Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hyeon Een]

I read a great couple of threads a while back, but I can't remember who the main 'helpful' people were. I'm pretty sure it was either Woland or EFLTrainer (or maybe both) who mentioned a whole load of really useful things. I'd be glad if someone could link to the two threads I'm talking about.

For background: I'm going to be teaching some Uni writing classes (will be seeing them twice a week). I know there are books assigned by some higher power but I don't know what they are yet. I think the threads I mentioned were with regards to highschool students, however the level probably won't be too different. I'm really looking for advice as to how to make writing classes interesting (I want the classes to love me =) ) whilst still making the classes educational.

With regards to their level: I'd say that from my uni experience so far they will be all over the map. Some will be good, some will be bad, some will struggle with reading, some will have lived abroad for years. It'll be a smorgasbord of English writing ability.

So can anyone provide me the link to the two super-helpful threads I recall? If not then perhaps you can give me some advice on teaching University level writing classes.

[EFLtrainer]

To get good responses, you're going to have to give more info as to levels, purpose, etc. Offhand, I'd say it's rare to find students here, even now, who have actually been taught the basic writing process. Might start with that: personal essay with the focus on format of the essay and basic writing process. A week would not be too long... nor two... maybe three. Heck, a semester.

There's a lot to teach.

[Hyeon Een]

Thanks,

You know as much as me about my class =) I'm starting a new uni job (just finished one now) however my new one has a full on writing class. I think it is called "Basic Composition" but that's all I know right now. In my last uni job 'writing' was covered in 6 classes over the semester in a basic english class. In this job I actually have a proper full semester twice a week writing class.

I guess what I'd be looking for (since I don't know anything about level of students etc) is general methods of conducting a class. I think I will be teaching classes of about 40 students. I will have 3 of these classes I'll see twice a week. Obviously with those numbers I won't want to be marking everything they produce (40*2*3* x minutes).

I've been told a book has been assigned to teach from (though I haven't been told what it is yet) however I'm not really sure how to conduct a writing class. There was a great couple of threads which I think you (EFLtrainer) posted on a while back but I can't find them.

If these students are anything like the ones at my current uni they won't even know when to use capital letters or SVO rather than SOV.

I guess I'm just grasping for straws here.. I don't know enough about my situation to even ask for sensible advice.. all I know is that I'm going to be teaching writing to University students, 40 at a time, three classes of them, twice a week. I have no idea what their level is going to be (though I'll assume 'mixed') or the text we're going to be assigned.

In my current job it has been fine because we only taught 5 or 6 writing classes over the semester with one specific goal for them to achieve. It was more a case of outlying what was required and giving them models so that they could pass rather than actually teaching writing. Though even this was tough, even after intensive coaching I couldn't persuade more than 50% of my students to NOT press the 'enter' key after every sentence.. (I showed them paragraphs in their textbooks, I showed them on the board with big X'd out 'paragraphs' and happy-smiley paragraphs, I sent them emails saying "DO NOT PRESS ENETER AFTER EACH SENTENCE" in English and Korean... they still didn't get it.. paragraphs remained a mystery)

So, since no one (including myself) knows what my specific situation will be, can you give me GENERAL advice on conducting a writing class with about 40 mixed level Uni aged students?

[Woland]

I'll look around for the old threads later today. I think Hotpants and Novernae were among the others who responded with useful ideas.

[EFLtrainer]

Until Woland can locate those old threads, I suggest you take the class title literally: assume they don't know squat. You're guaranteed to get a certain percentage that don't.

Time: all writing is done at home. Skills-based lessons are done in class because you ahve to teach it. I.e., writing done at home, outlines, brainstroming techniques, essay form, etc., all taught in class (though they can be finished as homework.) Writing at home leaves you class time to help them with the skills elements, introducing styles, types of essays, genres of writin, etc.

As for marking, I'm a big fan of peer editing. You'll likely have to introduce the idea. Alternately, do essays/writing in small enough chunks to make the marking manageable. (You probably won't ahv much choice. You'll probably find yourself teaching topic sentences, thesis statements, etc.) I prefer to use editing marks leaving the student to decipher. I try to do this in-class so I can help, e.g., teaching them to use context and co-text to understand their errors. (They "know" most of the rules, they just don't know them. ). Caveat: I've read recently some research indicating that adults fare a little better with direct teacher editing for correction while young students do better with what I suggested above. For middle school and HS, they seem to get the same benefit from either approach. The different advantages don't seem to be massively different for each group, so far as I can tell. I default to: students *need* to be analyzing language, both consciously and subconsciously, so make them.

Anyway, seems like you'll likely need to start at the bottom. Don't be afraid to do so. Even for those that have had an introduction to good writing practices, it is a skill that takes a *lot* of practice. Repetition can only help.

And when they get that queasy look about having to write, edit, be edited, I like to remind them that even all the great writers have editors and follow the writing process. Maybe you could start with some essays on writing, maybe abridged a goodly bit, by some well-known writers.

Enjoy!

[Woland]

Here's the thread you were looking for (Thanks, Google!):

http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=42810&view=previous

In the last post to it, Hanson has thoughtfully linked three other, similar threads.

I agree with EFL Trainer that you should enter with the assumption that your learners have had no training in writing at all, perhaps even in Korean. I also agree that you need to work them through a process where they revise pieces of writing over time. As my posts in the above thread make clear, even for learners who know nothing, I believe in a top-down approach to teaching, writing towards larger goals from the start.

I hope this helps. Good Luck!

[Hanson]

[ajuma]

EFLtrainer: I use editing marks for my students (I give a handout as to what means what the first week) and make them write their corrections in the back of their notebooks under the correct heading (verb, word order, articles, whatever). I don't have them rewrite the complete essay though. Do you think that they WOULD benefit from rewriting the essay? I guess if I had them more than once a week, it would be worthwhile, but in a 2 hour a week class? Don't know....

Also, Hyeon Een: I would have them use 2 notebooks...one for the homework that they turn in and one for the next assignment. I'm not sure how rewriting would work in this situation though.

As for peer-editing: I find that having them work together in groups in class works well as students can help each other, but they often edit their peers work incorrectly!!

[EFLtrainer]

[ajuma]

[EFLtrainer]

[ajuma]

My uni has a large study abroad program and these students WILL be going to the US the semester following my class. While they will be taking mostly ESL-type classes, they'll also be taking regular uni classes in their major. While some of my students make a few grammar errors but generally can convey complex ideas, most of them write like this:

[ddeubel]

I think both of you are right - in regards to the "100% accuracy is not the goal" statement. But given that by university so many Koreans have so much grammar stuffed into them, I would lean towards stressing authentic communication/sharing. It might not be what they want but"you can't always get what you want, but if you try some time, you get, you get what you need."

Peer editing isn't easy. Make sure you take baby steps here or a lot of time can be wasted. I also think that too many teachers spend too much time having the students write in class. I think class can be used for more constructive purposes and that much of the actual writing can and should be done outside of class, as assigned. But interactive writing, as part of an activity or for brief 10 min cycles is fine. Allows for immediate feedback.

I've done an interesting activity in the past. Sort of a combination between the two extremes of rote copying and free expression. I give students a one/two/three paragraph article/story/joke/letter etc..... They are asked to read it (set a timer). On the buzzer they are to turn over the handout and rewrite. They are free to try and copy as much from memory as possible. But that is hard. What you get is a mixture. But after they finish, it allows them to see and compare on many levels.

To the OP, I am sure you are aware of Purdue's writing lab. I use many of the powerpoints when teaching writing. They provide solid examples and corrections.

I would also mention the obvious. The fastest way for a uni. student to become a good writer is to become a good, voracious reader. As a teacher, forcefeed them appropriate leveled reading material.

DD