Recall that there are two competing metaphors for language learning: learning as acquisition, and learning as participation. These can be matched to Harmer's distinction of 'writing-for-learning' and 'writing-for-writing' (page 330).
An important aspect of participation is contribution. Of course, contributing involves social evaluation, as peers will evaluate and judge, either informally or formally, each other's written work.
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Writing for learning is the language learning or to test them on that language. Therefore, the goal of writing for learning isn't so much good writing as coming to learn, understand, remember and figure out . In these reason, Writing for learning is particularly effective at promoting learning and involvement in course material and also it is much easier on teachers especially those who aren't writing teachers such as most korean EFL teachers are doing now. These teachers are still checking how much they have learned in our course testing in with short-answer or multiple-choice tests they don't really understand. ****On the other hands, writing to demonstrate learning (Writing for writing), this goal the writing should be good and clear. Especially learning as participation named 'social evaluation'. It means that the students don't need to demonstrate their learning in essays and essay exams like writing for learning but they need to create their own writing to the class and give and get peer's responses and feedback. So this participation may be easy to move slowly into it by starting with lots of sharing and motivation. The sharing process itself produces much of the learning, and sharing itself is the best preparation for peer responding. Involving these social evaluation, in participating as peers, the student can have chances to evaluate and judge, either informally or formally, each other's written work. I really think these writing process can motivate and learn to give interesting and helpful feedback to each other's writing in pairs or in small groups, in class or at home, orally or in writing. Esp. in Korean EFL learners. and give more these kinds of chances
ReplyDeleteI think it’s so ironic, because to know how to write grammatically correct writing means they can do participation by writing about some issues as well. In my opinion, writing for writing has to be trained first. Without learning as acquisition, students can’t participate in something serious with writing. Of course they can writing for learning even at low level, but it would just be the step of confirming that how they are doing well. However, when they are in over intermediate levels, it’s much more required to learn as participation for getting good social evaluation. From that time, they have to learn writing for learning and writing for writing simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteI think that writing-for-writing is the real writing in which students construct their own creative 'story'. Harmer calls it 'creative writing'.(2007, p328) He says that "Creative writing is a journey of self-discovery..."
ReplyDeleteAbove all, to make a social evaluation possible for students' writing, a teacher has to support students to open their writings each other and to feel free to make feedback each other by keeping the class atmosphere comfortable.
There are many ways to faciliate social evaluation to students' writing. After students finish their writings the whole class could share the writings. Teachers can put students' writing on the wall, can publish a class magazine or can set a class website on the internet. Students can post their own contributions onto the blog so that others can comment and react in writing.(Harmer, 2007, p338) These give students chance to read peers' writings and give feedbacks on them freely.
Besides peer evalution, the range of the reader audience can be widely expanding. The writng can be included in the school newspaper, so other students ,teachers, and parents can read it. There are more chances for various social evaluations.
In Korean educational system, writing is the most difficult skill to evaluate. First, concrete and objective criterion should be established due to severe supervision and interference by local office of education. Second, unanimous agreement on the writing test should be drawn from all of the English teachers in school. Therefore, it is true that many English teachers have overlooked the importance of writing and made an excuse that writing can not be accepted in current educational circumstance.
ReplyDeleteToday, I introduced the third graders of middle school "4 River Project" which Korean incumbent government has been promoting. In an attempt to induce students' critical thought, I showed them two video clips: one is Daenhan News produced by the government and the other is citizen groups' rallies against the project. After that, I distributed a handout for each group to find 3 pros and cons of each side. Finally, I asked students to write their own opinion on the project in two or three sentences. However, some students could not start to write even a word. Although they started to write, they made a lot of mistakes. I suddenly realized that 'this is the tragedy of Korean English education.'
Students have learned English since the third grade in an elementary school, but they still can not write a simple sentence to express their opinion. In this situation, social evaluation by peers or teachers is not an important thing to be considered. Above all, teachers should deliberate how to enhance students' writing skill as well as arrange more time for writing.
From the second semester, I am planning to connect limited extensive reading with writing-for-writing by students' level. I hope my trial will pay off.