I would be very grateful to know of methods, materials, anything at all
that will help ESOL learners at E3 and up to develop their writing of more
open texts such as essays or discussion papers (including exam essay or
article questions), and genuine articles, reports or letters on complex
subjects.
It is relatively simple to coach people to meet the standards in typical
exam tasks such as writing a work/learning history or a fairly short
letter when there is a clear rubric. Students who can do this to standard,
or who can write short texts on prescribed topics with reasonable grammar
and sentence structure still often have serious problems when trying to
write longer texts with a less defined rubric, or when trying to write
about something fairly complex for their real life needs.
I strongly suspect that in these situations, students attempt to write at
the same level and register that they would use in their first language,
because they are thinking of the content of their writing as they would in
their first language (and yes, perhaps relying on translation at times).
All too often one result is that grammar and sentence structure collapse.
This is frustrating for the best-motivated students and for the teacher
trying to avoid too much correction.
The situation generally rights itself, among the motivated, with time and
practice, but Adult Education classes rarely provide enough hours for
extensive in-class writing with individual on-the-spot feedback. Most of
my students have 4 hours a week in class. It is hard even to find enough
time for good quality feedback on homework. And of course, real-life needs
don't always wait on well-developed writing skills.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
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