Effective Approaches in Teaching Second Language - Essay Example

?Question: What are the most effective approaches a teacher can use when teaching writing to L2 learners? You may want to refer to specific textbook exercises in your answer. If you do, please include copies of the exercises in the appendix of your assignment. 1. Introduction The main goal of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language (TESOL) is to teach non-native individuals the appropriate use of the English language (TESOL, 2013). In general, written communication skills play an important role behind the career of successful businessmen and other professions such as doctors, nurses, and lawyers. For this reason, exploring ways on how writing teachers can further improve the writing skills of L2 students is very important. Methods to measure the effectiveness in teaching are often subjected to endless criticism. Back in early 1990s, the assessment of effective teaching was more focused on the students’ learning, highly dependent on the students’ knowledge on the subject, the ability of the teachers to manage the students and think thoroughly on how they can further improve their teaching practice (Clark, 1993, p. 2). Today, the term ‘effectiveness’ is defined based on the “students’ achievement” (Stronge, 2007, p. x). The process of correcting the L2 students’ mistakes in writing does not guarantee that there will be improvements in their writing skills (Schwieter, 2010, p. 34). Therefore, effective teaching should be monitored based on the revision instruction and feedback each of the L2 students will receive from their writing teachers (Ferris, 2007, p. 167; Schwieter, 2010, p. 34). As a general rule, teachers are directly accountable for the learning of the L2 students (Dunne and Wragg, 2005, p. 1). Therefore, it is part of the teachers’ duty and responsibility to continuously improve their professional knowledge and skills particularly when it comes to teaching the L2 students the effective way of writing in English. (Because your essay topic /essay question told me to focus on discussing the best teaching approach when teaching the L2 students how to write.) This essay aims at exploring the different approaches used in teaching L2 students within a writing class. In addition to examining the similarities and differences between the genre approach, process approach, and product approach, the advantages and limitations of each type of teaching approach and how L2 teachers can avoid the limitations or challenges associated with each type will be addressed. 2. Teaching Approaches There are several of innovative teaching approaches which can be applied in the teaching of writing. Based on the history of L2 writing studies, Alhosani (2008, p. 48) explained that there was a shift “in writing instruction from product to process”. Since studying the writing process can be very complicated, a lot of writing teachers have argued that the use of the process approach in writing is better in terms of improving the L2 students’ knowledge and attitude towards writing (Alhosani, 2008, p. 40). Therefore, between the late 1960s and early 1970s, second language teachers started to use the process approach in teaching writing to L2 students [Corbett, 2003, p. 87; Matsuda, 2003, cited in Alhosani, 2008, p. 40]. Today, a lot of second language teachers have managed to shift their focus to the use of the genre approach in teaching (Alhosani, 2008, p. 44). There are cases where teachers who are teaching L2 students how to write are using “out-dated teacher-centred method” (Babalola, 2012) or are totally unprepared in teaching the L2 students the proper way of writing (Lee, 2011). By examining the similarities and differences between the genre approach, process approach, and product approach, writing teachers who teach TESOL students could be guided by the most effective use of these approaches. 2.1 Product Approach Considered as a traditional method in teaching a second language, the product approach is generally more focused on the students’ ability to use the correct grammar, syntax or sentence structure, the use of a wide-range of vocabulary, and spell words correctly (Badger & White, 2000, p. 153; Kroll, 1997, p. 8). In most cases, teachers who prefer to use the product approach would normally provide the students with a “standard sample of text” which will be used in facilitating a guided exercise (Hasan & Akhand, 2010, p. 78; Nunan, 1999, p. 272). Using the sample text, the L2 students will be instructed to construct their own piece of writing based on the sample provided by the writing teacher. The product approach in writing is composed of four different stages (Steele, 2013; Hasan & Akhand, 2010). During the first stage, the L2 students are expected to scrutinize the texts as provided by the writing teacher (Hasan & Akhand, 2010). For instance, the writing teacher can instruct the L2 students to underline some of the special features that they noticed in the text (i.e. paragraphs, the words used in the letter, punctuation marks, letter structure, etc.). During the second stage, the L2 students will be asked to practice using the writing structure and new vocabulary they have taken from the texts. Finally, the writing teacher should teach the L2 students how they can organize their own thoughts and ideas (Steele, 2013). In the last stage of the writing process, the L2 students will be given the opportunity to show some improvements in their writing ability and skills by producing their own composition (skills in using a wide-range of vocabulary, writing structures, paragraphing, sentences, use of punctuation marks) (Steele, 2013; Hasan & Akhand, 2010). In line with this, Pincas (1982) summarized the four different stages of writing as: “familiarisation, controlled writing, guided writing, and free writing” [cited in Badger & White, 2000, p. 153]. The problem with using the product approach alone is that the writing teacher is expected to focus only on the L2 students’ final writing and not the process of teaching the L2 students how to write properly (Stapa & Majid, 2012; Badger & White, 2000, p. 156). Learning the proper technique in writing requires the L2 students to undergo a series of trial and error. By giving them immediate feedback, Ferris (2007, p. 167) mentioned that the L2 students could take the opportunity to learn from their initial mistake and to continue from where they stopped. Another limitation of using a pure product approach is that this type of teaching technique does not emphasize the need for writing teachers to take more time in reviewing L2 students’ drafts. It also does not encourage the L2 students to be creative in their writing nor does it emphasize the need for the L2 students to continuously revise and edit their written drafts based on the teachers’ feedback (Pasand & Haghi, 2013; Corbett, 2003, p. 87). Since many second language students have a limited knowledge and ability to use the English language in writing, the application of a pure product approach in teaching has been considered as ineffective for a long time(Corbett, 2003, p. 87). To overcome the limitations of the product approach, this particular teaching method has been combined with the use of the process approach. Through the use of process-product approach, the second language writing teachers will be able to guide the L2 students’ on how to develop their writing skills without sacrificing their fluency in writing (the use of capitalization, observing correct vocabulary and spelling of words, proper use of punctuation markes, the use of past, present, and future tense, noun, verb) (Pasand & Haghi, 2013). Even though the use of the process-product approach can improve the writing abilities of the L2 students, Pasand and Haghi (2013) explained that the process of combining these two methods may not necessarily be effective in terms of improving all aspects that can affect the students’ writing. 2.2 Process Approach The process approach acknowledges the need for L2 students to undergo a series of stages when trying to learn how to write. Unlike the product approach, the process approach is more focused on the steps or procedures that the L2 students should follow each time they are instructed to plan what to write, write down their thoughts and ideas, and revise their written drafts (Stapa & Majid, 2012; Kroll, 1997, p. 8). It means that the L2 students who are trying to learn how to write in English are expected to take down notes before writing down their thoughts and ideas in a draft form, and this mainly named as brainstorming process. Since the second language students have limited access and understanding of vocabulary words, assigning the students to work in pairs could help them easily organize their individual ideas using a mind mapping method (Steele, 2013). The L2 students are expected to submit the draft to the teacher, accept feedback from the teacher (summative feedback, formative feedback, direct or indirect feedback), and revise the written draft based on the feedback they receive from the teacher (Ali & Kabr, 2012; Hasan & Akhand, 2010; Paton, 2009, p. 123). When providing feedback to L2 students, it is important for writing teachers to balance the use of “positive encouragement” and “constructive criticism” so as not to demotivate or make the student quit from learning the English language (Ali & Kabr, 2012, p. 116). Eventually, this cycle is expected to continue until such time that the teacher would finally accept the students’ writing composition with a passing mark. (See Appendix I – Writing Process Model) Similar to product approach, the process approach in teaching second language (L2) writing class is also focused on the need to improve the students’ handwriting, the proper use of punctuation marks, writing in short sentences and paragraphs, and the use of correct spelling (Paton, 2009, p. 122). In most cases, the process approach encourages the L2 students to adopt and strictly follow the basic writing process which includes the need to participate in a group discussion, brainstorming process, organizing ideas, determining the target audiences, writing, and rewriting (Corbett, 2003, p. 88; Hasan & Akhand, 2010; Paton, 2009, p. 123; Steele, 2013). Although there are no fix rule in the basic writing process, the L2 students are usually asked to determine the main purpose of their written letter or a report, identify their target audiences, the need to brainstorm or gather useful information with regards to the subject matter, carefully plan how the student would write their thoughts and ideas, compose their first draft, and edit/proofread their written draft before finalizing their written letter or report (Hyland, 2003a; Paton, 2009, p. 123; Steele, 2013; White & Arndt, 1991, p. 7). (See Appendix II – Process Flow Chart of Classroom Activities; Appendix III – Different Stages when Using the Process Approach). The process approach has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Earlier, it was mentioned that the product approach came first before the process approach. It only means that the process approach was purposely created in order to cover up the weaknesses and limitations of the product approach (Badger & White, 2000, p. 156). One thing good about the process approach is that this type of teaching method provides the L2 students with the opportunity to learn from their own mistakes. By rewriting their drafts based on the teachers’ feedback, the L2 students could easily understand and retain in their memory what went wrong in their previous writing process (Corbett, 2003, p. 87; Stapa & Majid, 2012). The process approach also provides a clear illustration on how the students could actually gather some useful information for their writing, how they should plan on what to write, how to write drafts, and revise the drafts by editing and proof-reading (Rahman, 2011). Lastly, the process approach is useful in terms of making the L2 writing teachers aware that teaching the second language students how to write is actually a complex procedure (Hyland, 2003a; Rahman, 2011). Thus, by knowing that, the teachers become more serious about the appropriate method that can be used when teaching L2 students and plan well to achieve an effective and successful lesson. Despite the strengths of the process approach, this particular teaching method has some limitations that each of the writing teachers should consider. First of all, for the process approach to be successful, the writing teachers are required to spend time identifying and addressing each student’s specific writing problem in the form of writing feedback (Pasand & Haghi, 2013, p. 76). Secondly, the process approach was previously designed to meet the learning standards of the native (L1) students (Hyland, 2003a). In most cases, the native students can speak the English language more fluently as compared to the non-native students. Aside from limiting the writing teachers’ role in teaching, the use of the process approach when teaching the L2 students how to write in English is often criticized for neglecting most part of the linguistic and rhetoric elements in writing (Hyland, 2003a). Lastly, the process approach has been criticized for dislocating the use of language from the students’ own social and cultural context (Corbett, 2003, p. 88; Hyland, 2003a). Since excessive use of this particular teaching method will not increase the L2 students’ confidence in expressing their social, cultural, and political ideas in writing (Hyland, 2003a), the genre approach was created. 2.3 Genre Approach Applicable to writing teaching, the word ‘genre’ is referring to “texts that share a common set of cultural purposes” (Corbett, 2003, p. 71). Basically, the theory of genre acknowledges the close relationship between the use of the English language and its role within the social, cultural, and political aspects in each society (Hyland, 2003a). Therefore, when using the genre approach in writing teaching, the L2 teachers could somehow indirectly encourage and increase the students’ awareness to become more interested in getting involved in a rhetorical situation (Coe, 2002, p. 195; Hyland, 2003a; Rahman, 2011). Widely known as an extended version of the product approach, the genre approach also considers writing as a “predominantly linguistic” (Badger & White, 2000, p. 155; Rahman, 2011). The only difference between the product approach and genre approach is that the genre approach acknowledges the possible impact of “social context” in the quality and ability of L2 students in writing (Badger & White, 2000, p. 155; Hyland, 2003a). Therefore, through the use of the genre approach, the L2 writing teachers could somehow encourage the students to gain more understanding and appreciation within and outside their learning environment and surroundings (i.e. how to write a job application, a formal application letter, a business report, grant proposals, or an invitation) (Hasan & Akhand, 2010; Hyland, 2003a; Kroll, 2003, p. 224). Basically, all these factors are equally important in terms of preparing the L2 students to deal with the real-life situations after graduation. It is possible for writing teachers to combine or integrate the use of both the genre and process approach. For example, in order for L2 students to be able to deliver good quality writing, the second language students should first determine the main reason or purpose of their writing before they start to identify the subject, consider the significance of values, culture, and other ideological factors, and identify the target audiences they intend to write (Badger & White, 2000, p. 155; Corbett, 2003, p. 87). By doing so, the writing teacher can easily guide the L2 students on how they can effectively align the main purpose of their writing together with its context. Similar to the process approach in writing, L2 students who are being taught how to write using the genre approach are also required to undergo several learning stages which includes: “prewriting, writing, revising, and editing” before submitting their final composition to their teacher (Rahman, 2011, p. 2). Aside from providing a list of passive examples, the theory of genre requires the use of a written text or instructions that has the same linguistic features, structures, and format (Paton, 2009, p. 35, 119). Through the use of a different set of written instructions that contains the same linguistic features, structures, and format, the L2 students are expected to be able to easily predict and recognize the texts they are required to read and write. After being able to identify the main purpose, the subject, and the target audiences of their writing (Badger & White, 2000, p. 155), the L2 students can increase their ability to write about something clearly in a more comprehensive way. Likewise, writing teachers should also encourage the L2 students to work collaboratively either in pairs or a small group (Corbett, 2003, p. 87; Paton, 2009, p. 124). Using this particular approach in teaching, the L2 students will have the opportunity to interact not only with the teacher not only during the class discussion and feedback but also among the students (Paton, 2009, p. 124). (See Appendix IV – Sample of Genre-Approach Exercises; Appendix V – Sample of Individual Activity). One of the advantages of using the genre-approach is that this particular teaching method would allow the students examine how people within a given community communicate with one another and eventually learn new ways on how they can organize the texts (Corbett, 2003, p. 86). The use of genre approach will also provide the L2 students the “opportunity to acquire conceptual and cultural frameworks” in writing (Rahman, 2011). Even though the L2 students have limitations when it comes to the use of the English language in writing, the L2 students will always have the option to make use of their own cultural experiences and their primary language in creating new ideas and further enhance their writing skills (Brown, 1987, p. 82; Stapa & Majid, 2012). Therefore, the use of the genre approach is considered as the best method in terms of providing the L2 students with a “starting point” to learn how to write using the English language (Paton, 2009, p. 125). It is widely known that the use of the genre approach in writing teaching could address the limitations of both the product and process approaches (Hyland, 2003a). However, there are some writing teachers who criticize the use of the genre-approach for not being flexible in terms of allowing the L2 students to write down their ideas and thoughts in their preferred way (Corbett, 2003, p. 86). It means that excessive use of this particular teaching method could disempower the students’ creativity in writing (Paton, 2009, p. 125). Furthermore, the use of genre approach does not literally enhance the L2 students’ critical thinking and analysis (Hyland, 2003a). Because of the limitations of both the process approach and the genre approach in writing teaching, the integration of these two types of teaching approaches could further enhance the writing skills of L2 students (Babalola, 2012). 3. Contrastive Rhetoric and Its Implications for Teaching L2 Writing The traditional rhetoric aims to articulate a person’s justification of their own judgement and ideas as opposed to the others (Hinkel, 2002). On the other hand, contrastive rhetoric is all about analyzing the significance of the students’ first language and cultural background and how these two aspects could affect the L2 students’ ability to learn the easiest way to use the English language in writing (Connor, 1996, p. 5). In other words, contrastive rhetoric research is a type of interdisciplinary studies that could help the writing teachers determine the best teaching approach that can be used in increasing the writing skills of the L2 students (i.e. genre analysis, second language acquisition, rhetoric and composition, and language translation studies, etc.) (Connor, 2004). There are a number of benefits associated with the use of contrastive rhetoric. First of all, contrastive rhetoric in teaching is very much applicable in classroom activities like writing essays or journals when exploring the cultural differences of each L2 student (Kroll, 2003, p. 219). Aside from offering a wide-range of useful and effective teaching activities for the L2 students, the practice of contrastive rhetoric in teaching could help increase the writing teachers’ awareness with regards to the significant impact of the students’ first language in the development of their second language writing skills (Kroll, 2003, p. 219). Furthermore, contrastive rhetoric will enable the writing teachers understand the difficulties most L2 students are currently facing (Hyland, 2003b, p. 49). There are many ways in which a writing teacher can incorporate the use of contrastive rhetoric in the process of teaching L2 students to write. For instance, the writing teacher can instruct the L2 students to “examine, compare, and contrast how texts are formed and interpreted in different languages and cultures” (Kroll, 2003, p. 226). Because of all the benefits associated with the use of contrastive rhetoric, Kroll (2003, p. 219) revealed that “contrastive rhetoric will continue to have an effect on teaching”. The use of genre approach will provide the L2 students with a generic structure which they can use each time they learn how to write (Connor, 2004). Furthermore, the process of incorporating the use of genre approach in teaching can serve not only as a textual analysis but also a deep and narrow description of what the students are expected to write (Connor, 2004). By knowing how texts are being organized with the use of other languages, the writing teachers could gain a better understanding why some students would end up making use of inappropriate structure in English writing (Flowerdew, 2002). By knowing how cultural and linguistic factors could affect the students’ use of English words and writing structure, the writing teachers can learn to increase their tolerance each time they teach a group of L2 students. Unfortunately, all these benefits cannot be provided with the use of either the product approach or the process approach. 4. Conclusion Specifically the product approach teaches the students the use of correct grammar, syntax or sentence structure, development of a wide-range of vocabulary, and correct spelling. However, this approach is not suitable for L2 students who are beginning to learn how to write using the English language. First of all, the L2 students have limited knowledge in the use of the English language. In fact, some of the L2 students may experience difficulty trying to recall some English words they have learned in the past. Most of the L2 students are having a major problem with regards to the use of the English words. For this reason, the application of the product process alone will make the writing teachers unable to teach nor further improve the writing skills of the L2 students. Between the late 1960s and early 1970s, the process approach in teaching was introduced because of the limitations of the product process. The process approach is good since this particular approach in teaching can provide the writing teachers with a useful framework on how they can teach the L2 students to write perfectly. Despite the advantages of using the process approach, this method in teaching was eventually criticized for requiring too much time inside and outside the normal class hours. Furthermore, the process approach was initially developed for the learning needs of L1 students. Eventually, it was noted that the use of process approach alone may not really be effective in terms of teaching the L2 students the proper way of writing in English language. L2 students have a limited knowledge and access to a wide-range of English vocabulary. For this reason, educators worldwide started to support the need to use the genre approach in teaching. Although the genre approach is considered as the extension of the process approach, this particular teaching method allows the writing teachers to consider the L2 students’ first language and cultural background. In the process of considering the students’ linguistic, ethnic and cultural background, the writing teachers can gain a better understanding of where each L2 students are coming from. After analyzing the significance of the students’ first language and cultural background and how these two aspects could affect the L2 students’ ability to learn write, the writing teachers could combine the use of the process and genre approach when designing a curriculum that could work well for the L2 students. Contrastive rhetoric research is a type of interdisciplinary studies that could help the writing teachers determine the best teaching approach that can be used in increasing the writing skills of the L2 students. Contrastive rhetoric can be easily applied in classroom activities. It can also help increase the writing teachers’ awareness of the impact of the students’ first language in the development of their second language writing skills. Contrastive rhetoric can make the writing teachers understand the difficulties most L2 students are facing. Therefore, contrastive rhetoric will continue to play a significant role when teaching the L2 students. References Alhosani, N. (2008). Utilizing the Writing Process Approach with English as a Second Language. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest LLC. Ali, M., & Kabr, H. (2012). Critical Insights in Choosing Approaches to Feedback in Second Language (L2) Writing: Catering Individual Needs. Journal of Education and Practice, 3(7): 111-119. Babalola, H. 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Appendix I – Writing Process Model Source: White & Arndt, 1991, p. 43, presented in Hasan & Akhand, 2010 Appendix II – Process Flow Chart of Classroom Activities Source: White & Arndt, 1991, p. 7 Appendix III – Different Stages when Using the Process Approach Source: Paton, 2009, p. 123 Appendix IV – Sample of Genre-Approach Exercises Source: Paton, 2009, pp. 124 – 125 Appendix V – Sample of Individual Activity Source: Paton, 2009, p. 129 Read More