IMPROVING WRITING IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM Écrivez Mieux!

Background & Dilemma Title 1 High School Over 50% of students on FRL High number of IEPs and ELLs Writing abilities vary greatly  Some can barely read or write  Some write at a gifted level Many students have admitted they “don’t like to write” in any class

Dilemma How can I get all of my students to improve their writing in the Foreign Language classroom?

I hate missteaks! You are going to make mistakes when learning a foreign language. Accept it. Remember that everyone here is at the same level of fluency.

Activity 1 Writing basic descriptive sentences in French!  You will need: paper, writing utensil a partner to describe

Masculine vs. Feminine Il est = He is Sounds like… Elle est = She is Sounds like….

ELL in French? Writing in a foreign language can help a student improve their writing in English. “ The ability to read translates across languages, even when the writing systems are different.” - KRASHEN

Advanced Language Learners Honor Roll, Gifted and Talented, Advanced Placement, High-Ability students?  Overlooked  Not challenged  Unique struggles

Activity 2 Writing longer more complex sentences in English, or any language.  You will need:  A sheet of paper  creativity

Those Advanced Learners Again… Can be very critical of their work. Strive for perfection the first attempt. Tend to resist revising.

Peer Editing Demonstrates how revision improves a paper Helps students become aware of how their writing affects others.  Class atmosphere must be encouraging and supportive.  The class will have to be guided/trained in the necessary format for the writing assignment.  Added bonus: The teacher has fewer papers to read/revise!

Activity 3 (if time) Picture prompt writing.  Everyone is given the same picture sequence and must write a brief story about the images. The last image is blank. The writer must create the ending.  After stories are written, exchange with your partner and read. Partners may comment and make suggestions, but not corrections. Papers are returned to writers for revisions.  2 nd draft, trade with a different partner and hunt for errors. Writers make final revisions.

Extra Research Quotes “Writing in a foreign language does present additional challenges, but the fundamentals remain the same: lexical precision, clear syntax, grammatical structures adequate to the complexity of the ideas expressed, and the coherent organization of ideas. The question then is how we help our students develop and hone those skills under our tutelage.” “In addition to promoting the acquisition of linguistic and grammatical competence, the practice of writing should also aim at stimulating and developing learning beyond language to cognitive development as a whole.” “Writing is also perceived as a difficult skill that can be tackled only by advanced students who have attained full proficiency in the target language. That is the reason why writing has often been reserved for higher-level classes. But writing should be taught from the start.”

More quotes… “An assumption long held is that writing skills in the target language have no connection to writing skills in the native language. The consequence of this assumption is that teachers and students believe that beginning learners have no competence at all when they start a writing class in a foreign language. Yet research has shown that writers may use the same strategies when they are writing in their native language as when they are writing in the target language. Some elements of the process may be similar. Therefore, first language writing strategies can be beneficial in the training of writing skills in the target language.” AP Central: French Language and Culture/Special Focus: Writing Skills

Fin Merci !