Josephine Said:

need formal to informal writing. An ESL student struggling!?

We Answered:

mmm..trying....it's hard! sorry..give me 10 points for trying! LOL

Brian Said:

academic writing for esl students?

We Answered:

She needs to have the students work on writing that they'll be doing in college/university, which involves writing essays. She could also teach them how to do reviews, how to analyze text, how to respond (based on personal opinion) to a text, and how to write summaries (that's what most college classes seem to require a basic knowledge of when it comes to writing).

Traditional expository modes should be taught: cause-effect essays, illustration essays, process essays, definition essays, culminating in persuasive essays that include research that students have incorporated into them.

She'll need to teach conventions of Western essays, which include an introduction, body, and conclusion, along with thesis statements, topic sentences, and how to appropriately support each paragraph.

She'll also want to also teach the basics of citation (MLA and APA format), since that is often a new concept to non-Western students.

Having students work on the process of writing essays is also important so there is room for revision. She shouldn't look at grammar until the second-to-last draft of the essay so students can focus on content rather than get caught up in the grammar mistakes. They can always fix that last.

Picking up any College English Composition text would give her lots of ideas about how to structure the course. There are also many ESL texts available for academic writing. I'd suggest she consult those, too.

That's generous of you to help your friend, but if you aren't experienced in this, perhaps she needs to talk with another ESL teacher who is experienced in the matter.

Derek Said:

ESL writing course, what should I include?

We Answered:

Parts of speech
- parts of speech, singular & plural forms, and subject-verb agreement
Verbs
- verb tense, infinitives, participles, phrasal verbs
Parts of a sentence
- subject & predicate, object, clauses and phrases
Building and combining sentences
- structure and meaning, sentence variety, linking words
Vocabulary
– related words, word origins, prefixes, suffixes, word combinations
Developing vocabulary
– context, formal & informal language, connotative & denotative language
Writing for different purposes Part 1
– writing to obtain and clarify information
Writing for different purposes Part 2
- writing to provide information
Writing for business
– writing letters, short reports, submissions
Study skills
– understanding concepts, essay structure, addressing all parts of a topic, understanding what is required, referencing
Proof reading and editing
- correcting and refining your document, targeting the intended reader
Special project
– reading, researching and writing for three different contexts – work, study, business

Ruben Said:

esl writing?

We Answered:

There are 3 kinds of feedback - 1. teacher 2. self 3. peer. Having taught ESL for many years, I found that the teacher feedback was the most feared and requested and yet the least to make an impact. When teachers "red pencil" everything, the students get so discouraged generally that they usually will not look at the feedback or remember it. 2. Self feedback is a little more successful because the students know what and how it should have been done differently and they are not to unhappy to re-write. 3. Peer feedback is somewhat dangerous because students will sometimes feel resentful..... There are 3 more feedback styles. 1. grammatical 2. composition form and finally 3. creativity. An ESL teacher who wants their students to keep writing will have to decide which of these will be tackled at any one time. The teacher has to decide which of these he/she will focus on. If the aim is to improve their grammar, then only grammar should be corrected. If the focus is on composition form, ditto. This should be stated to the students ahead of the writing assignment. The only one that I didn't mark penally was the creative writing because you can't be objective about individual creativity. Does this answer your question?

Katherine Said:

seoul toefl /esl/ writing tutor part time jobs?

We Answered:

Try OhayooSensei.com, and good luck. Oh, and look out for Nova, they'll treat you like a workhorse.