approach the issues differently? 7. Tone and mood What thoughts and feelings does the article create in you? Is the article cynical, hopeful, cruel, happy or sad, for instance? Why has the writer chosen to adopt a particular tone?

37. Writing your essay There are three cornerstones to good essay writing: • knowledge, • expression, • evaluation.

38. Knowledge: doing background reading • Expression: Applying creative and writing techniques • Evaluation: Thinking and weighing up arguments

39. FORWARD 9, p.66-67 (“for and against essay”) • In pairs, look at the photos and answer the questions. • What kind of schools do you think these are? • What sort of school is more popular in your country? • Do you think that girls and boys should go to separate schools? Why?

41. 2. Read the essay. In pairs, answer the questions. • Does the writer mention any of your opinions? • What is the writer’s personal opinion? • What is the tone of the essay? Choose the best answer: 1. formal and controlled, 2. emotional and moralistic, 3. informal and personal.

43. Essay plan • Paragraph 1: Introduction______ • Paragraph 2: Arguments for_____ • Paragraph 3: Arguments against___ • Paragraph 4: Conclusion_____

44. 3. Look at the essay again and put sentences a-d into the correct paragraphs in the essay plan above. 4. Look at paragraphs 2 and 3 of the essay. How many arguments does the writer give in each paragraph?

45. 5. Look at the underlined words in the essay and put them into the correct place below: • Introducing each new argument:… • Giving examples to support an argument:… • Introducing your own opinion:…. • Introducing a conclusion:….

46. 6. Complete the missing information in TRAIN YOUR BRAIN

47. 7. Work in pairs and follow the instructions. • Read the essay question below and check you understand it. • Think of some arguments for and against the statement to put in the table. Do you need any examples or reasons to explain your arguments? • Tell each other what your personal opinion is.

48. “Adolescence is the unhappiest time in most people’s lives”

49. 8. Compare your ideas for the essay with other pairs. Who has the most convincing arguments? The most original? 9. Which of the statements below could you include in an introduction to the essay in ex. 7 Choose 3. Use TRAIN YOUR BRAIN to help you.

50. 10. Write the essay (200-250 words).