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		Techniques and methods in Language Teaching > writing     
			
		 writing 
		
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 Damielle
 
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I have seen in many worksheet descriptions  that people call  the activities in which the pupils have to fill in the gaps as "writing practice" . Do you agree with that label? I mean, what type of exercise do you consider adequate to practice the writing skill? |  12 Dec 2008      
					
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 eng789
 
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							| As far as I know, writing exercises- means writing at least full sentences, not filling in blanks.   1  I might accept sentence completion as writing.  Danny ran home quickly because______________________ .   2. But mostly I see it as -answering open questions.   Why did Danny run home?   3.  Write a summary, new ending or give your opinion about something would be writing exercises for higher levels.  |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 anatavner
 
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							| I agree that it is not "writing" and it is called "cloze exercise" and it is related to grammar (moatly) and vocabulary. But there is not a special place to put it so the best is writing which incooperates grammar and vocabulry. |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 manonski (f)
 
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							| Actually, in my curriculum, ending sentences or filling in a gap with their own personal answer is part of the writing process. That�s how they start before they move to writing whole sentences and  texts as they get older. |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 Damielle
 
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							| I can see that teachers have different views on the same topic. Do you believe that writing a word is the same than practising or developing the esl writing skill ? |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 manonski (f)
 
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							| Damielle, I feel that the students have to start somewhere when they start learning writing skills. My students start to write in grade 3 (about 8 years old). Obviously, they can�t write a whole paragraph. When they start writing, depending on the writing situation, yes, they will fill in blanks with their own personal answers, then move on to some simple sentences using models. Progressively, they begin to write texts of their own.  In my curriculum, this is how we teach writing and that is also how we evaluate them: use of the writing process, use of strategies and compliance with the instructions.   |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 Damielle
 
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							| So, You think that the  activities may vary according to the stage of the learning process and the age of student, don�t you?     
Note: I�m not critizing anybody�s point of view. I�m just asking about your point of view!!!! I�m considering  doing some research on that. Your point of view  may be the  starting point.  |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 manonski (f)
 
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							| Damielle, I do not feel criticized at all. My curriculum is not a suggestion. I have to follow it. Not all country start writing at the same age. We are all different. When it comes to evaluate the students, for us, it is really about the process and the strategies more than the final product itself.  If you really want to learn more about my curriculum, follow this link:  |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 Damielle
 
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							| Thank you. I really appreciate your help!! |  12 Dec 2008     
					
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 goodnesses
 
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							| Hi , damielle 
  
 No, writing single words can�t be considered as writing or written expression. At most, this is spelling or memorization. But, according to me, any activity involving pps to find the correct words and/or words forms implies the PPs ability to find the ppropriate relationships between words in certain forms to express a meaningful and complete thought. Then, this kind of activity can be considered as writing or written expression. When we ask a pupil to complete a sentence with a single word or a thought group (expressions and phrases) we are not checking his knowledge about this specific only. We are checking his abilities conserning the whole senetnce.
 Here, at mine, we call this guided writing.
 
 Regards
 
 |  16 Dec 2008     
					
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