Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Kiddirts]

I'm starting a part-time biz writing course and I'm just wondering what kinds of things you are supposed to do. Just give them sample assignments and sit there while they write and interject better ways of communicating their thoughts when they're done writing? Correct grammar?...so I just sit there while they write, much like I'd sit there and correct speech during a biz speak lesson?

[tzechuk]

How about show them samples passages.. teach them certain phrases that are used to death in business? You are going to teach business writing and business writing is very different from normal writing in terms of style and formality....

My dad, who was a business lecturer in the UK, taught me to write in a very formal style when I was studying for my BA and MSc degrees in business. He showed me two different letters.. one wrote in a very casual manner, the other more formal. There are certain rules when writing a business letter, for example. You don't use contractions (although I am told this is old fashioned now... )... so instead of saying I hope you'll find this ok.. you write I hope you will find this satisfactory etc..

I think this might be the best way? I mean, don't quote me because I am not a teacher!!! (But I am a business graduate...)

[peppermint]

Most Koreans don't really learn how to write an essay. ( so odd that they don't learn this in school!!)

I'd introduce them to the idea of a five paragraph essay ( intro, 3 body paragraphs and a conclusion) Take it slow, give them lots of examples of good writiing, have in class discussions of essays ( not the students work though) and build from there.

[chronicpride]

[matthews_world]

The 5 paragraph essay isn't the only way to go. Take these examples:

www.freesatessayprep.com

[joe_doufu]

[canukteacher]

I think there is alot you can do in any writing class, regardless of whether it is for business or academic puposes. I think the first thing you have to determine is their current writing skills. Their speaking ability may be high, and their writing skills low, or vice versa.

What do they know about formatting? Do they know how to structure a letter or an essay? Punctuation is important. Do they know the proper use of capitalization? It's important to remember that our alphabet and hangul are very different. Things that we may think are natural like, for example correct capitalization, may not be natural for many non-native speaking English writing students.

Teach them how to use a thesauraus (sorry if spelling is bad). Quite often students will use the same words again and again, simply because they don't know other words with similar meanings.

I would also make sure that you work on any vocabulary that is specific to their industry.

You might also want to focus on email vs. a written letter sent through the mail. Lots of time people seem to forget that a business letter is just that, whether it is sent via email or regular post. Sometimes people "allow" their business correspondence to become very familiar and sloppy when sending it via email. (Personally, I would have students prepare business letters using a word processing program. If they want to send via email then it can be done as an attachment).

Lastly, you might want to provide them with a list of web resources that focus on writing, and grammar. Dictionary sites are also good. onelook.com is an excellent dictionary resource.


Those are just a few suggestions I can think of off the top of my head.

Good luck.

CT

[canukteacher]

Don't limit it to letters. You can cover internal memos, written proposal, etc. etc.

CT

[Nick Adams]

- Always teach grammar as a part of writing.
- Choose a specific genre of writing (mock proposals, autobiographical essay, persuasive essay, cause and effect essay, biographical sketch on a famous person, research paper, controversial or argumentative research paper, summary of anything business related like new technology or policy developments).

Here's a simple but effective way to organize a paragraph or an entire essay:

First = the claim (or thesis, the main idea, the point or idea that will be proven)
Second = evidence (facts, quotes from reputable sources, direct observations from first hand sources)
Third= link (writer expands the connections between evidence and the claim and includes personal observations or opinions)

Giving a rubric of some sort to your students with the writing assignment is a good idea.

[jjurabong]

Check out the book "Paragraph Power". It's based on a process writing approach, which involves discussion, analysis, peer editing and gives the students a really solid structure which they can expand from paragraph to essay.

It lays out a basic structure in the beginning, and then applies that structure to various different types of writing, including persuasive, descriptive, cause and effect, etc...

[Gopher]

[deleted]

[gang ah jee]

[Ya-ta Boy]

There is lots of information on the internet about teaching writing, including lesson plans. Google, google I say.

[just because]

I also teach the 4 paragraph method...usually with 4 lines in a paragraph
Intro

Supporting paragraph one

Supporting paragraph two

Conclusion...


Really basic and structured and will try to give them sample beginnings and endings they can use....

After a couple of essays they get the hang of it quite well....

[ed4444]

I was a writing teacher to adult students for one of my contracts

I wouldn't start off getting the students to write full 5 paragraph essays. its too alien a concept to Korean students and they tend to be non-responsive to it at first.

Start off with exercises that involve taking a set of disjoint sentences on a topic and get them to construct paragraphs from those sentences.

Another interesting exercise is to get them to write personal ads about themselves. they always enjoyed that.