Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hanson]

Great posts, guys.

I usually teach writing in building-blocks form. I start out with the paragraph, teaching topic sentence-supporting sentence-concluding sentence. Once that has been thoroughly explored, I then move on to the essay format.

In the essay format, I try to tweak (sp?) the things I taught previously, by adding/changing some aspects of writing, such as changing a concluding sentence to a transitional sentence, or introducing the idea of transitions to improve flow. Of course, at this point, teaching introductions and conclusions is teaching them to write a different kind of paragraph (a concept they are now familiar with).

But I find that by initially teaching the paragraph form, I can concentrate on the essentials of writing; logically going from one sentence to another within the context of the goal of a paragraph. Once that has been achieved, students can then concentrate on the essay style, with a focus on using paragraphs for a greater goal.

I can see what woland is saying, but I think students need to be able to understand and produce a solid paragraph (granted, an unreal writing exercise) before tackling something I believe many students think is overwhelming - the essay.

Lastly, I like to compare it to how we learned math. A lot of what we were asked to do as math students seemed irrelevant when the next step was introduced (here I'm talking about derivatives and anti-derivatives, and thinks like that).

As a child, first, you learn to add, then subtract. Then it's multiplication and division. Once you know how to add, you can learn to multiply much more easily.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Great discussion here indeed. Today I get to meet the group for my school's first ever writing class. I have a lot more ideas now, to say the least.

[Hotpants]

[Hanson]

Just wanted to add these threads, which Yu_Bum_suk might find helpful:

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=40827&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=45333&highlight=writing++class

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?p=737464&highlight=#737464