Job Discussion Forums

[keepwalking]

Does anyone know of any international writing competitions for ESL students. I have just been given the most amazing piece of work I have ever seen from a student, and that includes 8 years teaching native speakers in the UK! It's a piece of travel writing and is jaw-droppingly brilliant. It deserves to be published somewhere or to be entered into a competition for young writers.

The student is 14 and I can guarantee it is her own work completly because it was all done in class.

[Glenski]

See if Writers Digest magazine has anything to offer. You may have to pay for the contest entry.

[gaijinalways]

[keepwalking]

As soon as she emails me the whole piece, I will post it here. Here's just a taster...

After a school trip to the jungles of Peru she wrote:

'As the cool of the morning fades, it gives in to the overwhelming heat. In this same heat we headed into the depths of the jungle and its embracing mystery.'

'The increasing heat let us know that more hours had passed. It was then we discovered how long a kilometre could be, how long an hour could take to pass and show us a new set of colours inking the sky.'

'In our path a giant let itself be revealed to us, in overwhelming greatness. It's legs held it firmly and its arms added a pinch of harmony to it as a whole. It was the largest and most striking tree I'd ever seen in my life. It was so beautiful that I knew for a fact I would never be able to see another tree so great and dazzling as that one.

Our eyes took in its gigantic size with admiration and pride at the thought that it belinged to our country, to us.'

Writing about an evening excursion in a canoe she goes on to write:

'The mirror-like river, with a texture of velvet barely moved, undisturbed by the canoe's movement. '

She goes on to describe the return home:
'The cheery morning chorus had given in to the mysterious and almost macabre silence of the night, a slience interupted by the lonesome-sounding songs taht the crickets played.'

My favourite image comes as she describes the boat trip back to the city, on the way home.
'Once in the boat you could see a few fingertips caressing the river's surface as a goodbye to its beauty.'

The student has just turned 15. She wrote this without the aid of a dictionary or thesaurus and this is a first draft. I've made no corrections to her expression or grammar.

Any comments?

[Guy Courchesne]

[MO39]

Is this essay similar to other written work this student has done for you, or is it something completely different in style and quality?

[naturegirl321]

Not for ESL directly, but try this

Try Writers Weekly or travel sites like International Living, Transitions Abroad, or World Hum.