half assignment 2 half module a5/101b

Hellenic Open University

HALF ASSIGNMENT 2

HALF MODULE

A5/101B

The Teaching of Writing Skills In a Second/Foreign Language

Academic Year: 1998-1999 Tutor: Dr Julia Spinthourakis Student’s Name: Damianopoulos A. Damianos

Damianos Damianopoulos HOU-Academic Year 1998-1999 Assignment: A5/101b

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Table of Contents PART I

Description of our Current Teaching Situation in Relation to the Teaching of Writing 4 1. The General Aims of this Paper 4 2. Our Teaching Situation 4 2.1 The Setting 4 2.2 The Balance between the Productive Skills 4 2.3 Evaluation of the Teaching Situation 5 2.3.1 Description of Objectives 5 2.3.2 Zooming in on the Teaching Situation 5

PART II Sample Materials for the Teaching of Writing 9 1. The Syllabus 9 2. The Approach and Rationale 9 2.1 Writing after Listening Comprehension 9 2.2 Writing after a Role-play 11 3. Evaluation 12 3.1 Writing An Article After Listening 12 3.2 Writing After A Role-play 13 3.3 The Weaknesses 13 4. Epilogue 14

BIBLIOGRAPHY51 APPENDIX I

Lesson Plan of Sample Session A-Writing an Article 15 Writing After Listening-Teaching Notes 16 I. Pre-writing Activities 16 II. Writing Activities 19 Key to Activities 20 Script of recorded dialogue 21 Pupils’ Writing Sheet 23

APPENDIX II Lesson Plan of Sample Session B-Writing after a Role-play 24 Writing After a Role-play-Teaching Notes 25 A. A Link with the Role Play Lesson 25 B. Presentation of Tasks 25 C. Writing Stage 25 D. Correction Stage 26 E. Discussion of Errors 26 F. Redrafting 26 Material to be Distributed During: A Writing Class After a Role-play 27

APPENDIX III (Guide through Sample Lesson Recordings)

A. Writing an Article After Listening 33 B. Writing After a Role-play 34

APPENDIX IV Types of Texts of our Teaching Situation 35

APPENDIX V Pyramid Discussion ( from Half-Assignment A5/102B) 36

APPENDIX VI Simulation of Debate (from Half-Assignment A5/102B) 39


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PART I

Describe and evaluate the teaching of writing in one particular

class in your current teaching situation. Use the principles for

teaching writing, which emerge from units 0, 1 and 2.


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Description of our Current Teaching Situation In Relation to the Teaching of Writing

1. The General Aims of this Paper

As it has repeatedly been pointed out in previous papers our teaching situation is characterised by several strengths, but unfortunately more numerous weaknesses. One of these is the teaching of writing, not only due to intrinsic drawbacks of the textbook in use, but also because of various functional obstacles posed by the situation in our edu-cational environment. Our aim in this first part of our paper is to outline, expand on and evaluate these strengths and weaknesses, suggesting ways of improvement for the former and correc-tion for the latter.

2. Our Teaching Situation 2.1 The Setting The textbook used with the target class is “Taskway-English 3”. The level of the class and the textbook could be labelled as “Intermediate”, bearing in mind the general meaning of the term. The needs, which the textbook is expected to cater for, are not of any specific nature; we could say that we have to deal with a TENOR situation, namely “Teaching English for No Obvious Reason”, as described by Abbott (1981: 12). The pupils in question are about 14 years of age and their language ability is character-ised by relative homogeneity, due to streaming, while there are some variations in lin-guistic ability to be observed. As regards computing competence in relation to writing, namely word processing, the skills of the pupils in this respect are rather limited. Regarding equipment in connection with the teaching or writing there are the ubiquitous blackboard, photocopying, audio recording and playback facilities, as well as word processing facilities with the reservation described previously. Unfortunately there is no operable OHP for that matter. Another most serious constraint connected not only with the teaching of writing, but with language teaching in general, is the insufficient time of the class period, which does not exceed the 45 minutes at the best of times. 2.2 The Balance between the Productive Skills

If we compare the activities dedicated to the two productive skills, namely speaking and writing, we can see that, at least quantitatively, the teaching of writing is the loser: there are 19 instances of writing activities, whilst there are over 30 regarding the teaching of speaking. As for the variety of the required texts we could say that it could be richer and more compatible to the needs and interests of the pupils.1

1 Cf. Table in Appendix IV, p. 35.


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The prevailing model of language in the textbook is that of spoken discourse, but the model of the writing activities is aptly closer to that of written discourse, espe-cially the material that deals with transactional situations.

2.3 Evaluation of the Teaching Situation

2.3.1A Description of Objectives

According to Abbot (Ibid: 140), the teaching of writing must be used as a tool for the teaching of language by means of its integration with the other three linguistic skills, namely listening, speaking and reading and it must satisfy the writing needs of our learners in real life. It is also posited therein that cohesion is another facet of the teaching of writing which is inseparable from the other two. We believe that the text-book used in the target class does not sufficiently achieve this integration of skills while on certain occasions it does not satisfy real needs of the learners2 and it does not teach strategies, which could enhance the learners’ ability to produce texts with cohesion. What the course primarily does is to provide some linguistic dough, with which the learners are instructed to produce cookies, of which they have been shown only pic-tures, while the procedure of mixing the ingredients is not disclosed to them.

It is certain that writing is perhaps the most daunting of the linguistic skills.

Consequently a course must provide guidelines which should show our learners how communication through writing is achieved (Byrne, D. 1997: 14). The interactive nature of writing should also be emphasised. A piece of writing is not a goal in itself, but it has some job to perform, namely to inform, protest, direct, describe, entertain etc. and some other person will take advantage of and benefit from that (Widdowson, H. G., 1983, in Freedman et al. (eds.) 1996: 47). So learners must be taught how to use the grammar and lexis of the language, organise the content of their text, draft it, revise and redraft it, selecting the appropriate style during this process and finally presenting it to some “au-dience” (Tribble C., 1996: 21). A course which aspires to help learners become effec-tively independent writers should not focus on the text per se as a product, but on the procedure which is to be followed in order to have a text, which serves the writer’s pur-pose and the readers’ expectations. If an opposite tack is adopted, as in the teaching situation in question, namely if we focus on the product rather than on the procedure, we do not teach the natural use of language for the sake of communication (Widdow-son, H., 1983, in Freedman et al. (eds.) 1996: 39). So the effort to make our learners fluent rather than accurate users of the written language is jeopardised (Brumfit, C. 1979).

2.3.2 Zooming in on the Teaching Situation In our effort to evaluate our teaching situation we intend to borrow Hedges’s (1997: 162-3) evaluation criteria for writing tasks as we deem their evaluation approach most appropriate for our case. As regards the aims of the various writing activities, which are employed in the text book used, we can say that most of the times the types of texts are clearly defined, due to the fact that models of the texts the pupils are required to emulate are provided 2 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 54, “The Task”, p. 96, task 4.


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beforehand. The forms of those texts are also clear cut, as indicated in Appendix IV. However, as earlier indicated, no particular writing skills or writing strategies are taught during the process of those activities, such as the use of relevant cohesive devices, con-tent organisation etc.

Concerning the textbook we are targeting, the basic approach of activities is that of modelling, practising and producing similar texts.3 Such an angle focuses on the correctness of the form of the text produced in connection with the model provided. What is more, there are instances when a writing activity goes as far as to be structur-ally oriented, requiring the use of specific grammatical patterns.4 As Byrne (1997:26) asserts, our learners must not follow models and try to shape their texts to others placed in front of them. On the contrary, they must draft their text, review it and redraft it according to their purpose for which they want to communicate, bearing in mind their reader’s expectations and knowledge on the topic. The PPP approach used in the text-book of the teaching situation, namely the “Present-Practice-Produce” methodology, does not encourage our learners to be creative in their effort to communicate through the written language (Abbot, G. 1981:167-168). Such practices may have the opposite result, namely block the learners’ creativity and prevent them from expressing their individual values, experiences and preferences. Focusing our efforts on fluency rather than accuracy, on the other hand, helps our learners to write as much and as quickly as they can without any inhibitions, which often erect obstacles to the free production of written discourse. As White and Arndt (1995: 3) similarly declare, if we wish to help our learners develop their writing skills it is meaning we have to focus our attention on and not just form. Authenticity is another issue, which should be given attention by writing teach-ers. As Abbot (1981: 153-155) supports, the texts we require our learners to produce should be closely connected with real life (Ibid: 145) and should be the products of in-tegration of writing with the rest of the linguistic skills (Byrne, 1997:7). This integration will give the activities a realistic purpose and offer our learners incentives to write in an effort to communicate (Ibid: 23). In our teaching situation such attention to reality is rather scant. Many times the learners do not know whom they have to interact with, so they are not in a position to produce a text in relation to an audience and a purpose.5 Consequently, they cannot assume what knowledge their reader shares, and they are un-able to employ a type of text, which a particular reader may expect (Widdowson, H. 1983, in Freedman et al. 1983: 44). The previously developed issues of “approach” and “authenticity” are closely related to the learners’ motivation. It is obvious, therefore, that in our teaching situation the learners are not effectively involved in the writing tasks either by means of the writ-ing process or the themes employed in them. The learners are not provided with themes, which are closely related to their tastes or relevant to their aspirations (Byrne, 1997: 28), due to the fact that they are outdated or have no connection with our learners’ wider cultural reality and the more general interests of their age and situation.6 Also, the

3 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 63, tasks 2 and 3, p. 121, task 1. 4 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 104, task 3 and p. 121, task 1. 5 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 174, task 2. 6 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 108, task 4, p. 139, task 3.


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fact that the learners are not free to choose what they are going to write or how to write it augments their dissatisfaction and “de-motivation”. Another demerit of many of the writing activities in our teaching situation is the absence of practical value (Ibid: 7). The learners cannot see any use in writing specific texts, because they do not feel that they are writing for some reader (Ibid: 28) and if they sometimes do, they do not see the use of it. So certain activities are not relevant to the pupils and as a result the learner is demoralised and bored, while their writing needs are not properly catered for.7 And now we come to the task design of the target situation. What we think the writing activities lack in terms of design are first of all support and guidance. No suffi-cient help is provided by the textbook to the students as regards generating ideas for their writing task, like “brainstorming” or note-making (White, R. and V. Arndt, 1991), which can help them come up with ideas, develop opinions and organise the content of their text. Nor is effective class management employed, which could lead the learners engage in communicative interaction by means of pair or group work. Most activi-ties in the textbook require individual study and although we agree with Harmer (1997:248-9) that this procedure has its merits, we believe that the use of individual work is overused to the detriment of communicative writing. One more aspect, which is very often neglected in textbooks, is that there is no provision for the publishing of the learners’ products after a writing activity. Pupils’ texts can be pinned up on a notice board, included in the class or school web page or student newspaper for other learners to see. Such a practice is strongly pointed out and advocated by Whyte and Arndt (1995: 10). We believe from experience that the “pub-lishing” of the learners’ texts increases the challenge of the task, their effort to produce something worthwhile and there is more motivation, since the learners usually expect some recognition of their effort. Surprisingly enough, some of the activities in our teaching situation provide for such publishing, although, we have to admit, the activities which incorporate publishing require some adapting in order to make the publishing process more enjoyable than a simple presentation to the class. And we finally come to the correction and evaluation of the learners’ products. As Abbott (1981: 45) points out such procedures have favourable results. However, no mention whatsoever is made in the textbook as regards such practices. No activities of any sort are included, which might help the pupils learn the process of self-checking and correction or the correction of the products of the learners’ peers. Having concluded this brief account of our teaching situation, we now intend to attempt a demonstration of some material, which we tried to design for and trial in the target class at the 2nd Junior High School, Corfu. We only hope that this demonstration turns out to be worthy of your so far generously bestowed attention. (Number of words: 2.011)

7 Cf. Activities: Taskway-English 3, p. 63, task 3, p. 96, task 4.


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PART II

Describe and justify a framework for teaching writing which would be relevant for the class you described in your first writing assignment. Explain your objectives, justify them and show how you would attempt to achieve them by producing materials for

two writing tasks.


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Sample Materials for the Teaching of Writing in English As a Foreign Language

1. The Syllabus The basic purpose of the materials presented in this part is to give the learners the opportunity to use written discourse productively in a creative and imaginative way.8 Another primary purpose is to help them extend their knowledge of it and en-hance their fluency, using a realistic way of production, with a purpose and con-nected with subject matter, which, in the second sample, is of direct interest to them.9 More precisely the linguistic objective of the sample materials is to help the learners practice reporting, using the written language after (a) a listening compre-hension session and (b) a role-play session (White & Arndt, 1995:42-43). In the for-mer they are asked to produce an article having to do with the report of a bank robbery, while in the latter they are given a choice among an article, a report, a press release and a written interview. 2. The Approach and Rationale Both sample materials are designed in five general stages as described by Raimes (1985:229, cited in Tribble 1996:39): pre-writing, composing-drafting, revis-ing, editing, and publishing. We believe this is the approach most appropriate for our situation as we contend the learners should be shown how to write their own texts rather than what texts to imitate. 2.1 Writing after Listening Comprehension The first stage of this lesson commences with an initial talk about robberies of the teacher with the whole class. The objective of this activity is to familiarise the learners with relevant vocabulary (Abbot, 1981:144).

Subsequently, we introduce activities, which help the learners extract informa-tion to be used as yeast for their written production. This information is derived from a listening comprehension activity, which comprises note making and a multiple-choice exercise. The latter is meant to familiarise the learners with the events described in the listening text and help them with the information gathering process. In order to safeguard the successful completion of this task, on which the writing activity is largely dependent, we introduce pair work for the checking of answers and supply a key for the learners to compare their answers against it.

In the next activity, Choosing a Plan (a), we try to outline some constraints re-

garding the genre of the text to be produced, namely an article. We also try to establish two quintessential parameters of writing (Zamel 1985:95): first a purpose for our learn-ers, i.e. informing, and second an audience, viz. the supposed newspaper readers, in an effort to render the task more realistic and involve our pupils in it more effectively 8 Cf. Appendix I, II. Writing Activities, A. Writing an Article (the instructions), p. 19. 9 Cf. Appendix II, p. 24.


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(Tribble, C. 1996:46). White & Arndt (1995:3) present the readiness and urge of the learner to write as “ discovering a ‘voice’ with which to write” and Abbott (1981:144) as a “ ready flow of ‘inner speech’ ”, but for our learners to discover this “voice” there must be a message, which they will wish to convey.

We also set our learners’ mind working in terms of organisation of content by

asking them to choose the most appropriate plan in their opinion and the subsequent discussion, Choosing a Plan (b), offers a chance to justify the possible plans. The pur-pose of informing the pupils that there is a wrong plan included is to alert their mind and thus make them assume a more critical attitude (Byrne, 1997:26).

During the second stage and in the rubric of this main writing task A. Writing an

Article, some more information in provided. This information contains elements, which have a local nature, viz. characteristic names of Corfu Island and a toponym known to the pupils. In this way we hope to involve the learners even more and help them iden-tify with the situation. The learners are also encouraged to include their own details compatible with the situation in order to summon up their imagination to the task. Collaboration is also encouraged during this drafting stage (Ibid: 23) in the hope that weaker but willing pupils will have the chance to take advantage. This basic drafting stage comprises self-checking and correction (White & Arndt, 1995:172), which is reinforced by peer collaboration and the teacher’s role as a resource.

In the next step, B. Correcting Things, we introduce “peer correction” (Abbot,

1981:145) and we try to initiate a stage in which some people write and some others read and evaluate what the former have written (Tribble, 1996:125). In this way we hope that our learners will realise that writing is communicative in its nature (Widdow-son, 1983 in Freedman et al. 1983:47) and that what matters is primarily the message rather than the correctness of individual words or phrases (Zamel, 1985:96 and White & Arndt, 1991/5:3). Besides, we hope the employment of “peer correction” will encour-age our charges to undertake the necessary risks in their writing endeavours, not worry-ing about mistakes, which might be located by a vigilant teacher. This will help them develop their writing skills (Zamel, 1985: 95) focusing their attention on fluency and communication rather than linguistic form (Byrne, 1988:97).

Redrafting is the objective of the next stage in this writing session. Herein our

hope is that the learners will realise that writing is not of a linear nature, but it resem-bles the message dance of a bee.10 During this process the writer moves backward and forward through phases, in which they prepare the message, compose, review and modify it according to the content and to new ideas, which writing itself generates (Tribble, 1996:125). We intend the pupils to realise that the text does not remain the same throughout the writing process, but that it can take numerous forms until they are satisfied with it (Zamel, 1985:79).

Finally, in “D. Which is the Best? ” our aim is to give our learners one more in-

centive to do their best in producing their texts. Recognition by peers is a strong need

10 When a bee communicates to other bees information about a source of nectar, it is known from bio-logical research to perform a kind of “dance” in the form of a ∞. For more information please visit URL: http://acnsun10.rhic.bnl.gov/People/shrey/bees.html.


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at this age. So we thought that such a publicising of texts would arouse their interest in showing what they can do in front of the rest of the class to the benefit of the class as a whole.

2.2 Writing after a Role-play All researchers and theorists in foreign language teaching frequently point out

that the integration of the four linguistic skills is a prerequisite (Byrne, 1997: 25), if we are to teach our learners these skills effectively and endow them with the ability to function as independent users of the foreign language.

This writing lesson comes as a sequel to a speaking session11 and it may be

administered either immediately after the role-play period or in a separate session. The writing activities are the consequence of a specific situation, namely a debate among people who hold a public post, and who reach a decision after they have discussed a certain problem (Ibid: 25). Before the role-play session is carried out, the learners have to deal with some “ language input ” activities. The first of these is based on a reading text: the Headmaster’s Report on the 2nd Junior High School Housing Problem12 and its objective is to familiarise the learners with the proposed situation, which refers to real problems of their school. The second language-input activity has to do with the in-troduction of expressions of opinion or statements, which are typical of such situa-tions and is based on the reading text mentioned previously and a reading text of an-other speaking session (pyramid discussion), which preceded the role-play lesson.13 It is obvious here that our attempt is to integrate three of the four linguistic skills, namely reading with speaking and subsequently writing (Ibid: 28), as this is the only way to develop language efficiency spherically and enable our students to function on the dif-ferent levels of linguistic competence. Besides, the language-input activities are in-tended to supply the learners with information, which will be essential for the comple-tion of the eventual writing task.

After the language input activities and the role-play, the learners continue with

the impersonation of their roles as they proceed with the writing lesson. Again, herein, as in the previous writing session, the learners have a particular intention and a particu-lar audience to address (Zamel, 1985: 95) although different from writer to writer. They have to act either as “ a member of the school council ”, who has to issue a press re-lease or “ a local newspaper reporter ”, who has to write an article for the local Eng-lish paper “The Corfiot”. They can also choose the task of another reporter, who has to write out a printed interview and finally as the “ headmaster ” of the school, who has to write out a relevant report to the Ministry for Education. Unlike the first sample les-son in this one there is differentiation of the genre of the texts to be pursued. They have a similar end, viz. to inform in connection with some public event. However, each text will have different parameters as regards its content, form and social application (Tribble, 1996: 46). The writer of each text in this writing session has to select different meaning from the writer of another, depending on the angle, from which each writer develops the topic. However all writers will have to produce texts, which will have a 11 Cf. Appendix V, p. 36. This material was the second sample lesson for the A5/102B Assignment for the Teaching of Speaking Skills as a Second/Foreign Language. 12 Cf. Appendix V, p. 36. 13 Cf. Appendix VI, p. 39.


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particular structure and complete in themselves (Abbott, 1981: 146) rather than fragmented sentences or paragraphs. In this way, we believe the tasks acquire more re-ality and become more comprehensible to the learners, who are able to grasp their meaning and usefulness better; hence the tasks become more motivational and effective (Byrne, 1997: 25).

During “ D. Correction Stage ” the writers exchange their first drafts to be re-

viewed by their partners in consultation with the writers themselves. As pointed out ear-lier, peer correction has its advantages, since the text will be viewed by a different eye with different insight. Besides, with peer consultation we wish to help learners ex-change knowledge and experience connected with writing in the target language, in a way of mutual teaching. We expect that this procedure will be for the benefit of weaker pupils, who will have a chance to expand their knowledge and at the same time have a motivating feeling of fulfilment, viz. that they have produced something worth-while.

While the correction stage lasts or after correction has been individually con-

cluded, the learners are instructed to fill in the Error Collection Slips.14 By means of these slips the learners are able to submit anonymously errors, which they think re-quire clarification, possibly with a suggested correct form. This approach, we trust, en-courages learners to point out the difficulties they face without any inhibitions or in-timidation. The collected slips then form the springboard for the error discussion and clarification activity, which will enormously facilitate the subsequent redrafting stage. During this phase the pupils collaborate again exchanging ideas under the light of the error correction procedure. Now, with more resources and with the teacher’s help they are able to produce much better texts.

As indicated in the teaching notes in Appendix II (p. 24), the redrafting stage is

introduced with the observation that there will be a final vote for the best piece. This activity is a form of publicising the products of the class and it is introduced at the be-ginning of the redrafting stage in order to arouse the learners’ ambition to produce an outstanding text, thus increasing their attention to the task, commitment, productivity and effectiveness.

3. Evaluation After having trialled the two writing lessons and viewing them in retrospect, we have mixed feelings about their effectiveness. Despite their strengths we can see weak-nesses, too. We are of the opinion that although the pre- and while-writing procedures were effective, both lessons suffered as regards the reviewing, editing and post-writing phase, due to time constraints. 3.1 Writing An Article After Listening The pre-writing stage of the first lesson, is one of its strengths: the learners re-ceive sufficient preparation both with the introductory talk (item e), and with the two stages of the listening activity (items f, g, h, i and j). 15 14 Cf. Appendix II, p.24. 15 Cf. Appendix III, A (Guide through sample lesson recordings), p. 33.


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We also think that items k, l and m, which had to do with the choosing of the right plan, were also very useful to the learners, as they were shown different ways of developing the text. During the Writing period, the basic strength of the lesson was the role of the teacher as consultant, assistant and facilitator (Zamel, 1985: 97). Here the teacher tried, to the best of his ability, to show the pupils that writing is a multi-layered process consisting of writing, checking and rewriting rather than an activity “with no return”. He also tried to help the students find the optimum way of carrying out their task with sugges-tions, explanations and help on a linguistic basis (Tribble, 1996: 119), but also with encouragement and support from the psychological aspect. 3.2 Writing After A Role-play In this lesson an observer may think that there is not sufficient preparation of the pupils regarding their writing task. We must have in mind that this writing session forms a whole with a previous speaking lesson. Besides, we believe that the introduc-tory activities with the whole class (items a and b)16 are sufficient to help the learners recall the role-play activity.

Another strength of this writing lesson is that the learners are able to choose out of four different types of texts to develop. Among them a written interview, less de-manding than the others, as it is meant to cater for the weaker pupils. The realistic character of the tasks is also an advantage. One of the pupils, who chose to write the written interview, felt she had to interview her partner before carrying out her task;17 so there was an impromptu interview between the two pupils. We think that such unplanned and spontaneous initiatives enrich the teaching process and the teacher should tolerate them if not encourage them. An omission of an instruction in the teaching notes, however, led the pupils to assume that a group had to produce texts jointly. When it was clarified that each mem-ber of a group had to produce a separate text, they decided to write different texts among them. Here we avoided endorsing the production of a joint text for each group, as we believe that only by actively engaging in a writing activity can a learner compre-hend the mechanics of this skill. Writing is a private matter and you can only do it by yourself, otherwise the element of individualisation (Abbot, 1981: 145) is lost and the learner’s creativity and personal taste is suppressed by the views of other more domi-nant members of the group. 3.3 The Weaknesses One drawback of both writing lessons is the lack of an activity regarding cohe-sion devices. Despite the fact that the learners did not face any serious problem in this respect, their texts might have been even better, if certain cohesive devices had been brought to their attention beforehand. 16 Cf. Appendix III, B, p. 34. 17 Cf. Tape, Guide through sample lesson recordings: item f, counter reading 410, Appendix III, B, p. 34.


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Another deficiency is that there was no checklist for the pupils to refer to during the revising of their drafts and during the peer-correction period. Due to the fact that the time was not enough, the lack was not obvious, but if the lesson had proceeded well into the correction phase this omission would have been observable. It is obvious from the two lesson plans provided at the beginning of Appendices I and II and the Guide through the Sample Lesson Recordings in Appendix III that the time allotted to each of the activities was not observed due to factors beyond our con-trol. As the time in both writing sessions was not enough, correction work was as-signed as homework in order to be dealt with in another class session. Naturally, as Hedge (1997: 147) points out, correction work should not be distanced from the ac-tual writing phase, as the learners have no sufficient recollection of the activity. Conse-quently the usefulness and effectiveness of assigning such remedial activities as home-work is seriously questioned. 4. Epilogue Having conducted and presented these two sample lessons, by no means is our intention to indicate that the teaching of writing in particular or any other form of lan-guage teaching, or in fact any teaching at all, should have a particular form. We believe that, despite the fact that we should have as guidelines the needs of the learners, we should also project ourselves on the teaching process and we should derive enjoyment from it. Research and theoretical guidelines are essential and a sine qua non, but if we enjoy and love teaching, then these feelings will guide us to trace wonderful paths in-side the labyrinths of language instruction. (Number of words: 2.771).


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Bibliography

Abbot G. & P. Wingard (eds.) (1981) The Teaching of English as an Interna-tional Language. Surrey: Nelson.

Brumfit, C. J. (1979) Communicative Language Teaching: An Educational Perspective, in Brumfit C. & K. Johnson (eds.) (1979).

Brumfit C. & K. Johnson (eds.) (1979). The Communicative Approach to Lan-guage Teaching. Oxford: Oxford Uni-versity Press.

Byrne, D. (1997) Teaching Writing Skills. London: Longman

Freedman, A., I. Pringle & J. Yalden (eds.) (1996)

Learning to Write: First Lan-guage/Second Language. London: Longman.

Harmer, J. (1997) The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.

Hashim A. Husain (1990) Planning the English Language Les-son. English Teaching Forum V 28/4.

Hedge, T. (1997) Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hunt Roger (1999). Lesson Planning. ENGLISH TEACH-ING professional Issue 10 January.

Jordan, R. (1990) Pyramid discussions. In ELTJ 44/1.

Ngongwikuo Joseph (1990). The Need and Format for Planning English Language Lessons. English Teaching Forum V 28/3.

Raimes, A. (1985) What unskilled ESL writers do as they write: a classroom study of composing. TESOL Quarterly 19/2:229-58.

Tribble, C. (1996) Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

White, R. & V. Arndt (1995) Process Writing. London: Longman.

Zamel, V. (1985) Responding to student writing. TESOL Quarterly 19/1: 79-101.


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APPENDIX I LESSON PLAN OF SAMPLE SESSION A - WRITING AN ARTICLE18

GENERAL OBJEC-TIVES ACTIVITIES TARGET TIME

CLASS MECHAN-

ICS Introductory talk about robberies. Teacher elicits relevant vocabulary.

To familiarise the pupils with the topic and intro-duce relevant lexis.

2 min

In lockstep fashion, i.e. T-Class.

Listening and Note-making. Ss listen to text and take notes.

To collect data for the writing activity in re-porter fashion.

3 min

Individual study

Ss listen and answer multiple choice exercise on same listening text.

To familiarise the stu-dents with the situation. 3

min Individual study

The objective of this les-son is to offer the pupils the opportunity to use their linguistic re-sources in a productive and imaginative way in order to compose a cer-tain type of text, namely a newspaper article, which has got as a goal to inform through a local English newspaper.

CLASS IDENTITY

Checking multiple choice answers. Pupils check answers consult-ing each other, transcript and answer key.

Exchange ideas about the situation in peer col-laboration. 2

min

Pair work group

work Pre-intermediate to Intermediate level.

Monolingual Greek. Ages: 13-14.

Choosing a Plan. Pupils select one out of four plans to write an article.

To help pupils focus on a form to develop a text. 2

min

Pair work Group

work T-Class PREVIOUS

KNOWLEDGE Writing An Article. Students compose and review their first drafts with the help of the in-formation gathered.

To use the written lan-guage in a process of composing a complete text with a specific pur-pose, genre and audi-ence.

15 min

Individual Study

Pair work

Learners have already been taught the use of:

The Passive Voice, The Present Perfect

Progressive Conditional

Clauses Type 1 and Past Perfect Tense.

POINTS OF ATTEN-TION

Correcting. Ss check their partners’ drafts and suggest improvements.

To review a text and locate wrong grammar, content and lexis

5 min

Individual Study

Pair work

Redrafting. Ss re-write their articles under the light of suggestions from peers and T.

To re-write a text im-proving its management of content, grammar and lexis.

5 min

Individual Study

Pair work

Best Text Competition. Ss read their final drafts and class vote for the best.

To evaluate different texts on the basis of management of content, grammar and lexis.

8 min Whole Class

Pair / Group man-agement (possible objections by Ss).

Attention on content management (not enough previous ex-perience)

Possible lack of time.

Estimated Duration of Lesson: 45΄

18 Adapted from Hunt, R. (1999).


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WRITING AFTER LISTENING-TEACHING NOTES I Pre-writing Activities A. Talking about hold-ups. The teacher introduces some vocabulary, which has to do with bank robberies (guard, cash desk, alarm button etc.) and what usually happens during a robbery. B. The teacher explains that a man is being asked some questions over the telephone and that the pupils can hear only one side of the telephone con-versation. Then the pupils are instructed to listen to the tape and take as many notes as possible about the incident. C. The pupils are instructed to work with their partner and decide which of the following answers are correct. The multiple-choice exercise is distrib-uted on a separate question sheet as follows:

QUESTION SHEET

Listen to the dialogue for the second time and choose the correct answer putting a ring round (a), (b) or (c). 1. The telephone conversation is with a. a fireman. b. a member of the police. c. an army general. 2. It has to do with a. a road accident. b. a plane crash. c. a robbery. 3. The man a. has already given a statement to the police. b. will give a statement to the police tomorrow. c. will give a statement to the bank manager. 4. The incident happened a. early in the morning. b. at night. c. in the afternoon. 5. Inside the bank there were a. two people. b. three people. c. five people. 6. The speaker is a. a bank clerk.


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b. the director. c. the cashier. 7. The guard of the bank a. had gone to the bathroom. b. had taken up his position outside the bank. c. had not come to the bank yet. 8. There were a. two customers in the bank. b. some customers in the bank. c. many customers in the bank. 9. The speaker a. saw the robber rush into the bank. b. did not see how the robber got in. c. saw the robber walk into the bank. 10. The robber was a. quite tall. b. very short. c. two metres tall. 11. The speaker a. did not see the face of the robber, because it was dark. b. did not see his face because it was covered.

c. would recognise him immediately if he saw him again.

12. The robber a. ordered everyone to go out. b. ordered everyone to sit down. c. ordered everyone to lie on the floor and not move. 13. He made the cashier a. put the money in his pocket. b. give him a cheque. c. put all the money in a bag. 14. One of the customers a. tried to run out of the bank. b. lost her senses. c. tried to hit the robber. 15. The robber a. did not have anybody else with him. b. had a partner inside the bank. c. had a partner, who waited for him outside. 16. The speaker a. immediately rang the alarm.


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b. was not able to sound the alarm, because he could not reach the button.

c. rang the police. 17. The robber a. left quietly. b. killed some people before he left. c. fired some shots to scare the people in the bank. 18. The robber left a. in a van. b. on a motorbike. c. on foot. 19. The speaker a. had seen the robber a number of times in the bank. b. had not seen the robber before. c. though the robber’s face reminded him of someone. 20. There was a. a security t.v. camera inside the bank.

b. a reporter who was taking an interview from the di-rector. c. a cassette recorder recording what was happening.

D. After the multiple choice exercise the teacher introduces the following activity, which is meant to make the pupils think on the way they should develop their piece, namely the article they are required to write. The exer-cise is distributed on a separate question sheet as follows:

Choosing a Plan

a. You are a newspaper reporter. You want to write an article about the robbery. Discuss with your partner which of the following plans is the best to follow in order to write out the article: Plan 1 Background details (place, time of day, people present etc.) Write about the actual happening Write how things happened Write what happened afterwards. Plan 2 Write what happened afterwards Write about the actual happening Background details (place, time of day, people present etc.) Write how things happened Plan 3 Background details (place, time of day, people present etc.)


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Write how things happened Write about the actual happening Write what happened afterwards. Plan 4 Write about the actual happening Background details (place, time of day, people present etc.) Write how things happened Write what happened afterwards.

b. After you have finished discuss your choice with the rest of the class and your teacher deciding on the best. Which plan do you think is completely wrong to follow? Why? II WRITING ACTIVITIES After the pupils have concluded on the plan they wish to follow, the teacher introduces the main writing task on a separate question sheet that comprises the following four stages:

A. Writing the Article Write out an article for your newspaper in which you describe how

the San Rocco branch of the National Bank of Greece was robbed yester-day at 10a.m. The name of the head of the branch is Mr. P. Stravoravdis, the cashier's name is Julie Hytiri and the name of the bank clerk inter-viewed on the tape is Mr. Spyros Kefalas. The police inspector is Mr. George Bekas. Follow the plan, which you have chosen. Join your sen-tences with words or expressions like then, afterwards, suddenly, unfortu-nately, in the end etc. Use the information you have got from the one-sided telephone conversation, adding details you think of and which can agree with the situation. During the writing you can ask for your partner's help and idea re-garding pieces of your text. Your teacher will also be happy to help you with any problem you may have.

B. Correcting Things

When you finish, correct your partner’s article asking your teacher if you are not sure. Write your explanations on your partner's paper. Write clearly and in the margin.

C. Writing Again


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When correction has finished rewrite your article including the cor-rected items.

D. Which is the Best?

Article contest: read your articles to the class and choose the best.

KEY TO ACTIVITIES Pre-writing Activities C. (to be distributed to the pupils after they have finished answering). 1. B 2. C 3. A 4. A 5. C 6. A 7. B 8. A 9. B 10. A 11. B 12. C 13. C 14. B 15. C 16. B 17. C 18. B 19. B 20. A


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Script of recorded dialogue -4616263 Hello! -… - Who?… Oh, hello inspector. -… - Yes, of course…. What else would you like to know? -… - But I’ve told you all about it already. -… - Yes, O.K. -… - Well, just before 7.30, I guess. -… - No, not all of them, just me and the… director. -… - Well, the cashier was there, too, I think. -… - The guard? …I think he was there, but… -… - No, somewhere outside the… -… - Yes, an old lady and a young man… -… - No, I didn’t see how he got in. …I had turned to say something to Julie and suddenly he was there. -… - Well, about 1.80m, grey eyes, slim… short hair… -… - No, I did not see the rest of his face, he had a piece of cloth over it. -… -Nothing, only “Freeze! This is a hold-up!”… and he ordered everyone to lie down and stay still. -… - Straight to the cash desk and gave Julie er… a sack or something. -… - Say anything? She couldn’t move… she was petrified! -… - No, only the old woman passed out and fell. -… No, he was by himself… Maybe… -…


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- If there was one…er… he did not come in… he must have been waiting outside… -… - A Yamaha? No, we didn’t see any motorbike… -… - How could I have pressed it!… It was more than a metre away from my desk! -… - Yeah, I know, we should have buttons every half metre the way things are going… -… - Well… he fired twice… and walked out like a gentleman… -… - Let me see… it was about… 7.35 to 7.40… it took him only 5 to 10 min-utes. -… - He seemed pretty calm!… He knew what he was doing. -… - No, nobody had seen him before. -… - Well, you have the tape. I sure hope it’ll help. -… - I don’t think so, inspector. -… - Sure. I’ll call you at once, don’t worry! -… - Bye, inspector. (hangs up).


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Pupil's name:………………………………………………………………. Title:………………………………………………………………………...


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APPENDIX II LESSON PLAN OF SAMPLE SESSION B: WRITING AFTER A ROLE-PLAY19

GENERAL OBJECTIVES ACTIVITIES TARGET TIME CLASS

MECHANICS Connection activity with the previous role-play session (simulation of a debate).

For the pupils to recol-lect the outcome of that debate on, which the writing activity is to be based.

5 min

Teacher with Whole Class.

To learn the difference among various genres of text and to practice in employing appropriate linguistic resources for the benefit of different audiences and for dif-ferent purposes.

CLASS IDENTITY

Writing Task. The learners choose one of the four proposed types of texts:

Press release, Report, Paper article, Written interview,

and then write and re-view their texts.

To achieve the general objectives following a process of drafting and reviewing a text with the help of their own resources and hopefully those of their peers.

15 min

Individual Study

Pair work Pre-intermediate to Intermediate level.

Monolingual Greek.

Ages: 13-14.

PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE

Correction of texts. Partners exchange texts and proceed with the correction phase. Si-multaneously fill in the Error Collection Slips.

To realise that writing is a process of con-tinuous improvement of form, grammar, lexis and content organisa-tion.

10 min Individual

Study Pair work

Discussion of Errors. Comments by teacher and learners on errors collected.

To provide the learners with insight for the sub-sequent activity of re-drafting.

10 min

Teacher with Whole Class

Learners have already been taught the use of:

the Passive Voice, the Present Perfect

Progressive Conditional

Clauses Type 1 and

Past Perfect Tense.

POINTS OF ATTENTION

Redrafting Stage. The learners re-write their texts incorporating the corrections introduced by peers or teacher dur-ing error discussion.

Same as target of the Writing Task above.

10 min

Individual Study

Pair work Teacher contri-

butions

Voting for the best text. Individual learners volunteer to read their text to the class and the class vote for the best text.

To help learners com-pare different forms of writing and evaluate–merits or demerits, thus improving language awareness. Also in-crease learners’ motiva-tion.

10 min

Teacher as organ-iser with whole class.

Pair / Group man-agement (possible objections by Ss).

Attention on con-tent management (not enough previ-ous experience)

Possible lack of time.

Estimated Duration of Lesson: 60΄

19 Adapted from Hunt, R. (1999).


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WRITING AFTER A ROLE PLAY-TEACHING20 A. Link with the Role Play Lesson The teacher reminds the pupils of their meeting as the School Coun-cil, when they considered an offer by the Ministry for Education for the 2nd Junior High School of Corfu to move into a new building. They distribute to them that part of the Headmaster's Report on the housing problem, which contains the Available School Buildings table and the Profile Cards (which contain the pupils' roles) used during the role-play. The teacher also reminds them of their final decision and the reasons, which are summa-rised on the board. This activity is carried out in lockstep fashion, i.e. the teacher interacting with the whole class, who volunteer the relevant infor-mation. B. Presentation of Tasks Subsequently the teacher presents the pupils with their tasks; each member of the group will have to write one of the following texts:21 a. A press release issued by the School Council.

b. An article for the newspaper “The Corfiot”, regarding the School Council meeting and the moving of the school into new buildings. c. A written interview with a member of the School Council. d. A report by the Headmaster to the Ministry for Education. The teacher subsequently issues to the pupils the writing guidelines, namely plans on instruction cards, which the pupils will have to follow while writing their tasks. C. Writing Stage The pupils write out their tasks, while the teacher circulates and of-fers support, additional guidelines and advice wherever necessary. He advises pupils to move on to the next stage as soon as they have completed the writing stage. So the two stages take place in tandem from some time onwards, in an “overlapping” fashion, the correction stage fading in while the writing stage is fading out. 20 The role play referred to herein was one of the objects for the A5/102b Half Assignment, which is con-sidered an integral part of this follow up writing session. A copy of that section of the A5/102b Half As-signment is submitted in Appendix VI, p. 39. 21 The teacher should take care that the less demanding forms of texts are given to weaker pupils. Also some provision should be made to carry out some lottery in case the pupils have objections as to the type of text allotted to them.


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D. Correction Stage When one or more members of a group have finished, they exchange texts and perform corrections preferably in ink of different colour with mu-tual consultation. The teacher offers support and guidelines during this stage, too. E. Discussion of Errors The teacher collects various errors which pupils volunteer by means of the Error Collection Slips distributed and writes them on the board or an OHT. When a substantial list has been compiled, the teacher discusses them with the whole class asking the pupils to contribute ideas. When the correct forms have been jointly resolved the teacher introduces the next stage. F. Redrafting Consequently the teacher introduces the redrafting stage with the ob-servation that there will be a final vote for the best piece. The pupils redraft their own pieces in class, but they are allowed to co-operate during this stage. The teacher also offers guidance wherever re-quired.

The redrafted pieces are presented publicly by willing pupils and the

class vote for the best. If there is no time the teacher sets the redrafting for homework and

the voting can take place after there is a presentation of the texts in another session of the class.


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MATERIALS TO BE DISTRIBUTED DURING A WRITING CLASS AFTER A ROLE-PLAY

Details Of The Available School Buildings22

SPECIFICATIONS BUILDING IN OLD FORTRESS

NURSERY SCHOOL BUILDING P.I.K.P.A.

BUILDING OF OLYMPIC HOTEL

Number of Rooms 16 20 12 Building Condition Very good Newly repaired Needs repairs School Yard Unlimited 700m2 No yard Distance from bus terminal 20 minutes 10 minutes 5 minutes

Levels of Noise Very quiet Fairly quiet Very noisy

Safety Quite safe no traffic Not very safe, some traffic

Not safe, cross-roads, jams

Control Not easily con-trolled, large space

Easily controlled, enclosed area

Perfectly controlled, no yard

Sports Facilities Space for football Playground, see-saw, slide, swings No sports facilities.

22 This card was used during the role-play speaking session and it was part of the Headmaster’s Report to the School Council. That is the reason it appears again in Appendix VI.


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Profile Card 1 23 M. Philippou-Head of the School You have been director of schools for the last seven years. You have served in other schools of the area as well and you have been serving as a head of this school for the last three years. Your duties during the meeting:

You are chairing the meeting of the School Council. First you introduce yourself, then explain the objectives of the meeting and hand out

copies of you report to the other members of the council. After they have gone through it, you ask the other members of the School Council to

put forward their views, first the Parents' representative, then the Student Coun-cil representative and lastly the representative of the Local Education Authority.

Finally you express your opinion following the instructions given below. After that you call for a vote. Due to the even number of council members, the Headmaster's vote counts double.

Your point of view: You favour the PIKPA option for the following reasons:

Enough rooms Fairly quiet surroundings Easy control of the school area No need for building repairs

Profile Card 2

J. Mikalef-Parents' Representative You are Chairman of the Parents' Society and you have a 12-year-old daugh-ter in the first form of the school. Your duties during the meeting: You will be asked to state your opinion first regarding the moving of the school to another building. Try to convince the other members that your point of view is the most sensible and take part in the conversation regarding the advantages and the disad-vantages of the three buildings. Your point of view: You favour the building in the Old Fortress for the following reasons:

Safety is the most important Quiet surroundings The very good condition of buildings You are worried about the distance children will have to walk from the bus terminal.

Suggest providing school transport from the bus terminal to the school.

23 This and the subsequent Profile Cards were used during the speaking role-play session. That is the reason they appear again in Appendix VI, from p. 45.


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Profile Card 3 M. Moskat-Students’ Representative You chair the Students’ Council for the third year. The Students’ Council made an appeal to the Headmaster of the school some days ago and that appeal started the whole thing. Your duties during the meeting: The Headmaster will invite you to put forward the pupils’ point of view regard-ing which building to choose. Try to convince the other members of the council of your view (see below) and try to take part in the conversation as much as possible, regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the three buildings. Your point of view: You are in favour of the PIKPA building for the following reasons:

It is only 10 minutes from the bus terminal It is a new and maintained building which will make your stay there pleasant It has a quite large school yard But you are not satisfied with the sports facilities: suggest replacing children’s play-

ground with a basketball court.

Profile Card 4 D. Soueref-Head of Local Education Authority You are the head of the Local Education Authority and you are responsible for the whole area of Corfu and nearby islands of Paxos, Mathraki, Othoni and Ereikousa. Your duties during the meeting: You will be invited to express your point of view (look at the instructions be-low) regarding the moving of the 2nd Junior High School to a new building. Try to focus on the good points of the suggestions made by the members who have spoken before you. Your points of view:

Point out that you consider the Old Fortress and the PIKPA buildings the most convenient options

Point out that the Olympic Hotel building has got many disadvantages, i.e. needs repairs, has no school yard, is a very noisy and unsafe place because of the traffic

It has no sporting facilities Underline the fact that no money can be given for repairs State that you are ready to support either of the other two options.


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WRITING GUIDE LINES

Plan for the PRESS RELEASE

Write in an impersonal way. Do not say “I” or “We”, but “The School Council…”

First write about when the meeting took place and for what reason.

Write about the offer of the three buildings by the Ministry for Educa-tion and about the previous appeal of the pupils of the school.

Say how many votes each building received during the School Council meeting and why the PIKPA was considered the best choice.

Finish the press release stating when it is expected that the school will move to its new premises and a hope that there will not be any more problems in future.

Plan for the NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Find an appropriate title for your article. Start by mentioning the appeal the pupils made to their school some time ago, demanding better learning conditions.

Mention that the school asked for help by turning to the Ministry for Education, which suggested that the school should move to new prem-ises and made the offer of the three buildings mentioned in the Details Of The Available School Buildings table.

Then write about today’s meeting of the School Council, members of which are the Headmaster, a Parents’ Representative, a Pupils’ Repre-sentative and a Delegate of the Local Education Authority.

Say which building they chose and the reasons as described on the De-tails Of The Available School Buildings table.

Finally, express your hope that the situation will be normal form now on.


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Plan for the INTERVIEW

Approach the member of the Council and ask permission for a few ques-tions.

Ask the council member about the object of this meeting of the School Council.

Ask questions about the present situation of the school. Ask why the present buildings are not repaired instead of moving into anew building.

Ask the member what the decision of the Council has been and if he/she agrees with it or what their objections are.

Ask the member about his thoughts and expectations regarding the fu-ture.

Express your wishes for the best. Thank the interviewee and close the conversation.

Plan for the REPORT TO THE MINISTRY

The Headmaster of the school has to submit a report to the Ministry for Education, informing them about the outcome of the meeting of the School Council.

Begin your report with the expression: “Dear Sirs,” In the first paragraph state the object of the report, i.e. that you wish to inform them about the outcome of the meeting of the School Council regarding the housing problem of the 2nd Junior High School of Corfu.

Say when the meeting took place and where (in the Headmaster’s office of the 2nd Junior High School.

Mention that after careful consideration of the issue you have decided to move the school to the PIKPA building. Give reasons.

Ask the Ministry for full financial support with enough money to cove all the expenses in good time.

Finally, thank them for their time and attention and close the report writ-ing “Yours faithfully,”

Sign the document exactly under the expression “Yours faithfully,” and print your name clearly under your signature.


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ERROR COLLECTION SLIP In the first column write the errors you think your teacher should analyse and ex-plain and in the second column give what you think is the correct form.

ERROR SUGGESTED FORM


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APPENDIX III

GUIDE THROUGH SAMPLE LESSON RECORDINGS24

A. WRITING AN ARTICLE AFTER LISTENING

TAPE COUNTER READING

Min. DESCRIPTION

a 000 Start of tape. b 002-063 3΄ Listening text. c 066 Beginning of lesson recording. d 066-083 1΄ Instructions about the papers distributed. e 083-119 2΄ Introductory task about the topic: Talking About Robberies. f 120-160 3΄ Instructions about the listening exercise and the taking of notes. g 161-205 3΄ First listening and note-taking. h 206-219 2΄ Instructions for the Multiple Choice Exercise. i 220-261 3΄ Second listening. Answers to multiple choice exercise.

j 262-330 5΄ Pair-work to check answers. Individual help by the teacher pro-vided. Distribution of transcripts and answer sheet.

k 331-351 2΄ Instructions for the choosing of the right plan.

l 352-377 3΄ Pair-work for the choosing of the plan. Individual help provided by teacher.

m 378-409 3΄ Writing stage instructions. Announcements of plans. Brief remarks.

n 410-533 12΄ Writing period: Individual support provided by the teacher. Checking of progress. Encouragement. Facilitation. Alleviating comments.

o 533-543 2΄ Correction period. Individual support with corrections. p 543 Time up with the ringing of the school bell.25

q 544-550 1΄

Instructions for some pupils how to continue with the task for homework. Instructions that correction and redrafting for those who had started correcting will continue in the next session of theclass.

Duration: 45΄

24 Effort has been made to include most features of the recorded lesson samples. However, the guide is not meant as a 100% representation of the samples. 25 It was not possible for the Error Correction and Redrafting stages to be completed during the session, which was roughly 40 minutes long. Some pupils did not have the time to finish the writing stage, so they were instructed to finish their article at home.


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B. WRITING AFTER A ROLE PLAY

TAPE COUNTER READING

Min. DESCRIPTION

a 000-079 4΄ Connection with previous role-play session. Distribution of mate-rials. Group management.

b 080-138 4΄ Review of the outcome of the role-play session about mov-ing into the PIKPA building and recounting of the reasons. Display of the reasons on the board.

c 139-200 4΄

Introduction of writing task. Explanation of procedure. Distri-bution of “plans” with instructions during distribution. Instruction topupils to negotiate with the rest of the group about what topic theywill write, i.e. choose topics among themselves.

d 201-260 5΄

Provision of explanations and support regarding the plans. Objections regarding choice of plans. Concession by teacher for all members of certain groups to use the same plan, but produce differ-ent texts, i.e. produce individual pieces.26

e 261-270 1΄ Initiation of the writing stage. Instruction to proceed to the correction stage when another member of the group has finishedwriting.

f 271-500 21΄

Writing period: Provision of additional copies of Plans. Provision of further grammatical, lexical or stylistic support during the writ-ing stage. (Pupils settle down to carry out the task). Teacher circu-lates and administers advice and directions, encourages and checks progress. Distribution of Error Collection Slips with explanation of their pur-pose.

g 500 Writing period: ringing of the bell; end of session.27

h 500-516 2΄ Instructions of teacher to the pupils to carry on with the Redraftingstage for homework. The teacher also announces that there will be public presentation of the texts and the best one will be chosen.

Duration: 41΄

26 Finally all members of all groups decided to choose different plans, when they realised that they were not to produce a joint text. 27 It was not possible for the Error Correction and Redrafting stages to be completed during the session, which was roughly 40 minutes long.


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APPENDIX IV Types of Writing Texts of our Teaching Situation

NATURE OF TEXT28

TYPE OF TEXT COM-PLETION

USING MODEL

SITUATIONAL COMPOSITION

FREE WRITING

TOTAL

1. Letters pp. 30, 113, 126

p. 90 4

2. Advertisements p. 34 1

3. Description pp. 36, 146, 174

3

4. Article pp.53, 75, 77, 142 4

5. T.V. Announce-ment

p. 54 1

6. Review p. 63 1

7. Story p. 80 1

8. Poem p. 96 1

9. Composition p. 105 1

10. Telegram p. 108 1

11. Questionnaire p. 121 1

12. Narrative

TOTAL NUMBER OF ACTIVITIES: 19 28 The classification regarding the nature of the required texts was made according to Abbott, G. (1981: 145-153).


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APPENDIX V

PYRAMID DISCUSSION29,30

Preparation for an Appeal Objectives: Give a chance to the learners to talk in the target language and en-gage in a discussion, in an effort to decide on a course of action, using their skills of argument and persuasion. Method: Pyramid discussion, namely moving from a) individual study to b) pair-work, c) group-work in 4s and d) reaching final decision with whole class discussion and class consensus. Procedure:

a. Individual Study: The chairperson31 distributes the "Address of Chairman of the Student Council" with the proposed topics to be decided upon. Then they advise the participants to read it carefully and make a list of five issues, which they consider most urgent to be dealt with, in order of importance. The lists are to be made on the forms provided. (Suggested duration: 5').

b. Pair work: Then each pupil consults with their partner, compar-

ing lists and trying to present a common one negotiating on the issues pro-posed and the order of importance. (Suggested duration: 5').

c. Group work: Each pair consults with a neighbouring one, form-

ing a group of 4, to formulate a common list of the five most urgent issues. (Suggested duration: 8-10').

d. Whole class discussion: The lists of the five groups are displayed

on the board. Whole class discussion ensues with individual public propositions to reach agreement. If agreement is not reached on all five is-

29 Part of Half-Assignment A5/102b, The Teaching of Speaking Skills in a Second/Foreign Language, Hellenic Open University. 30 Jordan, R.R. (1990). 31 In this case the teacher, due to the novelty of the activity on the part of the pupils.


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sues required, then the assembly adopts the promotion only of the common issues contained in the lists of all five groups. (Suggested duration: 15').

e. Bridging with a writing session: After the discussion has been concluded, the assembly decides to carry on with the writing out of the Appeal to the Head of the School and decides to have a new session for this purpose. Feedback:

Subsequently the teacher introduces a discussion of the whole proce-dure with the pupils, asking about the difficulties they faced during the ac-tivity, accepting criticism, making suggestions and possibly providing solu-tions to problems. Then they hand out the evaluation sheets to the students, who fill them in. (Suggested duration: remaining time).


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ADDRESS OF CHAIRMAN OF STUDENT COUNCIL Dear friends and colleagues, We have gathered here to talk about the condition our school is in and de-cide upon an appeal to the headmaster. You all know the problem, which our school faces, but I think it is useful to enumerate them here, so that there may be a written record of them, to which we may refer from now on. As you all have seen, the computer room is in a terrible state. Many com-puters are not working, while those, which are in operation, are not enough for all pupils. The doors and windows throughout the school are falling apart and the roof leaks through several points whenever it rains. Another serious problem after the recent occupations of our school is that of the chairs. There are not enough of them and sometimes we have to borrow from other classrooms, which are not occupied at the time. The toilets are another issue, which has to be dis-cussed, since they are not enough to accommodate such a large number of pu-pils. The creation of the art and craft workroom is also something, which, I be-lieve, must be given attention, and the fact that our school yard has been re-duced, since more than half of it was lost to the neighbouring Ionian University building, must also be examined. The central heating and its irregular operation must also be put on the table, while we must not forget to protest, as nothing has been done about the deafening noise, which comes from the neighbouring roads. I should like to suggest that the high prices of the canteen and the broken card phones must also be an object of discussion. The issue of excursions and Satur-day supplementary classes due to the loss of lessons during the occupations are two matters, which have caused us a lot of displeasure lately and they should not go unobserved, while the excessive homework and the refusal of the headmaster to allow a part in the school premises should also be considered once more. It is clear, of course, that we cannot press so many issues at one go, so we may have to choose the most important and urgent ones, and this is the first ob-jective of the present session of the School Council. As soon as a decision has been reached, we shall, of course, go about the business of writing out the Appeal, which the Chairperson will have to hand to the headmaster as soon as it is ready and properly signed by the members of this Assembly. Thank you for your attention.


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APPENDIX VI

SIMULATION OF DEBATE32 (Role-play)

Objectives To offer the pupils an opportunity to participate in a role-play, where they will be able to use their skills of reasoning and persuasion in an effort to arrive at a decision in collaboration with other people, using the target language. Method Simulation of debate with the use of Profile Cards, which provide the basic features of a role. The provided features are necessary for the im-personation by the pupils of the four members of the School Council of their school, namely the 2nd Junior State High School of Corfu. Stages a. Connection with previous class-work: The teacher reminds the pupils of their decision as the Students’ Council to make an Appeal to the headmaster of the school for the solution of its chronic problems. They go on to explain that that appeal made the di-rection of the school turn for help to the Ministry for Education, who re-sponded with the offer of three buildings into which the school could move. (Suggested duration: 5 minutes.) b. Language input activities: Subsequently the teacher introduces two activities whose respective objectives are (a) to familiarise the pupils with the situation the School Council faces and (b) to provide them with samples of the style of lan-guage, which will be necessary during the role-play. The pupils deal with the language activities in groups and when they have come to a conclusion, the teacher also distributes a key to the activities, against which the pupils are invited to compare their answers. (Suggested duration: 10 minutes.) c. The Role-play activity: 32 Part of Half-Assignment A5/102b, The Teaching of Speaking Skills in a Second/Foreign Language, Hellenic Open University.


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The teacher explains to the pupils how they are expected to make use of the material distributed to them, namely (a) the Headmaster’s Report on the 2nd Junior High School Housing Problem, (b) the Details of the Available School Buildings, (c) the Profile Cards 1-4 and (d) the Voting Slips, which are designed to facilitate the voting procedure among the members of the School Council. Immediately after the above procedure the debate commences among the pupils, who work in fours. Following the instructions on their cards, the pupils conclude the debate and vote for the most appropriate building. (Suggested duration: 15 minutes.) d. Link with a writing session: After the outcome of the vote is announced, the teacher introduces the intention of the School Council to issue a Press release, in order to in-form the Corfiot public about the tackling of the housing problem of the 2nd Junior High School of Corfu. They also instruct the pupils that this task is to be pursued during another class session. e. Evaluation of the debate: Having concluded the actual teaching procedure and provided there is time, the teacher introduces a discussion on the whole procedure of the debate, and invites the pupils to come forward with their impressions of it and describe any problems, which they faced during the activity. They also distribute to the pupils an evaluation form with statements to agree or dis-agree with, regarding the language they learnt, and assessing statements to grade, regarding the way they felt and acted during the activity. (Suggested duration: 10 minutes.)


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HEADMASTER'S REPORT ON THE 2ND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL HOUSING PROB-LEM

The 2nd Junior High School of Corfu is an institution with great his-tory over the years. Many outstanding members of our community are among its graduates. It is one of the oldest and most well known educa-tional establishments and has contributed a lot to the welfare of the Corfiot society. However, many problems have arisen over its long history and many of them have not been solved or only in part. As a result, many of them have accumulated over the years, especially the problems, which have to do with the housing of the school, namely the buildings and the schoolyard. The recent appeal on the part of the pupils, pressing for the solution of these problems, has shown that some immediate action must be taken. Having realised this necessity, we have contacted the ministry for educa-tion, asking for the solution of the problems described in the appeal of the pupils. The Ministry pointed out that refurbishing of the school is out of the question, as it would cost a huge amount of money. Consequently, the only way, which the Ministry considers possible, is to move into another build-ing in town. Having decided upon that, the Ministry went on to inspect various available buildings in our town and has produced three choices for us to consider. These three choices with their specifications are presented below. It is our task, therefore, to study the propositions, evaluate them and then decide whether to accept one of them, and therefore move into the new building as soon as possible, or reject them, if considered inadequate, and continue operating in our present premises. Thank you for your kindness to be present in this session of the School Council.


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Details Of The Available School Buildings SPECIFICATIONS BUILDING IN

OLD FORTRESS NURSERY SCHOOL

P.I.K.P.A. ALEXANDRAS

AVE.


Number of Rooms 16 20 12 Building Condition Very good Newly repaired Needs repairs School Yard Unlimited 700m2 No yard Distance from bus terminal 20 minutes 10 minutes 5 minutes Levels of Noise Very quiet Fairly quiet Very noisy

Safety Quite safe no traffic

Not very safe, some traffic

Not safe, cross-roads, jams

Control Not easily con-trolled, large

space

Easily con-trolled, enclosed

area

Perfectly con-trolled, no yard

Sports Facilities Space for foot-ball

Playground, see-saw, slide,

swings

No sports facili-ties.


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I. Language Input Activities Work with the rest of your group to decide which are the right an-swers. The group with the most correct answers is the winner. a. Mark true or false : 1. The 2nd Junior High School has been operating for a long period of time. 2. Many important people, who live in Corfu, have been educated in this school. 3. The school has got many problems because it has a long history. 4. The school faces difficulties, because many of the problems were not solved in

the past and many were not solved in a proper way.

5. The problems regarding the building of the school are the most important. 6. The pupils were the first who started taking action to solve the problem. 7. The headmaster could not do anything by himself, so he turned to the Ministry

for Education.

8. The Ministry for Education decided to build a new school. 9. The three buildings described in the headmaster’s report are existing ones in the

town of Corfu.

10. The School Council will have to decide which building is the most suitable to house the 2nd Junior High School of Corfu.

b. It is mentioned in the headmaster’s report that a) the pupils made an ap-peal to the school, b) the headmaster turned to the Ministry for Education for help and c) the Ministry replied with the offer of three options. Which of the following expressions or sentences do you think were used in the three documents? Mark them: S: (=students appeal), H: (=headmaster’s document to Ministry), M: (=response from the Ministry for Education). The first one has been an-swered as an example: 1. We are not prepared to put our lives in danger any more. S 2. The Prime Minister has given specific instructions not to… 3. After a meeting we had last week… 4. The Direction of the school cannot guarantee their safety. 5. The national economy is not in such a state as to… 6. Although our parents should have a say in this matter… 7. Our institution will ask for the support of parents and pupils. 8. It is our belief that if the Ministry and the School wished to… 9. Our general secretary of the pointed out… 10. The majority of the members of the council… 11. I will have a meeting with the other members of the school council and the

teachers…

12. More responsibility should have been shown on the part of the pupils…


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II. ROLE PLAY a. The four members of your group are the members of the school Council of the 2nd Junior High School. Take a Profile Card each, read it carefully and consider your role. Then carry out a discussion to decide on the building to which the school is going to move into. You can use addi-tional information from your experience with the school, but do not leave out or change the details on your Profile Cards. b. When each one of you has made their point, hold a vote to see which building your group supports and fill in the voting slip for your group with the appropriate information. In the end your teacher will collect them for the whole class to resolve which is the most popular decision. III. Follow Up Now that your council has reached a decision you must consider writing a press release etc. regarding the decision of your council. Full de-tails of this writing session will be given to you during our writing session next week.


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Profile Card 1 M. Philippou-Head of the School You have been director of schools for the last seven years. You have served in other schools of the area as well and you have been serving as a head of this school for the last three years. Your duties during the meeting:

You are chairing the meeting of the School Council. First you introduce yourself, then explain the objectives of the meeting and hand out copies of you report to the other members of the council.

After they have gone through it, you ask the other members of the School Council to put forward their views, first the Parents' represen-tative, then the Student Council representative and lastly the repre-sentative of the Local Education Authority.

Finally you express your opinion following the instructions given be-low. After that you call for a vote. Due to the even number of council members, the Headmaster's vote counts double.

Your point of view: You favour the PIKPA option for the following reasons:

Enough rooms Fairly quiet surroundings Easy control of the school area No need for building repairs


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Profile Card 2 J. Mikalef-Parents' Representative You are Chairman of the Parents' Society and you have a 12-year-old daughter in the first form of the school. Your duties during the meeting: You will be asked to state your opinion first regarding the moving of the school to another building. Try to convince the other members that your point of view is the most sensible and take part in the conversation regard-ing the advantages and the disadvantages of the three buildings. Your point of view: You favour the building in the Old Fortress for the following rea-sons:

Safety is the most important Quiet surroundings The very good condition of buildings You are worried about the distance children will have to walk from the bus terminal. Suggest providing school transport from the bus terminal to the school.


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Profile Card 3 M. Moskat-Students’ Representative You chair the Students’ Council for the third year. The Students’ Council made an appeal to the Headmaster of the school some days ago and that appeal started the whole thing. Your duties during the meeting: The Headmaster will invite you to put forward the pupils’ point of view regarding which building to choose. Try to convince the other mem-bers of the council of your view (see below) and try to take part in the con-versation as much as possible, regarding the advantages and disadvantages of the three buildings. Your point of view: You are in favour of the PIKPA building for the following reasons:

It is only 10 minutes from the bus terminal It is a new and maintained building which will make your stay there pleasant

It has a quite large school yard But you are not satisfied with the sports facilities: suggest replacing children’s playground with a basketball court.


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Profile Card 4 D. Soueref-Head of Local Education Authority You are the head of the Local Education Authority and you are re-sponsible for the whole area of Corfu and nearby islands of Paxos, Mathraki, Othoni and Ereikousa. Your duties during the meeting: You will be invited to express your point of view (look at the in-structions below) regarding the moving of the 2nd Junior High School to a new building. Try to focus on the good points of the suggestions made by the members who have spoken before you. Your points of view:

Point out that you consider the Old Fortress and the PIKPA buildings the most convenient options

Point out that the Olympic Hotel building has got many disadvantages, i.e. needs repairs, has no school yard, is a very noisy and unsafe place because of the traffic

It has no sporting facilities Underline the fact that no money can be given for repairs State that you are ready to support either of the other two options.


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GROUP 1 VOTES BUILDING IN

OLD FORTRESS NURSERY SCHOOL P.I.K.P.A.


FOR

AGAINST

RESULT ( building )

GROUP 2

VOTES BUILDING IN OLD FORTRESS

NURSERY SCHOOL P.I.K.P.A.


FOR

AGAINST

RESULT ( building )

GROUP 3




FOR

AGAINST

RESULT ( building )

GROUP 4




FOR

AGAINST

RESULT ( building )


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KEY TO THE LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES a. Mark true or false : 1. The 2nd Junior High School has been operating for a long period of time. 2. Many important people, who live in Corfu, have been educated in this school. 3. The school has got many problems because it has a long history. 4. The school faces difficulties, because many of the problems were not solved in

the past and many were not solved in a proper way. 5. The problems regarding the building of the school are the most important. 6. The pupils were the first who started taking action to solve the problem. 7. The headmaster could not do anything by himself, so he turned to the Ministry

for Education. 8. The Ministry for Education decided to build a new school. 9. The three buildings described in the headmaster’s report are existing ones in the

town of Corfu. 10 The School Council will have to decide which building is the most suitable to

house the 2nd Junior High School of Corfu.

b. It is mentioned in the headmaster’s report that a) the pupils made an appeal to the school, b) the headmaster turned to the Ministry for Education for help and c) the Min-istry replied with the offer of three options. Which of the following expressions or sen-

tences do you think were used in the three documents? Mark them: S: (=students appeal), H: (=headmaster’s document to Ministry), M: (=response from the Ministry for Education). The first one has been an-swered as an example: 1. We are not prepared to put our lives in danger any more. S 2. The Prime Minister has given specific instructions not to… M 3. After a meeting we had last week… S 4. The Direction of the school cannot guarantee their safety. H 5. The national economy is not in such a state as to… M 6. Although our parents should have a say in this matter… S 7. Our institution will ask for the support of parents and pupils. H 8. It is our belief that if the Ministry and the School wished to… S 9. Our general secretary of the pointed out… M 10. The majority of the members of the council… S 11. I will have a meeting with the members of the school council and the teach-

ers… H

12. More responsibility should have been shown on the part of the pupils… H

half assignment 2 half module a5/101b

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