Writing in ENGLISH
Professor Reinildes Dias, Ph.D.
FALE - UFMG
diasreinildes@gmail.
com
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Writing plays an essential role in students’ language
interactions, in their daily lives, academic, and job
contexts.
day-to-day written demands: messages,
notes, emails, lists, schedules, cards,
blogs, etc.
Writing plays an essential role in students’ language
interactions, in their daily lives, academic, and job
contexts.
day-to-day written demands: messages,
notes, emails, lists, schedules, cards,
blogs, etc.
academic demands: slides, reports, papers,
essays, blogs, written exams, etc.
Writing plays an essential role in students’ language
interactions, in their daily lives, academic, and job
contexts.
day-to-day written demands: messages,
notes, emails, lists, schedules, cards,
blogs, etc.
academic demands: slides, reports, papers,
essays, blogs, written exams, etc.
job demands: resume, interviews, portfolios,
application letters, etc.
Two prevailing notions of writing
Writing as a product
(a one-draft written text)
Two prevailing notions of writing
Writing as a product
(a one-draft written text)
Writing as a thinking process
(a planning-writing-reviewing framework).
Current view of writing
Writing as a social task which involves thinking
processes and special attention to purposes and
for whom it is intended.
Current view of writing
Writing as a social task which involves thinking
processes and special attention to purposes and
for whom it is intended.
It encompasses the notion of genres as abstract, socially
recognized ways of using language for a variety of
purposes.
Current view of writing
Writing as a social task which involves thinking
processes and special attention to purposes and for
whom it is intended.
It encompasses the notion of genres as abstract, socially
recognized ways of using language for a variety of
purposes.
It acknowledges writers’ awareness of discursive,
semiotic, and linguistic features involved in different
genres.
Teaching writing
… follows current theories of learning
Teaching writing
… follows current theories of learning.
… is mainly based on Vygotskian view of learning.
Teaching writing
… follows current theories of learning
… is based on Vygotskian view of learning
… recognizes the importance of collaboration, peer
interaction and teacher-supported scaffolding.
Teaching writing
… follows current theories of learning
… is based on Vygotskian view of learning
… recognizes the importance of collaboration, peer
interaction and teacher-supported scaffolding.
… encourages students’ use of these phases during
the writing process:
Teaching writing
… follows current theories of learning
… is based on Vygotskian view of learning
… recognizes the importance of collaboration, peer
interaction and teacher-supported scaffolding.
… encourages students’ use of these phases during
the writing process:
(1) Brainstorming to generate ideas.
(2) Planning.
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
(4) “Publication”.
First / Second
Scaffolding
Feedback
Third drafts
Scaffolding
Feedback
Reviews by teacher
& peers
Planning
Brainstorming.
Reading samples of the genre
that will be produced.
Learning the discursive
features of the genre that
will be produced.
Rewriting
Scaffolding
Feedback
Editing
Final Version
Scaffolding
Feedback
“Publication”
DIAS, 2004
In the two first stages:
(1) Brainstorming to generate ideas
(2) Planning
Students discuss about the production
conditions under which their texts will be
produced in the attempt to generate
answers
to this set of questions: who writes what to
whom for what purpose, why, when, where,
and how? (PCN, 1998)
In the two first stages:
(1) Brainstorming to generate ideas
(2) Planning
Students read different samples of texts in the
target genre and content they are going to write
about.
In the two first stages:
(1) Brainstorming to generate ideas
(2) Planning
Students plan what they will compose.
They have to take into consideration the textual
features (discursive, semiotic and linguistic)
of the genre they intend to produce, that is,
HOW they are going compose their texts.
They have also to take into account the content
of the text, that is, WHAT they are going to
write about.
In the third stage:
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
Students work in groups collaboratively.
In the third stage:
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
Students draft, write, rewrite, review.
They get feedback from their peers and
teacher.
In the third stage:
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
Students review their work: they check if
the text they are writing is well structured
in terms of its discursive, semiotic and
linguistic features.
Teacher provides feedback and
scaffolding.
In the third stage:
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
They also check if the subject of their
texts is well developed. Teacher and
peers provide feedback and scaffolding.
In the third stage:
(3) Ongoing process of writing (drafts, rewriting,
reviews, feedback, scaffolding).
Students go on writing. Teacher and
peers provide feedback and scaffolding.
Students who understand how texts are typically
structured, understood, and used become better
writers. quizzes, for example, requires
Creating
that
students understand that this type of genre
is structured in questions and multiplechoice
answers; that this genre is written for
testing a
person’s knowledge about a specific
subject;
and that page layout, colors, different fonts
and sizes can also be used to convey
meaning.
Students who understand how texts are
typically structured, understood, and
used become better writers.
During the ongoing process of writing,
students can study the linguistic features
(grammar and vocabulary) to improve their
texts. Teacher can recommend linguistic
activities so students learn what is
unknown or unfamiliar to them.
Students who understand how texts are
typically structured, understood, and
used become better writers.
They can also go back to samples of the
genre to review its discursive and semiotic
features to improve their writing.
Students who understand how texts are
typically structured, understood, and
used become better writers.
They can also read more about the content
of the text they are writing about.
The writing teacher’s goal is to develop learners’
awareness, understanding and control of “the
processes of text creation; the purposes of writing and
how to express [them] in effective ways; the contexts
within which texts are composed and read and that give
them meaning” (Hyland, 2004: 21).
“Publication”
The act of making what students
write available to the specific
audience of their writing.
Students should be encouraged to share their
writing with real readers, e.g., parents, teachers,
friends, family, etc.
“Publication”
The act of making what students
write available to the specific
audience of their writing.
Students should be encouraged to share their
writing with real readers, e.g., parents, teachers,
friends, family, etc.
Places for publication: the classroom walls, the
school bulletin board, the internet.
“Publication”
The act of making what students
write available to the specific
audience of their writing.
Students should be encouraged to share their
writing with real readers, e.g., parents, teachers,
friends, family, etc.
Places for publication: the classroom walls, the
school bulletin board, the internet.
Attention: A classroom magazine can be created
to hold students’ texts. The magazine can be on
display in the teachers’ room or in the school
library, for instance.
Example of a writing task. From: Prime (Macmillan, 2010), p. 62
Writing as a collaborative process
is based on these key notions
Shared consciousness — the idea that
learners working together learn more
effectively
than
individuals
working
separately.
Borrowed consciousness — the idea that
learners working with knowledgeable others
develop greater understanding of tasks and
ideas.
Hyland, 2004.
In sum,
when writing collaboratively,
students should …
Research about the topic
Read samples of genres they are going to
produce in their writing.
Create a plan of action
Draft, Discuss, Rewrite, Write again …
Exchange their work with peers.
Count on peer editing.
Count on feedback and scaffolding from teacher.
Edit the final version.
“Publish it”.
In sum,
students should think about …
Who is/are writing? (authorship matters)
About what? (content)
To whom? (Intended audience)
What for? (Purposes for writing)
How? (Genre)
When?
Where?
In conclusion:
The guiding principle is that writing literacy
development requires an explicit focus on the ways
texts are organized
(genre structures) and the language choices that
writers
must make to achieve their purposes in particular
contexts.
Students should be provided with the discursive and
linguistic resources they need to express themselves.
Hyland, 2004.
More by Hyland on this site:
http://www2.caes.hku.hk/kenhyland/files/2012/08/Genre-pedagogy_language-literacy-and-L2-writing-instruction1.pdf
References
AGUIAR, A. A. S. A produção textual em L2 no contexto universitário: possíveis contribuições do
procedimento sequência didática. 2009. Dissertação (Mestrado em Estudos Linguísticos) – Universidade
Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. Disponível em:
http://www.letras.ufmg.br/poslin/defesas/1236M.pdf
DIAS, Reinildes. A produção textual como um processo interativo no contexto do ensino e
aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras. Matraga 16. Rio de Janeiro: Caetés, p. 203-218. 2004.
Disponível em: http://www.pgletras.uerj.br/matraga/matraga16/matraga16a16.pdf
MURADAS, P. M. A escrita em inglês do gênero “biodata” por meio de colaboração on-line em
turmas numerosas do Ensino Médio: um estudo de caso. 2013. Dissertação (Mestrado em Estudos
Linguísticos) – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte.
SANTOS, V. A. R. A. Wikis na produção textual colaborativa de notícias on-line em inglês como L2 no meio
virtual: um estudo de caso. 2011. Dissertação (Mestrado em Estudos Linguísticos) – Universidade Federal
de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte Disponível em: http://www.letras.ufmg.br/poslin/defesas/1428M.pdf
VEADO, M.C.M. Colaboração no processo de produção textual em uma
atividade online: um estudo de caso com o gênero resenha de filme. 2008.
Dissertação (Mestrado em Estudos Linguísticos) – Universidade Federal de
Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. Disponível em:
http://www.letras.ufmg.br/poslin/defesas/1201M.pdf
Portal for the English
Teacher
Visit my PORTAL at
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Please send me a message from there. I’ll be
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Publicações Recentes
DIAS, R; DELL’ISOLA, R. L. P. Gêneros textuais: teoria e prática de
Ensino em LE. Campinas: Mercado de Letras. 2012.
DIAS, R. Inglês na escola: pelas trilhas da inclusão social. Belo
Horizonte: Editora Dimensão. 2012.
DIAS, R; JUCÁ, L.; FARIA, R. Prime – Inglês para o Ensino Médio.
São Paulo: Macmillan. 2011.
DIAS, R; CRISTOVÃO, V. L. L. O livro didático de língua estrangeira:
múltiplas perspectivas. Campinas: Mercado de Letras. 2009.
Writing in ENGLISH
Professor Reinildes Dias, Ph.D.
FALE - UFMG
[email protected]