PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY

TOPIC 5

WRITING SKILLS

2HRS

Synopsis This topic explains the definition and concept of writing. Factors affecting writing competency is also discussed. Also covered here is language awareness, language skills , techniques for teaching writing and the teaching of grammar. Learning Outcomes: At the end of the module, learners will be able to 1. Give the definition and explain the concept of writing. 2. Identify the factors affecting writing competency 3. Explain about language awareness and language skills 4. Identify and use techniques for teaching writing 5. Describe the teaching of grammar.: Topic Framework Definition and concept of writing Factors Affecting Writing Competency Fine Motor Skill Visual-motor Coordination Perception Language Awareness Sentence Types (simple,compound and complex sentences Language Skills Mechanics of writing Sentence construction Paragraph writing Write different types of texts Techniques for Teaching Writing 1

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Cloze Spelling Simple sentence construction, etc Teaching of Grammar 5.0 Introduction When we talk about writing, we are actually referring to a few different skills that go into the production of written language. There is the skill involved in the forming of letters that make up the words. The term for this particular skill is handwriting. Then there is the ability to arrange the letters of a word in the correct order. The name for this skill is spelling. Then there is the skill of organizing and expressing whatever you are planning to inform using the English language. Generally, we call this written expression. This is a complex skill comprising a number of sub-skills. First of all, if a learner wants to write about something, he will need to have knowledge of the subject area. This is known as ideation. Then he will need to be able to formulate sentences to express this knowledge and information that he has. The ideas will need to be planned and arranged in a connected way to enable the reader to understand clearly what is being written. If we stop to think for a moment about all the skills involved in written expressions, we will realize that the learner needs to have mastered to a certain degree all the various components of language that we discussed in the first topic, especially semantics or knowledge of the meanings of words and phrases and syntax or knowledge of the rules governing the ordering of words in sentences. In addition, the learner will need to have mastered the conventions of writing, that is, he must be familiar with the rules of punctuation and capitalization, and be able to generate ideas, and subsequently organize his ideas into paragraphs.

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY If we take the time to study the English syllabus for pupils with learning difficulties, we will find that there is very little empasis placed on written expression, especially in organizing ideas into a connected whole through writing. Emphasis is placed more on helping the pupils acquire knowledge of the English language in order to use it for daily communicational and functional purposes. This is because language mastery is a huge problem for most of them. Therefore, teachers should not aim for mastery of the English language. However, these pupils will be sitting for the national examination. As such, teachers will need to teach them the basic writing skills which will enable them to do so. 5.1 Factors Affecting Writing Competency 5.1.1 Fine motor skill Fine motor skills involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. They involve strength, fine motor control and dexterity. These skills are important in most school activities as well as in life in general. Weaknesses in fine motor skills can affect a child's ability to eat, write legibly, use a computer, turn pages in a book, and perform personal care tasks such as dressing and grooming. If your pupil has fine motor weaknesses that may affect his education, you should discuss your concerns with his parents. Evaluation by a physical and/or occupational therapist can determine if his fine motor skills are a concern and if therapy can improve them. An Individual Educational Plan (IEP) team will use therapists' assessments and other evaluation data to determine if the child needs regular therapy as a related service. If he needs therapy to benefit from specially designed instruction, these services will be written into the individual education program.

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Many toys, like the ones below, can develop fine motor skills :

For school aged children, board games with pieces and parts to pick up and move are ideal for developing these skills. Jenga is a strategy game using fine motor skills that focuses on the pincher grip, which is used in writing. Remote control cars are great for preschool and elementary kids. Video games can help, but watch out for carpal tunnel syndrome. Be sure to check the video game ratings to ensure they are appropriate for your child.

Teachers can also develop fine motor skills by drawing with the child using markers, crayons, colored pencils, and chalk. Drawings needn't be perfect, and scribbling is just fine for developing fine motor skills. Teachers can also make something different by coloring paper with multiple colors and shapes and then covering the sheet in black crayon. Scratch off with an orange stick or safety scissors. Origami is a paper folding art that builds skills and is a fun craft. You can use construction, wrapping, or other decorative papers to make these fine motor skill building origami shapes. Paper cutting activities also build fine motor skills and control and can be as simple or complex as you need. Beginners can start with cutting out paper chains and progress to more complex projects. Fine motor skills are important for writing. Children initially grab a pencil with their whole hand in what is known as a "fist grip." Some children keep their fist upright, with their pinkie finger towards the paper. Other children turn their fist over with their thumb closest to the page. Either variation of this fist grip is not correct. Children need to be deliberately taught how to hold a pencil correctly. This is generally not a skill children develop on their own or through play. First, demonstrate the correct pencil position by holding the pencil between your thumb and pointer finger in a pincer grip. Allow the pencil to rest on the area of the hand between the finger and the thumb. Finally, bring the second finger under the pencil for support. After the child observes the 4

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY correct pencil position, take a small pencil (the most suitable one is the size of golf pencils) and place it correctly in the child's hand. Finally, supervise your child as he practices with the pencil (or crayon or marker). Children often slip into old, incorrect habits if they are not watched while they are learning the correct grip. 5.1.2 Visual-motor Coordination Visual-motor coordination is the ability to coordinate vision with the movements of the body or parts of the body. 5.1.3 Perception Psychologists say perception is someone's view. Everyone is said to have different perceptions on political, religious, and personal subjects. Perception is what makes the human race so unique. Auditory perception refers to the ability of the brain to interpret and create a clear impression of sounds. Good auditory skills enable children to distinguish between different pitches, volumes, rhythms and sources of sounds and words, which has amongst others, significant learning reading. benefits for

Auditory perception includes: Auditory closure the ability to complete indistinct or inaudible words to create a clear auditory image Auditory conceptualizing the ability to interpret and form a clear impression of a sound or combination of sounds Auditory discrimination the ability to interpret information relating to the differences between sounds, which facilitates understanding spoken wordsand spelling skills Auditory localization the ability to determine the sourceof a sound using only the sense of hearing Auditory memory the ability to store and later recall the impression 5

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY perceived by the ears Auditory sequential memory the ability to store a series of information in the order it was heard and later recall it, to facilitate following instructions and memorization of rhymes, songs and so on. Teachers can carry out some of the activities below to develop auditory perception among their pupils: Reciting nursery rhymes offer children opportunities to practice auditory perception Listening to a wide range of different types of music and developing music appreciation. Playing and singing action songs and rhymes. Talking to the child and letting her talk back to you in different intensities of voice: softer, louder and with different intonations. Teaching the child the sounds associated with familiar animals and objects for example, a clock ticks, a sheep says b-a-a and so on. Blindfolding the child outside,then call to her from different positions nearby and let her turn towards you. Reading or telling the child a story and asking her afterwards a few pertinent questions about the story. Speaking or singing in a high pitched voice and then a low pitched voice and asking the child to imitate you. Clapping a rhythm and asking the child to imitate it. Repeat with your backs to each other so that she cannot see you clap. 5.1.4 Writing Problems of Students with Learning Difficulties One of the simplest ways to study the writing problems of learners with learning difficulties is to analyze their writing samples. These samples will reveal the problems they have with handwriting, spelling and written expression. 1. Handwriting Problems. Some of the problems are: 6

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Handwritting Features Shape Size Problems Letters are slanted. Shape varies from standard. Too large. Too small. Space Alignment Not uniform, Letters within a word are too crowded. Too much space in between letters. Letters are not sitting on lines in the book. Line Quality Height of letters are not consistent. Letters are written too heavily or too lightly.

2. Spelling errors. Some of these are: Errors Primarily Due to Auditory Deficits 1. Substitutes t for d, f for v , sh for ch 2. Omits vowels in two-syllable words because of inability to discriminate between sounds, for example, pish for polish 3. Spells beginning or ending of the word correctly but middle of the word may be missing or spelled wrongly, for examle hd for hand. 4. Confuses vowel. For example, spells bit as bet 5. Omits the second letter in blends. For examp[le spells fled as fed. 6. Uses a synonym. For example, Spells house for home. 7. Omits word endings. For example omits ed, s and ing. 8. Spell word that has little or no relationship with the word dictated. For example. Spells cat for home. Errors Primarily Due to Visual Deficits 1. Spells correctly the beginning or ending of the word but omits the 7

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY middle. Example, Spells hapy for happy. 2. Gives the correct letters but in the wrong sequence. Example : teh for the. 3. Reverses letters. For example: Writes b for d, on for no, or was for saw. 4. Inverts letters. For example: Writes u for n, m for w. 5. Mixes up capital and small letters. For example: cAT. 6. Spelling words phonetically that are non-phonetic in configuration. For example: tuff for tough 3. Written Language Problems If a learner is able to compose an essay, it is easy to find out his problems with written expression. When we talk of problems with written expression, we will generally discuss these in terms of the vocabulary he possesses (semantics), his ability to formulate sentences to convey his ideas (syntax), the sufficiency of the contents of his essay (ideation), and his ability to organize his ideas (organization). The following are diagnostic questions that could bring out the problems faced by the students in the skills just mentioned. 1. Was there a good variety of words used? Were the words appropriate? What can you say about the students use of verbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns and conjunctions? 2. What kinds of grammatical erors were made? 3. What was the average word length of sentences? 4. Was there a good mixture of simple, compound and complex sentences? 5. Were the paragraphs appropriate in organization and content? 6. Were the contents well selected and organized? 7. Were the contents accurate? 8. Was the purpose clear? 9. What were the errors of punctuation and capitalization?

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY 5.2 Language Awareness Language Awareness can be defined as explicit knowledge about language, and conscious perception and sensitivity in language learning, language teaching and language use . It covers a wide spectrum of fields. For example, Language Awareness issues include exploring the benefits that can be derived from developing a good knowledge about language, a conscious understanding of how languages work, of how people learn them and use them. Can we become better language users or learners or teachers if we develop a better understanding? And can we gain other advantages: for example in our relations with other people and/or cultures, and in our ability to see through language that manipulates or discriminates? Language Awareness interests also include learning more about what sorts of ideas about language people normally operate with, and what effects these have on how they conduct their everyday affairs: e.g. their professional dealings. 5.2.1 Sentence Types (simple, compound and complex sentences) In developing knowledge of sentence structure, the grammar of the sentence will be discussed later. Here, the focus is on the sentence as a component of text-building. We interpret a sentence differently according to its role in the text in which it occurs.the same idea can be expressed in more than one way. Therefore, another skillthat is important to a writer is an ability to choose a sentence pattern that is mostappropriate for his purpose in the context of a specific piece of writing. Another feature of sentences in texts is that there are situations where one or two sentences is all that is required for an

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY act of communication. Read further and types more example on sentences can be found below. 5.3 Language Skills 5.3.1 Mechanics of writing Mechanics is the term we use to describe the technical aspects of writing, such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Many fiction writers would say that mechanics are not the most important part of writing. They come second to other elements such as a good storyline, well-developed characters, and so on. However, mechanics are still very important. If your story is not mechanically well-written, many educated readers will not even bother to read it, either because its too hard for them to figure out what youre trying to say, or they just assume the story wont be good because it doesnt appear to be well-written. Despite the phrase Dont judge a book by its cover, appearance matters. If your story doesnt look worth reading, people may not read it. Good mechanics make a story easy to read, and that will attract more readers. 5.3.2 Sentence construction Lets start with the basics. complete thought or idea. To put it simply, a sentence is a As an example, I write fanfic is a

sentence. Like all complete sentences, it has two main parts, a subject and an action. I is the subject, or noun. Write is the action, or verb. I am a fanfic write] is another sentence with the same meaning. In this case, I is still the subject, and am is the verb, though it does not really describe an action. It is called a linking verb, linking I to fanfic writer, which are one in the same. Some sentences contain more than one thought or idea. These are called compound sentences. 10 An example of compound

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY sentence is: I am a fanfic writer, and I write mostly drama. The two main ideas are : I am a fanfic writer. and I write mostly drama. Each of these could be sentences on their own, since they both form complete thoughts, but I chose to combine them together into one sentence. Notice that I did this by putting a comma and and between them. sentences this way. A run-on sentence is a sentence with multiple thoughts or ideas that are not joined together in the correct way, using commas and conjunctions or semi-colons. For example, the sentence, I am a fanfic writer I write mostly drama , would be a run-on sentence because there is no punctuation to separate the two thoughts. Punctuation are marks such as periods (.), question marks (?), exclamation points (!), commas (,), apostrophes (), quotation marks (), semi-colons (;), and colons (:). When used correctly, they make writing look more organized and easier to read and understand. They tell you how to read a line and where to pause or breathe. Even if youre not reading out loud, punctuation is important to the meaning of text. Most people understand how to use periods, question marks, and exclamation points, which are all used at the ends of sentences. Many people struggle with commas and quotations. Commas Commas are one of the most important punctuation marks, yet they are often ignored or misused. They have many different uses. Usually, they are used to separate words or phrases, such as clauses in a sentence, items in a list, transition words, names, parts of a date or address, and more. 11 Words like and, or, and but are called conjunctions and are used to join simple sentences into compound

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY In the sentence above, several commas are used. Usually is a transition word and should be followed by a comma. Such as clauses in a sentence is a clause, or phrase, itself and should be separated from the other phrases in the sentence for clarity. The ways in which commas can be used formed a list in this sentence, and so they are separated by commas as well. If you are writing a compound sentence, as described above, you can use a comma and a conjunction to separate the two or more ideas in that sentence. Remember, though, to always use a conjunction along with your comma. Writing a sentence like I am a fanfic writer, I write mostly drama. is wrong. Technically, that is a run-on. To make it not a run-on, you would need the and in there after the comma. You could also use a semi-colon. Instead of writing I am a fanfic writer, and I write mostly drama. , you could shorten it up by writing, I am a fanfic writer; I write mostly drama. The semi-colon takes the place of the comma and conjunction and is correct. This may seem picky, but this is what the rules of English dictate. Quotations In fiction, quotations are used mainly for writing dialogue, or your characters speech. A lot of people struggle with the correct way to write dialogue, especially at first, but once you get the hang of it, its easy. Here are the basics: First, every time one of your characters is saying something, all of their dialogue should be contained inside quotation marks. For example, if you had Brian saying, Im going to school, you would write his line exactly as is written here within quotation marks. [Im going to school.] 12

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY If your line of dialogue stands by itself, like at the end of the above paragraph, you should end it with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. The punctuation always goes INSIDE the quotation marks, NOT outside. [Im going to school. ] the right way [Im going to school.] the wrong way If your line of dialogue is followed by a clause like he said, you should use a comma instead of a period. For example: [ Im going to school, he said.] However, if the dialogue would normally have a question mark or exclamation point instead of a period, you can keep the question mark or exclamation point. marks. If youre writing a characters thoughts, something theyre just thinking and not actually saying, you dont need to use quotation marks. For example, if Brians just thinking, I need to go to school, you could write it like this: [I need to go to school, Brian thought.] Some authors choose to put thoughts in italics to differentiate them. For example: [I need to go to school, Brian thought.] That is all a matter of the authors preference though. 5.3.3 Paragraph writing A paragraph is a group of sentences that all revolve around the same topic or idea. In fiction, paragraphs can be as short as one or two sentences or much longer, depending on how much you have to write about one certain thing and your own preference. In general, a good-sized paragraph is about 5-7 sentences. If your paragraphs are consistently longer than that, you might need to break up your story into more paragraphs. 13 For example: [ Are you going to school? he asked.] The punctuation still stays inside the quotation

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Many beginning writers write all in one big paragraph; a whole chapter may be all in one or two paragraphs. Huge paragraphs are hard to follow. It is easier to read, both from a comprehension and a physical standpoint, when text is broken up into smaller paragraphs with empty spaces in between. follow the text. The general rule is, you should start a new paragraph every time you start talking about something new. Going along with our last examples, if you started a paragraph with Brian saying, Im going to sxhool, you might continue that paragraph with a few sentences about Brian leaving. You could describe him putting on his shoes, getting his keys, going out to his car, etc. Once he gets to the school, or maybe even once he starts driving away, you should start a new paragraph because youre now describing something new. When writing dialogue, you should also start a new paragraph every time there is a new speaker. This is a big one!! If Brian says Im going to school, and then Kevin replies, Okay, see ya later, these two lines of dialogue should be in different paragraphs. The example of writing is shown below: Im going to sxhool, said Brian, grabbing his keys. Kevin looked up. Okay, see ya later, he replied. Even though the paragraph about Brian was only one sentence, we had to start a new paragraph when we got to Kevin because we knew he was going to start talking, too. Whenever the speaker changes, change paragraphs. This makes it less confusing and prevents you from having to say [Brian said] or [Kevin said] before or after each line of dialogue. If you change paragraphs each time, the readers can usually figure out whos talking. 14 Notice that the paragraphs here are fairly short. This makes it easier for you to

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5.3.4 Different types of texts The following are some of the different types of texts: 1. Narrative Narative is the telling of a story or an account of a sequence of events. One of the four traditional forms of composition (along with description, exposition, and persuasion). Narration differs from exposition, which can also relate a sequence of events, in that narration need not be factual and may be written from the perspective of a character in the text. 2. Description Description is a text or speech that is meant to give a verbal picture of an object, character, location, or event. Description is considered one of the four traditional forms of composition (along with exposition, narration, and persuasion). 3. Expository/exposition Expository or exposition is a text or speech that is meant to set forth or explain a concept or procedure. Considered one of the four traditional forms of composition (along with description, narration, and persuasion), exposition may contain elements of the other three forms in order to achieve its purpose. 4. Argumentative In this kind of essay, we not only give information but also present an argument with the PROS (supporting ideas) and CONS (opposing ideas) of an argumentative issue. We should clearly take our stand and write as if we are trying to persuade an opposing audience to adopt new beliefs or behavior. The primary objective is to persuade people to change beliefs that many of them do not want to change. 5. Summary Summary is a shortened version of a text that highlights its key points. It is an overview of content that provides a reader with 15

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY the overarching theme, but does not expand on specific details. A summary describes a larger work (such as an entire book, speech, or research project), and should include noticeably less content then the original work. Summaries can save a reader time because it prevents the reader from having to actually go through and filter the important information from the unimportant. 6. Report A report is a document containing information organized in a narrative,graphic, or tabular form, prepared on ad hoc, periodic, recurring, regular, or as required basis. Reports may refer to specific periodsn events, occurrences or subjects, and may be communicated or presented in oral or written form. 7. Letter A letter is a written or printed communication addressed to a person or organization and usually transmitted by mail. It can be formal or informal. 5.3.5 Writing in English for Different Purposes The English language syllabus for pupils with learning disabilities is organised in such a way that we teach them to write for different purposes. As such, teachers have to plan the lessons in such a way that they can relate the purposes of writing to instructional planning. 1. Daily application of writing a. Forms and applications learniers are taught to fill in different forms like application forms, forms asking for personal details, bank forms and so on. b. Arrangements and records learners should know how to write notes and notices about arrangements for travel, meetings, weekend excursions or contests. They should also be able to write short reports or accounts of activitiesfor the class or school newspaper.

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY c. Orders and complaints learners should know how to order goods and services, or how to write letters of complaints. 2. Social contact Learners shouldbe able to send messages of congratulations and greetings to others, and to inform others of events or change of circumstances. Such greetings and announcements could be sent or be displayed on bulletin boards. 3. Getting and giving information. When learners have gatheredinformation for projects, they would need to organize the information and then report it to others in written form. The information could later be presented as oral reports, be published in class newspapers bedistributed to other classes. 4. Study purposes Learnersneed to have practice in taking notes, writing abstracts, reports,essays, analysis and term papers. 5. Entertainment Learners can write with the intention of entertaining. For this, they can write stories, skits, scripts or one-act plays. They may also prepare the programmes for an event such as a fashion parade, or write captions for pictures andphotographs. 6. Self-expression Learners can express themselves creatively through stories, poems, nonsense rhymes, nursery rhymes, sketches and autobiographical narratives. They can also keep personal journals and diaries of their thoughts and experiences. From the discussion just now, it is shown that writing can be used for many purposes. If we study the English syllabus used for students with learning difficulties, we find that it focuses more on the use of writing for daily application. Many learners will be exposed to the English language for the first time, so the syllabus is relevant to the needs of these learners. A lot of emphasis is placed on vocabulary development based on different themes 17

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY and communicational situations. Writing is taught as a tool to achieve daily, functional activities like filling in forms. Sisnce there are also students who are taught the English language to pass the national examinations, teachers should also be able to teach the learners to organize their thoughts and ideas and convey these through sentences that follow the rules of syntax.

5.4

Techniques for Teaching Writing 5.4.1 Cloze Based on or being a test of reading comprehension in which the test taker is asked to supply words that have been systematically deleted from a text. Cloze procedure is a technique in which words are deleted from a passage according to a word-count formula or various other criteria. The passage is presented to students, who insert words as they read to complete and construct meaning from the text. This procedure can be used as a diagnostic reading assessment technique. It is used:

to identify learners' knowledge and understanding of the reading process to determine which cueing systems readers effectively employ to construct meaning from print to assess the extent of students' vocabularies and knowledge of a subject to encourage students to monitor for meaning while reading to encourage students to think critically and analytically about text and content

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY To prepare materials for Cloze exercises, any of the following techniques may be used: 1. Select a self-contained passage of a length appropriate for the grade level of the students being assessed. Use materials easily read by the students. 2. 3. Leave the first and last sentences and all punctuation intact. Carefully select the words for omission using a word-count formula, such as every fifth word or other criteria. To assess students' knowledge of the topic or their abilities to use semantic cues, delete content words which carry meaning, such as nouns, main verbs, adjectives and adverbs. To assess students' use of syntactic cues, delete some conjunctions, prepositions and auxiliary words. 4. When preparing the final draft of the passage, make all blanks of equal length to avoid including visual clues about the lengths of omitted words. 5. 6. 7. 8. Have the students read the entire passage before they fill in the blanks. Encourage the students to fill each blank if possible. Although there should be no time limit for this exercise, the time necessary for completion should be noted. Suggest that students reread the completed passage.

This is how you can adapt it: Examples: 1. Supply choices for the blanks. Just as ____________have fur, birds have ____________. (coats, animals) (feathers, wings) 2. When learners have used the technique described above and can replace the appropriate words from the choices supplied, provide passages in which every fifth word or every tenth word is arbitrarily 19

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY deleted and only a letter or two of the correct word is available, perhaps a beginning consonant or consonant blend: With the price of f______ going up all the t______, more people are trying t___ raise some of their f_____ in their own back y______. 3. When the learners do well with this task, indicate only the blank with no additional clues. Accept any word that seems a reasonable fit: Example: Instead of grass, you _______ rows of lettuce, tomatoes, ________ beans lining the fences _______ in the biggest city. 5.4.2 Spelling Incorrect spellling may often give the reader the impression that the writer is careless and lacks education. One should try and remember that spelling is often very difficult for learners studying English because of the lack of correlation between the sound of a word and how it is actually spelt. A single sound or phoneme may often have a variety of differrent spellings (eg saw, door, sore, four). Furthermore, the same spelling may also have a variety of different sounds (or word). A good way of getting your pupils to improve their spelling is by giving them a table of the words that they are having problems with. Now get the learners to copy the word in the next column. The learners then cover the first two columns with a piece of paper or a book. They must then attempt to write the word from memory in the covered column. Learners then uncover the columns and check their spelling by placing a tick or cross in the check column. Another great way of getting your learners to take responsinility for their own learning and to improve their spelling is to create a personal spelling tabe for your pupils. Every time you give pupils back a piece of writing work that has been marked, get the pupils to take note of their spelling mistakes. Pupils then add the words with the correct spelling to their table. Now, get students in the class to 20

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY test each other once a week on their personal spelling tables. Every time a pupil gets the spelling correct, place a tick in the block where the word appears. Once three ticks appear in the block, color that block. The objective is to color the entire table. 5.4.3 Developing a Written Vocabulary For the pupil who has just been taught English, the starting point for teaching writing would be just copying. The English syllabus requires that the learner learn theme-related words like parts of the body or types of transportation. Obviously, when these words are taught, it is also necessary for the learners to write down the words in the learning process,as when an exercise is given for the learners to label the various parts of the body correctly. When the learner has learned some words, he can be encouraged to make picture dictionaries, or the words learned could be filed in a word box so that they can be referred to later on. Some suggested copying activities which can be carried out: 1. Prepare worksheets of some words that can be traced, that is words written in dotted outline. For example, fruits -apple, orange, pineapple; colour red, yellow, white, blue; vegetables lettuce, cabbage, water cress 2. Prepare exercises where learners write out the plural form of the words. For example, cat-cats; cow-cows; pencil-pencils 3. Let learners write all the words they have written on their word cards for a specified category. For example, Furniture: chair, table, sofa 4. Let learners write out pairs of rhyming words they have written on their word cards. For example: cat, hat; eat.meat; boy, toy. 5. Write a spelling pattern, let the learner write all the words of that pattern, that is the word family. For example, at: cat, bat, hat, mat simple

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY 5.4.4 Simple sentence construction One of the most recommended methods of teaching learners to read written sentences is the Language Experience Approach. In this approach, the learner tells the teacher a story or anything at all about himself. The teacher then writes down what the learner has told him. When this is done, the learner will realize that written language actually represents oral language. The written experience story can then be used as a reading text. The learner can then copy the text into his own book. Some modification which can be done to this approach include: Writing a sentence on a word card illustrating a picture Writing a sentence under a learners drawing Retelling of stories previously read to the learner Writing class poems,jokes and group stories based on a shared experience Writing stories about pets Writing class science experiments The following are more structured ways of teaching sentence formulation: 1. Sentence completion a. The learner copies from a model For example, The dog is ...... (big, small) b. The learner uses vocabulary cards to complete a sentence For example, The dog is ..... c. The learner writes original sentences For example . The............................ 2. Have the learner start with a short sentence and add words to make longer and longer sentences For example, I saw a dog. I saw a brown dog. I saw a little, brown dog. 22

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY I saw a little, old, brown dog. 3. Write words that the learners have been taught on separate index cards. The learners take turns drawing cards. They then form sentences using the word. When all the cards have been used, the learners read each others card. 4. Plan activities that require obly a few sentences For exmple , a. Greeting card messages b. Post card messages c. Descrtiption of pictures of things and persons d. Captions for pictures on bulleting boards e. Small books about a subject, like Birds f. Dialogue for comic strips g. Steps in an experiment 5. Sentence combining. The learner can be taught to use compound and complex sentences by structured drills. A sentence pattern is provided and the learner combines two given sentences following the modeled pattern. For example, The ball is big. It is on the table. The big ball is on the table. The car is red. It is in the garage. .................................................................. 6. Give the learners the words of a sentence that have not been ordered and ask him to arrange the words to form a grammatical sentence. For example , cat, small, the, is The cat is small.

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY 7. Give the student various noun and verb phrases and ask him to expand the sentence by adding descriptive words Example : many, boys, swimming, river There are many boys swimming in the river. 5.4.5 Teaching Learners to Write Texts Once the learners are able to formulate simple sentences, the teacher should help them use this ability to write basic texts. Other additional activities are: 1. Give the learner a written paragraph in which the sentences are out of sequence. Ask him to rewrite the paragraph by arranging the sentences in a logical and meaningful order. 2. Give the learner individual pictures that make up a comic strip. Ask the learner to put the pictures in sequence. Subsequently, ask the learner to write sentences about each picture so that there is a sequential story. 3. Ask the learner to cut out an interesting picture from a magazine. Paste the picture on a large piece of paper. Then ask the learner to write a few sentences about the picture. 4. Have the learner keep a diary or make journal entry. At the end of each day, let him write a diary entry in which he expresses himself by summarizing his experiences, feelings and activities of the day. 5. Start a class newspaper and ask all learners to contribute some form of writing. Learners can take turns serving as editors, printers, proof readers and distributors. 6. Cloze exercises, in addition to being a good method of teaching comprehension, are a very structured way to develop the ability of the learner in writing connected text. 5.5 Teaching of Grammar

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY During the past century or so, the focus of classroom instruction and the practice of language teaching have shifted depending on prevailing,customary methodologies and theoretical fooundations of

language teaching and learning, this has provided us with both interesting and varied interpretations of how best to teach a foreign language. This has provided us with both interesting and varied interpretations of how best to teach a foreign language. Over the past few decades there has been a change of focus from an emphasis on language forms to more functional language within a communicative context. The adoption of Communicative Language Teaching has seen a significant loss of focus on the forms of language. This approach introduced real-life communication, characterised by authentic materials, true-to-life simulation and meaningful tasks. Learners are and can be taught through role plays and simulations. Accuracy was seen as less important than fluency and successful communication. The Communicative approach highlighted the importance of functional language as opposed to focusing specifically on grammar and vocabulary like in the past. Brown (2001) states that grammatical competence is an important component of communicative competence. He goes on to describe organisational competence as a complex set of rules which govern both sentences (grammar) and how we link these sentences together (discourse). It is this organisational competence, which is seen as necessary for communication and to ensure that the language used is not disorganised and muddled. Diane Larsen-Freeman (1991) points out that although grammar provides us with the form or structures of language, these are inconsequential or meaningless without, at the same time, considering semantics (meaning) and pragmatics (meaning assigned given the context). These three aspects are interconnected and each is dependent on the other. Thus grammar is important and need to be taught. The following are some ideas and techniques for teaching Grammar in the classroom: 25

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY 5.5.1 Troublesome Grammar For practice with troublesome grammatical structures, have an assortment of dittoed choice and filling the blank exercises on the following areas: Verb tenses Prepositions Question formation Adjective placement Modals

Prepare an answer key for self checking. 5.5.2 Sentence Structuring On index cards, write a sentence or question, with each word on a separate card. On the back, number each word card in sequence. The learners must put the cards in the correct word order. They can check themselves by looking at the numbers on the back. Keep each set of cards in a rubber band or in an envelope. 5.5.3 Memory Games In this activity, you may divide the learners into two groups. Give each group a copy of the same picture. Tell them to look at it but do not tell them that they are expected to memorise the items in the picture. Give them a minute or two. Then take the pictures away from the groups. Each group nominates a spokeperson for their group. In this activity, the material is utilised to work on the present continuous tense (is/am/are + ing). The teacher reads out some true/falsi statements about the picture, using the present continuous tense , for example : The man is....The boys are...). after each group has discussed the statement, their spokeperson relays their answer to you. Points are awarded for correct answers. 26

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY 5.5.4 Miming an Action Create two piles of cards. One pile should consist of cards with an adverb written on each and the other pile with the meaning. Divide the learners into two groups. The first group sends one of its members up to the front of the class. This learner selects one card, which are face down, from each pile on the teachers desk. The learner must then mime the action to the other group who then have 45 seconds to guess the action correctly. This can be used to practise a variety of tenses. If the learners in the group guess the correct action within the allocated time, then the group is awarded a point. It is now the other groups turn to send a student up to the front of the class. 5.5.5 Creating Time Lines A useful activity may be to encourage learners to create their own time lines when dealing with new tenses. Write a sentence on the board and ask the learners to either come up to the board and create a timeline on the board or ask them to complete a time line in their books. 5.5.6 Split Sentences In this activity, you may wish to use the first conditional, for example, or a variety of tenses. Once you have written a number of sentences on a piece of paper, proceed to cut each sentence in two. Distribute these various pieces to the students in the class. The students must then read their half of the sentence to the class and attempt to find the missing half of their sentence. 5.5.7 Grammar Quiz You could initiate a grammar quiz for two teams. Write a verb infinitive on the board and the first team to write the correct past participle on the board is awarded a point. You could create a number of variations of your own,for example, ask 27

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY each team to prepare their own questions to present to the other team. 5.5.8 Growing Stories Growing story activities are excellent practice for work on the past simple tense. Learners are given the first sentence of a story. They then have to add another sentence to the story in order to cintinue the storyline. The learners then pass their stories to the person next to them who in turn adds another sentence. Alternatively, this activity may be done on a computer. The stories can then be printed and read out to see the variety. 5.5.9 Questionnaires Ask learners to write a questionnaire by utilising grammar items which have been covered in Alternatively, you could assist recent class.

the learners by presenting

them with basic structures. Once the questionnaires have been completed, ask the learners to survey one another. 5.5.10 Objects and Things By bringing certain objects and things (eg wallet, handbag, money, glasses...) into your classroom, you add a hands-on feel to your teaching. In order to teach beginning level learners the use of the possessive form, you could encourage the learners to bring a few items to class. Ask them to place the items on their desks. Gather the objects and place them on different desks around the classroom. Learners then work on pairs. They walk around the classroom and by using the target language (placed on the board) and the embedded politeness forms (Excuse me) and discourse ellipsis rules (NO its Fatimahs, rather than No, its Fatimahs purse.) 5.5.11 Maps and Drawings 28

PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Maps are practical and simple visual aids for the classroom and can serve to illustrate certain grammatical structures such as the use of: Prepositional phrases (down the street, across the road, etc) Question forms (where is,how do I find, is this,....) Imperatives (go, walk, turn, keep an eye out for,.....) Appropriate discourse when asking for directions, attracting someones attention, clarifying information and ending the conversation. Drawings are an excellent way in which to provide practice in stating locations and giving directions (with the use of prepositional phrases). You may wish to begin by using the simple drawing which follows. After introducing the relevant terms (next to, in the bottom left-hand corner, in the centre, below..........) divide the learners into pairs. Give one learner a copy of picture and the other learner a piece of paper and a pencil. The learner with the picture describes what is in the picture and where these things are (without showing the other learner) whilst the other learner draws what is described on their piece of paper. 5.5.12 Charts and Graphs These are very useful when practising various patterns and clarifying certain grammatical relationships. Learners can practise simple understanding and interpreting of graphical information. Learners are also introduced to the idea of trends.

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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGY Exercise 1 : Apply any three activities discussed in this topic to teach your studentsin the school. Note problems and the effectiveness of the activities. Write areflectivereport and share this in class or online. Exercise 2 : the language experience approach is a very effective apporach to teaching. Usually we use it to teach reading. However, once the teacher has written down the speech of the pupils, he can copy it and the text becones the pupuls own. Try out this method with your pupils and write a reflective report on the outcome. You can make use of the materials in the internet to get additional information.

Exercise 3 : You have already learned how you could help your pupils develop a writing vocabulary, to write sentences and also to write simple texts. Hoever, you might be required to teach pupils to write essays for examination purposes. To add to the knowledge you already have of teaching writing,you are required to read up on the writing process. This is an approach used to teach learners how to write compositons, and involve the various stages of prewriting, writing, revising and sharing the finished product with an audience. Write an essay onwhat yu have read and discuss in class.

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