Writing Skill

Writing Skill

What Is Writing?

"Writing" is the process of using symbols (letters of the alphabet, punctuation and spaces) to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable form.

"Writing" can also refer to the work/career of an author, as in: "Shakespeare didn't make much money from writing."

Generally, we write using a pen/pencil (handwriting) or a keyboard (typing). With a pen/pencil we usually write on a surface such as paper or whiteboard. A keyboard is normally attached to a typewriter, computer or mobile device. Voice recognition programs allow those who can't see or use their hands to have their thoughts transcribed.

Writing is the fourth of the four language skills, which are:

1. Listening
2. Speaking
3. Reading
4. Writing

In our own language, writing is usually the fourth language skill that we learn.

To write clearly it is essential to understand the basic system of a language. In English this includes knowledge of grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. Vocabulary is also necessary, as is correct spelling and formatting.

A writer may write for personal enjoyment or use, or for an audience of one person or more. The audience may be known (targeted) or unknown. Taking notes for study purposes is an example of writing for one's self. Blogging publicly is an example of writing for an unknown audience. A letter to a friend is an example of writing for a targeted audience. As with speaking, it is important to consider your audience when writing. There are many different styles of writing, from informal to formal.

7 Writing Tasks for Young ESL Learners:

1. Word Jumble

This activity is useful for those who have just started writing in English. Since writing whole sentences on their own can be rather challenging, this activity can help students understand word order, and yet, it gives them the support they need.
Divide students into small groups of three or four, or into pairs. Give each group a set of cards containing words that can be used to form a sentence. These words are clearly jumbled, in other words, in the wrong order. Students have to put them in order to make the sentence, and then copy the sentence onto their notebook or separate worksheet.
You may be tempted to give them a worksheet with a list of sentences where the words are in the wrong order, but with very young learners, it is essential for them to have cards they can manipulate and move around.


2. What Happens Next?
Give students the first sentence or beginning of a story, and ask them to complete the story. To make it fun, they can be given funny or even ridiculous sentences/situations (It was a clear, starry night when the cow jumped over the moon or Michael opened his sock drawer, and all his socks had disappeared.)
This helps students use their creativity and understand how sentences relate to one another to make a cohesive text.


3. What is Happening in This Picture?
This is a simple writing activity where you show students an illustration and ask them to write about what they see. illustrations that show a lot of things happening at the same time are great for this activity; students can choose or even create a small story that revolves around the whole scene.
Most often, if we ask students to “write” they have no idea where to begin. You can give them a visual prompt to get them started and to guide them in terms of content so that they won’t stray too far from the topic.


4. Story with a Twist
This is a great post-reading writing activity. After the reading, ask your students to change the ending. You can read a well-known classic or a story that is completely new to them. They can change a few details or change the outcome altogether. They will need to get creative here but they will be using a story they are familiar with and have that extra, needed support.


5. Let’s Write Together
This is a classic writing activity when you have a large group of young ESL students who don’t feel confident enough to write an entire story on their own.One student writes a sentence (or you can get the ball rolling yourself), and the next has to write the sentence that follows and so on till the story is complete. And it doesn’t have to be a “story”; they can write a news article or a journal entry.
This is a great task to promote cooperation and collaboration among students. Also, since each one will be completing a part of the text, they will have to make choices regarding text structure, i.e, decide if they need to start a new paragraph.


6. Yummy Writing
Give or show students a series of pictures that illustrate how a dish is prepared.The pictures should show the series of steps involved in a recipe but students have to write the instructions that go with each picture.
This is a great activity to practice imperatives and also how to give instructions.


7. What’s Missing?
Give students a text; it can be an e-mail, a report, a newspaper article or even a story. A part is taken out and students have to complete it with the missing information. Of course, they will completely make up what is missing. The important thing is not for the information to be accurate (for example, the time or day something happened) but coherent with the rest of the text.

Writing can be hard for young ESL learners – it’s hard enough in their native language.

But don’t make the mistake of discounting it as “too hard”. Instead, give them a nudge, a prompt and a little support, whether it is through the first words or images that go with the text. You will boost their confidence and make them happy little writers!

More info.

Try These 12 Simple Tricks to Make Writing Fun

1. Use Stickers
   You don’t have to limit your sticker use to marking a job well done. Use stickers to inspire your students to write while they have fun decorating the page. Gather a variety of stickers – people, animals, places, props, etc. – and cut them into individual pieces. Then throw all the stickers in a bag and shake it up. Let your students choose between three and five stickers (depending on their language level – more stickers for more advanced writers) and then have them incorporate those people or objects into a story of their own creation.
2. Do It as a Class
   Do write communal stories with your ESL students? If not, you should. Working together gets individual creativity flowing, and what we create with others is often far more than we could do ourselves. There are lots of ways to write with other people. Put several notebooks in a writing center. Have one person start a story or start it yourself, and then allow your students to add to a story of their choosing during free learning periods. Have one student choose the characters and another student the conflict, and then have them work together to write the final piece. Have one student write a sentence on a piece of paper and pass it to the person next to him. Then that person adds a sentence. Continue until everyone in class has had a chance to add their own line to the story.
3. Read
   Reading is one of the greatest way to inspire writers in your class. Choose a poem or a short piece of literature to read as a class. Then have students use that selection as a model for their own compositions. They can either follow the structure and style of what you read or just write about the same content. Either way, the great writers will come out among you when you give them great things to read.
4. Give Creative Inspiration
   When you take time and effort to inspire your writers, it is sure to show in their writing. Create a scene, draw a picture, collect interesting photos, or teach them appealing vocabulary. Then ask your students to use what you have prepared as inspiration for their own compositions. If you have never tried setting up a classroom crime scene to inspire your students, you might want to give it a try. Then let your students write and see how the creativity flows.
5. Let Mistakes Go
   Letting students make mistakes and not correcting them may go against the nature of the ESL teacher, but sometimes not saying something is the best policy.When students are over-corrected, they can become discouraged or fearful of writing. Try some free-writing or give your students permission to write freely in a journal. Make sure they know you won’t be correcting for grammar or spelling. Then have students use what they wrote as a starting point for a more formal piece of writing which you will then correct.
6. Show Them Off
   Recognize good writing in your students in front of their peers to inspire the writers among you. You might want to read particularly good writing to the rest of the class (with the author’s permission, of course). Try “publishing” books of your students’ writing and then putting them on display in your classroom. Your bragging might be something as simple as stapling what your students have written to a bulletin board in your class, or displaying them in the hallway of your school. When your students feel proud of what they have written, it will inspire and encourage them to write more.
7. Give Them Inspiring Tools
   Did you ever have a pen that wrote in four different colors? If you had one as a kid, you might have done what just about every other kid did. Write one line with each of the colors and rotate through the page. You can give your students creative inspiration in a writing center of your classroom even if you don’t have four-colored pens for the entire class. On a spare desk, set out several different colors and types of paper with colored pens and pencils. Include pencils and markers that are scented as well. You may find that your students write just so they can use a different type of paper or color pen.
8. Illustrate
   Some students become discouraged when they write because they just can’t get their ideas across. Give them another avenue to communicate by asking them to illustrate their story or nonfiction piece. When students know they can include a picture to share their thoughts, their inability to express exactly what they want in writing becomes less of an obstacle. Your struggling writers know that they can include important information in their picture, and it won’t be a total loss if they can’t find the right words to put their ideas into writing.
9. Make it Real Life
   Some students get frustrated when they are writing for writing’s sake. Help these students by giving them a purpose for what they are writing. Have them write letters, thank you cards, e-mails, or other pieces they will have a use for in real life. If you like, let them “mail” the letters and cards to their classmates in a classroom mail center or through the U.S. mail.
10. Be a Model
    If you want your students to have fun while writing, be sure to model your own writing for them. Let them see you write while they do, and share what you have written with them. Students who write well usually have teachers who write well, also.
11. Keep a Writer’s Notebook
    A writer’s notebook is a great place for your students to collect ideas and get creative. You can direct students to particular exercises in their writer’s notebook or let them come up with the ideas on their own. Then, when it’s time to write, students will have a notebook full of ideas from which they can draw ideas and inspiration.
12. Have Fun Teaching Writing
    The most effective tool you have for bringing fun to writing for your students is to have fun while teaching it. If you appreciate the value of what you are teaching and are enthusiastic about it, your students will be, too.