Helping ESL Write Better
5 KEY STRATEGIES FOR HELPING ESL LEARNERS WRITE BETTER
Writing is a PROCESS and the more you write, the better you get.
#1 USE A TEMPLATE
Giving students a template to work with is an effective way to get them started. Templates provide structure and often ESL students have a problem with kick starting their writing. A template provides them with a guide and a framework as they are able to fill in different sections of the template with their ideas and from there begin to build sentences and paragraphs better.
A mind map is also a useful mode of giving students a starting point for their writing journey. Mind maps provide a framework for writing just like a template. At the early stages of writing, most ESL learners struggle with presenting their ideas in a cohesive manner. There is always so much to say and their ideas seem disjointed because they do not have a proper structure. Using a flowchart or a bubble map presents a roadmap for their thoughts and they are able to see the connections better when put on paper. Start with the main idea in the middle of the paper and branch out from there as the ideas grow. Get students to use different colours to draw their mind map as this helps them link ideas better.
#2 USE WRITING PROMPTS
Writing prompts are extremely useful for ESL writers. They create great triggers for writing tasks. It is a simple and useful way to get students to start thinking about a topic or theme. Writing prompts can also be used as part of a group activity that promotes discussion among group members. This is an effective way to get students to talk about a topic and engage with the subject matter.
Writing prompts do not necessarily have to be in words. Pictures, videos and memes also make good writing prompts. Here is an example of a writing activity that uses a picture as a writing prompt. Based on the picture below, you can ask your students the following questions:
· What do you think about self-driving cars?
· What are the negative effects of having a self-driving car?
· What are the positives of having a self-driving car?
Get students to write between 2 to 3 points for each question. The idea behind this exercise is to guide the writing process and helps students focus their ideas.
#3 ENCOURAGE FREE WRITING
While writing prompts and mind maps have been proven to be important modes of promoting writing, some students write better when left to write on their own. Encouraging students to explore ideas on their own is also an effective way to get students to begin the writing process. Remind students that they do not have to write cohesively, but the point of the exercise is to get them to put their thoughts on paper. A good way to approach free writing is to answer the 5 Ws and 1H question.
Free writing is simply the process of writing down every single thought that comes to mind without worrying about the flow. The goal of the activity is to continue writing until you are out of ideas. During this exercise, it is ok to veer off topic as the aim is to put everything down on paper. Spelling and grammar are also not the focus at this point of time. To get the most out of this activity, it is best to set a time limit for students and 5 to 10 minutes is often a good time frame to work within.
#4 HAVE A WORD BANK
As students’ progress on their writing journey, it is important to help them develop their vocabulary. Creating a word bank is always a handy tool to have. As a class exercise, get students to create a word bank that relates to the topic that they will be writing about. Students can keep these words in a vocabulary notebook for easy reference. Linking words is another useful list to have in a word bank. Often when students start writing, they get stuck with the same linking words. You might see, therefore in three different sentences in the same paragraph. Therefore, it is helpful to introduce students to more than one way of linking a sentence and ‘therefore’ can easily be replaced with ‘consequently’ ‘as a result’ or even ‘hence’.
Introduce students to the idea of a Dictionary and the Thesaurus. This is an excellent tool to help students improve their writing and help them express their ideas better. It also eliminates the frustration of limited word usage. The caution here however is to teach students to understand the context of their work before they use the thesaurus and change words around that might alter the meaning of the sentence altogether.
A scene from the popular sitcom Friends comes to mind where Joey used the thesaurus to write a letter to the adoption agency for Monica and Chandler. What he meant to say was ‘they are warm nice people with big hearts’ but what he wrote instead with the help of the thesaurus was ‘they’re humid, prepossessing Homo sapiens with full-sized aortic pumps.’ See how the meaning is lost completely when the thesaurus is not used correctly.
#5 PRESENT DIFFERENT TYPES OF WRITING
While academic essays like report writing, explanation writing, and descriptive writing are important writing skills to master, they can often be rather boring and dry. Presenting students with other forms of writing opportunity can help them find their voice in their words. Poems, song lyrics, short stories and blogs are different forms of writing mediums that can get ESL writers excited about writing.
Writing does not exist in a vacuum. It is an extension of the listening and speaking process. There is a connection between the spoken and the written word and often ESL learners have a problem connecting the two. Teaching them to engage the two will help them with their writing process. Thus, using different forms of writing exercises is important to see which method works best for your students. Finding a writing style that you enjoy is extremely important as it ensures continued writing, which eventually leads one to become a better writer.
Learning any language can be daunting task. These simple strategies are effective and can greatly help your ESL learners improve their writing skills. While writing may seem like a chore and hard work, it is a skill that needs to be honed with lots of practice, and keeping students motivated and excited about it, is a skill in itself!
