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…

Writing in second Chinese writing is viewed as one of the least used skills in classroom practice for educators (Kubler, 1997). While writing research has emphasized the importance of regarding writing as a social activity, mainstream writing instruction and task design remain to decontextualized and monologic (Liu, 2015). This dissertation…

Several barriers hinder students from producing clear and impactful written work. Writing assignments are often given on an individual basis, similar to homework, and without any assistance. Students in a classroom context have access to both their classmates and the teacher while they are working in groups or pairs as part of their assignments.…

This article introduces a pedagogical intervention that includes a set of creative activities designed to improve the oral and written production of students in the English classroom, especially those who have shown a lack of interest or attention. It was observed that participants initially seemed careless about studying the language. Eventually…

This study investigates the benefits of collaborative writing tasks. Previous research from the perspective of the sociocultural theory of mind suggests that writing tasks completed in pairs offer learners an opportunity to collaborate in the solution of their language-related problems, co-construct new language knowledge, and produce…

The current study investigates the applications of the pinyin input system, a Chinese word processing method, for writing on Facebook in order to help CFL (Chinese as a foreign language) learners from two Irish universities to improve their handwriting in Chinese characters on paper. The data were collected from writing activities conducted over…

In this paper we report a case study of two first-year students at a university in Hong Kong doing the same writing assignment that required the use of sources. We explore the students' understanding of plagiarism, their strategies for composing, the similarity between their texts and source texts, and the lecturer's assessment of their work. The…

Describes writing exercises in which students transform a simple text into their own original, more complex production. (EKN)

Describes a method of writing instruction that not only helps students write successfully in the target language and leaves them willing to write again but also helps develop reading, listening, and speaking skills in the prewriting stages. (EKN)

The use of controlled compositions as a method of providing writing practice for English as second language (ESL) students is described. The method requires students to copy well-written short compositions while changing each one a meaningful way, such as from present to past tense or singular to plural. Thus, students at all levels or ages can…

Discusses using ungraded, uncorrected journals focusing on academic and class-related concerns as a nonthreatening way for students to practice writing English. Proposes that teachers should become participants in the writing processes by writing journals to the class. (EKN)

Proposes that writing instruction at the intermediate level of second language study should be kept to a minimum. Gives examples of the kinds of brief derivative exercises that are most beneficial. (EKN)

Discusses the various aspects of writing instruction from teaching English script to teaching composition. (EKN)

Presents a model of written language that can guide the instruction of hearing-impaired students, and strategies and techniques for improving writing skills, using research and theory from such areas as fluency, syntax, vocabulary, content, conventions, student motivation, guided practice, student interaction, and selective feedback. (CB) (Adjunct…

Four techniques are suggested for tutoring students of English as a second language in writing: taking a "writing history" of the student's experiences, failures, and successes at writing by asking open-ended questions in a non-judgmental way during an informal interview; brainstorming about a given writing topic, with the tutor taking close notes…