Debating in English is a vital part of second-language acquisition. Not only does it help students with their speaking skills, but it also is an excellent way to prepare them to write opinionated essays. This article explores how educators can use "place mats" to organize a debate that gives each student the chance to speak, and then how…

Examines the use of persuasive responses by Hispanic second-language writers and categorizes these responses by level of language proficiency and gender. Findings indicate that students exit English-as-a-Second-Language classes without having achieved a higher level of expertise in the use of persuasive discourse and that females elaborate more…

English as a second language writing lessons, based on issues discussed in editorial letters in a local Malawi newspaper, provide practice in identifying opinions, identifying supporting evidence, checking argument logic, producing opinions, finding evidence to support opinions, and presenting logically-argued letters. (CB)

Sample notional writing materials for use with advanced level ESL students are presented. The basic assumption is that effective writing demands a feel for one's audience and a sense of purpose, integrating function (what is being said), situation (to whom it is being said), and grammar (how it is being said). The functions selected are those that…

A middle school teacher of writing to learners of English as a Second Language describes two techniques used to improve student participation and guide the writing process. The first is to select a writing topic to which all students can relate. In this case, the teacher asked students, in a class discussion, to give their own definitions of…

This document consists of five years (1988-1992, 10 issues) of the Singapore-based journal "Guidelines." Issues contain articles on a variety of topics in second language teaching. Topics include classroom language teaching strategies, techniques for teaching specific language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) or knowledge…