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In the heat of the moment
Joined: 22 May 2015
Posts: 393
Location: Italy
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 Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:22 pm Post subject: Planning, Designing, and Teaching a Writing Module |
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Hey all, this isn't strictly TEFL-related but close enough. I've started a new job in east Africa and the TEFL industry is very new (NETs who've ever been in the country number in just double figures). As part of my job I'm to teach a bachelor's second year, first semester module called 'Writing for Communication'. It should run for around 15 weeks and the students are mostly intermediate level (B2) English.
As the country and education sector here are extremely short of funds/skills/everything I have very limited hard copy resources - maybe a handful of books - so will need to do most research on the internet. Time is a factor as the course starts in less than two weeks, I haven't taught writing at university level before, and the electricity and internet frequently go off which makes researching more lengthy than usual. I could do with some help from you fine TEFL people either in the form of resources to read, syllabi to study/steal from, or just empty messages of encouragement. Many thanks. |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Do you have a syllabus to work from? Do you have the syllabus for the first-year course? (Was there a first-year course?) What kind of writing will they be doing? (Paragraphs or essays, casual or academic). Are they all from the same faculty? |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2018 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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| In the heat of the moment wrote: |
| I could do with some help from you fine TEFL people either in the form of resources to read, syllabi to study/steal from, or just empty messages of encouragement. |
I agree with HLJHLJ. But if there's no syllabus for this course, then you need to find out what the learning goals and/or specific outcomes are. If your department head is clueless or is assigning that responsibility to you, then Google Writing for Communication to see what universities in the US, UK, and other western countries indicate for a similar course.
Some teaching resources/guides to get you started:
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In the heat of the moment
Joined: 22 May 2015
Posts: 393
Location: Italy
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 6:30 am Post subject: |
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| HLJHLJ wrote: |
| Do you have a syllabus to work from? Do you have the syllabus for the first-year course? (Was there a first-year course?) What kind of writing will they be doing? (Paragraphs or essays, casual or academic). Are they all from the same faculty? |
The institute and the three-year bachelor's course both originated in 2016, it's really early stages for quality tertiary education in the country so I think I will have a lot of freedom - possibly too much. I'm going to hash a syllabus together in the next couple of days and get feedback from the Head of the degree course. Unfortunately the PhD who was here from day one and in charge of academics passed a couple of weeks ago, so we have a huge hole in the experience/skills of the faculty.
All I know, so far, about the students is the other modules this semester are called 'Foundations', 'English for Further Study', and 'Introduction to Business', they're academically gifted or have had a decent education overseas, and are very eager.
There isn't much at all in the way of industry here, oil was discovered just off the coast a few years ago and the government wants to promote tourism, and so the average salary is about $2/day although apparently bank managers make $400/month.
I think writing a cover letter for a job application and completing a resume will be of great benefit, then them writing about what they know - their country, culture (a mix of five large tribes each with its own language, lots of French influence from the days of colonialism and so in the shops everyone tends to speak French, a strong underlying Arabic influence so they understand Arabic, quite a few bloodless coups and political upheavals over the last 30 years), family lives, maybe heritage.
| nomad soul wrote: |
| In the heat of the moment wrote: |
| I could do with some help from you fine TEFL people either in the form of resources to read, syllabi to study/steal from, or just empty messages of encouragement. |
I agree with HLJHLJ. But if there's no syllabus for this course, then you need to find out what the learning goals and/or specific outcomes are. If your department head is clueless or is assigning that responsibility to you, then Google Writing for Communication to see what universities in the US, UK, and other western countries indicate for a similar course.
Some teaching resources/guides to get you started:
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It's really early days, and as teachers are still turning up we only found out our schedule very recently. We've also got issues with not all classrooms being built on time.
Thanks for those links, I'll get to reading them today. |
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HLJHLJ
Joined: 06 Oct 2009
Posts: 1218
Location: Ecuador
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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You will find resources for things like cover letters and resumes on general and business English sites rather than academic English sites. As you have very little guidance on what's expected of you, my main advice is not to over plan it. Make it modular rather than obviously sequential. That way, you can make it easier or harder after you've started to figure out their level.
Also, writing classes always take longer than you expect. If I were in your position I would choose 4 or 5 activities. Make the first one very short (a Tweet is ideal) and focus on introducing them to the process.
1. Vocabulary input / models
2. Brainstorm and plan
3. First draft
4. Peer review
5. Second draft
6. Instructor review with a correction code
7. Final draft
8. Instructor grades
If they've been through a process writing course before, you can get through those stages in one 90-minute class for a Tweet. With something like a cover letter, I would schedule 3 classes. For more complex writing, you might need a full class just for input and models.
Other topics to consider would be a review, a summary, a research report, a leaflet for a tourist attraction, emails requesting or giving information. You might want to do some of it in groups to save time. If you have multiple parallels, setting up 'pen pals' between classes can work well too. |
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nomad soul
Joined: 31 Jan 2010
Posts: 11454
Location: The real world
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| Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 11:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Check out one of my favorite sites, Breaking News English, for content that can be modified for short, in-class writing activities. |
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dragonpiwo
Joined: 04 Mar 2013
Posts: 1650
Location: Berlin
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